WHEREAS: Wynne’s beginnings were anything but grand. It grew around an overturned boxcar alongside the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railroad, but expanded quickly as railroad crews settled in the area; 

WHEREAS: By the turn of the 20th century, Wynne was the most prominent town in Cross County and became the county seat in 1903. During the Second World War, Wynne’s railroad tracks saw as many as twelve troop trains every thirty minutes; 

WHEREAS: Despite the decline of passenger rail in the second half of the 20th century, Wynne continued to grow as an agriculture hub and as the gateway to Village Creek State Park, the second-largest state park in Arkansas; 

WHEREAS: A tornado struck Wynne on March 31, 2023, damaging homes, businesses, and the town’s high school. The city continues to rebuild from that destruction; 

WHEREAS: Though Wynne High School was almost completely destroyed, a mural in the school remained standing that said, “Once a Jacket, always a Jacket.” Those words of resilience have carried the town and its community through their rebuilding process; 

WHEREAS: Governor Sanders’ “Capital for a Day” program highlights great cities around Arkansas like Wynne and brings senior state government officials into town to meet with their local counterparts; and 

WHEREAS: Wynne will serve as the tenth “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 Wynne, Arkansas, our Capital for a Day on March 28th, 2024, 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 26th day of March, in the year of our Lord 2024.