A museum to honor an important business in the history of Harrison may be happening soon.

The complete release from the City of Harrison is below:

The City Council met on Thursday, Oct. 9, and authorized Mayor Jackson to proceed with offering a lease agreement with the AF (Arkansas Freightways) Legacy Group.

Pat Brown, Fred Gary, Pat Reed, and Ken Reeves have been looking for a place to create an AF Legacy Museum.

Pat Brown requested the Council and said, “Sheridan Garrison founded Arkansas Freightways in 1982, and it was renamed to American Freightways in 1993 as a publicly held company and became one of the nation’s leading less-than-truckload carriers. In 2001, AF was purchased by FedEx Corporation. Annual revenue was $1.2 billion, and he employed over 20,000 people nationwide, of which over 1,400 were employed in Harrison. The local economic impact to the City of Harrison was in the 100’s of millions of dollars.”

The Legacy Group would like to lease the former downtown fire station to a museum and operate as a 501(c)3 organization. 

Brown said, “On display will be the R1, a restored road tractor presented to Garrison on the company’s 20th anniversary. The fire station is a fitting home — located in a practical setting, easily accessible, and would positively impact our historic downtown. The fire station is already a part of our shared history because we would preserve the “Firemen’s Wall of Honor” that currently exists inside the fire station. The firehouse was constructed in the mid-50s, and housed and honorably served as home to the 100’s of past and current First Responders.”

There is also hope of restoring an antique fire truck to be displayed with the R1 road tractor.

“We can honor our past while creating something meaningful for future generations,” Brown said.

Brown mentioned that 2,500 former employees in an email group are ready to donate to the cause. They feel that AF gave them a wonderful life and want to give back.

Mayor Jackson reminded the Council that the building is in the flood plain and has minimal options, but it could become a museum.

City Attorney Nance Cartwright distributed Resolution 1336, which allowed the mayor to issue a letter of intent to the AF Legacy Group for their use in forming a nonprofit entity and then to further negotiate a lease with the group. The motion carried with a unanimous vote.