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

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed a proclamation naming Fort Smith Arkansas' Capital for a Day on October 21, 2026. Under the program, the governor brings senior state government officials to a city to meet their local counterparts, and the city briefly serves as the state's seat of government.

Fort Smith is the 27th city to hold the title under Sanders. The proclamation walks through the city's history, from the fort established at Belle Point on the Arkansas and Poteau rivers in the early 1800s to its role as a military supplier and outfitter for Gold Rush travelers, and the 1887 natural gas discovery that opened the door to manufacturing.

It also points to Ebbing Air National Guard Base, home of the 188th Wing and the F-35 Foreign Military Sales program, along with Garrison Avenue, the U.S. Marshals Museum and the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith.