The Mission of the U.S. Marshals Museum is to form a national center of heritage and legacy, disseminate knowledge, and inspire appreciation for the accomplishments of the U.S. Marshals Service.
The U.S. Marshals Museum is an independent, non-governmental 501(c)3 organization, governed by a 20-member Board of Directors. The U.S. Marshals Service Director appoints three employees of the Marshals Service to serve on the Board of Directors.
The U.S. Marshals Museum will be a 50,000-square-foot national museum, on the Arkansas River in Fort Smith, Arkansas. The Museum will educate, inspire, and entertain visitors with state-of-the-art exhibits and programming that highlight the history and achievements of our nation’s first federal law enforcement agency. It will engage visitors in discovering how the history of the U.S. Marshals parallels the critical issues that have faced the nation as a whole. Educational offerings and online programming and materials will be designed for a national audience, so that the Marshals’ stories and significance reach out across the country.
The Museum will house three major exhibition galleries, a temporary exhibits gallery, a Hall of Honor to pay tribute to those killed in the line of duty, and a National Learning Center to offer programs for students, adults, and families in a variety of engaging formats. The three galleries are: Marshals Today, an overview of the role of U.S. Marshals in contemporary society; A Changing Nation, telling key stories of U.S. Marshals history; and Frontier Marshals, bringing law to the ever-changing frontier. The grounds of the Museum will include walkways, gardens, and plazas, as well as an important monument, to be built by the Five Civilized Tribes, honoring tribal law enforcement.
