The U.S. Marshals Museum of Fort Smith, the family of the late Samuel M. Sicard and First Bank Corp. of Fort Smith announced Monday a $2 million donation to the museum.
The money will fund the Samuel M. Sicard Hall of Honor, a permanent exhibit of the U.S. Marshals Museum that acknowledges the more than 250 Marshals who have died in the line of duty.
Sicard, an influential banker and Fort Smith community leader, died in 2011. His company, First Bank Corp., controls First National Bank of Fort Smith.
In March, First Bank Corp. pledged $1 million to match contributions made by the late Sicard’s family and friends for the Hall of Honor.
"It is humbling to witness the numerous donations that are being made from the friends and family of my father to the Samuel M. Sicard Hall of Honor," said Samuel T. Sicard, son of Samuel M. Sicard and board member of the U.S. Marshals Museum.
"My father had a true passion for the U.S. Marshals Museum and also had a profound love for his friends, family and for our community," he said. "I am deeply grateful for every gift that was made in his memory and in the memory of all those marshals who sacrificed their lives to carry out justice."
Jim Dunn, president and CEO of the U.S. Marshals Museum, said the elder Sicard "strongly believed in and supported" the museum.
"I know he would be proud to recognize all the U.S. Marshals and their families who have sacrificed so much for our nation," Dunn said.
The $50 million, 50,000-SF U.S. Marshals Museum broke ground a year ago. It will sit on the banks of the Arkansas River near downtown Fort Smith. The design for the museum is by Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects of Little Rock and Cambridge Seven Associates of Cambridge, Mass.