NEWS RELEASE – Washington County Historical Society
May 19, 2026
Contact: Dave Edmark
479-530-7241
dedmark@uark.edu

Former Gov. Hutchinson to highlight Statehood Day

The Washington County Historical Society’s annual Statehood Day celebration will feature an address by former Gov. Asa Hutchinson at 2 p.m. Sunday, June 14, at First Christian Church, 220 N. College Ave. in Fayetteville. This year marks the 190th anniversary of Arkansas’ admission to the Union on June 15, 1836.

Hutchinson was governor from 2015 to 2023 and served a year as chair of the National Governors Association following service as U.S. Attorney for Western District of Arkansas, a member of the House of Representatives from the Third District of Arkansas and administrator of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and undersecretary of the federal Department of Homeland Security. He sought the Republican presidential nomination in 2024. In March the state Highway Commission named a segment of Interstate 49 near Bella Vista as the Gov. Asa Hutchinson Freeway. He is currently of counsel at the Asa Hutchinson Law Group of Bentonville.