New U.S. Marshals Service
National Museum will be located
in Fort Smith, AR
Anticipated opening 2011
No place better exemplifies the legacy of the Old West than Fort Smith, Arkansas. The headquarters for U.S. Marshals who patrolled the Indian Territory in the 1800’s, Forth Smith has been selected as the future home of the first U.S. Marshals Museum.
See, Hear & Experience the Story of the U.S. Marshals
Throughout its 217 year history, the U.S. Marshals Service has been involved in some of the most significant events in American history. Now, for the first time, their story will be told in a permanent setting.
With 10,000 square feet of historical artifacts, the planned U.S. Marshals Museum will capture the past, present and future law enforcement roles of the nation’s oldest federal law enforcement agency.
Scheduled to open within six years, the museum will also serve as an education center and will feature key artifacts and interactive exhibits that illustrate the marshals’ many historic missions.
"Justice, Integrity and Service"
U.S. Marshals' Motto
The U.S. Marshals were first formed on September 24, 1789 under George Washington's presidency. Washington himself appointed the first men to hold the positions charging them with supporting and protecting federal judges and carrying out laws that the judges, the President, or Congress had handed down.
Fort Smith and the US Marshals Service
The 1880’s headquarters for the Federal Court, Fort Smith sat on the border of the lawless and wild “Indian Territory Oklahoma.” In 1875, “Hanging Judge Parker", determined to clean up the area, ordered US Marshal James F. Fagan to hire 200 deputies and bring in “all the robbers, murderers and thieves you can find.”
During Parker’s 21 years on the bench, 60 US Marshals and Deputy US Marshals were killed in the line of duty. More U.S. Marshalls and deputies are buried in Forth Smith than in any other city in the country, and many descendents of marshals live in and around the Fort Smith area.
Modern Day Marshals
The U. S. Marshals Service is now one of five bureaus within the Department of Justice and has the widest range of jurisdiction under the federal code.
Headquartered at Fort Smith, current US Marshal, Richard O’Connell, oversees the Western District of Arkansas and calls the relationship between Fort Smith and the US Marshals Service “a love affair that has been going on for over 150 years.”
Fort Smith Historic Attractions
From the courtroom of “Hanging Judge Parker” and Civil War and Trail of Tears sites to national historic sites and museums, Fort Smith invites you to explore the action-packed history of the fort know as the “Gateway to the West.”
Related Links
Entertainment Fort Smith www.efortsmith.com
United States Marshals Service www.usmarshals.gov
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FORT SMITH CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU
2 North B, Fort Smith, Arkansas 72901
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