Marshals Museum exec discusses visitor numbers, outreach efforts

Attendance at the U.S. Marshals Museum is averaging a little over 5,000 per month for its first seven months of operation, and museum officials are expanding the outreach, which includes an event in Little Rock.

The museum opened on July 1 after 16 years of fundraising, construction and speculation. In January 2007, the U.S. Marshals Service selected Fort Smith as the site for the national museum. The Robbie Westphal family, led by Bennie Westphal and Robin Westphal Clegg, donated the riverfront land for the museum. A ceremonial groundbreaking was held in September 2015.

Museum officials initially hoped to have the facility open by late 2017, but struggles to raise money delayed the opening. Construction of the approximately 53,000-square-foot U.S. Marshals Museum was completed — except for exhibits — in early 2020.

Ben Johnson, museum president and CEO, said visitors have come from 50 states and more than a dozen foreign countries.

“We’re sitting at nearly 40,000 visitors since opening on July 1. July, August, and September were the busiest by far, with some spikes in the fall and winter around and between the holidays,” Johnson said.

According to a 2018 study, the museum could see around 125,000 visitors a year. The Arkansas Economic Development Institute, using information from the study, estimated the museum and related tourist expenditures would have a total annual impact on Sebastian County of $13 million to $22 million.

Johnson said he does not find an “average monthly attendance” to be very helpful yet because the museum is going to be heavily seasonal, and they don’t have a full year’s worth of operating.

“Heading into the spring/summer, we anticipate the actual busy season will begin in mid-late March and peak in June/July,” Johnson said.

He also said the museum staff is looking forward to having a full season this year, he said.

“We have a handful of major events and activities in store, including our first temporary exhibition in the ArcBest Special Exhibits Gallery, a full slate of educational programs for youth and adults, as well as a few collaborations with other major regional events,” Johnson said.

One of those major regional events will be on March 5 in Little Rock. A Director’s Initiative Program – The New Orleans Four and the Civil Rights Movement will be 10-11 a.m. March 5 at the Robinson Center in Little Rock. It will include opening remarks by United States Marshal Service (USMS) Director Ronald Davis, and the panel discussion will be moderated by USMS Historian David Turk.

“On November 14, 1960, four 6-year-old girls stepped out of their homes and into the history books,” said a news release on the event.

Gail Etienne, Leona Tate, Tessie Prevost, and Ruby Bridges became the first African American to desegregate two formerly all-white public elementary schools in New Orleans. They were escorted by deputy U.S. marshals.

The United States Marshals Museum’s National Learning Center will host “a powerful morning of conversation and reflection” with three of the New Orleans Four – Etienne, Tate, and Prevost. They will be joined by the last remaining deputy who escorted them – Herschel Garner, a native Arkansan – and Dorothy Prevost, the last remaining parent of the girls.

“The foundation of the plans the marshals used for desegregation in New Orleans and other parts of the South originated in the U.S. Marshals office in Little Rock, as they made plans for the school year following the desegregation of Central High School. It just seemed a natural fit to host the program there,” said Leslie Higgins, the Marshals Museum’s chief programs officer.

The event is free, but registration is required at this link.