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History
in a Pecan Shell
Texarkana is comprised of two separate municipalities, with separate mayors
and two sets of city officials. Fire departments, restaurant inspection, and sewage
departments cooperate.
The name is a composite of Texas, Louisiana and
Arkansas, although the Louisiana line is some 30 miles south.
The three
most popular legends concerning the origin of the name are :
1. After a steamboat
on the Red River that had been using the name circa 1860.
2. A product called
Texarkana Bitters that was manufactured in Northern Louisiana.
3. The name
was coined by a railroad surveyor who was so proud of his brainchild that he erected
a sign.
Pre-Columbian settlement of the area reveals a heavy population.
Within a thirty-mile radius of of Texarkana there are said to be seventy Caddo
Indian mounds.
Modern times began with the town being established
in late 1873 - the same day the first business opened. Real development began
when the Texas and Pacific Railroad (running East to West) met the Cairo
and Fulton Railroad (running North to South). The T & P took the responsibility
of platting much of downtown.
The state legislature granted the city
a charter in 1876.
State Line Avenue was laid out along the line between
the two states. At first the post office was on the Arkansas side, but when Texas
residents wanted one of their own, it was built and for awhile there were two
separate facilities. The name was officially changed to Texarkana, Arkansas-Texas
and eventually postmarks bore the imprint of Texarkana, U.S.A. The Federal
Building consisting of a courthouse and post office has the distinction of being
the only Federal building situated in two states. It has, for years been the subject
of postcards and even today a photographer's island is provided for tourists.
The Texas side of Texarkana had a population of 11,480 by 1925. The Texas
side of the city has historically held the larger population. The railroads were
historically the major employers of the area.
Texarkana's most famous
son was Ragtime composer Scott Joplin.
Texarkana
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