Marshals Museum exec discusses visitor numbers, outreach efforts

by Tina Alvey Dale (tdale@talkbusiness.net)

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.

Marshals Museum exec discusses visitor numbers, outreach efforts