Sanders Announces Fort Smith as Arkansas’ Capital for a Day on October 21

TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS COME - GREETINGS:

WHEREAS: Fort Smith, named after General Thomas A. Smith, is one of the county seats of Sebastian County, and was incorporated on Christmas Eve in 1842;

WHEREAS: In the early 1800s, to help keep the peace between the Osage and Cherokee tribes, early settlers and troops chose to establish a small fort at Belle Point due to the visibility it provided at the confluence point of the Arkansas and Poteau Rivers;

WHEREAS: By the 1840s, Fort Smith was an established military supplier thanks to the Army's consistent presence in the area and a critical outfitter for the thousands of people trekking to California with hopes of discovering gold;

WHEREAS: In 1887, natural gas was discovered in the area, opening the door for manufacturing to become one of Fort Smith's primary industries, and today, manufacturing, food-processing, and other related industries remain the key economic drivers in the region;

WHEREAS: Infamous outlaws Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow sought refuge in Fort Smith while on the run for their many crimes during the Great Depression;

WHEREAS: Ebbing Air National Guard Base is located in Fort Smith, and hosts the Arkansas Air National Guard's 188^th Wing as well as the F-35 Foreign Military Sales program - a Department of War and multinational defense program;

WHEREAS: Today, visitors and residents of Fort Smith can stroll along the famous Garrison Avenue and later take a walk-through history at the Fort Smith Museum of History and the U.S. Marshals Museum;

WHEREAS: Fort Smith is also home to the Janet Huckabee Arkansas River Valley Nature Center, Fort Smith National Cemetery, Spirit of the American Doughboy Monument, and the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith;

WHEREAS: Governor Sanders' "Capital for a Day" program highlights great cities around Arkansas like Fort Smith and brings senior state government officials into town to meet with their local counterparts; and

WHEREAS: Fort Smith will serve as the twenty-seventh "Capital for a Day" under Governor Sanders and will momentarily serve as Arkansas' seat of government.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, Governor of the State of Arkansas, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the laws of the State of Arkansas, do hereby name Fort Smith, Arkansas, our Capital for a Day on October 21, 2026, and invite our senior state government officials to join me in a visit to the city.

IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of Arkansas to be affixed this 19th day of October, in the year of our Lord 2026.

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