Fort Smith receives almost $25 million for Bass Reeves trail system
Photo of Bass Reeves and his monument in downtown Fort Smith.
A second time is the charm. The City of Fort Smith in its second attempt has been awarded a $24.987 million federal grant to build almost 10 miles of new trails as part of the Bass Reeves Legacy Loop Greenway Initiative.
The city announced Monday (Jan. 13) it will be awarded funds from the Rebuilding America’s Infrastructure for Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). The city first applied for the grant in early 2024, but it was rejected.
The project is a 14-mile greenway loop with new and existing trails. The loop includes 9.3 miles of new trails giving a route to schools, parks, jobs, medical care and essential services. The city has said that 20% of Fort Smith residents will live within a half mile of the loop. The loop would connect eight schools in order to allow students to more safely walk or ride bikes to schools.
RAISE grant money does not require a match from the city.
“The City of Fort Smith will utilize RAISE grant resources to significantly reduce the number of vehicle-pedestrian collisions in coming years. Shared use paths will provide separation from motorized traffic for bicyclists, pedestrians, skaters, wheelchair users, joggers, and other users. Trail lighting and modernized traffic control devices at street crossings will also help to create better visibility and awareness for vulnerable roadway users,” noted the city statement.
The city’s press release also noted that the loop will “connect a number of Fort Smith’s landmarks, parks, greenspaces, and neighborhoods,” and incorporate the Greg Smith Riverfront Trail and Maybranch Trail systems. Work on the Maybranch Trail began in 2024.
Reeves was a U.S. Deputy Marshal under U.S. Federal Judge Isaac C. Parker. Reeves was born a slave in Texas in 1838 and died in Muskogee, Okla., on Jan. 12, 1910. Reeves was an African-American and illiterate, but captured more outlaws than anyone else, according to the book, “Black Gun, Silver Star: The Life and Legend of Frontier Marshal Bass Reeves,” written by Art Burton. Burton wrote that Reeves was an expert tracker and detective, and was able to memorize the warrants for every lawbreaker he was to arrest and bring to trial. Reeves was the first African-American inducted into the Great Westerners Hall of the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City in 1992.
A 25-foot tall monument of Bass Reeves was unveiled in downtown Fort Smith in May 2012. It was created by sculptor Harold T. Holden. The larger-than-life statue of Reeves also includes his horse, Blaze, and his trusty dog, named simply “Dog.”
“Few names are as inextricably linked to the history and culture of Fort Smith as that of Bass Reeves,” Ben Johnson, U.S. Marshals Museum president and CEO, said in a statement provided by the city. “We are proud to see that his legacy will play such a profound role in Fort Smith’s future as well. The Bass Reeves Legacy Loop will bring our community together in new and exciting ways, and we can’t wait to see it come to fruition.”
Interim City Administrator Jeff Dingman said it’s too soon to know when work will begin and be completed on the loop. He said preliminary design work was included in the grant application, but the city now has to pull together final design work and other pre-construction planning.