Construction of the $50 million United States Marshals Museum in Fort Smith began Thursday.
Once complete, the 53,000-SF Mary Carleton & Robert A. Young III Building will pay homage to the nation’s oldest federal law enforcement agency.
It’s set to open in fall 2019, and CDI Contractors of Little Rock completed preliminary site work on the building pad in fall 2017.
Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects of Little Rock is designing the building. Architectural renderings and designs were released last month.
The museum will feature five galleries: Defining Marshals; The Campfire: Stories Under the Stars; Frontier Marshals; A Changing Nation; and Modern Marshals. It will also include a National Learning Center, Hall of Honor, conference rooms, general office space, retail space; a large lobby for community partnerships; an exterior dining area; green space; a full-service restaurant; and a monument donated by the Five Tribes.
Fundraising for the project remains a top priority, according to a news release, with $17.8 million remaining to fully fund it.