06-05-2025, Last Day in Fort Smith Arkansas
Why the U.S. Marshals Museum in Fort Smith Deserves a Spot on Your Travel List
Our last morning in Arkansas started slow — coffee, a quick breakfast — and ended with an unforgettable trip through U.S. history at the United States Marshals Museum in Fort Smith, Arkansas.
We decided to go to the U.S. Marshals Museum, sitting just a minute down the road from our RV Park — practically next door. We let the RV Park know we would be checking out late, and they were fine. Everyone who works there recommends the museum, and rightfully so.
This Fort Smith attraction absolutely blew us away with its exhibits and storytelling. Since it had just opened on July 1, 2023, everything felt fresh and exciting. We spent two hours exploring the history of America’s oldest federal law enforcement agency.
We came across a piece of steel from the World Trade Center, with an inscription honoring Marshals who died from illnesses connected to the attacks — a sobering and powerful memorial.
A couple of interactive museum exhibits immediately grabbed our attention. At one station, you step up to a podium with a book resting on top. The wall in front of the podium displayed framed photos. Each page tells the story of a U.S. Marshal. As you turn the pages, the lighting moves to the framed picture on the wall of the person on the page. (See the video below!)
One display recreated a poker room — a pool table transformed into a poker table with an interactive screen that dealt cards to you as if you were playing poker. The five cards represent U.S. Marshals, and the screen challenges you with a question about one of them, making you choose the right marshal. This was one of the most unique interactive exhibits we’ve ever seen. What a great game for this type of room. I loved it. I posted a video of this one below.
If you're looking for things to do in Fort Smith, AR, I highly recommend spending time at this museum. You will not regret it.
We left Riverfront RV Park about 12:30 PM and crossed into Oklahoma ten minutes later. Oklahoma sits just across the Arkansas River, which runs right past the RV park.
Crossing the river into Oklahoma felt like the perfect way to end our time in Arkansas. The Marshals Museum gave us a new appreciation for the history of U.S. Marshals, and we left feeling inspired (and a little smarter!). Now, with Oklahoma ahead of us, we’re excited to see what stories the next stop will bring on this cross-country road trip.
On a personal note, I felt much better this morning.
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| Steel from the World Trade Center |
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| Poker/Billiard Room |
 Honor the Fallen Memorial Wall |
Included on the wall on one side is a plaque explaining the wall. My photo did not turn out and the inscription is hard to read. I have transcribed it below.
Great job! The look and feel of the blog is very nice. The videos are fun, too.
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