Historic Texarkana

HISTORIC TEXARKANA 

An Illustrated History 

by Beverly J. Rowe, Ph.D. 

A PUBLICATION OF 

THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM

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HISTORIC TEXARKANA 


by Beverly J. Rowe, Ph.D. 

Commissioned by the Texarkana Museums System 

Historical Publishing Network 

A division of Lammert Incorporated 

San Antonio, Texas

CONTENTS 

3 FOREWORD 

4 CHAPTER I “All Aboard for the Southwest” 

16 CHAPTER II No Room at the Inn 

26 CHAPTER III Guiding the Flock 

40 CHAPTER IV Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic 

52 CHAPTER V Beware the Fire Demons 

64 CHAPTER VI Texarkana! Queen City of the Southwest 

80 SHARING THE HERITAGE 

138 SPONSORS 

140 ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

First Edition 

Copyright © 2009 Historical Publishing Network 

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, without permission in writing 

from the publisher. All inquiries should be addressed to Historical Publishing Network, 11555 Galm Road, Suite 100, San Antonio, Texas, 78254. Phone (800) 749-9790. 

ISBN: 9781935377016 

Library of Congress Card Catalog Number: 2009927050 

Historic Texarkana: An Illustrated History 

author: Beverly J. Rowe, Ph.D. 

cover artist: Dean Lynn 

contributing writers for “Sharing the Heritage”: Eric Dabney 

Historical Publishing Network 

president: Ron Lammert 

project manager: Joe Neely 

Robin Neely 

administration: Donna M. Mata 

Melissa G. Quinn 

Evelyn Hart 

book sales: Dee Steidle 

production: Colin Hart 

Craig Mitchell 

Charles A. Newton, III 

Roy Arellano 

Glenda Tarazon Krouse 

PRINTED IN CANADA. 

2 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA

FOREWORD 

American cities developed in response to a number of cultural variables over time. Each city grew in relation to its geography and 

climate, as well as to the people who came to live there. It might, therefore, be said that cities are creations of various forces at work 

during the years of their establishment and early growth. Some of these forces are immigration, economic stimulus, churches, schools, 

and founding families. There are some factors that are universal in the development of all towns, but each town emerges as a distinct 

piece of art that can only be appreciated in the context of its creation. 

Texarkana is a unique city situated on the state line between Texas and Arkansas that was founded in the 1870s, during the heyday 

of railroad expansion. Citizens here have had to deal with two state governments, two county governments, and two city governments 

throughout the town’s history. It has had two fire departments and two police departments, two mayors and two city councils. 

Because of this situation, Texarkana developed societies and cultures in each half of town that functioned independently, as well 

as together. We speak of “Texarkana,” but, in reality, we should say "Texarkanas" because the city’s east side and west side each have 

their own valued memories, heritage, and customs. 

To describe Historic Texarkana I have focused on five important influences that made it what it is today: the railroads that laid out 

and built the town; the hotels that housed early residents and visitors, providing gathering places for meetings and gala events; the 

churches that improved our morals and civilized this rough town; the school systems that taught community values to generations of 

our children; and fire that destroyed our early efforts, forcing us to recreate and renew our visions of what Texarkana could be over 

time. Then, I’ve allowed Texarkana’s early residents to describe their town for you in their own words. Their stories create a picture 

of what they hoped to achieve, and we have the wonderful advantage of time to look back and see if their dreams were realized. 

I would like to thank Ina McDowell and the staff of Texarkana Museums System for their assistance in putting the materials for this 

book together and their comments on the finished work. Dean Lynn created the beautiful cover mural depicting Texarkana’s best features, 

and Charlotte Hueter created the artwork beginning each chapter. Their artistic ability to put my thoughts into visual representations 

is amazing and significantly contributes a great deal to the finished work. Bill Sharp allowed the use of his valuable picture 

collection to provide those “snapshot windows” on the past that make a written work such as this come to life. Additionally, I’d like 

to thank all those Texarkana residents, native and adopted sons and daughters, who have donated family treasures to the Texarkana 

Museums System to be held in trust for future generations. Without your treasures I could not tell the story. Photographs included in 

this work are available as reprints from the Texarkana Museums System by contacting their staff. 

Finally, I would like to thank Ron Lammert and the employees of Historical Publishing Network for creating this wonderful, lasting 

treasure. I have come to appreciate published books that document local people and places historically, because sometimes there 

are so few of them. Texarkana has had a number of historical books published through the years such as Barbara Overton Chandler’s 

History of Texarkana, Miller and Bowie Counties, Arkansas-Texas (1938) and William D. Leet’s Texarkana: A Pictorial History (1982). These 

books chronicle important people and events and act as reminders of forgotten memories that are so important to the culture of 

Texarkana. How can we plan for our bright future if we cannot remember our past? 

Foreword ✦ 3


CHAPTER I 

“ALL A BOARD FOR THE S OUTHWEST!” 

While hardy settlers had come to the Bowie County region of northeast Texas long before the 

railroads came, the establishment of Texarkana, Arkansas, and Texarkana, Texas, was more the result 

of national railroad expansion than it was the actions of these earliest settlers. Railroad officials 

determined that the best route to access the greater United States Southwest was a direct route 

through Memphis, Little Rock, the Texarkana area, and on to the larger cities of the Texas interior. 

Railroad construction, in the form of the El Paso and Pacific Railroad, actually reached the 

Texarkana area in 1857, but this line was not completed until 1872, after the Civil War had ended 

and the El Paso and Pacific Railroad had become a part of the sprawling Texas and Pacific Railroad 

System. This was but one of the numerous railroad companies building an important rail network 

across the vast United States between 1850 and 1880. The establishment of Texarkana as a “railroad 

town,” was a story repeated across the nation in other towns by the hundreds, if not thousands. The 

actual process of creating a town had become routine to railroad authorities. They knew that some 

of their creations would fail, lacking some important ingredient for success; while others would rise 

to metropolitan status like Dallas and Houston, because all the right factors came together in an 

unpredictable synergy. Once in a great while, geography, culture, and whimsy would produce 

uniqueness written large, as in the case of Texarkana. Neither large nor small, this city was loud, 

boisterous, and fun, with a bit of a split personality. Selection of the site for Texarkana was explained 

in the Gate City News of January 2, 1875: 

Texarkana, the Gate City of Texas! 

Situated at the junction of the Cairo and Fulton Railroad and the Texas and Pacific Railway, on the 

northeastern boundary of Texas, at the Southwest corner of Arkansas, and near the northwest corner of 

Louisiana, on the Great Trunk Line into Texas, direct from St. Louis, Memphis and Little Rock. This being 

the shortest route from the North and East into Texas, Texarkana is the natural inlet for trade and 

commerce, and offers inducements that are unsurpassed for business houses of all branches of trade. 

Located here, with facilities for shipment to all points of Texas and Louisiana, merchants will control the 

trade of a very large section of country. 

❖ 

PAINTING BY CHARLOTTE HUETER. 

The townsite was described as being high and healthy, with good, natural drainage and an 

abundance of cheap building materials available from the dense East Texas pine forests. Plentiful soft 

water was available from wells dug fifteen to twenty feet into the ground, the soil of which was fertile 

and easily worked. 

In the fall of 1873 news leaked out that a town would be constructed where the Texas & 

Pacific and the Cairo & Fulton railroads met on the state line between Texas and Arkansas. In 

early December, enterprising men from all over the region rode onto the site and camped out, in 

order to be there on December 8 when the sale of town lots began. It was important to get there 

early and claim the choicest lots, if these men would make a profit from their speculative 

land purchases. Gus Knobel, surveying engineer and Major H. L. Montrose, special agent for the 

Texas & Pacific Railroad Company opened the sale that day by announcing lot prices: $350 for 

corner lots and $300 for inside lots on Front and Broad Streets, between the state line and Oak Street. 

The first men to purchase lots were J. W. Davis, who bought the lot where Hotel McCartney was later 

built; and Walter Harris, who bought the lot directly west of Davis’s lot. A later newspaper article 

identified Harris’s lot as being one of those farther up on Pine Street, where the current Gazette 

Building now stands. Anthony L. Ghio rode a horse from his home in Jefferson, Texas, to purchase 

both commercial and residential lots in Texarkana. One of these lots was located at the corner of W. 

Chapter I ✦ 5

❖ 

Right: Five unidentified railroad 

executives stand on Engine #300’s cow 

catcher during the early days of the 

railroad boom in Texarkana. 

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM. 

Below: The 1901 Sidney Stewart Map 

of Texarkana shows how the railroad 

tracks and State Line Avenue 

influenced the layout of the town. 


Broad Street and State Street (later renamed 

Main Street), where Ghio later built his famous 

Opera House. 

Colonel Rollin W. Rodgers was one of 

the men present at the land sale, and he 

recognized the trouble an “imaginary” line 

dividing the two cities, counties, and states 

would cause in the future. Thus, he traveled to 

Marshall, Texas, to consult with General G. M. 

Dodge of the Texas & Pacific Railroad. Dodge 

granted Rodgers a fifty-foot-wide strip of land 

running on the Texas side of the state line from 

the railroad up to where the post office was later 

built. Rodgers then traveled to Little Rock, 

Arkansas, where he got a similar grant from 

Colonel Joseph A. Longborough, of the St. 

Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railroad 

Company for a fifty-foot-wide strip on the 

Arkansas side of the state line. With his 

foresight, Colonel Rodgers gave Texarkana its 

State Line Avenue, a one-hundred-foot-wide 

road from the railroad tracks up to Ninth Street. 

State Line Avenue later became part of U.S. 

Highway 71. 

In the early years, all aspects of life in 

Texarkana revolved around the railroads. The 

city’s geographic footprint mirrored the bend of 

the railroad tracks through town. The state line 

ran in a north-south direction while the 

residential and business streets ran in a more 

northwesterly-southeasterly direction. Streets 

were designated “East” or “West” determined by 

which side of the state line they were on. 

Numbered streets did not match up along the 

state line with West Twenty-fourth Street being 

some four blocks north of East Twenty-fourth 

Street at the state line. Street numbering of lots 


was also unique. “Even” addresses were located 

on the south side of Broad Street on the 

Arkansas side of town, but were on the north 

side of the same street on the Texas side of town. 

Texarkana had numerous triangle-shaped 

buildings and blocks, along with “short” and 

“long” streets such as 21st Street on the 

Arkansas side of town. These anomalies were 

the result of the discrepancy between the 

direction of the state line and the direction of 

the city streets. 

Texarkana’s early newspapers document the 

railroad companies’ attraction to the Texarkana 

area. The earliest named were the Cairo & 

Fulton Railroad on the Arkansas side of town 

and the Texas & Pacific Railroad on the Texas 

side of town that brought people and goods into 

Texarkana from the west. In the earliest days, 

railroads could not cross state lines due to the 

gauge of the roadbed, or to state laws that 

required goods to be transferred to a “local” 

train. The International and Great Northern 

Railroad, Texas, and St. Louis Railroad, the 

Transcontinental Railroad, and St. Louis, Iron 

Mountain and Southern Railroads were also 

early rail companies with connections in 

Texarkana. In time, smaller railroad companies 

merged with large companies such as Jay 

Gould’s Texas & Pacific Railroad Company and 

Colonel Samuel Wesley Fordyce’s Texas & St. 

Louis Railroad Company. However, Texarkana’s 

early citizens were not content with the nine 

railroad companies that were already here, they 

also wanted connections with the Memphis and 

Little Rock Railroad and the Houston and Texas 

Central Railroad. 

Some interesting statistics from the early 

newspapers document the scope and 

importance of these railroads to the 

development of the Texarkana region. The Daily 

Texarkana Independent of July 17, 1885, noted 

that in Bowie County alone the valuation of 

railroad and telegraph property was $587,600, 

in a time period when a five-room house could 

be purchased for $800. On October 30, 1885, 

the Independent wrote that the Missouri-Pacific 

and Texas & Pacific railroads had paid $1,983 

in passenger taxes to the state of Texas so far 

that year. On November 23, 1885, Editor E. A. 

Warren of the Independent wrote that a total of 

thirty-four trains left the city of Texarkana every 

day. The next day he wrote that more than sixhundred 

car-loads of freight had been sent out 

of Texarkana in one week’s time; and, probably 

the most staggering statistic of all, on December 

16, 1885, the Independent noted that seventy 

trains arrived and departed from Texarkana 

every day! Even if a certain degree of “bragging” 

was included in these statistics, it is clear to see 

that Texarkana was an important railroad 

crossroads during the last quarter of the 

nineteenth century. 

The location of Texarkana’s railroad depot 

was an ongoing problem throughout the cities’ 

history. In the early days, Texas trains and 

Arkansas trains had to stop at the state line. 

Thus, Texarkana started out with a Texas side 

depot and an Arkansas side depot. The earliest 

locations of these two depots were noted in the 

Gate City News of January 2, 1875, one year 

after the city was founded. The Lyon Hotel, at 

the corner of Front Street and State Street (later 

❖ 

Above: The state line between Texas 

and Arkansas ran along the middle of 

State Line Avenue, a one-hundred foot 

wide dirt road. 

COURTESY OF THE AUTHOR. 

Below: Women and children were also 

caught up in the excitement of 

building railroad tracks through the 

“wilderness.” 


Chapter I ✦ 7

❖ 

Above: Colonel Samuel Wesley 

Fordyce was affiliated with the Texas 

and St. Louis Railroad. 


Below: Many trains passed through 

Texarkana at all hours of the day 

and night. 


renamed Main Street) on the Texas side of town, 

was the “official eating house of the Texas & 

Pacific Railroad, located across the street from 

the passenger depot.” The Marquand House 

Hotel, located some two-thousand feet east of 

the 1930 Union Depot on Front Street, was the 

official depot and railroad eating house for the 

Cairo & Fulton Railroad, which later merged 

with the St. Louis, Iron Mountain, and Southern 

Railroad (St. L. I. M. & S.). 

In 1886, after a lengthy dispute with Colonel 

Joseph Huckins, Manager of the Marquand 

House Hotel, the St. L. I. M. & S. Railroad 

abandoned the Marquand House and made plans 

to construct a new depot and official railroad 

eating house. Not too long after that the 

Marquand House Hotel burned, making the 

railroad’s plans to replace Huckins easier to fulfill. 

In the late 1880s, as the St. L. I. M. & S. 

began plans for their new depot on the Arkansas 

side of town, Texas side residents became 

concerned that the new depot would cause the 

abandonment of the Texas & Pacific depot on 

their side of town. Eventually, railroad 

authorities decided to build Texarkana’s first 

Union Station at the foot of State Line Avenue, 

where the franchise rights of both the Texas & 

Pacific and the St. L. I. M. & S. railroads ended. 

This building, sometimes called the “red depot’ 

was completed about 1890. 

The old state line issues came up again in 

1905 when the Cotton Belt Railroad, successor 

to the St. L. I. M. & S., decided to rebuild a 

frame structure on the Arkansas side of the state 

line to use as their own depot. An agreement 

was finally reached whereby Cotton Belt would 

continue to use the larger Union Depot. Kansas 

City Southern (K.C.S.), successor to the 

Texarkana and Fort Smith Railroad, built its 

depot at the foot of Oak Street, near the Texas 

Viaduct. However, by 1910, K.C.S. had also 

been convinced to use Union Depot. Thus, 

Union Depot became the “heart” of Texarkana, a 

geographical point from which all other sites 

and events were measured. 

During World War I, downtown life pulsed 

as passenger, freight, and troop trains spilled 

into the depot at all hours of the day and night. 

Soldiers and their supplies stretched 

transportation facilities to their limits, while 

local residents responded with a Red Cross 

Canteen to provide soldiers with food, drink, 

and encouragement as they traveled to their 

posts around the country and overseas. 

Downtown streets were jammed with horses, 

wagons, and a few automobiles, and cash 

registers in downtown stores merrily rang with 

the sounds of a booming economy. 

In 1929, railroad traffic was immense and 

talks of building a massive new Union Depot in 

Texarkana began. Public sentiment had 

galvanized by that time, and the citizens of both 

sides of town demanded that this new depot be 

placed right on the state line. They wanted a 

unique depot to match their unique town, with 

architecture that paid homage to both the state 

line and the city. “A tile path tracing the exact 

course of the line through the entire building,” 

was suggested. Legal requirements, contested 

jurisdictions, and plain old “bull-headedness” 

slowed progress on the depot until, finally, a 


gala opening was held for the new depot on May 

12, 1930. The new Union Station, a Renaissance 

style building, was the creation of A. B. 

Butterworth and E. M. Tucker, and was replete 

with brass and glass chandeliers, terrazzo tile 

floors, and highly polished passenger benches 

that seemed to stretch out across the vast 

interior spaces of the depot. Efficient offices for 

railroad officials, ticket sales, and railway 

express package services were included. 

However, upon completion of the depot, 

Texarkana residents were disappointed to find 

that no tile pathway marked the location of the 

state line through the building; they were, 

however, intrigued by the expansion joint 

running diagonally through the building which 

allowed the structure to grow up to eight inches 

in warm weather. 

Life in Texarkana centered on the railroads 

from 1875 to the late 1950s. The population of 

the city grew from 2,500 in 1880, to 10, 918 in 

1887. By 1900, the twin cities had a population 

of 18,054 and by 1950 it had reached 52,000. 

Most of this early growth was directly attributable 

to the railroad and lumber industries. As part of 

their railroad and town building of the late 

1800s, the major railroad trunk lines sponsored 

“immigrant trains” and “booster trains” that crisscrossed 

newly settled areas bringing prospective 

settlers into town for their first look at the area. 

The Gate City News of January 2, 1875, told 

riders on the immigrant trains that “Texarkana is 

today the liveliest city in Texas, and is growing 

with astonishing rapidity. Now is the time to buy 

while prices are low and benefit by enhanced 

valuation.” In 1880, local newspapers noted 

“There is plenty of work for laborers on the 

railroad extensions now being made in Texas…. 

Men’s wages are $1.50 per day; teams $2.75 to 

$3.00 per day; board per week $4.00.” 

The future arrival of immigrant and booster 

trains was telegraphed ahead to the towns 

on the tour, so that local residents could put 

out the “welcome mat.” In November 1884, 

the Daily Texarkana Independent announced, 

“Commencing yesterday, regular semi-monthly 

excursions through Arkansas and Texas will 

be run on the Texas & St. Louis Railroad, so 

as to give land seekers an opportunity to see 

the country.” 

At times, Texarkana residents were swept up 

on the excursion trains to see other parts of the 

great American West. In December 1884 an 

❖ 

Above: Kansas City Southern 

Railroad Company had a travel office 

in downtown Texarkana and 

encouraged local travelers to take the 

“Port Arthur Route.” 


Below: Texarkana’s first Union Depot 

was the center of town and the site of 

many political events. 


Chapter I ✦ 9

❖ 

Above: The first Union Depot was 

demolished in 1928 to make room for 

the Grand Union Depot designed by 

A. B. Butterworth and E. M. Tucker. 


Below: The interior of the new depot 

featured the very latest in passenger 

comfort and ease of travel, with 

various departments in the train 

station clearly identified. 


advertisement in the local newspaper told 

residents that “The Missouri-Pacific Railway has 

made arrangements to run an excursion train of 

Palace Pullman cars to San Francisco and 

return. The train will leave St. Louis on 

December 17 and, reaching this point, will 

make special rates from here to ’Frisco and 

return, the tickets to be good in returning 

anytime within six months.” Quickly, it became 

“normal” for the newspapers to write of 

excursion trains that had come through town 

the previous day, or during the night. 

Texarkana had competition from all around 

for the excursionists who came its way. In 1885, 

E. A. Warren, editor of the Daily Texarkana 

Independent, warned citizens, “Hope will give 

the 500 excursionists coming over the Iron 

Mountain a grand reception. They will be there 

May 29. What will Texarkana do? Remember 

that the excursion will consist principally of 

capitalists and manufacturers seeking places for 

investment and those are just the sort of people 

we need to make our city grow.” However, 

excursion trains did not stop at every town 

along the rail line; they went to communities 

that invited them to stop. On the occasion of 

this train in late May 1885, Texarkana citizens 

could not be roused to host the excursionists 

and so, the city lost an opportunity for growth 

and good community relations. After its early 

growth spurt, it seemed that city leaders felt 

there was no longer a need to entice people to 

come to Texarkana to live—that they would 

come on their own. And many did. 

Because the Texarkana economy was 

intertwined with the health and well-being of 

the railroads, the community’s heart skipped a 

beat every time tragedy came. Train wrecks and 

mishaps fed the rumor mill because nearly every 

other home in town relied on the railroads for 

their family’s income. Safety standards on the 

railroads were lax, at best, but all railroad hands 

knew their jobs were dangerous. An article in 

the Gate City News of August 22, 1878, 

described Dan Kegan’s accident on the Iron 

Mountain Railroad. Kegan, a brakeman for the 

railroad, fell through the trestle near Fulton, 

Arkansas, giving him a concussion and a broken 

leg. What made the article more disturbing was 


that Kegan claimed that he had been pushed 

from the train while it was over the trestle. The 

same day’s paper noted that the Texas & Pacific 

Train No. 1 was wrecked that day at the Hoxie 

Woodyards, derailing every coach car on the 

train. The engine was the only car that remained 

on the track. Amazingly, only the negro porter 

was hurt in that accident. 

Railroad officials on each line were well 

known up and down their routes. In January 

1885, Texarkana residents learned that 

Conductor Frazier of one of the local passenger 

trains had been shot and killed when he tried to 

evict some tramps from his train near Overton, 

Texas. In August 1884 an attempt was made to 

wreck the eastbound train between Texarkana 

and Malvern, Arkansas. Obstructions were 

placed on the track but were discovered in time. 

Those responsible were never caught, and local 

citizens were outraged. In 

October 1884 a Texas & Pacific 

freight train was wrecked by running 

over a horse that would not, 

or could not, get off the track. In 

this accident Fireman Kercheval 

was scalded to death and the 

engineer was slightly injured. In 

November a brakeman named 

“Shorty” McDonald had his hand 

badly mashed between two cars in 

the Texas & St. Louis Railroad 

yards in Texarkana. In November 

1885 the conductor on the 

Transcontinental train coming 

into Texarkana from New Boston 

was injured when he stopped the 

train to evict a passenger who 

could not produce a ticket. 

Marshal George Edwards of 

Texarkana happened to be on the 

train and was instrumental in 

ending the dispute, taking the 

passenger into custody. During 

that same month, Engineer Jo 

Poole of the narrow gauge railroad 

in Texarkana was injured in a 

train wreck and died on 

November 11 of his injuries. The 

newspaper noted, “He was one of 

the best men and most popular 

engineers on the road, and his 

death is much deplored.” 

At times, drinking at Texarkana’s wide open 

saloons caused accidents on the railroads. In 

❖ 

Left: As the economy of the United 

States boomed, so did that of 

Texarkana. The railroads kept the 

city’s economy booming for more than 

seventy years. 


Below: In its early days, Texarkana 

depended on the railroads’ freight and 

passenger service to connect citizens 

with the outside world. 


Chapter I ✦ 11

❖ 

Texarkana’s rail yards served as the 

repair site for wrecked or damaged 

trains on the Texas & Pacific and the 

St. Louis, Iron Mountain, and 

Southern lines. 


December 1884, Jim Pate was run over and 

mangled by the train as it entered the Iron 

Mountain roundhouse. He had been a track 

cleaner for this road and had gotten drunk and 

laid down to sleep, apparently too close to the 

tracks. On another occasion a man had spent 

the evening drinking in Texarkana’s barrooms 

and had walked home via the railroad tracks. At 

some point he passed out on the tracks and was 

beheaded by the train coming into town. A 

coroner’s inquest was held, and everyone agreed 

as to the cause of the poor man’s death. 

Texarkana became the main repair station for 

some of the railroads, and its citizens frequently 

saw the results of train wrecks firsthand. 

In February 1885 wrecked cars came in on 

the Transcontinental Road for repair. The 

newspaper noted that “Deputy U.S. Marshal 

Goslen of Texas, was en route to Detroit with a 

lot of prisoners. A gun battle ensued in which 

Goslen, his deputy, and one of the female 

passengers were killed. The train cars were full 

of bullet holes, some were smashed, and there 

were many wounded passengers who were later 

treated by Texarkana’s physicians. 

Railroad strikes caused economic hardship 

and hard feelings when they occurred in 

Texarkana. Rumors of the first such strike 

circulated in November 1884 and were reported 

in the local newspaper. Laborers were going to 

strike the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railroad 

because the railroad company had cut down 

their workforce and reduced the salaries of 

remaining workers by from forty to sixty per 

cent. By February 1885, newspapers 

commented on local conductors and engineers 

who had been laid off by the Texas & Pacific and 

Texas & St. Louis railroads. In March 1885, 


Texarkana citizens learned that all along the rail 

lines, strikers were preventing freight trains 

from moving. The reason given was that these 

railroads had implemented large reductions in 

wages for the third time in five months, and that 

efforts to negotiate with the railroad owners 

had failed. A local meeting of railroad men was 

held at Ghio’s Opera House on the evening of 

March 9 to discuss the situation and plan a 

local response. 

In spite of the turmoil, things were relatively 

quiet in Texarkana on March 12, when the 

newspaper reported that all employees of 

the Gould System would be discharged if 

they took part in the strike. Texas Governor 

Ireland sent a proclamation regarding the strike 

to be exhibited at the New Orleans 

Exposition—editor Warren of the Daily 

Texarkana Independent said that Ireland’s 

Proclamation “would take the premium in 

the contest for the best production of Executive 

Jackassness.” Thereafter, Warren encouraged 

local businessmen to ship their goods over 

the Texas & St. Louis (narrow gauge) railroad 

until the strike on the Texas & Pacific system 

was settled. He also noted how quiet and 

expectant the city felt, waiting for the 

nationwide strike to hit home in Texarkana. 

This railroad strike paralyzed Texarkana’s 

economy for two months, and at the end of it, 

the strikers had been fired, the local economy 

was in shambles, and there was great bitterness 

towards the railroad owners. 

In the ensuing years, other railroad strikes 

caused problems for Texarkana, but city fathers 

learned to cope and to diversify by enticing 

other businesses to locate in the city. In 1915 

Texas & Pacific officials visited Texarkana and 

toured the city as the guests of Texarkana’s 

Board of Trade. The railroad men were surprised 

by the city’s charm and beauty. General Traffic 

Manager for the Texas & Pacific said that his 

railroad had “always felt a sort of fatherly 

❖ 

Above: World War I soldiers came 

into town on the trains and were kept 

in groups on the city’s streets, until 

their trains pulled out of the station. 


Below: Railroad strikes caused 

Texarkana citizens to lose their 

jobs and created problems for the 

local economy. 


Chapter I ✦ 13

❖ 

Above: Many of the railroad 

companies encouraged their 

employees’ participation in local 

events. It was good public relations for 

the company. 


Below: The Kansas City Southern 

baseball team played in Texarkana’s 

City League. 


interest in your city. We can’t do without 

Texarkana, we need the city, we need the 

people, and we need the business here.” 

However, by this time Texarkana residents had 

become wary of railroad praise and knew that 

whatever the railroads giveth, the railroads 

could also quickly taketh away! 

In the 1920s and ’30s the use of trucks to 

haul freight had begun and had taken off in 

earnest. Truck freight rates were competitive 

with railroad freight rates, and the highway 

system across the United States was being 

built. Automobile traffic grew, as well, from the 

1920s through the 1950s. This was the 

first serious competition the railroads had 

faced since their nationwide rail systems 

were completed. Traffic at Texarkana’s 

Union Station began to decline; shopping 

in downtown Texarkana also began to 

decline. In the late 1950s, President Dwight 

Eisenhower inaugurated the Interstate Road 

System across the United States, and the 

golden era of the railroads came to an end. The 

last passenger train to pull out of Texarkana did 

so on May 1, 1971. The Texas Eagle had 

Engineer G. R. Rothermel at the controls and 

was headed to St. Louis, Missouri. Freight traffic 

continued at the Texarkana yards with the 

Kansas City Southern, Cotton Belt, Missouri 

Pacific, and the Texas & Pacific railroads 

through 2008. 

In October 1972, Amtrak service was 

proposed and $4.1 million was earmarked by 

Congress to develop this new form of passenger 

train service for the United States. The lack of 

passenger train service was not just a local 


problem; it was a nationwide problem that 

called for a national solution. However, 

President Richard Nixon impounded funds, 

ending the Amtrak dream for a time. In 2008, 

Texarkana has sporadic Amtrak service, but the 

service provided is a pale shadow of that once 

enjoyed by Texarkana residents. Today, Union 

Depot on Front Street sits empty and vacant. No 

longer can the excitement of railroads’ golden 

era be seen and heard in Texarkana. 

❖ 

Above: In 1971 passenger train 

service ended in Texarkana for a 

number of years, until Amtrak service 

opened in the area. 


Left: The architecture of the first 

Union Depot was beautiful as well 

as functional. 


Chapter I ✦ 15


CHAPTER II 

N O R OOM AT THE I NN 

When the Texas & Pacific Railroad announced that it would hold a land sale of town lots in their 

proposed city of Texarkana, men came from the surrounding area on horseback to be there on the 

morning of December 8, 1873, when the land sale was held. They camped out during their stay 

because there were no boarding houses, hotels, or apartments in the area—only scattered farmsteads. 

Thus, it was important to build Texarkana’s first hotels quickly to house the people the railroad 

companies knew would follow the laying of their tracks into this East Texas location. During the time 

of Texarkana’s infancy, “hotel” could mean a small establishment of five to ten rooms, or a relatively 

large hotel of fifty rooms. Rooming houses, boarding houses, and rooms in private residences were 

other options available to Texarkana’s early newcomers. 

It was the Cairo & Fulton Railroad and the Texas & Pacific Railroad that built Texarkana’s first two 

hotels. The Cairo & Fulton Railroad built the Marquand House Hotel on East Front Street to house 

railroad passengers, railroad crews, and to act as the “official eating house” of that road. The first 

mention of this two-story timber hotel was in an advertisement in the Gate City News in 1875. The 

proprietors of the hotel were William H. McCartney and H. Boaz. A Mr. Hindman was the caterer of 

the hotel until 1880. Although the precise location of this hotel has been lost over time, it is believed 

to have stood along the north side of East Front Street facing the railyards, either at the corner of 

East Front Street and Pine Street, or, at the corner of East Front Street and Vine Street (later renamed 

Olive Street). 

In 1880, the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad, successor to the Cairo & Fulton 

Railroad, hired Colonel Joseph Huckins to manage the Marquand House Hotel. Huckins brought 

extensive hotel experience to the task from his family’s two generations of hotel management that 

included the Parker House Hotel in Boston, Massachusetts. He was the perfect person to carry the 

railroad’s goals forward in Texarkana. Huckins hired Miss Pauline Stock as the hotel’s cashier, Tom 

Murray as the night clerk, and Colonel Mayne as bookkeeper. It was perhaps Mayne that local 

citizens remembered best with his ever-present menagerie at the hotel. Commercial salesmen who 

frequented the hotel were greatly entertained by everything from the pet deer that occasionally got 

loose and had to be chased down by hotel staff and young boys, to “Sooner” Mayne’s dog. The table 

at the hotel was served “boarding house” style with great heaping platters and bowls of hearty food 

served piping hot for scheduled meals and train arrivals. 

Local newspapers documented that this hotel enjoyed full occupancy most of the time from the 

late 1870s through its demise in 1886. Community functions such as the “Grand Hop” sponsored by 

the Gate City Guards in December 1885, occurred there often and were well attended. This hotel was 

also used for community gatherings to discuss the town’s growth and the need for city ordinances to 

reign in lawless citizens or visitors. 

Colonel Huckins lost favor with railroad officials sometime in late 1885, and they tried to 

terminate his lease before its natural conclusion in February 1886. However, Huckins felt he was in 

the right and stubbornly hung on to his position, with complete community support from citizens 

who couldn’t understand why the railroad was being so perverse in their actions toward Huckins. In 

March 1886, the railroad moved their ticket office and some of the restaurant furniture out of the 

Marquand. At that time they hired C. A. Ginocchio to manage their relocated eating house. The 

Marquand House Hotel remained open, but under siege. Late in March the hotel waiters called a 

strike on Huckins, fearing they were going to lose their jobs if Huckins didn’t give in to the railroad; 

later that month the railroad had the water turned off at the hotel. In early April the railroad took 

Huckins to court, claiming he had violated his contract, and the court agreed. The court appointed 

a receiver and ordered Marquand House Hotel property sold at auction. Subsequently, the sale was 

❖ 


Chapter II ✦ 17

❖ 

Joseph Huckins had extensive hotel 

experience when he was hired by 

the Cairo & Fulton Railroad to 

manage the Marquand House Hotel 

in Texarkana. 


held and the property brought $2,810. By April, 

public opinion had turned, and Colonel 

Huckins was being chastised in the local paper 

to “do his duty” and withdraw from the hotel. 

Railroad authorities had promised to make the 

hotel once again its “official” location on 

Texarkana’s east side, if they could get Huckins 

out. Colonel Huckins finally abandoned the 

Marquard House in mid-April 1886. 

Rumors spread that the railroad was going to 

build a beautiful, new $30,000 depot and hotel 

where the old Marquand sat in the near future. 

Work crews began to tear things out of the 

hotel, bring in new lumber, and generally go 

through motions that Texarkana citizens 

interpreted as proof that a brand new hotel 

would be built. Then, on the afternoon of June 

22, 1886, the Marquand House Hotel burned to 

the ground. Officials believed that arson was the 

cause of this fire. After the ashes cooled, work 

crews came in and cleaned up the lots. The site 

sat vacant for months with rumors flying that 

the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern 

Railroad had let contracts for brick and for a 

contractor to build that wonderful new hotel on 

the site. After a time more interesting news 

stories replaced the saga of the Marquand House 

Hotel, and Texarkana citizens finally gave up 

waiting for the “new” Marquand to be built. 

The second railroad hotel built in early 

Texarkana was located on the west side of town. 

The Texas & Pacific Railroad built the Lyon 

Hotel on the corner of West Front Street 

and State Street (later renamed Main Street). It 

was located opposite the Texas & Pacific 

passenger depot, and Raymond Herz was the 

proprietor. A newspaper advertisement in the 

Gate City News of 1875 noted that the Lyon was 

the “official railroad eating house” of the Texas 

& Pacific road and was run on the European 

plan, which provided lodging and service, 

excluding meals. This hotel was of timber 

construction and is only mentioned in the 1875 

newspaper. There is no additional information 

on this early hotel. 

The third hotel mentioned in early Texarkana 

was the Apex Hotel. Very little is known 

about this hotel because it is only mentioned 

in early newspapers in connection with other 

hotels, or directions to other sites. It was 

located in the downtown area and near the 

Texas side train depot, but, other than that, 

information is nonexistent. 

Texarkana’s fourth hotel of note was the 

Cosmopolitan Hotel. John B. (or V.) Davis bought 

the lots on the southwest corner of Block 28, of 

Texarkana, Texas, on which the Cosmopolitan 

Hotel was later built, at the land sale of December 

8, 1873. Davis built a timber hotel he named 

“The Cosmopolitan Hotel” in 1876. William H. 

McCartney, a former railroad engineer, moved his 

family to Texarkana in 1874 from Missouri and, 

once in town, he quit the railroad and became the 

manager of the Marquand House Hotel and, later, 

the Apex Hotel. In 1878, McCartney bought the 

Cosmopolitan Hotel from Davis, and he and his 

family ran the hotel from 1878 to 1887. 

McCartney was also a partner in the clothing firm 

of Marx and McCartney before going into the 

hotel business completely. In November 1885, 

John Davis sued McCartney to regain one-half 

interest in the Cosmopolitan, which by then had 

become a Texarkana landmark. While the lower 

court decided in McCartney’s favor, the Texas 

Supreme Court decided Davis was due more 

money for his interest in the Cosmopolitan Hotel. 

McCartney’s Cosmopolitan Hotel was known far 

and wide for its comfortable rooms, well-laid 

eating table, and its “family” atmosphere. 

Late in 1886, McCartney began making 

improvements on the sidewalks around the 

hotel and adding beautiful new awnings which 


ightened up the fading exterior considerably. 

However, by early 1887, he had decided that to 

be competitive with other Texarkana hotels, 

he should build a “new” Cosmopolitan. Thus, 

in March 1887, he let the contract for a threestory 

brick hotel with forty-five to fifty rooms, 

water, and electric lights. It would be a 

“modern,” first-class establishment that would 

be a credit to himself and Texarkana. In April 

the old Cosmopolitan was demolished and 

foundations were dug for his new hotel. Mr. 

McKlemurry was the contractor on the project 

which, once completed, was the tallest structure 

around for quite a distance. William H. 

McCartney died in 1897, leaving his wife Anna 

and his son William A. McCartney to run the 

hotel until Anna’s death in 1918. After that time 

William ran the hotel on his own until it was 

demolished in 1930. 

Texarkana’s Benefield Hotel was built in 1874 

by Captain J. M. Benefield on two lots at 218 

and 220 West Broad Street, near the corner of 

West Broad Street and Maple Street (later 

renamed Texas Boulevard), soon after he and his 

family arrived in town. Benefield was born in 

Missouri in 1837 and married Kate Talkington 

in Arkansas around 1865. He and his wife had 

one child, a daughter, Alice T. Benefield. The 

Benefield Hotel was described as being “not very 

large, but comfortable.” The 1885 Sanborn Fire 

Insurance Map for Texarkana, Texas, shows that 

the hotel occupied space about fifty feet wide 

and sixty feet deep, in two, twenty-five feet wide 

store fronts divided by stairs leading up to the 

buildings’ second floors. The downstairs area on 

the east side was dedicated to the hotel’s office 

and dining room, while the space west of the 

stairs housed a barber shop and grocery store. 

Guest rooms were located on the second floor 

and probably wound through buildings from 

218 through 222 West Broad Street. The map 

showed the hotel’s kitchen and work area off the 

back of the eastern-most building, facing the 

alley. In June 1885, the Benefield Hotel staff was 

readying the hotel for a reception following 

Alice Benefield’s marriage to local Judge Richard 

Bartlett. Sadly, Alice died within two years of 

her marriage. 

The Benefield Hotel gained the reputation of 

being Texarkana’s “Gretna Green” for marriages 

of young couples coming in on the train, getting 

married, sometimes without parental consent, 

and either going home, or starting their new 

lives in Texarkana. In May 1886, Captain 

Benefield contemplated getting an “official” 

marriage register to record all the ceremonies 

that occurred at his hotel. 

In June 1886, Captain Benefield bought 

several lots at the corner of Maple Street and W. 

Broad Street, west of the current location of his 

hotel, with plans to construct a new three-story 

hotel that would include fifty guest rooms. 

Workmen cleared the lots, and brick for the 

project arrived. However, the workmen were 

diverted to the area behind the old Benefield 

Hotel on July 1 to rescue a horse that had fallen 

down an open well there, the second horse to do 

so within a month. The New Benefield Hotel 

was completed in September 1886 and opened 

to rave revues. Commercial travelers loved the 

new furnishings and the beautiful registration 

desk. The lobby was beautifully appointed and 

functioned well as a gathering place. Benefield 

continued to update his new hotel by adding 

incandescent lights and new awnings. The 

Grand Eastern Ball was held at the New 

Benefield Hotel at the end of March in 1887. 

The New Benefield Hotel served Texarkana well 

until about 1900, when its name was changed to 

the Randolf Hotel for about ten years; then the 

name was changed back to the Benefield Hotel. 

❖ 

The New Benefield Hotel was located 

at the corner of West Broad Street and 

Maple Street, and was grand and 

spacious in its layout. 

COURTESY OF BILL SHARP. 

Chapter II ✦ 19

❖ 

Above: The lobby of Hotel Grim could 

only be described as elegant 

and fashionable. 


Below: The construction site of Hotel 

Grim had formerly been the site of the 

“Airdome,” an open air theater. 


This hotel served Texarkana until 1956 when 

fire destroyed the top two floors, and, today, 

the remaining floor of the old hotel occupies 

the corner lot at Texas Boulevard and West 

Broad Street. 

Texarkana’s fifth hotel can be traced back to 

Colonel J. H. Draughon. The Draughon House 

Hotel was built by Colonel Draughon on Block 

76 of Texarkana, Arkansas, sometime prior to 

1884. In the early spring of 1884, the Texarkana 

Daily Independent noted that Draughon was 

having the hotel completely remodeled and that 

he had purchased all new furniture for the hotel 

that would arrive very soon. At the time of this 

announcement, Hank Best and a Mr. Blake were 

managing the hotel for Draughon. A Mr. 

Anderson served as the hotel’s restaurant 

manager, and it was noted that he got fresh 

seafood daily from Galveston, Texas, by train. 

The hotel catered to commercial travelers and 

its rates were $2 and $2.50 per day. 

In the fall of 1884 the Draughon House 

Hotel’s name was changed to the Arlington 

Hotel by Colonel Draughon. Plans were made to 

have a grand reopening on January 7, 1885. 

More than one thousand invitations were 

sent out to this gala event and Draughon hired 

new staff from large hotels in St. Louis, 

Missouri, and Chicago, Illinois, who knew just 

how to make hotel patrons feel pampered 

and welcome. The dining room and lobby 

were described as follows: “The papering is 

of gold tint and the border is wide and beautiful, 

and are evenly and well put on by the Messieurs 

DePrato. In the hall are ten large mirrors, 

each seven feet high, and mounted on Tennessee 

marble basements. The mirrors are splendid 

and reflect perfectly. In the front of the hall a 

space of fifteen feet is handsomely picketed off 

the full width of the room, which is to be 

handsomely carpeted and filled with perpetual 

blooming hot house plants. The elegant silver 


coffee urn will be mounted on a pure marble 

slab, and all the furniture is new and 

handsome.” The hotel bar, described as 

“The hole in the wall” by Editor E. A. Warren of 

the Daily Texarkana Independent, was “one of 

the handsomest bar rooms Warren had ever 

seen. “A real little beauty and chuck full of the 

choicest liquors.” 

In May 1885, Colonel Draughon sold the 

Arlington Hotel, along with a number of other 

choice properties in Texarkana, to Mr. A. 

Goldberg. Goldberg set hotel prices at $2.00 per 

day, or $25 per month, and named Captain C. E. 

Dixon manager. In June, Dixon closed the hotel’s 

restaurant until September 1, 1885, while it was 

being remodeled; however, it appeared that the 

hotel continued to accept guests. Editor Warren 

often commented in the newspaper regarding 

the Arlington’s consistently high occupancy rates 

throughout the summer of 1885, and it appeared 

that renovations were nearly complete when 

Texarkana’s greatest disaster struck in the 

early morning hours of August 21, 1885. A 

terrible fire began in second-floor rooms over the 

hotel’s restaurant undergoing remodeling. From 

Warren’s newspaper account of the fire, it 

was spectacular in its devastation, destroying 

all frame buildings on Block 76, along with 

nearly half of the buildings in every surrounding 

block. Arson was suspected, but nothing was 

ever proven. For a time the owners assured 

Texarkana citizens that the hotel would be 

rebuilt, even bigger and better than before; 

however, that never happened. Captain Dixon 

was injured in the fire and after he regained 

his health, he turned to other projects and 

away from the hotel business. Mr. Goldberg 

also seemed to fade into obscurity after the 

Arlington burned. 

The Auburn House Hotel was another of 

Texarkana’s early hotels, built sometime prior to 

1884. An advertisement in the Daily Texarkana 

Independent of September 12, 1884, let citizens 

know that this hotel, located on E. Broad Street, 

had a full restaurant where meals could be 

obtained for twenty-five cents. The manager was 

E. C. Donnelly, who set room rates at 75 cents 

per day or $4.50 per week. In August 1885, the 

Auburn House Hotel was being “thoroughly 

repainted, overhauled, and refurnished.” It was 

to reopen on August 21, 1885. The terrible 

fire that claimed the Arlington Hotel also 

claimed the Auburn House Hotel. Donnelly 

lost more than $10,000 in this fire, and, 

while he said he would rebuild this hotel and 

his other businesses after the fire, he never did. 

From October 1885 onward, Donnelly’s name 

became associated with his real estate business, 

❖ 

The lots on which Hotel Grim was 

built were prominently located at the 

junction of Pine Street, State Line 

Avenue, and West Third Street. 


Chapter II ✦ 21

❖ 

Joseph Huckins’ mammoth Huckins 

House Hotel stood at the corner of 

East Front Street and Pine Street, and 

was later known as Hotel Savoy. 


one of Texarkana’s earliest such businesses, and 

he began building “cottages” to fill the need for 

residences in the city. 

The Behan Hotel was one of the hotels that 

sprang up after the “Great Fire” to fill the 

continuing need for accommodations in 

Texarkana. Construction of this hotel began on 

May 28, 1886, and the second-story and roof 

were completed on July 20, 1886. The hotel was 

located near the narrow-gauge freight depot on 

the Texas side of town. When it was completed, 

Behan sold the hotel to W. M. Wood of New 

Orleans for $9,500. The next newspaper 

mention of Mr. Behan was on September 17, 

1886, when he was awarded the one-year lease 

to run the West Side Water Works for $2,150. 

Dr. Henry M. Beidler was one of Texarkana’s 

early builders and entrepreneurs. He is known 

for building Park Beidler, a housing addition to 

the city where its early water works was located, 

and an “electric belt,” his invention that 

promised good health and vigor when the 

customer wore it faithfully. Beidler was also 

responsible for a downtown hotel named the 

Beidler Hotel. It was thought to have been 

located in “Beidler Block,” a multi-story 

building built to house several businesses and 

the hotel. Construction of the hotel began in 

June 1885 with his purchase of fifty-thousand 

feet of lumber and was completed by September 

1885. Hotel patrons complained that the area 

around the hotel was a “hog wallow” and that 

the area did not smell like Cape Jessamines. The 

Beidler Hotel caught fire on February 5, 1887, 

but little damage was done, and Dr. Beidler 

thanked Texarkana’s firemen for their prompt 

attention to saving his property. After this, 

Beidler’s name was more associated with real 

estate in Texarkana and his fight with the Iron 

Mountain Railroad over ownership of several 

important downtown lots. Dr. Beidler served as 

Texarkana’s mayor for a time and was also 

instrumental in starting the cities’ water works, 

street railway, and electric lighting system. His 

hotel was not mentioned after the fire in 1887 

and it is believed he probably sold the building 

to someone else about that time. 

Another interesting early Texarkana hotel was 

the Tivoli Hotel and Restaurant. Mr. M. Ash and 

a Mr. Lewyn were the proprietors of this hotel in 

March 1886. This hotel had a restaurant and 

front desk area located at the street level, but 

guest rooms were located on the second floor 

over Mayor Dorrian’s new brick building located 

on the corner, and over Lightfoot’s Drug Store. 

The hotel was described as being “elegant,” with 

new and stylish carpeting and furniture, an 

attractive and clean dining room where “tables 

were loaded down with all the substantials and 

delicacies of the season.” It appeared that this 

hotel was not new in March 1886, but had 

perhaps enjoyed a surge of business after the 

disastrous fire in August 1885 that destroyed a 

number of other hotels. In May 1886, the 

proprietor, Mr. Ash, committed a “faux pas” of 

some sort in his dealings with a female guest of 

the hotel. His action, though unidentified, “was 

most shameful and very properly deserves the 

condemnation of our citizens.” By June 9, 1886, 

the hotel and restaurant were up for sale, and the 

notice said that it was the “best paying 

establishment in town, with a clear profit of 

$25.00 per day.” Messrs. Hobbs and Northcut 

bought the Tivoli on July 23, 1886, and 

promised to “continue the business in first-class 

style.” Editor Warren of the Daily Texarkana 

Independent said that both of these men had 

extensive hotel experience and he knew they 

would do all in their power to make Tivoli guests 

feel welcome. Unfortunately, success was not to 

be for the Tivoli and on September 17, 1886, the 

furniture and fixtures were auctioned off. The 

Tivoli was not mentioned again after that sale. 

Texarkana’s Commercial Hotel, located 

opposite the Texas and St. Louis Depot, was also 


an early hotel. It is believed this hotel was built 

around 1885, but it could have been in place as 

early as 1880, depending on whether an 1880 

newspaper article that included “a commercial 

hotel” actually meant “The Commercial Hotel.” J. 

W. Davidson managed this hotel, which catered 

to commercial travelers of all kinds, and it was 

the first hotel to publish a list of those registered 

at the hotel and their home cities. In July 1886 

the hotel had thirteen guests, in August it had 

twenty-seven, and in January 1887, it had 

twenty-six. The newspaper advertisement for 

this hotel said that “its tables are always supplied 

with the best, the rooms are comfortable, and 

everything is done to contribute to the comfort 

and convenience of guests.” Room rates at the 

Commercial Hotel were $1.50 and $2 per day, 

with special rates for “day boarders,” train 

travelers who had long layovers before the next 

leg of their travel began. This hotel was also the 

scene of an ongoing tragedy when a Mr. McGee 

committed suicide at the hotel, and later, when 

his sister, a Mrs. Wyatt, came to investigate what 

had happened to her brother, hoping to take his 

remains home to Rison, Arkansas, for burial. 

Local officials discouraged Mrs. Wyatt from 

taking her brother’s body before their 

investigation into his death was completed; 

therefore, she left town unsatisfied. 

The Southern Cottage was part hotel and part 

boarding house. This entity began as Mrs. 

Shean’s Boarding House, but in September 

1886, was expanded and remodeled to handle 

overflow resulting from the big fire. Proprietor 

of Southern Cottage was Mrs. Captain Mat 

White of Prescott, Arkansas, and it was 

managed by Mrs. S. B. Shutt. The Cottage was 

described as “reminding one more of an elegant 

southern home, surrounded by flowers, luxuries 

and conveniences.” The rooms had been newly 

furnished and were large and well ventilated 

with a southern exposure. The bathrooms had 

hot and cold water, and the table “could not be 

excelled in the city.” Staying at the Southern 

Cottage must have been like visiting a relative. 

An earlier injustice in Texarkana hotel business 

was righted on March 26, 1887, when Colonel 

Joseph Huckins got even with the Iron Mountain 

Railroad for dumping him as manager of the 

Marquand House Hotel. It was on that morning 

that Huckins opened his own grand hotel at the 

corner of Pine Street and E. Front Street, just 

across from the depot. It was a modern, four-story 

beauty with 150 rooms, dining room, barber 

shop, laundry, and fully-functioning kitchen. The 

front entry of this large hotel faced the depot and 

seemed to welcome train travelers with its multistoried 

guest room wings. The front portico was 

stacked three-stories high and there was no doubt 

that the interior was elegant. Huckins ran his 

Huckins House Hotel on the American plan, 

which included lodging, service, and meals. 

Rooms with a private bath rented for $2 per day 

while rooms without a bath rented for $1.50 per 

day. Huckins’ new hotel quickly gave the other 

hotels in town stiff competition, because this hotel 

man meant business! Colonel Huckins allied 

himself with national hotelier organizations and 

often contributed articles in their trade journals. 

The Huckins House Hotel remained in the 

❖ 

The Avenue Hotel was located on 

State Line Avenue between Fourth 

Street and the Post Office Building. 

Its grand entry can still be seen 

among the storefronts. 


Chapter II ✦ 23

❖ 

Above: Hotel Holman had uniformed 

bell boys and a bell captain to keep 

things running smoothly. 


Below: William A. McCartney, Sr., 

owner of Hotel McCartney, was the 

son of William H. McCartney, owner 

of the earlier Cosmopolitan Hotel. 


Huckins family under the management of Colonel 

Huckins’ sons, Paul G. Huckins and Joseph 

Huckins, Jr. The Huckins family sold their hotel 

to L. Sol Feinberg in the 1940s, and this family 

ran the hotel as “Hotel Savoy” until 1980, when 

the hotel was demolished to make room for the 

Bi-State Criminal Justice Building. Huckins’ 

wonderful hotel served travelers in Texarkana for 

nearly a century. 

Other early hotels included the Bickham 

House Hotel, located at 213-215 Vine Street, El 

Paso Hotel located at 403 West Broad Street, 

Hurt House Hotel located at 222 ½ East Broad 

Street, McClure House Hotel, located at 305 ½ 

East Broad Street, Silver Moon Hotel located at 

217 West Broad Street, Vaughan House Hotel, 

located at 402 Maple Street and the Avenue 

Hotel in the four-hundred block of State Line 

Avenue. All of these were documented in the 

1899-1900 Texarkana City Directory. 

Between 1907 and 1910, Thomas J. Brock 

built a three-story hotel at the corner of W. Third 

Street and State Street (later renamed Main 

Street). He called his hotel the Brockhaus, and its 

location next to the Grand Opera House made it 

a popular site in the city. This unusual hotel was 

built in a unique style with two three-story 

buildings linked by a joining hallway, making the 

resulting structure “U” shaped. A continuous 

portico surrounded three sides of the building 

that contained fifty guest rooms. The guest-room 

wings had been built to take advantage of crossventilation 

through the windows in the days of 

Texarkana’s sweltering summers without air 

conditioning. The hotel’s lobby was large, with 

the main desk near the staircase to the upper 

floors. In the center of the lobby sat a round 

bench seat with a conical, padded center and 

heavily cushioned seat. Its gracefully curved legs 

made the bench look like it could walk in any 

direction. By 1920 the Brockhaus name had been 

changed to Hotel Holman. Frank Dodge was the 

hotel’s owner at that time. By 1931, Clarence K. 

Faison and his wife, Mary V., had purchased 

Hotel Holman, and it remained in their family 

until it was demolished in 1979 or 1980. 

Perhaps the two most iconic hotels in 

downtown Texarkana were the Hotel Grim and 

the Hotel McCartney. Hotel Grim, named for 

William Rhoads Grim, a banker affiliated with 

Texarkana National Bank, a railroad man who 

served as president of the Louisiana & Arkansas 

Railroad, and later as a director for the Kansas 

City Southern Railroad, and a lumber man with 

business interests intertwined with those of James 

and William Buchanan. Grim died on January 2, 

1924, while business leaders were working on a 

project to give Texarkana the grand hotel it 

deserved. They decided that the new hotel 

should carry Grim’s name. Hotel Grim was 

designed by the architectural firm of George R. 

Mann, E. J. Stern, and A. N. McAnich, who 

designed an eight-story building with 250 guest 

rooms, constructed of reinforced concrete with 

reinforced concrete floor slabs supported on 

beams of the same construction. This building 

was “V” shaped, with one side extending down 

Pine Street and the other down State Line Avenue 


etween Third and Fourth Streets. The hotel’s 

main entrance was on State Line Avenue and 

opened into a beautiful lobby with walls of Caen 

stone and wainscoting of rich Kascota marble 

with a black Belgian marble base. The floor was 

of white Alabama marble laid in a basket-weave 

pattern. Ceiling panels were decorated in dull 

red, old gold, ivory, pale blue, and mottled 

amber. Hotel guests were always impressed by 

their grand surroundings at the Grim. 

Food service at Hotel Grim offered a main 

dining room: Palm Court, where afternoon teas, 

bridge games, and small parties could be held; 

the Coffee Shop, where black Carara glass tops 

supported glass pastry cases full of mouthwatering 

pies and cakes; and the Roof Garden 

where elegant entertainments could be held for 

local groups or hotel guests. The hotel’s ballroom 

was located on the eighth floor and extended 

across the front of the hotel from Pine Street to 

State Line Avenue. Many famous bands of the 

day played in this ballroom, including Tommy 

Dorsey’s band. Guest needs were seen to by bell 

boys wearing uniforms of Cadet Gray trimmed 

with black braid and blue piping. Pages wore 

bright blue uniforms with shiny brass buttons, 

and waitresses were clad in stiff white uniforms 

trimmed in apple green. Hotel Grim was “THE” 

place to stay in Texarkana during its glory days, 

and the hotel served Texarkana from 1925 to 

October 1990, when it closed. 

The Hotel McCartney replaced the earlier 

Cosmopolitan Hotel at the foot of State Line 

Avenue, across Front Street from Texarkana’s grand 

Union Station. This ten-story hotel, designed by 

Joseph Finger, was built in 1930 at a cost of 

$500,000. One-hundred twenty-five guest rooms 

awaited train travelers with beautiful, functional 

furniture and comfortable beds. The hotel’s lobby 

opened onto three streets: State Line Avenue, West 

Front Street, and Main Street. Large banquet halls 

and a grill on the ground floor served tasty meals 

under the direction of a most capable chef. The 

lobby had massive, fluted columns and an inset 

ceiling. Metallic decorations in silver, gold, and 

blue complemented the wainscoting of Grand Isle 

Fleiri Marble. William A. McCartney, son of 

William H. McCartney, affiliated with the 

Cosmopolitan and Marquand hotels, was the 

owner of this beautiful new hotel. The motto he 

selected for his new hotel reflected his family’s 

decades in the hotel business here in Texarkana. 

“You’ll always find real old southern hospitality at 

Hotel McCartney.” The McCartney was nearly selfcontained 

and became a jewel in Texarkana’s 

commercial crown during its heyday. Hotel 

McCartney served the city well from 1930 to 1970. 

Texarkana had numerous other hotels during 

the busy years of railroad transportation. 

However, by the mid- to late 1950s, private 

automobile travel on the nation’s expanding 

network of highways and superhighways led to 

the decline of downtown hotel patronage. As a 

result, motels along the highways replaced 

hotels in the city’s core, and Texarkana’s grand 

hotels became vacant structures haunting the 

city’s skyline. 

❖ 

Above: Mr. John D. Hazlett became 

the first manager of the Hotel Grim. 

Groundbreaking ceremonies featured 

a set of twins from the Arkansas side 

of Texarkana, and one from the Texas 

side of town. 


Below: Hotel Grim was named after 

William Rhoads Grim when it opened 

in 1925. 


Chapter II ✦ 25


CHAPTER III 

G UIDING THE F LOCK 

Texarkana’s rough and tumble beginnings certainly created a rich field of work for religious 

denominations and their preachers. The predominantly male population of the city in its earliest 

years spawned gambling houses, barrooms, and brothels. For a time, citizens clasped hands with 

those who made their livings in these businesses, but, as single men married and created families, the 

need for community rules and regulations took over. Very quickly a dozen congregations were 

created with wholehearted social support and encouragement. 

The first mention of Texarkana’s religious denominations was in the Gate City News of January 

2, 1875, about one year after the town was founded. One notice said that there would be a Mass 

at the Catholic Church on January 3, at 10 o’clock, and services every Wednesday, Friday, and 

Saturday evening during Lent. The second notice said that services at the Methodist church 

on January 3 would be held morning and evening, with Sunday school scheduled at 2:30 

that afternoon. 

Another very early source on the birth of religious denominations in Texarkana was a series of 

“Reminiscences” printed in the Daily Texarkana Independent of February 16, 23, 25, and March 1, 

1886, under the pen name “Forest Little.” The editor of the newspaper never identified this writer, 

but his information was not questioned by readers at the time; thus, he must have been a fairly 

accurate source. 

Little said that the first church building erected in Texarkana was a timber building at the corner 

of Vine Street (later renamed Olive Street) and Drennon Street (later renamed Sixth Street). It was 

first owned by the Methodist-Episcopal Church, South, and may be the building noted in the Gate 

City News article of January 2, 1875. Reverend Charles Goldberg, pastor of this church, also ran a 

school in this church building because there was not a school building in Texarkana in the mid- to 

late 1870s. This building suffered a terrible storm in its early days that shook it off its foundations, 

giving both the children and the teacher a good scare. Because this church building was far from the 

center of town, it was eventually sold to the African-American Methodists, who continued to use it 

for some time. 

The new Methodist-Episcopal Church, South, was located at the corner of State Line Avenue and 

Forest Street (later renamed Fourth Street). Reverend Mr. Sewell was the preacher Forest Little 

remembered as being the first one, or at least one of the earliest. This church, when founded, was 

part of a circuit and received preaching only once or twice a month. Members of this church were 

part of the congregation that built the first Methodist-Episcopal Church at the corner of Vine and 

Drennon streets. Ed Blair was one of the circuit preachers who ministered to this flock as it was 

building the new church building in 1877. Reverend Mr. Walker served two terms as pastor of this 

church—one in 1878 and again in 1885. Walker was relatively inexperienced in the ministry when 

he first came to town, and Texarkana’s worldliness made his position difficult. In 1879 Reverend Mr. 

Fuller, a more seasoned pastor, was sent to succeed Mr. Walker here. Fuller went to work “setting in 

order the cosmopolitan elements filling up the town.” According to Forest Little, Fuller experienced 

many privations and hardships that he kept to himself, even from his congregations. Under his 

leadership in 1880, a parsonage and a house were built near the new church. In 1881, Fuller was 

replaced by Reverend Shea, and in 1882, Shea was replaced by Reverend Worley. In 1883 Reverend 

Mr. Mountcastle served two years in this church and was replaced in 1886 by Walker, who by then 

was more seasoned and able to handle challenges. The Methodist-Episcopal Church, South, was a 

frame building with double spires at the front, which caused it to be known in town as the “twohorned 

church.” In 1881 the double spires were taken down and replaced by a cupola and spire 

above the main door. Between 1881 and 1886, the interior of this church was greatly improved and 

❖ 


Chapter III ✦ 27

❖ 

Above: Central Methodist Church was 

located at the intersection of West 

Fourth Street and State Line Avenue. 


Below: The Methodist-Episcopal 

Church, South, was a beautiful brick 

building with magnificent stained 

glass windows. 


ornamented. In 1903, under the supervision of 

Reverend O. T. Hotchkiss, a new, brick church 

building was built. It was a grand edifice that 

graced the downtown area, with magnificent 

stained-glass windows and a central bell tower 

over the main entrance. On the building’s west 

corner was a Norman tower that housed the 

building’s secondary entrance. This beautiful 

building served the congregation until 1959, 

when it was demolished to make room for the 

building now standing on this corner. 

In 1902 the General Conference of the 

Methodist-Episcopal Church met in Dallas, Texas, 

and decreed that a First Methodist Church should 

be built on Texarkana’s east side. Dr. James 

Thomas was named as pastor of the new church, 

and he called his first meeting of interested 

citizens on December 14, 1902, in the Miller 

County Courthouse. A charter membership of 

fifteen people initially met in the synagogue of 

Mount Sinai Congregation as they made plans for 

their new building to be erected on the corner of 

E. Fourth Street and Laurel Streets. The first 

service was conducted in the new church on June 

16, 1904. This beautiful church had dramatic 

interior woodwork and huge stained-glass 

windows that added dramatic flair to the Quality 

Hill neighborhood. Unfortunately, this building 

was destroyed by fire in the early 2000s; however, 

the congregation banded together and decided to 

rebuild their church to look like the one that 

burned. Even the gorgeous stained-glass windows 

have been restored. 

Catholic services began very early in the 

Texarkana area with priests coming from 

Galveston, Texas, to administer the Sacraments 

of baptism, matrimony, and burial. It was also 

recorded in Catholic archives that the second 

bishop of Galveston, the Right Reverend C.M. 

Dubuis, D.D., visited the Texarkana area on 

October 8, 1871. The first mass celebrated in 


Texarkana, Texas, was held in a small building 

located on the lots where the Hotel McCartney 

was later built. Father Theodore Bufford, a 

native of France, celebrated this mass and 

became the first pastor of Sacred Heart Catholic 

Church. Until an actual church building was 

erected, the Catholic flock met in the homes of 

Colonel R. W. Rodgers, Mrs. Thomas Daley, and 

James O’Brien. They also met in the 

Cosmopolitan Hotel, once it had been built, and 

in Richie’s Hall. Sacred Heart Church was 

completed late in December 1874. The first 

Sacred Heart building was built on lots donated 

by Colonel Rodgers and his wife, Frances, on 

Spruce Street, between W. Broad Street and 

Clinton Street (W. Third Street). This building 

was a combination church and school, housing 

St. Agnes Academy, under the supervision of the 

Sisters of St. Agnes, originally of Fond du Lac, 

Wisconsin, which was founded in 1858. Father 

Bufford was replaced by Reverend P.A. Levy, also 

a native of France, in 1879. Father Alexis Barbin 

replaced Father Levy in 1889 or 1890. Barbin 

was a native of Lyon, France, and served as 

pastor of Sacred Heart until 1904. He died in 

December 1905 and was buried in Sacred Heart 

Cemetery on Texas Boulevard. The first Sacred 

Heart Church building served the congregation 

from 1874 to 1890. 

The second Sacred Heart Church building 

was erected in 1890 on the site of the earlier 

one. It was a single-story, brick structure with a 

basement. It had a center doorway surmounted 

by a cross, and above that stood the steeple with 

its magnificent bell. Beautiful stained-glass 

windows surrounded the sanctuary on three 

sides, one of which was donated in memory of 

❖ 

Above: The second Sacred Heart 

Catholic Church building was located 

on Spruce Street between W. Third 

Street and W. Fourth Street. 


Below: The Sacred Heart Church bell 

had a clear and recognizable “voice.” 


Chapter III ✦ 29

❖ 

The Old School Presbyterian Church 

was located on Clinton Street (W. 

Third) between Maple Street (Texas 

Boulevard) and Spruce Street. 


Reverend Alexius Barbin. In 1904, 

Reverend Edward F. Campbell came to 

replace Father Barbin and remained at 

his post here until 1909. In 1908, 

Father James M. Hayes was appointed 

pastor of Sacred Heart. Hayes was 

responsible for extensive renovations to 

Sacred Heart Rectory and in bringing 

the Ursuline Nuns in to oversee Sacred 

Heart Academy. Father Hayes served 

Sacred Heart from 1908 to 1914, when 

Reverend P. Boniface, O.S.B., assumed 

his duties at Sacred Heart and remained 

at the church until 1917. Right 

Reverend William F. O’Brien served as 

pastor of Sacred Heart from 1918 to 

1948. In later years Sacred Heart 

Catholic Church moved out of 

downtown Texarkana to the suburbs on 

Elizabeth Street. 

The third Texarkana church 

mentioned by Forest Little was the Old 

School Presbyterian Church which was located on 

the Texas side of the city, between Maple Street 

(Texas Boulevard) and Spruce Street, on Clinton 

Street (Third Street). There was a controversy 

among Presbyterians beginning about 1837 that 

resulted in the designations of “New School” and 

“Old School.” The split originated in the Second 

Great Awakening, and, by the late 1830s, the 

purpose of Presbyterianism was being questioned. 

The “Old School” side believed that the Plan of 

Union (1801) compromised the polity and 

theology of their church and associated their 

church too closely with Congregationalism. The 

“New School” side was nationalistic in its view 

and promoted church revivals as well as moral 

reforms such as temperance and abolition. In 

1876 a minister from somewhere in Texas, whose 

name has been lost, came to Texarkana and held a 

series of meetings, gaining a number of converts 

to the Old School Presbyterian theology, which, at 

that time, did not exist in town. In late 1877, Mr. 

W.F. Howison came from Missouri and preached 

for about a year, and was then succeeded 

by Reverend Mr. Wiggins, who was still pastor 

of this church in 1886, when Forest Little wrote 

his reminiscences. 

Reverend Charles Goldberg, of the Methodist- 

Episcopal Church sometimes filled the pulpit of 

the Old School Presbyterian Church when it was 

vacant, and it was he who organized a 

Cumberland Presbyterian (New School) Church 

that built their sanctuary where the skating rink 

stood in 1886 on the Arkansas side of town. 

Goldberg served as Texarkana’s general missionary 

in the days before individual congregations formed 

to follow specific religious tenets. He was a 

wonderful Christian man who had been raised in 

a Jewish family in Warsaw, Poland, in the 1830s. 

Goldberg’s father was a rabbi, and, after his death, 

Charles stowed away on a ship bound for the 

United States, arriving here in 1840, knowing no 

one. Goldberg became an itinerant Presbyterian 

minister who finally settled in Texarkana, where he 

ministered to all of its citizens in many ways. He 

was personally involved in the formation of both 

the Old School Presbyterian Church and later the 

Cumberland Presbyterian Church. 

Eventually, Goldberg secured lots where the 

skating rink had been, near an abandoned 

graveyard, and built a box meeting house, 

fronting on the south on Sixth Street, near the 

middle of the block. He used this structure as 

both a school and a church house. However, a 

Mr. Woodward, manager of the stockyards, had 

purchased the same block. Many hard feelings 

and harsh words were exchanged by the parties, 

but since the church’s title had been issued by 

the local land agent for the railroad, and 


Woodward’s title had been issued by the general 

land office at Little Rock, it appeared the two 

parties were at a standoff. Woodward prevailed, 

and Goldberg, at considerable expense, moved 

his church building to the corner of Sixth and 

Laurel streets. Shortly thereafter, Goldberg gave 

his resignation in 1881, and Mr. Braley was sent 

under missionary appointment to this church, 

where he served until 1882. Braley’s tenure here 

was plagued by failure and disappointment, 

and, in 1883 or 1884, the membership of this 

church, citing the remoteness of their building 

from the center of town, determined to sell 

the church building and look for something 

more suitable. The property at Sixth and 

Laurel was sold to Messrs. Cook & Bro., 

who remodeled the building and occupied it as 

a residence at least through 1886. Mr. Braley 

was succeeded by Reverend Mr. Awalt who 

served two miserable years and was unable 

to either build up the congregation or secure 

a new house of worship. At the time Forest 

Little wrote his reminiscences, this church was 

still floundering. 

Interestingly, the Old School Presbyterian 

Church building became the spawning ground 

for the formation of the Baptists, Jews, and other 

denominations in Texarkana through their 

generous loaning policy on the use of their 

building. After the Methodist-Episcopal Church 

sold their building at the corner of Vine and 

Drennon streets, this congregation met in the 

Old School Presbyterian Church on Clinton 

Street. During that time Reverend Mr. Blair was 

pastor. Baptists held a revival meeting in the 

Presbyterian church building in 1877 under the 

direction of Elder T. N. Coleman. After that 

meeting, the Baptist church here was organized. 

About the same time, Rabbi Wise, of the Mount 

❖ 

Above: First Presbyterian Church of 

Texarkana, Texas, was located on 

State Street (Main Street) and West 

Fifth Street. 


Below: First Presbyterian Church of 

Texarkana, Arkansas, stands at the 

corner of Pecan Street and East 

Sixth Street. 


Chapter III ✦ 31

❖ 

Above: The second church building for 

the Pine Street First Baptist Church 

was completed in 1900s. 


Sinai Congregation, held lecture in the 

Presbyterian church building for local Jews. 

Forest Little noted that the local Baptist 

congregation dated back to 1874 or 1875, when 

a first attempt to organize was made and this 

group met in the Methodist-Episcopal Church 

at the corner of Vine and Drennon streets. 

Reverend Dr. Lewis came here from Jefferson, 

Texas, to serve as pastor for a time. Difficulties 

arose between Lewis and a member of the 

church, Elder Ridlin, causing this Baptist 

congregation to dissolve. Then in 1877, Elder 

T. N. Coleman held a meeting in the Old 

School Presbyterian Church and got a new 

congregation started. Elder James Franklin 

Shaw was called to be pastor of that group. 

Membership growth caused this congregation to 

move to Professor J. D. Cook’s school house 

located near State Street (Main Street), between 

West Front and West Broad Streets. In 1877 Eli 

Moores donated a lot to the Baptists located on 

Pine Street, between Forest Street (Fourth 

Street) and Moores Street (Fifth Street) on the 

Texas side of town for the sum of $5.00. A frame 

building, (28 by 40 feet) was built on the lot 

and completed by January 5, 1878. An organ 

was purchased for the church on March 2, 

1878, at a cost of $200. The congregation held 

Christmas services in the unfinished church 

building in 1877. The Baptists were again struck 

by inner conflict between 1876 and 1880, 

ending with the coming of Elder H. B. Pender of 

Right: First Baptist Church members 

gathered on the church steps for a 

photograph in the 1920s. 



Gilmer, Texas, who remained the pastor of this 

church until 1884, when he accepted a call to 

the church in Greenville, Texas. Elder G. A. 

Moffatt succeeded Pender. 

Robert A. Baker, author of Her Walls Before 

Thee Stand (1977) gives a slightly different 

version of the founding of the Baptist church on 

Pine Street. He says that a group that met in 

1877 at the Presbyterian Church 

were members of the Mt. Pisgah 

Baptist Church. J. M. Renfro was 

pastor of Mt. Pisgah church and 

fifteen members of his 

congregation were there to 

organize Texarkana’s Baptist 

Church: Thomas S. Collins, 

Rebecka Collins, Eliza Collins, A. 

C. Hill, Elizabeth Mahone, Miss 

C. M. Granberry, Mrs. M. J. 

Bailey, W. W. Watkins, Sr., A. R. 

Moores, W. H. Tilson, J. B. 

Hamilton, W. A. Stacey, Mrs. M. 

A. Markham, B. F. Granberry, and 

Elder G. B. Granberry. Mrs. 

Cordelia Rochelle was also 

thought to have been present. 

Elder T.N. Coleman, pastor of 

the First Baptist Church of 

Marshall, Texas, participated with 

Renfro, pastor of Mt. Pisgah and 

they, along with G. B. Granberry, 

an ordained minister, formed a 

presbytery (in this case a 

governing body) for the new 

church. The former members of 

Mt. Pisgah church lettered out of 

their old church and into the new one. A church 

covenant was approved and Articles of Faith 

adopted; Elder Granberry delivered the Charge 

to the new congregation. Nineteen candidates 

awaiting baptism, resulting from Coleman’s 

revival efforts in Texarkana were included. Elder 

James Franklin Shaw was named the church’s 

first pastor, W. H. Tilson was named church 

❖ 

Above: The second First Baptist 

Church building on Pine Street was 

demolished in 1930 to make room for 

a new sanctuary. 


Below: Architectural styles of the 

1930s varied widely from that of 

1900. However, both church buildings 

were elegant and well designed. 


Chapter III ✦ 33

❖ 

Above: Central Christian Church had 

an elegant and large building at the 

intersection of State Line Avenue and 

West Sixth Street. 


Below: This early postcard shows the 

proximity of Central Christian 

Church to the Post Office Building. 


clerk, and W. W. Watkins, Sr., and Ham. Graves 

were the first deacons. 

These were “straight-laced” Baptists who 

chastised each other as much and as often as 

they did saloon owners and businessmen. 

Internal controversy within the church caused 

James Shaw to resign in March 1879. He and a 

group of his followers tried to establish 

Grace Baptist Church on College Hill, but they 

were unsuccessful. Elder Shaw did, however, 

establish the Seventh-Day Baptist Church on 

College Hill by 1886. This church met on 

Saturday and held a Sabbath school every 

Saturday morning. Elder H.B. Pender became 

the Pine Street Baptist Church’s second pastor in 

1879. Pender’s pastorate was fraught with 

conflict, including issues regarding former 

pastor Shaw. Records show that in his 

initial revival held at the church, Pender 

doubled membership, but at the end of his 

pastorate, due to the continuing conflicts, 

church membership was virtually the same as 

when he took over. He continued until 1884, 

when he resigned and was replaced by W.H. 

Wallace, an older man who sickened and died in 

September 1884. 

G. A. Moffatt became fourth pastor of the 

Baptist Church on Pine Street. Moffatt came 

from Mineral Springs, Texas, to take over the 

Texarkana church, which had hosted the 

Texarkana Baptist Association meeting held 

from September 11 to 13, 1885. On July 4, 

1886, Moffatt conducted his last church 

conference and by the end of July he had died. 

His wife remained a moving force in the Baptist 

church until her death. 

Jerry H. Cason became the next pastor of the 

Baptist Church. He was a graduate of Union 

University and was experienced and mature. 

Under his pastorate, repairs were made to the 

existing building, a new organ was purchased, 

and a lot was bought for a parsonage, a fiveroom 

house to be built at the cost of $400. 

Church funds lagged in September 1889, and 

the parsonage lot had to be sold. Cason resigned 


on November 18, 1888, and was replaced in 

December by M. D. Early. Cason went on to a 

position at Ouachita Baptist College in 

Arkadelphia, Arkansas, and Early remained in 

his new position in Texarkana about one month, 

later becoming a prominent denominational 

leader in Arkansas and the Baptist General 

Convention in Texas. 

W. A. Forbes took up the pastorate of 

Texarkana’s Baptist Church on March 31, 1889. 

Forbes attended Bethel College in Kentucky 

and, for a time, was the only Baptist minister in 

the state of Arkansas with a college degree. He 

secured the property in Arkadelphia that later 

became the site of Ouachita Baptist College and, 

in 1886, became editor of Arkansas Baptist 

Evangel. While at the Pine Street church, the 

church invited Major W. E. Penn, a well-known 

revivalist, to hold a revival there, resulting in the 

addition of fifty members, which, in turn, 

strained the small frame building. The building 

was increased by fifteen feet toward the alley, 

and, in 1889, a lot belonging to Green B. Turner 

became available. The church overextended 

itself to secure this lot before it could be sold to 

someone else, and members had to personally 

pledge to cover the cost of $2,350. Forbes was 

loved and respected by the congregation, and 

his resignation in January 1894 was deeply 

regretted; however, he continued to serve from 

time to time in various capacities until the 

church secured J. T. Jenkins at a salary of 

$800 plus the use of the parsonage. Jenkins 

resigned on November 24, 1895, and was 

replaced by Charles W. Daniel, who served until 

January 1898. W. W. Thornton said of Daniel, 

“Although his ministry here was brief, it marked 

a new era for the First Baptist Church. He was in 

some respects the most notable pastor the 

church ever had. A young man, a thorough 

Christian, a gifted orator, inspired by his 

Seminary training, and eager to see the new 

principles and theories translated into practice 

in Baptist Church life, he lost no time in 

promoting them.” 

❖ 

Above: The new Central Christian 

Church building was built on Walnut 

Street near West Ninth Street. 


Below: The oldest St. James 

Episcopal Church building was built 

on a lot donated by the Texas & 

Pacific Railroad. 


Chapter III ✦ 35

❖ 

Above: The present St. James 

Episcopal Church building is similar 

to the older one, though made of 

brick, and the interior exhibits 

beautiful woodwork and stained 

glass windows. 


Below: Beech Street Baptist Church is 

a grand edifice in the Classical Greek 

style. Its unique silver dome can be 

seen for a great distance. 


In 1897, the Pine Street Baptists got serious 

about constructing a new church building. W. 

W. Thornton noted, “The little old frame 

building had long been entirely inadequate, 

even with fifteen feet added on the alley, and 

numerous repairs. When hogs, under the 

building, disrupted a worship service, someone 

would go out and drive them away, but when 

one end of the overcrowded building collapsed, 

as it did one day, precipitating quite a few 

members into an unpremeditated huddle, it was 

time to do something about it.” A building fund 

was established and the existing church 

building was offered for sale. On January 16, 

1898, Elder Daniel suddenly resigned and was 

subsequently replaced by W. A. Freeman of 

Hope, Arkansas. Freeman authorized a “pay-asyou-go” 

construction of the new church 

building, and actual construction began in 

November 1898. During the construction, the 

congregation met at various places, including 

the Jewish Synagogue. The new building was 

completed by February 9, 1900, and was 

mentioned in the Baptist Standard of Texas 

published that month. 

The beautiful church building had a front 

entry that faced the intersection of Pine and 

Fourth streets. Above the two-sided doorway 

stood an elegant steeple with a bell. Many 

Texarkana residents will remember attending 

this church during the early 1900s, when the 

church was very active. In the 1930s this church 

was demolished to make room for a larger, more 

accommodating building to house the ever 

expanding congregation. This church building 

continues to serve the First Baptist Church 

congregation in 2008. 


Texarkana’s Second Baptist Church was 

organized at the Cumberland Presbyterian 

Church in 1880, resulting from the conflict in 

the local Baptist Church on Pine Street between 

Elders Shaw and Pender. It was first called 

Grace Baptist Church, and Elder Renfro was the 

first preacher called to the pastorate of this 

church. He resigned within one week. The 

Second Baptists met in Orr’s Opera House 

initially and were thought to be in “disorder” by 

the regular Baptists. The Texarkana Baptist 

Association rejected this congregation when first 

proposed because of the ongoing conflicts 

surrounding Elder Shaw, and over their 

observance of Saturday as the “holy day.” The 

congregation moved from Orr’s building out to 

College Hill in 1882, naming Elder Shaw as 

their pastor. Shaw served until 1884, but was 

unable to get his congregation recognized 

locally, and, in 1885, formed the Seventh-Day 

Baptist Church, which was still active in 1886. 

This latter congregation was in the process of 

constructing a church, fronting on the Texas & 

St. Louis Railroad tracks, near the street leading 

to College Hill in 1886. 

The Christian Church (sometimes referred to 

as Campbellite) in Texarkana began with the 

efforts of Elder Northum, who first held 

meetings at the school house on College Hill in 

1878. Elder Smith and Elder Tool began holding 

meetings for this congregation, but it was Elder 

J. C. Mason who had the greatest success in 

organizing the denomination in October 1883. 

Mason came as a speaker initially and was later 

called to the pastorate, serving from 1883 to 

1886. In 1885 a large meeting house with 

baptistery and dressing rooms was constructed 

near the intersection of State Line Avenue and 

Sixth Street on lots donated by J. F. Kirby, and, 

by late 1886, this was one of the largest 

congregations in Texarkana. 

Under the administration of W. S. Bullard, 

the original frame church was demolished, and 

an elegant brick structure with stained-glass 

windows was built in its place. This massive 

church building became a landmark, in part 

because of its proximity to the post office in the 

middle of State Line Avenue. When a new 

federal courthouse and post office building that 

would serve both states was proposed in 1930, 

this beautiful church building and its lots were 

sold to the city to expand the property on which 

the new post office would stand. A new church 

was built on Walnut Street, near Ninth Street, 

and was described at the time of its construction 

as, “One of the most modern church plants in 

the country.” 

St. James Episcopal Church was established 

in 1877, after the approval of a petition sent to 

Bishop Alexander Garrett, Bishop for the 

Church of Texas, New Mexico, and Indian 

Territory. The first church building was 

constructed on a lot donated by the Texas & 

❖ 

Above: The first church house 

occupied by St. Edwards Catholic 

congregation was built around 1915 

and was of timber construction. 


Below: St. Edward’s new church 

building was a beautiful design with 

twin domes on spires that flanked the 

front entry. 


Chapter III ✦ 37

❖ 

Above: Parishioners and visitors from 

a wide area came to see the new St. 

Edward’s Catholic Church dedicated. 


Below: An unidentified nun and 

novice attended the dedication of St. 

Edward’s new building. 


Pacific Railroad at a cost of $1,417.80. Money 

for the construction of this church was literally 

donated by people from all walks of life in 

Texarkana, from school children to saloon 

keepers. Right Reverend Alexander C. Garrett 

served as St. James’ first pastor in 1878. The first 

frame building served the St. James 

congregation from 1878 to 1893, when a large 

brick building was erected. The new building 

echoed the older one in style and structure, 

though it was much larger. A magnificent pipe 

organ was purchased in Illinois for the new 

church building. This building has served the 

congregation for more than one-hundred years, 

with numerous modifications. 

Texarkana had a fairly large Jewish 

community in its early years, which first met in 

Kosminsky Hall. Marks Kosminsky and Joe 

Deutschmann were instrumental in getting this 

congregation organized as early as 1874. By 

1890 a synagogue had been built at the corner of 

Eighth Street and State Line Avenue, but this 

building was destroyed by fire before 1892. A 

new building was constructed for the Mount 

Sinai Congregation by 1894 and was located at 

the southeast corner of Fourth Street at its 

intersection with Walnut Street. The Ehrlich 

Educational Building was built adjacent to the 

original synagogue in 1935, and both buildings 

continued to serve this congregation until the 

new synagogue was built at 1310 Walnut Street. 

“The Rabbis have not only ministered ably to the 

needs and wants of the Jewish people, but have 

been men of high principle who have taken an 

active part in building up a finer Texarkana.” The 

first rabbi to serve Mt. Sinai Congregation was A. 

Shriber, who came to Texarkana in the late 

1890s. Those who followed Shriber were Joseph 

Bogen, Israel L. Heinberg, Rudolph Farber, A. 

Rosenberg, Arthur S. Montaz, David B. Albert 

and David Max Eichhorn. 

Forest Little described two early African- 

American churches in Texarkana: the African 

Methodist-Episcopal Church and the Mt. Zion 


Baptist Church. First mention of the A.M.E. 

church in Texarkana was in 1877, when this 

group purchased the M.E. church on the corner 

of Vine and Drennon streets, after members of 

that church decided to move closer to town. 

Little said that the A.M.E. Church met almost 

nightly and stayed quite late into the night, 

making joyful noise unto the Lord with their 

singing and dancing. The noise was “not akin to 

the noisy rippling of the brooklet, but more as 

the roaring of an Alleghany cataract.” Neighbors 

of this church voiced their complaints about 

disturbed sleep and a longing for the days 

when the more staid Methodist-Episcopal 

congregation had inhabited this house of 

worship. In a year or so, a new pastor came to 

the church, a “prudent and orderly man,” whose 

first order of business was the purchase of a bell 

from the Methodist Church in Arkadelphia, 

Arkansas. With the new bell in place, the 

neighbors heard every call to worship as well as 

the acts of worship themselves. Ringing oratory 

and multi-part harmony were the order of the 

day for this congregation. 

In 1876, away out on the corner of Oak and 

Trigg streets, on the Texas side of town, a 

worship house made of wooden slabs cut from 

saw logs was constructed to house the Mt. Zion 

Baptist Church congregation. Pastor Marcellius 

Rochelle gathered the flock together and 

impressed members of his congregation as well 

as citizens of Texarkana with his piousness and 

good sense in preaching to this church. In 1878 

Reverend Skurlock came from Hot Springs, 

Arkansas, and, according to Forest Little, took 

over the congregation, relegating Pastor 

Rochelle to a back seat. A new lot was 

purchased on Forest Street, at the edge of 

Texarkana’s Swampoodle entertainment district, 

and the congregation proceeded to build a new 

church building for Mt. Zion. Little said that 

Skurlock’s ministry ended in disgrace with his 

involvement in “secret societies.” By 1880, 

problems arose regarding legal title to the lot on 

which the church building stood, and the 

congregation was forced to remove it to another 

lot south of this one. It was also during this 

chaotic time that a group of members broke 

away from Mt. Zion Baptist Church and formed 

a new church on the Arkansas side of town. 

Little did not name this congregation. 

Churches established after the turn of the 

twentieth century included Beech Street Baptist 

Church, which was organized in the Miller 

County Courthouse on April 10, 1904. Eightythree 

charter members were present, forty-seven 

of whom were separating from First Baptist 

Church on Pine Street in Texarkana, Texas. This 

new congregation first met in the building 

formerly used by the Olive Street Baptist 

Church at the corner of Olive and Eighth 

streets. In time, George W. Bottoms donated the 

lots where Beech Street Baptist Church was 

built. Initially, the Olive Street building was 

moved to the new site and used, however, it was 

destroyed by fire in 1905. A new building was 

built, and it, too, was partially destroyed by fire 

in 1909. The congregation immediately rebuilt 

the glorious domed church now standing at the 

corner of Beech Street and E. Sixth Street at a 

cost of $60,000. 

St. Edwards Catholic Church built a timber 

church building in 1915 that was located at 319 

Hickory Street. In the late 1920s, St. Edwards 

built a new church building at 410 Beech Street. 

Elaborate dedication ceremonies were well 

attended by parishioners and dignitaries alike. 

Other early Texarkana churches included 

First Congregational Church located on State 

Line Avenue at East Sixth Street, under the 

leadership of Reverend Finos E. Maddox; and 

the Lutheran Church located at the corner of 

East Fourth Street and Hazel Street on the East 

side of town. 

❖ 

Texarkana’s early residents were 

“church-goers” and loved to 

spend their Sundays enjoying 

church fellowship. 


Chapter III ✦ 39


CHAPTER IV 

R EADING, WRITING, AND 

A RITHMETIC 

Widespread access to education shaped the hearts and minds of Texarkana citizens through the 

years, creating here a unique culture that can best be described as traditional, conservative, and 

Southern in nature. Each generation planned for better educational opportunities for their children 

than their own generation had experienced. As a result, Texarkana created private schools, two 

excellent public school systems, numerous colleges and, most recently, a four-year university. 

In 1874, when Texarkana’s first immigrants got off the train, rode into town on a horse, or 

rode in on a buggy or wagon, there were no schools in place. Soon, several private schools 

were instituted to fill the need. However, in Arkansas, a new state constitution was adopted in 1874 

that called for a system of common or free schools to be supported by a state tax of two mills, an 

annual per capita tax of one dollar, and a local district tax not to exceed five mills in any one year. 

In 1871, a free school law was passed in Texas under which all children from six to eighteen years 

of age were required to attend school. Texas Governor O. M. Roberts declared, “The common schools 

are for the millions, the academies are for the thousands, and the colleges or universities are for 

the hundreds.” 

From 1874 to the early 1880s, Texarkana made do with private subscription schools. Curriculums 

at these schools reflected their owners’ agendas and the desires of parents who paid for their children 

to attend. Notions of what constituted a “good education” depended on whether the student was 

male or female, and the occupation parents hoped their sons would go into. Educational goals for 

young girls reflected society’s prescription that they would be trained to be good wives and mothers, 

and would contribute their free time to appropriate volunteer work. For most young girls at this time, 

it was unthinkable that they would go into the working world, as boys would. 

Texarkana’s early private schools were considered top-notch, with teachers and owners who 

were well qualified and who turned out well-educated young adults. One of the most 

patronized private schools was Mrs. Hogane’s Select School for Girls, which featured concentrations 

in mathematics and literary exercises. This school opened as early as 1878 and was owned by 

L. H. Hogane (Mrs. James T. Hogane), who was born in Louisiana in 1846. Her husband was a local 

real estate agent. 

The Texarkana Graded and Normal School opened under the leadership of Professor G. A. Hays. 

This school offered, “Experienced Normal teachers, an assortment of maps, globes and charts, 

Chemical, Philosophical, Botanical, Astronomical and Mathematical Apparatus; a large Geological 

Cabinet; a large library; excellent advantages in Music, Writing, Elementary Drawing and 

Calisthenics…. Thorough, Practical Training for All.” Fees at Hays’ school ranged from $2 to $3 for 

common school, $3 to $4 for high school, and $4 to $5 for collegiate. 

T. J. Pattillo opened Texarkana High School, a private boarding school with rates from $10 to $15 

per month about the same time that W.H. Butcher opened College Hill High School, which offered, 

“The latest and most approved methods, with no labor spared to secure the best mental training and 

the most practical results.” Tuition rates at College Hill were $2.50 for primary students, $3 for 

intermediate, and $4 for high school. 

St. Agnes Academy opened in 1879 under the leadership of the Sisters of St. Agnes. It was 

located at Spruce and West Third streets, in the property owned by Sacred Heart Catholic 

Church. The academy was a boarding and day school for young ladies provided through the 

patronage of local citizens and members of Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Its curriculum emphasized 

moral culture and general deportment. “Neatness, order, and diligence are not only encouraged, 

but firmly yet gently enforced.” Along with the girls’ academy, St. Agnes also offered a day school 

for boys under thirteen years of age. In 1880 teachers at St. Agnes Academy included Sister 

❖ 


Chapter IV ✦ 41

❖ 

Above: College Hill School as it 

appeared in 1913. 


Below: A school group at St. Agnes 

Academy which was located on 

Spruce Street. 


Mary C., Sister Ignacia, Sister Clementius, and 

Sister Ollinisius. 

Dr. W. F. Thurm opened the English-German 

Private School for Boys in the early 1880s. His 

curriculum offered instruction in French, 

Latin, and German, and tuition at this school 

was $4 per month, in advance. Mrs. Zella 

Hargroves Gaither opened a private school on 

State Line Avenue and Sixth Street in the 

early 1880s as well. Gaither emphasized 

manners and a basic, practical education for 

both girls and boys. 

All of these early schools were classed as 

private subscription schools. However, in the 

1870s and ’80s, educational trends were 

changing all across the United States, and 

citizens were looking for ways to create public 

educational systems that guaranteed standard 

curriculum, a set number of class days, and the 

expectation that all students completing their 

school years would have a well-defined 

education. By 1884 these trends had arrived in 

Texarkana, and citizens on both sides of the 

state line named school boards of trusted 

neighbors who were then charged with 

implementing “public” education here. On the 

Arkansas side of town, H. M. Beidler served 

as president of the school board, which was 

composed of O. L. Thompson, F. A. Byers, 

and W. G. Wadley. On the Texas side of town 

Mayor A. L. Ghio served as school board 

president, with F. M. Henry, J. F. Smith, J. T. 

Rosborough, W. Behan, and L. C. DeMorse 

serving on the board. 

On the Texas side of town a petition was 

circulated and signed, asking the mayor to 

call an election to determine whether the city 

would assume control of its public free schools. 

The mayor stated that the legislature, then in 

session, was expected to pass special acts 

regarding the public school question. He, 

therefore, asked for more time to see what the 

legislature would do. Much grumbling met the 

long delay that ensued, and, finally, some ten 

months later, the citizens presented, another 

petition asking the mayor to act on the school 

question. The mayor seemed reluctant to 

proceed, presenting trivial objections and “red 

herring” arguments designed to delay action 

further. After three citizen petitions had been 

presented the mayor finally called an election on 

the question, and citizens overwhelmingly voted 

to move forward; in fact, they chose trustees to 

carry out their desires. The mayor ignored 

citizens’ wishes and eventually appointed a 

board of six school trustees, four of whom were 

known to oppose the institution of public 


schools. “Why has the West Texarkana school 

board been so supinely indifferent? Why was the 

selection of trustees taken away from the people, 

if no sinister motive was in view?” Thus, the 

West side stalled out and wasted valuable time in 

instituting a public school system. 

Citizens of the East side, on the other hand, 

enjoyed full cooperation from their mayor and 

school board from the beginning of the public 

school question. By January of 1885, the East 

side school board had adopted a standardized 

series of school textbooks for the whole city, 

for the school years from 1884 to 1887. 

Books mentioned in this series were: Swinton’s 

Word Exercises (spelling), McGuffey’s Revised 

Readers (reading), Spencerian Longer Course 

Revised (writing), Ray’s Revised Arithmetic 

(mathematics), Bud & Kellogg’s Grammar, 

Eclectic Revised Geography, U.S. Eclectic History, 

Steele’s Fourteen Weeks (physiology), Townsend’s 

Twenty Lessons (civil government), White’s 

Drawing Series, and Hinkle’s Test Speller. J. S. 

Ragland was appointed to be the East Side 

School Board’s agent in negotiations with school 

book publishers. 

E. A. Warren, editor of the Daily Texarkana 

Independent, commended the board’s actions, 

saying, “Nothing will do so much toward 

building up our city as good schools. They are 

necessary to the success of any community. Let 

all commence right now to arouse our people to 

the importance of building a splendid school 

house convenient to the citizens of both sides of 

the city.” 

On September 11, 1884, the Independent 

reported that a number of Texarkana citizens 

wanted to set up a public school that would be 

funded through a combination of subscription 

and state school tax monies collected between 

November 1 and February 15. The article said 

that there were about 600 school age children 

on the Arkansas side of town (400 white and 

200 black). Regular tuition rates were between 

$2.50 and $5.00 per pupil, per month, and, if 

those already subscribing for their own children 

would continue to do so, the tax money 

collected would be enough to run a first-class 

graded school for white students for ten months 

per year. Colored students were initially left out 

of the plan, or, at least put on hold for a while. 

The editor of the Independent asked for citizen 

input on this plan, and several open meetings 

were held at Orr’s Opera House in the next few 

months. Meanwhile, as both sides of town 

❖ 

The East Side School was built in 

1886 and was located on Beech 

Street, between East Fifth Street and 

East Sixth Street. 


Chapter IV ✦ 43

❖ 

Above: East Side Public School 

in 1910. 


Below: Students pose for their picture 

at Whitaker School. 


considered the public school question, private 

schools continued to operate until the issue was 

settled. Warren wrote, “Education does more 

than the laws to prevent crime, and the best way 

to secure education is to support good free 

schools in every neighborhood.” 

The Arkansas side school board had three 

thousand circulars printed for distribution to 

every household on that side of town. The 

circular presented the advantages of public 

graded schools and included testimonials 

from citizens of other towns where the plan 

had taken root. Colored citizens held meetings 

at city hall asking that their portion of the 

public school fund be reserved to purchase a lot 

on which to construct a free school for the 

colored population. Soon a wonderful, twostory 

school building for white students was 

built on the Arkansas side near the Miller 

County Courthouse, and it was announced that 

“free school” would open on September 29, 

1884. Parents were asked to get their children 

ready to enter school and noted that each 

student would be “properly classified and 

graded.” Warren noted, “If the attendance of 

pupils upon the free school is as large as is 

reasonably expected, the cost of instruction per 

pupil will be about one dollar per month, for all 

grades. At the very cheapest private schools, 

tuition then ranged from $1.50 to $4.00 per 

month. 

On September 29, Editor Warren wrote: 

The East side free school opened this 

morning in the public school building under the 

principalship of Prof. G.A. Hays. In company 

with Mayor Cook and Judge Orr, we attended 

the opening and witnessed the process of 

grading. Between ninety and one-hundred 

pupils were in attendance, which number was 

considered encouraging, when the bad weather 

was considered and the fact that a number of 

persons were not certain that it would 

commence this morning. The assistants are 

Misses Whitcomb, Senter, and Apperson. The 

two former were in their places, becoming 

acquainted with the pupils and arranging their 


classes. Miss Apperson could not possibly attend 

today, but will take her place in the class and 

study rooms tomorrow. The faculty is considered 

exceptionally fine. Each of the teachers have had 

experience and possess excellent reputations. 

The school starts under propitious 

circumstances, notwithstanding the failures 

heretofore to establish a good, graded school. 

The prospects are good now to continue a first 

class, free graded school for all time to come, 

and we are satisfied that every class of our 

citizens will give it a hearty support when they 

find that it is an assured success. Let everybody 

give it a hearty endorsement by sending their 

children, if entitled to the free fund budget. 

The West Side School Board faced increasing 

pressure to open a public free school on their 

side of town. Even students sent letters to the 

board recommending this action: 

To the School Board of the West Side: 

We, the undersigned, request that you will 

please decide whether the West Texarkanians are 

to have a public school, or not. We are tired of 

being in the same room with the A.B.C. pupils 

and would like to be in a graded school. You 

know the old proverb, “Procrastination is the 

thief of time,” and, closing with a very earnest 

petition that you will soon relieve us of our 

doubts, 

We are respectfully, 

Willie Elliot 

Phemia Richardson 

Mamie Burke 

Students at Mrs. Hogane’s School 

At the end of October, it was announced that 

a public school would open in West Texarkana 

on November 3, 1884. On that morning 

110 pupils showed up to open the school, 

and, as with the East Side Public School, 

attendance continued to increase as parents 

became more comfortable with this form of 

education. A complete breakdown of the graded 

school curriculum was published in Editor 

Warren’s newspaper between November 11 and 

21 of 1884. 

Editor Warren admonished the faculties and 

administrations of both the East side school and 

the West side school as follows: 

For their own sake, as well as that of 

education, school boards and committees ought 

to encourage teachers to think, question, and 

suggest in matters of school regulation, and 

❖ 

Students at Highland Park School 

in 1913. 


Chapter IV ✦ 45

❖ 

Above: Manual Training Class at 

Arkansas High School in 1915. 


Below: Texarkana, Arkansas, High 

School graduating class of 1902. 

Individuals are identified on the 

original picture. 


encourage them to bring forward new ideas, if 

they have any, at fit times and places. The 

antagonism sometimes existing between teachers 

and supervising authorities is quite as unnatural 

and groundless as that between teachers and 

pupils. It will be done away with when each 

party recognizes the others’ rights, and concedes 

to it a full measure of courtesy, and this will 

happen only when each, not tolerates merely, 

but respects the views of the other. 

By late November, the teachers and 

administrators of the East Side Public School 

hosted the members of the Arkansas Teachers’ 

Association in Texarkana for their monthly 

meeting. Additionally, the faculty invited the 

directors to visit the school at any time and 

observe in the various classrooms. 

The January 1885 spring term opened on the 

East side with a new board taking their places. 

Colonel James Aikin was president, Judge Thomas 

Orr was secretary, and the East Side School Board 

included W. G. Wadley, F. M. Duncan, J. H. 

Wootten, and J. C. Weed. G. A. Hays served as 

principal, and Miss Whitcomb was his assistant. 

Subscription fees were still being charged to those 

who did not qualify for “free” school at rates of 

$1.50 for grades one through four, $2.00 for 

grades five and six, $2.50 for grades seven 

through nine; and $3 for grade ten. 

The spring term on the Texas side of town 

opened with Mayor Anthony Ghio as president 

of the school board, and board members 

included F. M. Henry, J. F. Smith, J. T. 

Rosborough, W. Behan, and L. C. DeMorse. The 

faculty of the West Side Public School included 

W. F. Thurm, principal; Mrs. Hogane, assistant 

teacher; and Miss Lelia Walker, assistant teacher. 

Students here were divided into three grades, 

and each grade was comprised of two or more 

subgrades. Those students not qualifying for 

“free” school paid $1.50 for grade one, $2 for 

grade two, and $2.50 for grade three. 

Thus, by February 1885, Texarkana had 

three schools functioning: East Side Public 


School, West Side Public School, and St. Agnes 

Academy. Within the public school system of 

each side of town, segregated schools were also 

being set up for minority students. The private 

schools of Pattillo, Thurm, Gaither, and Hogane 

closed for a time, but when either public school 

closed, or had difficulties with funding, the 

private schools opened up again, and, after 

public free schools were created here, students 

were expected to attend school regularly when 

they were in session. 

On April 5, 1885, the East Side school 

building, located near the Miller County 

Courthouse, burned and was considered a total 

loss. The cause of the fire was never determined. 

Miss Abby Whitcomb, one of the East side 

teachers, opened a temporary school in the 

Episcopal Church house and ran it as a private 

school until the public school reopened. Mrs. 

Gaither did the same thing. 

At the East Side School Board meeting 

held in April, every member was present, 

and they discussed building a $10,000 

schoolhouse to replace the one that burned. 

Committees were appointed to look at plans and 

financing options. 

At the West Side School Board meeting 

held in May, the board unanimously 

agreed that their school would remain in 

session until the end of June. They also 

agreed to purchase a suitable block of land 

on which to build a public free schoolhouse. 

Advertising for proposals was authorized 

about the same time that Texarkana residents 

voted for a full five mills school tax. In 

June 1885, this school board purchased 

six lots from Jo Marx, on which to build 

a “handsome public school house.” They 

also named Director Thomas Orr as a 

committee of one to close trades for lots, and 

they named Orr, Weed, and Duncan as the 

building committee. 

It was a unique time in Texarkana because 

both school boards were going to build large 

❖ 

Above: Central School (Texas) was 

located on Spruce Street between West 

Fifth and West Sixth streets. It may 

also have been called Texas Central 

High at one time. 


Below: William Brown and his 

students stand in front of the West 

Side Central School, 1910-1920. 


Chapter IV ✦ 47

❖ 

Above: Thelma Taliafero Creekmore’s 

First Grade Class at Central School 

(Texas) in 1922. 


Below: The Texas High School 

basketball team in 1913. 


school houses at the same time. A. M. Hawkins 

was named to build the East Side school 

building at an estimated cost of $7,990. 

Plans called for a two-story, eight-room 

brick building to be built at the corner of 

East Fifth Street and Beech Street, on lots 

donated by the Iron Mountain Railroad. The 

beautiful school house, once complete, actually 

cost $12,000. 

The Texas Side School Board, however, got 

bogged down in legalities and students there 

went back to attending private schools such as 

Mrs. Gaither’s, Professor Hays’, and Mrs. 

Hogane’s. The West Side Public School was not 

completed until after the spring term of 1887. 

By the 1899-1900 school year, a fully 

functioning, segregated public school system 

was in place on both sides of the state line. 

Texarkana, Arkansas, offered Hays School which 

was located on Ash Street, between East Fifth 

Street and East Sixth Street. Allen Winham was 

the principal of Hays School and the 

superintendent of the school district. Arkansas 

High School was located on East Fifth Street at 

the northwest corner of Beech Street and Miss 

Allie DeuPree was the principal there. Orr 

School, the minority school, was located on 

Laurel Street, between East Eighth Street and 

East Ninth Street. A. B. Crump was the principal 

of Orr School. At this time the Texarkana, 

Arkansas, School Board included W. G. Cook, 

president; G. A. Hays, secretary; Allen Winham, 

superintendent; W. H. Arnold, Dr. Wm. C. 

Spearman, W. L. Williams, and T. E. Webber. 

Texarkana, Texas, offered Rose Hill School 

located on Rose Hill, with Miss Emma Adams 

listed as the teacher there. Sunset School at 

1520 Olive Street, was under the leadership of 

Thomas Perry, principal. Texarkana, Texas, 

Public School, located at 620 West Sixth Street 

was run by Miss Adine Vaughan, principal, and 

Texarkana, Texas, Colored Public School, 

located on West Sixth Street near Elm Street, 

had S. J. Spencer as its principal. The 

Texarkana, Texas, School Board included W. C. 

Hardin, president; Joseph Hughes, secretary; W. 

Owens, superintendent; Dr. James McMahon, 

Ab Terry, Samuel Hiller, R. B. Ayers, F. G. Cook, 

and William Matthews. 

The 1899-1900 Texarkana City Directory listed 

9 music teachers and 45 school teachers among 

Texarkana’s citizens. Eleven of those teachers 

mentioned were men. Thus, between 1885 and 

1900, the public school systems had taken 

root and were a significant employer of mostly 

single community women. School boards 

were in place and prominent citizens were 

rotating through their ranks contributing their 

ideas and expertise. 

Public schools in Texarkana, listed in the 

1910 Texarkana City Directory included: Bowie 

Public School located on Cotton Belt Avenue, 

between Willis Street and Buchanan Avenue 

where C. A. Bonham was principal; Central 


School (East Side) located on Ash Street between 

East Fifth Street and East Sixth Street, where E. 

A. Brennan was superintendent; and College Hill 

School located on Missouri Avenue, three blocks 

north of the Cotton Belt tracks, where F. M. Cook 

was principal. Fairview School was built on East 

Tenth Street between Locust Street and Garland 

Avenue. In 1910, James W. Williams was 

principal there. Fannin School sat at the corner 

of West Fifth Street and Whitaker Street and 

Miss Emma Adams was its principal. Highland 

Park School was located on Walnut Street 

between Twenty-first and Twenty-second Streets. 

Miss Annie R. Boyd was principal of Highland 

Park. Texarkana High School (Arkansas) was 

located on Beech Street, at the northwest corner 

of East Fifth Street. William J. Christian was 

principal there. Texas Central School was located 

on Spruce Street at the corner of West Sixth 

Street. John B. Lytal served as its principal. 

Texarkana High School (Texas) was located on 

Spruce Street between West Sixth and West 

Seventh Streets. Richard P. Bowen was its 

principal. Interestingly, the long-term rivalry 

between these two high schools was already a 

well-established fact by 1910. 

Minority schools listed in 1910 included 

Central School, located on West Sixth Street, two 

blocks south of Elm Street, where S. J. Spencer 

was principal; College Hill School, located on 

Missouri Avenue three blocks north of the 

Cotton Belt tracks, William H. Hilliard was 

principal here; Orr High School, located on 

Laurel Street between East Eighth and East Ninth 

street. William T. Daniels was the principal 

there; and Sunset School, located on Capps 

Street three blocks north of Redwater Road, and 

Z. S. Cappony was the principal there. 

The 1920 Texarkana City Directory showed 

that new schools had been built to accommodate 

Texarkana’s rising population. On the East side 

of Texarkana, Grandview School was located in 

the Grand View Addition, a junior high school 

had been added to the campus of Fairview 

School. North Heights School had been built at 

the corner of Thirty-fifth Street and Grand 

Avenue, and the W. G. Cook School had been 

built at 2424 Hickory Street. Allie Johnson was 

principal there. Colored High School had been 

❖ 

Above: Mrs. Plant’s class at Dunbar 

School about 1900. 


Below: Workmen clear the site for the 

new Texas High School at the corner 

of Texas Avenue and W. Sixteenth 

Street in 1909. 


Chapter IV ✦ 49

❖ 

Above: Texas High School Band on the 

steps of Texas High in 1919. 


Below: These two young ladies from 

Texarkana were eager to experience 

life on the Texas frontier in the 1880s. 


built at 814 Ash Street and L. C. Deloney was 

principal of that institution. On the West side of 

town, Rose Hill School occupied the corner of 

West Tenth Street and Lucas Street and H. L. 

Lamb was principal of Rose Hill. Fannin School 

had been renamed Whitaker School, and Mrs. 

Effie H. Britt served as principal there. Colored 

schools on the West side included Dunbar, 

located on West Sixth Street at the northeast 

corner of Cedar Street. B. A. Jackson was 

principal of Dunbar. Newton School (later 

renamed New Town) was located on Stevenson 

Street. G. V. Goree was principal there. 

In the 1920s, both white high schools got 

new buildings. Texas High School’s building was 

at the corner of W. Sixteenth Street and Texas 

Avenue. This building had become Texarkana 

Junior High School by 1931, and Benjamin 

Franklin Pierce was its principal. In 1929 Texas 

High School was built on the same campus but 

faced Pine Street. This building was used as the 

Texas side high school until the 1960s, when a 

new campus was built on Kennedy Lane. 

Arkansas high school was constructed on 

Pecan Street near Short Tenth Street. Later 

Arkansas High was moved out to Jefferson 

Avenue. Additionally, by 1931 Orr had ceased to 

be a high school but was still functioning 

and Booker T. Washington High School was in 

place at the corner of Preston Street and 

Pinehurst Avenue. 

Parochial schools continued to play a role in 

the education of Texarkana’s children. St. Agnes 

Academy changed its name to Sacred Heart 

Academy but continued to function until 1970, 

when Sacred Heart Catholic Church made its 

move from Spruce Street to Elizabeth Street. In 

1908, St. Edward’s Catholic Church opened 

Providence Academy, under the leadership first 

of the Benedictine Sisters of Olivetan 

Congregation and later under the Sisters of 

Divine Providence. Providence Academy 

became St. Edwards Catholic School in 1960, 

and it continued to serve Texarkana until 1970. 

St. James Day School opened in 1948 as a 

kindergarten and first grade school under the 

leadership of Thomas H. Carson, Rector. 

Texarkana’s Patty Hill School, for children 

from kindergarten to second grade ages, was 

started by Mrs. Mary C. Patterson between 1921 

and 1924. Patty Smith Hill was the key founder 

of the National Association of Nursery 

Education and created a kindergarten system 

based on “modern educational methods.” Mrs. 

Hill, a native of Anchorage, Kentucky, was born 

in 1868. Mary C. Patterson was also a native of 

Kentucky and learned of the Patty Hill School 

methods. This school and its methods were 

important in molding the early years of some 

illustrious Texarkana residents, such as Frances 

and Lima Fouke (1924), Katrina Offenhauser 

and Charles Temple (1925), Arthur Temple, Jr., 

(1928) Ross and Bette Perot (1938), and Hayes 

McClerkin (1939). 

Texarkana had a number of “colleges,” which 

opened as early as 1889. The Southwest 


Arkansas College was established on College 

Hill by T. E. Webber in 1889. This institution 

had one hundred students and four teachers. 

In 1902, Gate City Medical College opened 

in Texarkana. It had formerly been Sulphur 

Rock College then John W. Decker, its 

founder, decided to move it to Texarkana and 

change its name to Gate City Medical College 

and School of Pharmacy. Decker’s highest 

enrollment was 128 students. Texarkana also 

had nursing schools affiliated with each of its 

main hospitals, Michael Meagher Hospital (now 

Christus St. Michael) and Texarkana Hospital 

(now Wadley Regional Medical Center). The 

nursing schools opened in the mid- to late 

1920s and continued to serve the community 

into the late 1950s. 

Texarkana also had a number of business 

colleges over the years. Draughon’s Practical 

Business College, established in the early 1880s 

at 206 West Broad Street, was probably the first 

such institution here. It was owned by Professor 

James M. Draughon, who acted as the school’s 

principal, and his wife, who served as the 

principal of the Shorthand Department. 

Draughon’s was open from 1882 through 1910. 

Texarkana Business College opened in the 

Courier Building on West Broad Street in 1908. 

H. D. Henderson began this college and was 

succeeded by S. T. Maxwell, Charles H. Finley, 

G. S. Gaston, and Mrs. L. R. Nash. At one time 

this college offered both day and evening 

classes to accommodate those who wanted 

to take a class. Texarkana Business College 

was open from 1908 through 1960. 

Bishop’s Commercial College opened 

between 1925 and 1931 at Sixteenth 

Street and Texas Avenue. The curriculum 

at Bishop’s was bookkeeping, shorthand, 

typing, spelling, business English, 

penmanship, commercial law, banking, 

mimeographing, and office methods. Mrs. 

E. L. Bishop was the owner of this school. 

Wadsley’s Business College was open near 

the site of the Grim Hotel from 1922 until 

about 1930. And, finally, Four-States 

Business College was opened by Morris E. 

Welch between 1945 and 1950. It was 

located at 519 Olive Street and offered 

courses leading to office positions in 

business and government. 

Texarkana College, a two-year academic and 

vocational institution, opened in 1927 at 

Sixteenth and Pine streets, under the leadership 

of Dr. Henry Stilwell, who served in that capacity 

for thirty-two years. The second longest 

presidency of the college was that of Dr. Carl 

Nelson, who served from 1975 to 2001. 

Texarkana College changed its name over time 

from Texarkana Junior College to Texarkana 

Community College, and at present is called 

Texarkana College. In 1927 enrollment at the 

college was 109 students; in 2005, the 

enrollment was over four thousand students. In 

2002, it was estimated that the college had served 

its 100,000th student in its 75-year history. 

In 1972, East Texas State University opened 

in Texarkana as an upper two year institution 

that, in conjunction with Texarkana College, 

would form a full four-year university system for 

Texarkana and its surrounding region. In 1996, 

East Texas State University became part of the 

sprawling Texas A&M University System and 

will soon be a free-standing, four-year university 

at its own Bringle Lake campus. 

It is evident that education was important to 

Texarkana’s residents and it played a crucial role 

in establishing Texarkana’s unique culture. 

Many educational trends and theories were tried 

out on its children through the years and quite 

often reverted to the basics—reading, writing, 

and arithmetic. 

❖ 

Texarkana’s colleges have turned out 

many graduates over the years who 

had illustrious professional careers in 

many fields. 


Chapter IV ✦ 51


CHAPTER V 

B EWARE THE F IRE D EMONS 

Texarkana’s physical image was sculpted through the years by fire. Early efforts to create pleasant 

streetscapes in the downtown area were repeatedly reduced to cinders, only to be built again, in a 

new image, and that image, too, was later destroyed. However, in the words of Colonel E. A. Warren, 

editor of the Texarkana Daily Independent, Texarkana citizens were “determined and plucky” when it 

came to this unique dual city, where even the two sides of town exhibit unique and venerable traits, 

rather than a unified persona. 

In the years from 1873 to 1885 most of Texarkana’s downtown buildings were of timber 

construction and were single-, double-, and triple-story configurations. “Business blocks” were 

constructed of two-story wings sprouting north-south and east-west from a corner building. The 

resulting structure housed numerous “storerooms” along the street level of each wing with the 

second-story space above filled with single rooms devoted to professional offices for doctors, lawyers, 

and insurance agents, or for bedrooms. Early Texarkana city directories frequently noted the presence 

of both professional offices and bedrooms coexisting in the upper floors of these buildings. Notable 

early business blocks were built by Anthony Ghio, Citizens’ Bank, Colonel J.H. Draughon, Colonel 

M.V. Flippin, Jo Marx, T.S. Mitchell, A. Goldberg, O.T. Lyon, and C.M. Aiken, among others. 

Victorian era timber buildings lent our downtown district an elegant air, even in the days of hardpacked 

dirt streets and muddy, open sewage drains, especially along Front and Broad streets and the 

streets running perpendicular between them. Airy, carved wooden decorations danced along secondfloor 

balconies facing business streets and, on parade days, these balconies were filled with men, 

women and children enjoying the circus spectacle in the warm sunshine. On buildings with no 

balconies, second- and third-floor windows were opened wide to allow people to sit on the sills. It 

was a raucous atmosphere, well enjoyed, when the circus came to town, or performers at Ghio’s 

Opera House paraded the downtown streets trying to build up their evenings’ audiences. 

However, Texarkana’s wonderful wooden buildings sent out silent invitations to fiery demons that 

brought calamity and chaos in their wake. Dry timber coupled with oil lamps and combustible dry 

goods created the perfect playgrounds for disaster that would continue to feed off the timber stores 

until there was no more fuel to burn. Alcoholic inventories in Texarkana’s numerous saloons and 

gambling halls also contributed their share to some of the city’s more memorable fires. 

On July 12, 1882, a spectacularly deadly fire struck Texarkana, Texas. About 6:30 p.m. on the 

evening of the 12th, a violent thunderstorm blew into town with heavy winds, hail, and aweinspiring 

lightning. Anthony Ghio was in the process of building a three-story brick building at the 

corner of W. Broad Street and State Street (later renamed Main Street). Next door to Ghio’s 

construction site was the Paragon Saloon, a well-patronized business that frequently offered “free” 

lunch and after-work snacks to attract patrons. As the storm blew into town, some people were 

caught out in the open on city streets, and they sought refuge in the Paragon building. This building 

was a timber “box” construction with a partial second-story, and was lighted with gas lights and oil 

lamps. The saloon had just been stocked with a wide assortment of liquors and beers favored by its 

regular patrons. As the storm worsened and winds grew to gale force, the saloon shook, and the just 

completed three-story brick wall of Ghio’s building began to sway. Exactly what happened next is 

open to speculation, but, in the end, the three-story brick wall crashed down on the saloon, causing 

a deadly fire to break out at the bottom of the debris heap. The fire quickly spread up through the 

wooden remains, trapping the saloon’s occupants and preventing rescuers from getting them out. 

Between 6:30 and 10:00 p.m. citizens worked in torrents of rain to bring the victims out. A makeshift 

morgue was set up on Broad Street, and nearly every able-bodied man and boy in town worked 

to get the fire under control and the bodies out of the wreckage. Thirty-five Texarkana residents and 

❖ 


Chapter V ✦ 53

❖ 

Above: Texarkana’s downtown streets 

were an ever-changing kaleidoscope of 

sounds and sights that caused citizens 

to drop what they were doing to come 

and watch. 


Below: Texarkana’s volunteer firemen 

worked with the equipment they had, 

and wished for more. 


visitors died in the Paragon fire, and, on July 13, 

a dark cloud hung over town as arrangements 

were made to bury the dead in Rose Hill 

Cemetery. Some residents believed that the 

Paragon Saloon fire was the “hand of God” 

striking Texarkana for its evil ways and love of 

base entertainment. Others saw the fire as just 

another example of the fickleness of “Fate.” 

On September 1, 1884, the Daily Texarkana 

Independent chronicled a fire on Maple Street 

(Texas Boulevard) that destroyed Dr. Talbot’s 

residence and tenant properties. Talbot’s losses 

amounted to nearly $10,000 in a time when a fiveroom 

cottage could be purchased for about $800. 

Texarkana’s Hook & Ladder Company, our first 

volunteer fire-fighting group, responded to this 

fire and though they were unsuccessful in saving 

Dr. Talbot’s property, they did save Mrs. Pitcher’s 

home nearby, and she thanked the firemen 

profusely in the next morning’s newspaper. 

In October, two barrels of printer’s ink in the 

Texarkana Gazette office caught fire, damaging the 

double-cylinder printing press and causing the 

newspaper to cease publication until fire damage 

could be repaired and a new press shipped into 

the city. Later in October, John Ockles’ shingle 

mill, located a few miles outside of town burned, 

creating a spectacular fire that could be seen from 

Texarkana. Ockles’ losses amounted to $800. 

Over the winter of 1884-85, numerous fires 

occurred. On December 8 the East side 

calaboose (jail) was set afire by a prisoner who 

hoped to burn a hole in the floor and escape. 

On January 2 a large fire at Matthews’ Mill, 

outside of town ended with the death of one of 

the workers there. Three days later, a drunken 

man tried to sneak back into Dr. Hawkins’ 

home, where he was a boarder, via the chimney. 

There was a fire in the fireplace at the time and, 

unfortunately, the man got stuck and no one 

heard his screams and pleas for help before he 

either burned to death or smothered. Dr. 

Hawkins was horrified, but blamed the man’s 

own sins for his death. Another fire at the 

College Hill school building in January was the 

result of a defective stove flue. 

On February 21, 1885, Texarkana experienced 

its first mammoth fire with some $210,000 in 

losses. The Independent announced, “About half 

past one o’clock this morning the fire alarm called 

out citizens from their warm beds to discover that 

the Marx Block, the most elegant structure in our 

city, was on fire. The fire, having, as it is supposed, 

originated in the storeroom of the Texarkana 

Grocery and Provision Company, in the center of 

said block, some however are of the opinion that 

it originated in the store of J. H. Draughon. But 

however that may be, the fire fiend has come, all 

today our city is in gloom over losses estimated 

at $210,000.” 

The newspaper account of this fire points out 

many interesting facts about the city and items 

that were once prominent fixtures here. For 

example, in a section entitled “Losses and 

Insurance,” we learn that “the building known as 

the Eck Building, occupied by Grocery and 

Provision Co., sustained a loss of $10,000; with 

insurance for $7,000; $6,000 with Beard & 

McCorkle’s agencies and $1,000 with Kelsey & 

Offenhauser.” Early fire insurance companies 

besieged Texarkana after its earliest fires, 

convincing citizens of the need to insure their 

property against loss by fire. Beard & McCorkle 

were considered “up-right” and “knowledgeable” 


about their business; however, they had not 

insured their own office, which was a total loss! 

Kelsey & Offenhauser, on the other hand, built 

their reputation for standing behind their clients 

and covering insured losses without grumble or 

qualification. As a result, Offenhauser Insurance 

continued to be one of the city’s leading business 

houses for more than a century. Other early fire 

insurance companies that had to pay out for the 

February 21 fire were: Connecticut of Hartford, 

Fire Association of Philadelphia, Insurance 

Company of North America, Continental of New 

York, Royal England Insurance, London & 

Lancashire Insurance, Sun California Insurance, 

German-American Insurance, Western 

Assurance, and many, many others. 

“M.V. Flippin, loss on dwelling and 

household goods, $10,000. Insurance on 

building $2,500 in East Texas [Insurance], on 

household goods $250 in same company. He 

also lost the big sign, 'Headquarters of the Army 

of Northern Virginia. 'Loss cannot be 

estimated.” Flippin had been so proud of his 

sign that proclaimed to everyone his allegiance 

in the late Civil War. In the last quarter of the 

1800s, Texarkana had many vestiges of that war, 

mementos really of hopes and shattered dreams 

that could not, as yet, be consigned to attics. 

This spectacular fire was no respecter of person 

or status. Both homes and businesses were lost, as 

were personal property, family letters, office 

furniture, even coffins. Businesses affected 

included Texarkana Grocery and Provision 

Company, Citizens’ Bank, Ramsear & Motz Wagon 

Factory, Inter-State News, Whitener Livery Stable, 

Texas Produce Company, Todd & Hudgins Law 

Office, B. & O. Telegraph Office, and First 

National Bank. Warren rallied those burned out 

with, “Do not become discouraged, keep a stiff 

upper lip and have plenty of pluck, and you will 

soon drive hard times to the rear.” Then he chided 

residents with, “Don’t neglect to insure your 

property, none of us can tell when the fiery 

elements will come.” 

The fire had some positive results, as well. 

They were so ill prepared when the first fires 

struck that huge losses had many doubting 

Texarkana could survive. After this fire in 

February, Warren, ever the “Texarkana booster,” 

began a drumbeat in his newspaper calling for the 

construction of brick buildings, more equipment 

for the Hook & Ladder Company, and a water 

works. He theorized that the elimination of timber 

buildings would cut down on the number and 

severity of the fires in the city. Additionally, brick 

buildings would be more beautiful and durable. 

Texarkana’s Hook & Ladder Company was 

only one step up from our original bucket 

brigade that fought local fires using shovels and 

water from downtown wells. No doubt it was 

time to consider better equipping the town’s 

volunteer firemen. Warren wrote, “Say, did you 

understand our remark that it is bad policy to 

wait until after the next big fire before steps are 

taken to secure a fire engine?” In April of 1885, 

Warren reminded, “A small fire engine would 

❖ 

A number of Texarkana’s more 

affluent citizens lost their rental 

properties to the city’s early fires. 


Chapter V ✦ 55

have saved every dollar’s worth of property 

destroyed by the fire last night, and yet no steps 

have been taken to secure an engine.” In June, 

after several more fires, an angry Warren fumed, 

“Waco has determined to buy a new fire engine, 

Texarkana has not even an old one!” 

However, in March of 1885, Warren and 

Texarkana’s citizens had reason to celebrate: 

❖ 

Above: The East Side Fire Company 

and City Hall was located at 401 East 

Third Street. 


Below: Kelsey & Offenhauser 

Insurance Company covered 

numerous losses from fires in the 

downtown area. 


Water Works A Certainty! 

From a conversation with Mr. Raeder, agent 

for the water-works contracting company of St. 

Louis, we were much gratified to learn that the 

contract agreed upon by both of our city councils 

would certainly be accepted, and that the 

construction of the water-works will begin within 

the next thirty days and be finished and in 

working order by August or September. The 

councils have made a contract perfectly 

satisfactory to the contractors, and the waterworks 

are now a certainty, and will afford such 

capacity as will supply all the demands of the city. 

A large number of plugs or hydrants have been 

taken by the city, and a sufficient number will be 

secured, regardless of the cost, to do efficient 

service in case of fire. This enterprise will be of 

immense benefit to the city, and greatly lessen the 

danger of fire, and reduce the cost of insurance, 

not only reduce the price of insurance, but will 

cause the very best insurance companies to do 

business here. This is a big boom for our city, now 

let us boom it more by having gas-works. 

An additional benefit from fire destruction 

was the opportunity to make “course 


corrections” in the ways the downtown area was 

being built. “While the Marx Block was an 

ornament to the city, and a credit to the 

gentleman who had it erected, it is a fact that the 

third story never yielded any income and it is 

probable that the new block to be erected may 

be only two stories high.” 

Notifying residents of fires was uniquely 

handled in Texarkana. The downtown streets lay 

adjacent to the Texas & Pacific and St. Louis, 

Arkansas & Texas railroad tracks through the city. 

Train whistles shrilly broke through the night 

hours, awakening citizens with a start. Once 

awakened, men and women heard the church bells 

of the Methodist, Episcopal, Catholic, and 

Presbyterian churches tolling a frantic message to 

wake up and help their neighbors defeat the fiery 

demons. Suddenly racing horses could be heard 

through the town, pulling wagons loaded with 

primitive tools and shouting men giving directions. 

Frightened children clung to their mothers’ 

nightgowns as their fathers and big brothers raced 

out of the house to join the volunteers. Though 

rudimentary, it was an effective alarm system that 

could turn out hundreds of volunteers within the 

space of fifteen minutes. 

Neighbor helped neighbor until the volunteers 

could get there, by dragging furniture and 

belongings into the street or alley; or by alerting 

those nearby that a dangerous fire was in process. 

Sometimes items came up missing in the 

confusion such as Mrs. Blackburn’s beloved family 

Bible and Murray Taylor’s ceremonial Knights of 

Pythias sword. In the aftermath of these dreadful 

fires, life had to go on; and Texarkana residents 

struggled to be ready. “Messrs. Todd & Hudgins 

having had their wardrobes burned were around 

last night trying to borrow a couple of shirts to 

wear to court at Boston.” However, some losses 

were irreplaceable, such as Professor Hays’ 

“Cabinet of Curiosities,” a lifetime collection of 

one-of-a-kind items he used in teaching his 

classes. While he had the cabinet insured for 

$1,000, its contents were irreplaceable and were 

truly gone forever. 

The Texarkana Rescue Company, of which 

the Hook & Ladder Company was a part, 

established a fire station near the James Richie 

Hall at the corner of East Broad Street and Vine 

Street (later Olive Street); Charles W. Bramble 

served as its first fire chief. This entity had only 

❖ 

Above: Bowie No. 1 wagon of the 

West Side Fire Department saw lots of 

action in the early fires. 


Below: A horse-drawn fire engine 

races to a fire. This picture was taken 

at the corner of State Line Avenue 

and E. Broad Street. 


Chapter V ✦ 57

❖ 

Above: Neighbor helped neighbor get 

their belongings out of burning 

buildings until firemen arrived to put 

out the fire. 


Below: “Imogene,” the fire engine on 

the right, was named for Imogene 

Stuart, daughter of Texarkana mayor, 

A. C. Stuart. 


one piece of equipment in its early days, a hose 

reel drawn by men pulling ropes. The next piece 

of equipment purchased was a horse-drawn fire 

wagon that firemen named “Imogene,” after 

Imogene Stuart, daughter of Mayor and Mrs. A. 

C. Stuart. Local groups periodically held benefit 

dances and suppers to produce enough money 

to buy uniforms and supplies for the fire 

company, but large, rolling equipment wagons 

were harder to come by. The Rescue Company 

remained a volunteer group until 1902, when a 

paid fire chief was hired. 

Fires continued to harass Texarkana's citizens 

as they worked to gain a water works and to 

effectively equip their firemen. On April 6, 

1885, the East side schoolhouse burned to 

the ground with a loss of nearly $50,000, 

including adjacent properties. The Little Rock 

newspaper incorrectly wrote that Texarkana’s 

entire West side had been destroyed in the 

fire, but Editor Warren set them straight. 

Additionally, on May 11, Bales’ old mill shed 

burned, and on August 18, W.T. Fagan’s Lumber 

Yard was reduced to ashes by a stray locomotive 

engine spark. 

In the early morning hours of August 21, 

1885, Texarkana’s citizens were shaken from 

their beds by insistent bells and whistles 

spreading the alarm. The new Arlington Hotel 

was on fire! It proved to be a monstrous fire that 

got out of hand, quickly destroying all of 

Texarkana, Arkansas,’ Block 75 and nearly onehalf 

of Blocks 72, 73, and 74. The heart of 

downtown Texarkana on the Arkansas side was 

gone, and in its place was a blackened, dead 

zone that residents quickly began calling the 

“Burnt District.” 

The Arlington was located in the onehundred 

block of East Broad Street with 

hallways and guest rooms that stretched into the 

second-floor spaces over businesses along Broad 

Street. Neighbor rushed to help neighbor save 

whatever they could save from each building, 

and in so doing, a number of people were 

injured in the chaos. John White, the porter of 

the Arlington Hotel, risked his life and received 

serious injuries while awakening hotel guests 

and directing them to safe exits. Frank Varner 

was badly cut in the chest by glass exploding 

from a window in one of the burning buildings. 

Tom Kyle had his foot badly mashed when a 

large office desk was heaved through a secondfloor 

window, landing on him. 

Many residents lost buildings they had built, 

almost as an expression of faith in this growing 

town, of which they were very proud. Those 

with the largest losses included Jo Kosminsky, 

George Langsdale, J. F. Smith, C. E. Bramble, 

Marx Kosminsky, E. F. Freidell, Mrs. H. E. 

Moore, Mrs. Ben Collins, A. Goldberg, J. Moran, 

M. Levy, Mr. Thompson, Mr. Jacobs, Joe Cella, 

Mrs. Berlina, Ed Donnelly, and H. P. Williams. 


Well-known businesses were forced to 

relocate or close temporarily until a new 

building could be built. These included Ragland 

Stationery & News Company, Telephone 

Exchange Saloon, Smith Drug Company, the 

Masonic Lodge, Southern Express Company, 

Young America Saloon, Applebaum’s Ladies 

Bazaar, Vogel’s Cigar Store, the Chinese Laundry, 

Miss Irene Wells’ Millinery House, and the 

Texarkana Post Office. Moreover, the burned 

area housed numerous boarding houses and 

private rooms. Those occupying rented rooms 

like these rarely had fire insurance on their 

belongings and they lost nearly everything 

they had. 

“Scorched, but still in the ring.” Texarkana 

residents pulled together to overcome losses in 

the downtown area. Businessmen scrambled to 

find space somewhere in the area of Broad and 

Front Streets, to reopen their stores and offices. 

Editor Warren gave plenty of newspaper space 

to encouraging those burned out, and 

redirecting customers to the new locations of 

their favorite stores. “On next Monday morning, 

F. L. Schuster will open out his jewelry 

establishment in the house with Ed. Schicker. 

He saved most of his stock and tools, and has 

telegraphed orders to supply all that was lost.” 

When available business space was gone, tents 

were erected to house C. Nagle’s Furniture Store 

and Mrs. Berlina’s Millinery Shop. 

The August 21, 1885, fire was a bonanza for 

local building contractors and Varner Brothers 

Brick Works. A. W. Hawkins’, W. T. Barrow’s, 

and Frank Varner’s names were frequently 

mentioned as having gotten the contract to 

build new brick buildings to replace business 

houses lost in the fire. Texarkana city 

governments passed ordinances dictating that 

new buildings had to be of brick construction to 

reduce losses in future fires. Frank Varner and 

his brother set up a huge brick kiln near the foot 

of State Line Avenue and began producing more 

than sixty-thousand bricks per week for about 

three months. These incompletely fired bricks 

can still be found in buildings along East Broad 

Street in 2008. 

Numerous insurance agents and adjustors 

flooded into Texarkana to assess and pay off 

claims, or, to get residents to buy new fire 

insurance policies. The Arlington fire was 

certainly a good “object lesson” for the agents to 

use in their negotiations. Absentee landowners 

also came into town to check on their properties 

and to make arrangements to have their burned 

lots cleared, and to contract with builders to 

have new buildings built. Mr. Meagher of the 

Memphis and Little Rock Railroad and M.S. 

Jacobs of Magnolia, Arkansas, were mentioned 

among these land owners. Editor Warren noted, 

“Although the burnt district casts a look of 

gloom over the city, it is very evident that 

business is reviving rapidly.” 

On September 9, 1885, Editor Warren wrote 

an article after touring the burned district: 

This morning we took a stroll amongst the 

mechanics now at work in the burnt district, and 

found everybody busy, and the building boom 

going right on. 

A large force of workmen are engaged in 

removing brick and rubbish on the lots of J. A. 

Roberts, where two large, two-story bricks are to 

be erected, one of which will be occupied by the 

post office. 

J. F. Smith has purchased the lot of Jo 

Kosminsky (Hart’s old stand), and will at once 

❖ 

Above: An early fire engine is drawn 

along in a parade on Broad Street. 


Below: This ladder wagon was 

initially horse-drawn, but was later 

converted to automobile use. 


Chapter V ✦ 59

❖ 

Above: Firemen of the Arkansas 

Central Fire Department stand before 

their building on East Third Street. 


Below: The Texarkana, Arkansas, fire 

chief drove this sporty car and was a 

recognizable sight at every fire. 


erect a very large business house on it. Mr. 

Jacobs, of Magnolia, has a large force of 

workmen digging for the foundation for a large 

two-story brick block on his four lots, running 

from Broad Street through State Line Avenue. 

Levy & Bro. have already made ready for 

the laying of the foundation for a two-story 

brick house on their lot at the corner of State 

Line Avenue and Broad Street, and have 

contracted for the erection of a large two-story 

brick business on the lot where Applebaum’s 

Bazaar stood. 

The brick layers are already at work, laying 

brick on Capt. Bramble’s two brick business 

houses. The brick work is about finished on the 

large new store-house of Mayor Dorrian, on the 

lot where the Owl Saloon stood, and he will have 

no delay in the erection of another large twostory 

brick building on his lot where Cassidy 

and Sweeney were. 

M. Kosminsky is having brick hauled to 

his lot, and will erect two very large brick 

store houses, over one of which will be the 

Masonic Hall. 

Negotiations are pending for a number of 

other buildings, and we believe that by the new 

year the entire burnt district will be rebuilt— 

rebuilt, too, with substantial brick houses. 

Mr. Shaw informs us that the post office will 

go back to its old headquarters just as soon as 

the new building is completed. Mr. Roberts will 

at once put a very large force at work so as to 

complete the building as soon as possible. 

While for the time being it may work a 

hardship on a very few for the East side city 

council to refuse to permit wooden buildings to 

be erected in the burnt district, very soon it will 

be of benefit to them, for brick buildings will 

make adjacent property more valuable. The city 

council is strongly backed by public sentiment 

in its determination to permit no wooden 

buildings, and the interests of the whole city 

demand that it shall adhere to that 

determination, for one wooden house might 

cause the destruction by fire of many blocks, and 

a wooden house would greatly increase the cost 

of insurance. Let the fire limit ordinances be 

strictly enforced. 

Eventually, the chaos dissipated, and 

residents got back to daily routines. However, 

fire demons continued to plague Texarkana 

until most of the original timber structures had 

been replaced by those of brick and metal. In 


October of 1885, an exploding gas lamp set fire 

to the Texas & Pacific ticket office, but fire 

fighters were quick and damage was slight. The 

college building on Cane Hill caught fire, and, 

because it was some distance from downtown, it 

was completely destroyed, a loss of $10,000. 

In November the Witterstaetter Block was the 

scene of a stove fire that caused slight damage; 

and in December stove flue fires singed 

Conductor’s Hall and the F.A. Felton Machinery 

Company. Between September 2, 1884, and 

April 4, 1887, more than twenty-five fires 

occurred in Texarkana. However, by 1887 most 

of the downtown buildings had been 

reconstructed of brick, and the fire brigade had 

become fast, efficient, and better equipped. In 

1902, each side of the city hired fire chiefs and 

drivers for horse-drawn hose wagons, but 

firemen were still volunteers. In 1909 the fire 

departments of both sides of town were 

combined under the leadership of J.J. Hussey, 

who replaced horse-drawn vehicles with fire 

trucks that actually were slower than the horsedrawn 

vehicles in responding to fires. William J. 

Springer served as fire chief from 1913 to 1934 

and was the first to serve for any length of time. 

In 1934 the fire departments of each side went 

back to choosing their own chiefs. 

Texarkana residents will also remember five 

spectacular fires that occurred in the 1900s. 

One was an industrial fire that occurred near the 

train yards and involved gasoline and oil tanks. 

This fire produced towering flames and huge, 

roiling clouds of black smoke that hung over the 

downtown area for several days. The second was 

the Foreman Building fire of March 10, 1952. 

The Foreman Building was built in between 

1901 and 1902 by Benjamin M. Foreman in the 

three hundred block of State Line Avenue. It was 

a triangular, three-story building with ornate 

stonework and arches on the ground floor, and 

elegant brick tracery on the second and third 

floors. An elaborate building sign stood on the 

roof above the building’s corner nearest the train 

depot, and the building’s upper floors housed 

the Swann Hotel (later renamed the Splawn 

Hotel) and Foreman Hall. On the evening of 

March 10, 1952, fire broke out on the second 

floor of this building, consuming both the 

second- and third-floors before firefighters 

could bring it under control. One female hotel 

guest lost her life in this fire, and pictures of the 

fire scene show a raging inferno reflecting in 

every third-floor window as hungry plumes of 

fire licked the sky. In the days after this fire, the 

second- and third-floors were removed from the 

building, leaving only the stonework arcade 

surrounding the first floor of the building. In 

time, residents forgot that this one-story 

building ever had two more floors, and they 

forgot its original wedding cake façade that 

brightened State Line Avenue. 

In November of 1952, fire broke out in the 

Parker Hotel at the corner of West Front Street 

❖ 

Above: Industrial fires happened 

frequently in Texarkana’s early days, 

especially near the rail yards. 


Below: The Arkansas side fire 

department moved into this new 

facility in the 1930s. 


Chapter V ✦ 61

❖ 

Above: On March 10, 1952, the 

historic Foreman Building was nearly 

destroyed when fire consumed the top 

two floors. 


Below: The Jefferson Coffee Shop 

burned in 1963. It was sad to see this 

cultural icon destroyed. 

COURTESY OF BILL SHARP. 

and Main Street, on the Texas side of town. In 

the mid-1880s, Mayor Anthony Ghio built a 

two-story, frame business block called “Ghio’s 

Cotton Belt Block” there. This building 

occupied one-quarter of Block 27, lying 

opposite Ghio’s Opera House in Block 28. 

Around 1930, Ghio’s original Cotton Belt Block 

was razed, and the Parker Hotel was constructed 

in its place. It was a three-story hotel with 

business spaces along its first-floor level, facing 

Main Street. Among long-term tenants there 

were the White House Café, Barbieri Grocery, 

and Babb’s Garage, along with Harp’s News 

Stand. Early that November morning, fire broke 

out in the hotel and fire fighters worked all day 

and into the night to be sure the fire was 

extinguished. Since the fire was quickly 

contained, and damage was limited to the top 

floor and roof area; the hotel reopened and was 

managed by Bennie Benoist and his wife Mary 

until the 1960s. The Parker Hotel was 

eventually demolished in November of 1983. 

Jefferson Coffee Shop stood on the corner of 

East Front Street and Pine Street, on the 

Arkansas side of town. Its corner front door, 

housed in a unique, two-story “tower” facing 

Union Depot, welcomed travelers in for a cup of 

coffee and a slice of delicious pie. This coffee 

shop, owned and managed by Thomas Asimos, 

was built between 1929 and 1930. The Jefferson 

Coffee Shop’s unusual façade made it a wellknown 

landmark in town for more than thirty 

years. In August of 1963, fire broke out in the 

coffee shop kitchen, escalating until it finally 

consumed the coffee shop and business houses 

along the State Line Avenue side of the block. 

The Jefferson Coffee Shop reopened at another 

location under Asimos family management 

and continued until the late 1970s, but its 

original charm and unique location were 

never replicated. 

The Ben F. Smith Department Store fire in 

1981 was visible for quite some distance and 


ought many memories back to local residents. 

This building was originally built in 1908 for 

the State Bank of Texarkana, chartered in 1896. 

It was a beautiful, brick, five-story building with 

arched windows along the building’s top floor 

on both the State Line Avenue and E. Broad 

Street sides. This building was originally fifty 

feet wide, but was later increased to onehundred 

feet or more. State First National Bank 

occupied this building from 1908 until 1971, 

when the bank moved to State Line Plaza, one 

block north. Ben F. Smith Department Store 

moved into the former bank building from its 

earlier location in the one-hundred block of E. 

Broad Street and adopted a new motto, “If it’s 

new—it’s at Smith’s.” In the late 1970s Trey’s 

Supper Club opened in the building’s top floor, 

soon becoming known for good food, a wide 

assortment of alcoholic drinks, and spectacular 

views of the city, especially at night. In 1981 fire 

broke out in the supper club, and, because the 

building’s interior featured a five-floor atrium, 

quickly spread. The fire caused the building to 

remain closed for a number of years until 

David Potter and David Potter, II, renovated 

the building, closing in the interior atrium 

space, and renaming the building the 

“Landmark Building.” 

Over the years Texarkana suffered through 

many, many fires that destroyed or altered 

original building trends. The most spectacular 

fires occurred in the last quarter of the 1800s, 

when most of the buildings were made of 

timber and the fire department had little 

equipment with which to wage war on the 

fiery demons. Later, brick construction, fire 

codes, and well-equipped firemen made big 

fires rare occurrences. 

❖ 

Above: The State National Bank 

building was built about 1908. In 

1981 fire in Trey’s Supper Club on the 

building’s top floor caused extensive 

smoke damage to most of the 

building’s interior. 


Below: Interior of Ben F. Smith 

Department Store before the fire 

in 1981. 


Chapter V ✦ 63


CHAPTER VI 

T EXARKANA! QUEEN C ITY OF THE S OUTHWEST 

Railroads created the twin cities of Texarkana, and hotels provided housing for both visitors and 

immigrants coming to make a life in the East Texas piney woods. Churches tamed residents’ baser 

instincts, and schools educated children, passing on social mores and numerous skills. Fire sculpted the 

city by sanding, chiseling, and creating new opportunities from the ashes of earlier dreams. Along the 

way, residents described the city they knew, with unique flair, undeniable anger, and incredible pride. 

In December of 1885, Colonel E. A. Warren, editor of the Texarkana Daily Independent wrote an 

article entitled, “Texarkana! The Queen City of the Southwest,” in which he said, “We are not 

extravagant or unreasonable in our ideas and believe that our hopes for the great future of Texarkana 

are based on reason and judgment.” 

He went on to extol Texarkana’s virtues: 

Our location is high, dry, and remarkably healthy—we have an abundance of pure water…. We are 

surrounded by an average farming country which for fine fruits and vegetables is unsurpassed…. We now 

have a population of from seven to eight thousand and it is rapidly increasing, as evidenced by the fact that 

today, more than a dozen newcomers, strangers to us, called at our office in search of residences “for rent.” 

Our church facilities are first class, almost every denomination having comfortable houses of worship, 

while our school prospects are very bright—our people voting the full five mills tax, and thoroughly 

endorsing the graded system of public schools. We also have most excellent schools in charge of the 

Catholics, which are largely attended, and which are first class in every sense of the term. In addition to 

these a large number of private schools are taught by excellent teachers, thus furnishing the very best 

educational facilities. 

❖ 


On November 11, 1885, Warren gave an additional description of Texarkana. He noted that the 

city was growing in all directions and that new additions were being constructed. “With our water 

facilities and other natural advantages, we could but think what a rattling good city we could have if 

our monied men would only invest more in manufactures,” he said. Additionally, Warren outlined 

the following formula for making a prosperous city: 

• Enterprise, 

• Men of Money, 

• Attractive Location, 

• True Merits, Advertised, 

• Rich and Fertile, 

• Patronize Home Principles, 

• Churches and Schoolhouses, 

• Cordial Welcome to Strangers, 

• Harmonize in Various Societies, 

• A Prevailing Moral Sentiment, 

• Not Drones and Chronic Grumblers, 

• About Twenty Natural Born Loafers, 

• A Proper Confidence in Your Town, and its People, and an 

• Open Hand in Welcome to Your Competitors. . . . 

Warren frequently admonished his fellow citizens with wonderful quaintness. His proverbs included: 

“The road to wealth is crowded with the men who are turning back,” “A lie is like a cat, it never comes 

Chapter VI ✦ 65

❖ 

Above: The sights and sounds of 

nature all around the city drew people 

to Texarkana in its early days. 


Below: Lush farms and vineyards 

sprang up from the soil of East Texas, 

and cattle grazed contentedly. 


to you in a straight line,” “In trying to win respect 

have your olive branch well-loaded,” and “The 

present life and the future life are not what God 

makes them. If we would have heaven in the 

future life, we must not build hell now.” 

Texarkana was a beautiful place, a green zone 

in the heart of East Texas pine forests where the 

sounds of birds calling to each other and 

running water abounded. Game such as deer, 

duck, goose, and squirrel was plentiful in the 

marketplace. Fresh seafood came in daily by 

train from the Texas coast, and local restaurants 

and hotels had skilled kitchen staffs who could 

turn out delicious food all day long. Texarkana 

was once touted as “The Orchard Capital of the 

World,” and, in fact, Mayor Anthony Ghio had a 

vineyard on the West side near the intersection 

of Estes Street (Seventh Street) and Congress 

Street, just past West Street, that produced not 

only excellent grapes, but a number of fine wines 

as well. On August 10, 1885, Warren thanked 

Ghio for a large basket of very fine grapes he had 

given him, which were greatly enjoyed by the 

“Boss” (his wife) and the little “Independents.” 

Large, delicious Concord grapes became a 

specialty of the Ghio Vineyards, and, in 1885, he 

planned to make one-thousand gallons of wine 

from that year’s crop of grapes. 

Witterstaetter’s Market Garden was also one 

of the local attractions. It was located just off 

State Line Avenue, south of the cemetery, and 

was twelve acres of land “in the highest state of 

cultivation, interspersed with hot houses and 

hot beds. A windmill pumps from an everlasting 

well, water for the garden, and even in 

the most severe drouth, vegetation continues to 

vegetate.” Witterstaetter grew all kinds of 

vegetables, strawberries, and other fruits, and he 

frequently supplied fresh food for picnics, balls, 

garden parties, and summer celebrations. State 


Line Avenue carried on the green park tradition 

by having beautiful oak trees standing 

majestically down the center of the street, 

providing shade for passing wagons, horses, and 

riders. In July of 1887 there was a call to “save 

the trees” here because some citizens proposed 

cutting them down. Stegall’s Conservatory, 

located in the “Fairview” Addition, also a 

favorite park area, featured a hot house full of 

colorful, exotic blooming plants, and his 

gardens drew the eye to rare and hardy plants 

that would do well in the East Texas summer 

heat. It was a beautiful place to stroll and enjoy 

nature’s beauty. 

Texarkana’s beautiful green parks provided 

relaxation and entertainment for young and old, 

rich and poor. Residents enjoyed summer 

picnics at Old River, Park Beidler, Presbyterian 

Park, and the Gate City Ball Park. Roller skating 

was featured at Spring Lake Park and Park 

Beidler, while Episcopal Park had bicycle racing 

on an oval track that always brought out a 

crowd to see local men and boys pedal at 

dizzying speed until winners were proclaimed. 

The skating rink at Episcopal Park was fifty feet 

by one hundred feet, and admission was twentyfive 

cents, ladies admitted free of charge. On 

December 1, 1884, “A large crowd attended the 

skating rink Saturday night, and everyone 

passed a delightful evening. There was a large 

number of elegant skaters, and many who were 

not so elegant, though all enjoyed the excellent 

sport. A spirited race was run between Hershel 

Byers and Claude Ward, in which the latter was 

victorious, though Hershel’s skating was good.” 

Fresh dairy and creamery butter were always on 

hand at Daum’s, opposite Ghio’s Opera House, 

and soda fountains did a booming business 

during hot summer days in most of the drug 

stores along Broad Street. 

During the fall-winter season, Ghio’s Opera 

House featured the best touring acts available, 

and seats were sometimes difficult to come by. It 

was Ghio’s intention to have none but “stars” 

during the season in Texarkana. Often the 

performers took to Texarkana streets to draw a 

❖ 

Above: Texarkana’s early citizens had 

plenty to eat and lots of room to play 

and enjoy life. 


Below: The area’s many rivers, 

ponds, and lakes provided fresh fish 

in abundance. 


Chapter VI ✦ 67

❖ 

Above: Local produce stores like B.B. 

Moore and Sons Grocery bought and 

sold farm fresh fruits and vegetables 

for the town market in the 1890s. 


Below: Texarkana had a preference 

for green space and many small green 

islands such as Kline Park dotted 

city streets. 


crowd for their evening performances. A grand, 

military band—Miss Lilly Clay’s Company of 

Ladies—performed in the streets, and at the 

Opera House, and were so successful that Editor 

Warren noted, “It was with difficulty that the 

“madam” (his wife) prevented his going to 

Dallas, Texas, where the Lilly Clay troupe 

perform tonight.” Ghio also featured the Mabel 

Norton Combination, Frank Cotton, Comedian, 

and Keene, the Great Tragedian, among many 

other acts. In the off season, Texarkana’s young 

adults organized the Amateur Dramatic Club, a 

Gymnasium Club, political clubs, and Whist 

and Euchre clubs. The dramatic club presented 

“Among the Breakers” to rave revues and 

demands that they continue to provide local 

entertainment during the summer, until the 

next opera house season opened in the fall. 

Texarkana citizens enjoyed amazing sights 

on city streets. Frequently, large herds of cattle 


❖ 

Above: Spring Lake Park featured 

swimming and was a popular 

spot during Texarkana’s 

sweltering summers. 


Left: Many a new romance 

began with a walk through Spring 

Lake Park. 


Chapter VI ✦ 69

❖ 

Above: Spring Lake Park had a 

bicycle race track, a dance pavilion, 

and a skating rink. 


Below: Concession stands sold tickets 

and provided light refreshments. 


were driven through the downtown streets to 

the stockyards on the West side, raising 

dust clouds that could be seen from neighboring 

subdivisions. Late at night and early in the 

morning, wagon trains of immigrants headed 

into Texas made their way through the city, 

trailing barefoot children and packs of 

mongrel dogs. The circus came to town 

frequently, parading their huge animal 

menageries through city streets while men, 

women, and children hung out of second-story 

windows to catch a glimpse of the exciting 

sights and sounds. In September 1885, S. H. 

Barrett’s New United Monster Railroad Show 

stopped in Texarkana, featuring two hundred 

star performers, bareback riders, a mammoth 

menagerie, a huge hippopotamus, a coal 

black tiger, rhinoceroses, and other marvels. 

Another time, a circus company spent the winter 

in the Texarkana train yards area, allowing locals 

to see preparation and training first-hand. 

Additionally, citizens were treated to parades 

and bands livening up city streets with their fun 

and mayhem. 

Texarkana was an “up and coming” city 

with the latest technology available. Telephone 

service was first rumored to be coming to 

Texarkana in September 1884 with a newspaper 

notice that telephone would soon be established 

between Little Rock and Texarkana. On 

January 5, 1885, Warren wrote, “That the 

telephone is a great convenience all will 

admit, but in this city, it is not as much so 

as it should be, because times are so hard that 


the people cannot afford to pay five dollars a 

month for its use; hence, not enough are 

supplied with it to make it of very much benefit 

to the subscribers. 

“…let the rates be reduced and then we 

believe we will see a telephone in almost every 

business house in the city.” In June 1885, 

Mr. Pullen, superintendent of Texarkana’s 

telephone company, connected telephone wires 

with those of Western Union Telegraph 

Company and carried on a conversation with 

people in Tyler, Texas, more than one hundred 

miles away. “The words came over the wires so 

perfectly that they were easily understood.” 

Soon, Warren’s prediction came true, and both 

business houses and residences embraced the 

new technology. 

In October 1884, Warren cried for electricity, 

saying, “Why not have street lamps? It is awful 

dark for newspaper men to prowl around at 

night, and we are fearful Brother Allen (another 

newspaper man) will hurt himself.” Soon, new 

hotels being built were described as “fully 

modern” because they featured incandescent 

lamps. In May 1885, electricity was being used 

to drive fans in the city’s restaurants. “Graham 

has put up fans in his restaurant which will not 

only drive away flies but keep guests cool while 

they eat.” In March 1887, Texarkana Ice 

Company advertised rates for incandescent 

electric lights for residences—one and threefourths 

cents per hour, per lamp. 

A unified waterworks system became a 

Texarkana priority after the numerous downtown 

fires had destroyed many properties. On March 

13, 1885, Editor Warren wrote, “Water Works a 

Certainty!” A contract had been agreed upon by 

city officials and a Mr. Raeder, agent for the Water 

Works Contracting Company of St. Louis, 

whereby a waterworks would be constructed, 

beginning within the next thirty days, to be 

finished by August or September of 1885. “A 

large number of plugs or hydrants have been 

taken by the city, and a sufficient number will be 

secured, regardless of the cost, to do efficient 

service in cases of fire.” Dr. Beidler took $3,000 

❖ 

Above: Many of Texarkana’s drug 

stores had soda fountains such as this 

one in the McWilliams-Sain Drug 

Store at W. Third and Main streets. 

Mrs. McWilliams is seated on the left. 


Below: The local amateur club 

performed during the summers when 

the opera house professional circuit 

had ended. 


Chapter VI ✦ 71

❖ 

Above: Children’s groups also 

performed in the parks for the 

enjoyment of parents and neighbors. 


Below: Texarkana’s stockyards was 

the destination of many cows herded 

through city streets. 


in stock in the water works enterprise in May 

1885, signaling to local citizens that it had his 

endorsement. The Texas side waterworks were 

located way out of the West side horizon in the 

1888 “Texarkana Perspective Map,” but its 

standpipe was located near Ghio’s Vineyards, 

closer to town. The demand for a gas works 

began to be voiced as soon as it became a 

certainty that Texarkana would get its water 

works. “Now that the water works are a certainty, 

let us work for gas. Texarkana is too large to be 

without it.” 

Texarkana’s streetcar system began in 1886, 

when Frank Whitley, A. Deutschmann, and 

Benjamin M. Foreman wanted some type of 

transportation to bring people out to Whitley 

Park located near Fourteenth Street and the 

Kansas City Southern Railroad tracks. A muledrawn 

streetcar system was implemented first, 

becoming known as the Texarkana Street Railway 

Company, which served the city until 1890, 

citing daily receipts of $26. In May 1887 an 

advertisement stated that the street railway was 

selling half-rate tickets to children. Those under 

twelve years of age could get two tickets for a 

nickel. In 1890 a franchise for electric streetcar 

service was granted to George Baumhoff, who 

purchased the mule-drawn system from Whitley, 

Deutschmann, and Foreman. About the same 

time, a second electric company, the Texarkana 

Gas & Electric Light Company also received a 

franchise to operate an electric railway along 

State Line Avenue. By the end of the 1890s, 

Texarkana Gas and Electric Light Company was 

the surviving streetcar operator in Texarkana 

proper. In 1902, Thomas Crouch and E. J. 

Spencer organized Texarkana Traction Company, 

and in 1903 Crouch and Spencer bought out 

the College Hill Light and Traction Company, a 


third company founded in the late 1890s, and 

laid two and one-half miles of track in the city 

before selling out to Texarkana Gas and Electric 

Light Company. Eventually, six trolley lines crisscrossed 

the city: “Buchanan,” “Rose Hill,” “State,” 

“Hazel,” “County Avenue,” and “College Hill.” 

Maroon-colored streetcars with gold trim and 

dark green streetcars with gold trim bustled along 

the tracks carrying businessmen, shoppers, and 

park-goers; and in the summertime, brightlycolored, 

open-sided cars took hundreds of 

residents out to the various parks. 

However, life in Texarkana was not all picnics 

and lemonade. The city faced numerous 

problems and residents thought city officials 

should do more to alleviate them. Some of the 

problems existed because Texarkana was new 

and functioned somewhat like a “frontier” town. 

Open sewers ran between Front and Broad street, 

causing comments such as, “The sewer running 

on the west side of Vine Street, between Broad 

and Front, and alongside of which every stranger 

who enters the city must walk is a disgrace to this 

city. . . .The water and mud is stagnated into a 

green loblolly, and the stench is sickening. In the 

name of the health of the town, what is the city 

government for?” Every business and residence in 

town had an outhouse located near the alleys and 

during the summer; when the heat set in, these 

produced an odor that could “make the eyes 

water and the nose run.” Standing water in places 

like these bred mosquitoes, that, in turn, brought 

malaria, dengue fever, and other illnesses. 

Frequently, citizens were admonished to empty 

containers holding water and to apply lime freely 

around their properties. 

❖ 

Above: An early parade in downtown 

Texarkana in 1910. Mrs. A. W. Ball 

and Mrs. L. D. Lovett are shown. 


Below: Texarkana’s Brass Band 

performed in front of the Dixie 

Theatre in the 1920s. 


Chapter VI ✦ 73

Texarkana experienced a high death rate for 

children and infants in the days before public 

hospitals. Diseases such as whooping cough, 

diphtheria, measles, mumps, chicken pox, 

yellow jaundice, and ague claimed many young 

lives, leaving parents and relatives disconsolate. 

Editor Warren attempted to comfort the 

bereaved saying, “their souls have gone to 

Heaven, where no sorrows or troubles will come 

to mar their happiness.” Death was no respecter 

of persons, taking children from the Kelsey, 

Applebaum, and Draughon families, along with 

children from the community’s poorest families. 

On one occasion Death claimed one child of a 

set of twins, and came back two days later to 

take the other twin. Texarkana’s children died in 

buggy accidents, fires, drownings, and train 

accidents as well. 

City streets and sidewalks were continuing 

problems. Texarkana had dirt streets, and 

residents were required to contribute so many 

hours per month graveling, smoothing, and 

filling in wagon ruts. Those who did not 

complete their “road hours” were brought before 

the judge and fined, or thrown in jail to 

reconsider. During the rainy season these roads 

and pathways were nearly impassable, and 

timber planks were laid down to make passage 


easier. Sidewalks in the downtown area were 

just planks initially, then became timber 

walkways nailed together, then brick pathways, 

and finally raised concrete. Getting around town 

was particularly odious after both fire and rain 

had struck an area. Then it was not 

just a muddy mess, but a black, 

muddy mess that ruined shoes 

and clothing. 

Animals of various types were 

downtown nuisances for many, 

many years. Mongrel dogs hung 

around downtown restaurants, 

bars, and grocers, looking for a 

handout. Children, too, ran the 

streets, and, at times, children and 

dogs got into trouble. “Kite flying 

on the streets should not be 

permitted. Somebody’s horse will be 

frightened and somebody will be 

hurt if it is not stopped.” Screaming 

children and barking dogs caused 

one horse, pulling a wagon, to bolt 

and run, “playing everlasting 

smash” with the wagon before 

running through a storefront 

window. In 1885 rabies became a 

problem among the dog population 

in town, and editor Warren called 

for a muzzle law and a death penalty for any 

unmuzzled dog found on the streets. Dozens of 

dogs were killed by the sheriff and his crew. A 

large rat population downtown was also an 

ongoing problem, causing Warren to write that 

❖ 

Opposite, top: Texarkana Gas & 

Electric Company streetcars were a 

familiar sight on downtown streets 

and neighborhood boulevards. 


Opposite, bottom: The streetcar’s 

motorman could reverse the car’s 

direction by walking to the other end 

of the car, reversing seat backs on 

his way. 


Above: Texarkana’s children died of 

diseases such as whooping cough, 

diphtheria, measles, and mumps, as 

well as from accidents. 


Below: All adult male citizens were 

required to work on Texarkana’s dirt 

roads, or pay the road tax. 


Chapter VI ✦ 75

❖ 

Above: Noisy children and barking 

dogs spooked many horses, causing 

damage to buggies, store windows, 

and the horses themselves. 


Below: The telephone switchboard in 

the Offenhauser Buildingwas complex. 


the rats were “as large as rabbits and as bold as 

alley cats.” 

Crime in Texarkana came in many varieties 

and was somewhat tied to the city’s state line 

status. Loitering and begging seemed to go hand 

in hand. In December of 1884 tramps begging 

for bread and meat were positively endorsed by 

the paper, saying that these tramps would “go to 

work if they had the opportunity.” But before 

long, Warren was saying that city housewives 

were being besieged in their homes by the tramps 

and that city officials 

should put the tramps to 

work or run them out of 

town. One week a party of 

tramps came into town and 

begged on the streets. 

“Able-bodied men who 

looked healthy enough to 

work, in fact one of them 

was able to get drunk and 

boisterous, for which 

Officer Sweeney escorted 

him to the calaboose.” 

Bootblacks, both black and 

white, loitered as they 

waited for customers to 

stop by. Soon gangs of 

bootblacks were dicing and 

swearing, taking up the 

whole sidewalk, making 

“good” citizens walk in the 

streets and embarrassing the ladies with their 

language. However, poverty was sometimes the 

reason people loitered on the streets. In March of 

1885, Miller County had recently established a 

poorhouse, and Warren endorsed it as a good 

investment. “Before it was built, the county was 

paying for the support of about thirty paupers, 

but since the order of Judge Hervey was made 

for all paupers to be sent to the poor house, 

the county is taxed with the support of only two 

of them.” 


Drunkenness was a frequent charge listed 

on court dockets published in the local 

newspaper. Texarkana had more than its 

fair share of saloons, like the Paragon, Young 

America, the Parlor, and the Palace. Drunks 

got into fights, fired their guns on the 

streets, ran horse races down Broad Street, 

and started bonfires to keep warm. The penalty 

for a good drunk, if caught, was $1 and a night 

in jail. 

Texarkana’s Swampoodle entertainment 

district, located initially near the train depots 

on Front Street, featured barrooms, gambling 

halls, and brothels. Streetwalking, “sporting,” 

and prostitution were the various charges 

related to prostitution brought up before 

local courts, and it was frequently charged. 

City officials adopted a “laissez-faire” policy 

on prostitution because it provided release 

and companionship for hundreds of single 

and married men employed on the railroads 

or in the lumber industry. As these men 

married or brought their families to live in 

Texarkana, the demand for more consistent 

action on the prostitutes increased. Houses 

of prostitution were run by three madams, 

who cited their occupations as such in the 1900 

U.S. Census: Kitty Stone, Annabelle Lee, and 

Zoe LaRoy. Interestingly, Texarkana seemed to 

be part of a prostitution circuit that followed the 

railroads from Little Rock, Hot Springs, 

Texarkana, all the way down to Beaumont, and 

over to Fort Worth. 

Robbery and murder were also charges 

frequently brought before local judges and items 

taken were varied. In late 1884 and early 1885, 

residences were being burgled at an alarming 

rate, and citizens were encouraged to load their 

guns and give the robbers reason to stay away. 

Sometimes, in their haste to get away from 

❖ 

Above: Texarkana’s high infant 

mortality rate touched many 

prominent families as well as those 

who were not so well known. Mrs. E. 

L. Simons and daughter Doris are 

shown in this 1904 photograph. 


Below: Maude Maddox was 

supervisor for A.C. Stuart 

Telephone Office located in the 

Offenhauser Building. 


Chapter VI ✦ 77

❖ 

Above: Prostitution went hand-inhand 

with drunkenness and crime in 

Texarkana’s Swampoodle 

entertainment district. Zoe LeRoy, on 

the right, and Kittie Stone, on the left, 

were two of Texarkana’s madams 

shown in this 1890s photograph. 


Below: Texarkana’s produce 

warehouses on Front Street and its 

many restaurants and bars caused it 

to have a high rat population. 


startled owners’ guns, robbers took pants, 

suspenders, and anything attached, rather than 

taking the time to get only the valuables in a 

man’s pockets. In May of 1885, Miss Lizzie 

Markham’s canary and cage were stolen off of 

her front porch overnight when she forgot to 

bring them inside. Guns, jewelry, money, and 

clothing were taken from a judge, county 

officials, and local residents alike. Murder 

occurred when drunkenness and orneriness 

clashed. Men carried guns in early Texarkana to 

protect themselves and their families, and 

shooting guns on the streets during the 

nighttime hours was often complained about. 

The city drew criminals because it was so easy to 

skip across the state line and be out of 

jurisdiction where a crime was committed; it 

was also easy to board a train and disappear. 

Sometimes, prominent people were murdered, 

such as the shooting of Pete Dixon, a local 

sheriff’s deputy. Criminals shot him down 

because he had been very efficient at his job. 

An unusual crime was noted in local 

newspapers when Sheriff Dixon and Alderman 

Sweeney were looking for an escaped prisoner 

and dropped in on Wah Lee’s Chinese Laundry 

on State Line Avenue. In an area off of the back 

of the laundry, they found “an opium dive in full 

blast and nine white men laid up on wooden 

bunks, some asleep and others quietly smoking 

away.” From the surroundings it was evident 

that the “dive” had existed for some time. 

Authorities quickly broke up the dive and took 

Wah Lee and the nine men to jail. 

Over time, Texarkana gained a reputation as a 

“half-way house for burglars, thieves, and 

robbers.” Swampoodle, its entertainment district, 

was known far and wide for its sinful ways and 

unrepentant attitude. Little Rock newspapers 

delighted in tattling on juicy bits of gossip from 

Texarkana and local preachers ranted to 

their congregations that the city was 

“hanging over hell by the very brittle 

thread of life.” In truth, there was a time 

when the city could only be described as 

“wild and unruly.” However, as 

civilization settled into Texarkana, its 

wild ways were abandoned for more 

prosperous pursuits such as building city 

economies, road systems, school systems, 

and social networks of agencies and 

clubs. Ordinances were written to control 

those who remained unruly and courts 

and jails took care of those who would 

not reform. 


Today, Texarkana is much like thousands 

of other cities that began in the days of the 

railroad barons. It has grown in population, 

mellowed in attitude, and gained and 

lost important industries. It seeks a new identity 

that will draw entrepreneurs and businesses and 

it struggles with an aging infrastructure 

desperately in need of repair or replacement. 

Texarkana is a stable, beautiful, safe place to 

raise a family and grow old. It is also an exciting 

place to live, with industrious citizens and a 

bright future. 

❖ 

Above: It was jail time for thieves and 

criminals in Texarkana’s early days. 


Below: The Miller County Jail 

building was constructed before 1900 

to house Texarkana’s lawless citizens. 


Chapter VI ✦ 79

❖ 

Painting by Dean Lynn. 



SHARING THE HERITAGE 

Historic profiles of businesses, 

organizations, and families that have 

contributed to the development and 

economic base of Texarkana 

Patriot Truck & Trailer ...................................................................82 

LaCrosse Hotel ...............................................................................86 

Dr. Mitchell Young Family................................................................90 

Texarkana Museums System..............................................................93 

University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences 

Area Health Education Center-Southwest .......................................94 

Kemp Bros. Body Shop, Inc. ..............................................................97 

Texarkana Arkansas School District...................................................98 

City of Texarkana, Texas................................................................100 

Shady Pines RV Center, Inc.............................................................102 

Texas A&M University-Texarkana....................................................104 

Texarkana Auto Body Works, Inc. ....................................................106 

Texarkana Independent School District .............................................108 

Commercial National Bank .............................................................110 

First Tape & Label ........................................................................112 

Liberty-Eylau Independent School District ........................................114 

Capital One .................................................................................116 

Pleasant Grove Independent School District.......................................118 

Miller-Bowie Supply ......................................................................120 

CHRISTUS St. Michael Health System ..............................................122 

Cooper Tire & Rubber Company ......................................................124 

Ashdown Mill/Domtar Industries, Inc. ..............................................126 

Offenhauser & Company ................................................................127 

Texarkana Public Library ...............................................................128 

Dunn, Nutter & Morgan, L.L.P. .......................................................129 

Total Healthcare of Ark-La-Tex .......................................................130 

Atchley, Russell, Waldrop & Hlavinka, L.L.P......................................131 

Southwest Arkansas Electric Cooperate REA ......................................132 

Bryce’s Cafeteria, Inc. ...................................................................133 

Miller, James, Miller & Hornsby, L.L.P. ............................................134 

Wadley Health System ...................................................................135 

Texarkana College.........................................................................136 

Sharing the Heritage ✦ 81

PATRIOT TRUCK 

& TRAILER 

❖ 

BY DOUG 

CUMMINGS 

Above: Heber D. Hopkins, Doug’s 

grandfather, with truck in Civilian 

Conservation Corp at Pinnacles, 

California, 1937 at the age of twenty 

with friend Cecil Dillard. 

Below: George A Cummings, Doug’s 

father, delivering freight for Jones 

Truck Lines in Little Rock, Arkansas, 

January 1962. 

Heber D. Hopkins, George A. 

Cummings, Charles Cummings, Ronald 

Hopkins and Steve Hopkins. These may 

be just names to most people but for me 

they represent a family heritage steeped 

in the trucking industry and the beginning 

of the journey of how Patriot Truck 

& Trailer came into being. 

Heber Hopkins, my grandfather, 

began driving a truck when he was just 

thirteen years old. He retired from a distinguished 

driving career from Strickland 

Systems with over forty years of driving without 

a single chargeable accident. Ronald Hopkins 

and Steve Hopkins, two of my uncles, have also 

retired from the LTL (less than truckload) 

segment of the trucking industry. Charles 

Cummings, another one of my uncles who is 

still in the trucking business, also started and 

sold a trucking company as did my father, 

George A. Cummings. My mother, two brothers 

and sister and many cousins have also been 

involved in the trucking industry. The trucking 

industry has been a good and stable provider for 

many of our families for several generations and 

continues to be so. 

In 1980, my father, George A. Cummings, 

left Little Rock, Arkansas and moved to 

Texarkana with my mother and siblings and 

started Tri-State Delivery. He left Jones Truck 

Lines with a twenty-five year tenure while holding 

the position of terminal manager. From a 

very humble beginning and with modest means, 

my father rewrote his career and destiny at the 

age of forty-two. 

In 1981, I made the choice to rejoin my family 

and moved to Texarkana where I started 

working with my Dad in the family business. 

Thanks to hard work, my father’s experience 

and prosperous times, I was exposed to nearly 

every facet of a LTL operation in a short three to 

four year period. I performed many roles and 

assumed many responsibilities from forklift 

operator and dockhand to truck driver and 

dock foreman. As the company grew, the 

amount of equipment grew with it. Away from 

work, building and racing dirt track racecars 

was a hobby of mine and given my experience 

and knack for things mechanical, by default, I 

assumed the responsibility of servicing and 

repairing the company equipment in addition to 

other labor and driving responsibilities. In 

1985, we purchased a shop in order to support 

the growing maintenance needs of the company’s 

equipment. Over the years, our fleet of 

equipment continued to grow and we modified 

and/or built seventeen specialty trailers in our 

company shop to use exclusively for the transportation 

of carbon black, a key ingredient in 

the manufacturing process of rubber. In 1995, 

we participated in the startup of another company, 

Innovative Trailers, Inc., that went on to 

manufacture over 275 carbon black trailers for 

Tri-State Delivery. In 1997, my father sold Tri- 

State Delivery and retired. 

In 2001, with a twenty-year tenure at Tri- 

State Delivery and the position of executive vice 

president and chief operating officer and a 

diverse resume, I set out to start my own business, 

Patriot Truck and Trailer. Much like my 


father before me, I reshaped my career and destiny 

at the age of forty-two. 

Patriot was formed in 2002 and on January 2, 

2003, we opened for business at 510 Realtor 

Avenue, which formerly housed the local 

Kenworth dealership. With years of experience 

in the maintenance arena of the trucking industry, 

I enjoyed a mutual respect among many colleagues 

in my field. My father had purchased 

another trucking company, Excalibur 

Transportation, which was expanding and had a 

need for a maintenance facility therefore representing 

a valuable customer for a start-up operation. 

In addition to these relationships, my 

start up staff at Patriot was some of the same 

staff I had worked with for years while at Tri- 

State. My friend, and administrative assistant, 

Suzanne McGuire and I had worked together for 

fourteen years. In addition to Suzanne, my startup 

staff consisted of Ron Stroup, Sr., Ron 

Stroup, Jr., Robert Duran, Shawn Wiegref, and 

Chris Windham, all of whom had worked with 

me at TSD. 

The experience and work ethic combined 

with our fleet background in maintenance was 

an asset for Patriot from the beginning. While it 

was not our intent to try to be all things to all 

people, our fleet experience allows us to provide 

all the services associated with a fleet maintenance 

program and therefore be a “one-stop” 

service provider. Our services include, but are 

not limited to, truck and trailer repair for all 

makes and all models, alignments, tires and tire 

repair, air conditioning work, suspension and 

brake work, major repairs and overhauls as well 

as a full aftermarket parts department. 

In addition to a strong work ethic, a dedication 

to customer service and a family atmosphere 

based on Christian principles some key 

events early in Patriots history were as follows. 

When we first conceived Patriot, and before we 

even acquired our facility, we were able to 

acquire the phone number used by the previous 

occupier of our building, the Kenworth dealer, 

which proved to be one of our most successful 

marketing strategies. Although greatly diminished, 

even five years later, we still occasionally 

benefit from having this phone number. 

Secondly, in our first year of business, the Mid- 

Continent Truck stop located a few blocks up 

the road from us went out of business after more 

than thirty years in Texarkana, which channeled 

truck traffic and customers directly to our driveway. 

Lastly, Southern Refrigerated Transport, a 

local trucking company, experienced a large volume 

of new trucks which resulted in preparation 

of trade trucks in 2003. This volume of new 

truck and trade truck preparation led to an 

increase in work load for their maintenance staff 

and consequently, they outsourced some of this 

volume to Patriot Truck and Trailer. This really 

helped to jump start our revenues and profits. I 

do not know how long it would have taken us 

to reach the level that we did without SRT but, 

I do know that without the opportunity that 

Tony Smith the owner, Wiley Peters and Glen 

Rosenbaum in the shop entrusted us with, it 

❖ 

Above: Ronald Hopkins and Steve 

Hopkins, two of Doug’s uncles, at a 

Jones Truck Lines reunion in 

Maumelle Park, Arkansas, in 1992. 

Below: Doug and his father with two 

new KW cabovers for Tri-State 

Delivery, Texarkana, Arkansas, 1990. 


❖ 

Above: Patriots’ first Christmas 

Banquet 2003. In attendance were 

(from left to right) Shawn Wiegref, 

Kevin Chriestenson, Ron “JR” Stroup, 

Rosie Carmona, Brandon Frederick, 

Mike Wincher, Efren Carmona, 

Suzanne McGuire, Robert Duran, 

Amos Burt, Ron Stroup, Doug 

Cummings, and Allen Cummings. 

surely would have taken us much longer to 

achieve our success. 

At the end of 2007, we reached a milestone 

in the history of any company and we closed 

one chapter and opened a new one as we celebrated 

the close of our fifth year in business. 

During that time, we have added on to our 

facility twice, which tripled our warehouse 

area for parts and increased our shop 

capacity an additional fifty percent over 

the existing facility. We were fortunate 

enough to show a profit in our fourth 

month in business! We enjoyed a thirtyfour 

percent increase in revenues in our 

second year in business when compared to 

our first year and have maintained an average 

of a five-percent increase in revenues 

each subsequent year when compared to 

the previous year. Approximately one 

third of our total sales historically and 

even today are from cash customers. 

During our first five years, our top revenue 

customers have consistently been, in 

alphabetical order, B & L Metals, 

Excalibur Transportation Group, Johnny 

Johnson Trucking, Landstar, Linde Gas, M 

& M Milling and PNK Transportation. 

Many employees have come and gone in our 

first five years and they represent an integral 

part of the history of our company. Efren and 

Rosie Carmona, Robert Duran and Mike 

Wincher are prominent names that come to 

mind as we reflect upon our history. Four of our 

Right: Team Patriot and new sign in 

2006. Back row (from left to right): 

Filiberto Moya, Chris Windham, and 

Robert Duran. Middle row (from left 

to right): Tamara Williams, Coty 

Nipper, Gary Newcomer, Ron “JR” 

Stroup, Doug Cummings, Daniel 

Cummings, Ron Stroup, Amos Burt, 

and Suzanne McGuire. 

Kneeling (from left to right): Mike 

Wincher and Jon Jimenez. 


original start-up staff is still with the 

company. Our existing staff, as of 

our five year anniversary, consisted 

of Suzanne McGuire, Ron Stroup, 

Sr., Ron Stroup, Jr., Chris 

Windham, Amos Burt, Martin 

Marshall, Filiberto Moya, Charles 

Walker, Daniel Cummings, Amanda 

Cummings, Kristal McGuire, Dan 

Blatter and James Shuman. 

Patriot has purchased a 1.5-acre 

lot adjacent to our existing location 

and is in the process of expanding 

their parking in the short term 

while creating room for shop 

expansion in the future. Their experienced 

and devoted team with an 

exceptional work ethic provides the 

highest level of customer service 

while creating a work environment 

of which people want to be a part. 

This has been the key to our success 

during our first five years in business 

and will continue to be what carries us into 

the future. 

“But remember the Lord your God, for it is he 

who gives you the ability to produce wealth and so 

confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, 

as it is today.” 

- Deuteronomy 8:18. 

While many events and ingredients have 

combined to help make Patriot Truck & Trailer 

a success they all would have been in vain without 

God having blessed our company. Just as my 

family before me, God’s blessings have provided 

our continued success in the trucking industry. 

I am thankful today and am confident that 

Patriot Truck & Trailer will continue to play a 

small role in the history of my family and the 

Texarkana community. 

“Patriot (pa’tre et) one who loves and zealously 

supports one’s country.” 

God Bless America! 

❖ 

Above: Team Patriot at their five year 

anniversary in 2007. Standing (from 

left to right): Doug Cummings, Marty 

Marshall, Dan Blatter, Ron “JR” 

Stroup, Daniel Cummings, Charles 

“Booger” Walker, Filiberto Moya, 

James Shuman, and Ron Stroup. 

Sitting (from left to right): Chris 

Windham, Amanda Cummings, 

Suzanne McGuire, Kristal McGuire, 

and Amos Burt. 

Left: Doug Cummings and family in 

September 2007. Standing (from left 

to right); Allen and Doug. Sitting 

(from left to right): Rebecca, Diane, 

Courtney, Alexia, Stephanie, Hallie, 

Tamara, Melanie, and Amanda. 


LACROSSE 

HOTEL 

❖ 

Above: The hotel lobby. 

The LaCrosse Hotel, Member of World 

Hotels, is located at 5100 North Stateline just 

inside the Arkansas/Texas border of the bi-state 

city of Texarkana, U.S.A.. The LaCrosse Hotel 

was newly renovated in 2007 and has many 

upscale amenities. The original building was 

built as a Holiday Inn in the late l970s with 210 

large guest rooms, a banquet facility for as many 

as 250 people, conference room, Olympic size 

indoor swimming pool, in-ground hot tub and 

large sauna. In October of 2003, the William 

and Roxann Davis Company, LLC purchased the 

Holiday Inn from Felcor Corporation. From that 

time until January 2008, it has been operated as 

a full-service Holiday Inn with restaurant, 

lounge, and meeting rooms. The Holiday Inn 

has been very popular with regular guests and 

travelers between Memphis, Little Rock, Dallas, 

Fayetteville and Shreveport. 

As of January 2008, the Holiday Inn was 

changed to a LaCrosse Hotel, a member of 

World Hotels. World Hotels has the largest 

membership of hotels in the world. They only 

accept full service hotels with a three to five 

Diamond rating. Airline miles are available with 

the airline of your choice when staying at the 

LaCrosse Hotel and/or twenty percent off Avis’ 

standard car rental rates. World Hotel's motto is 

"Bringing Unique Hotels and People Together." 

The LaCrosse Hotel is centrally located and 

easily accessible just off I-30. It can be identified 

by the three large LaCrosse signs and lighted 

trees all around the property. There is the Link's 

golf course right behind the LaCrosse and free 


games are available at the LaCrosse Front Desk, 

with the golf room package. 

The newly renovated rooms are all furnished 

with a microwave, refrigerator, coffeemaker with 

complimentary Starbucks coffee, and iron with 

board, free WiFi and hard line Internet. The 

LaCrosse is Texarkana's only hotel that has an 

enclosed recreational atrium with indoor garden 

and indoor heated swimming pool, hot tub that 

seats up to twenty people, sauna, arcade room, 

pool tables, children's play area, putting green, 

exercise/workout room and more. 

The LaCrosse has three banquet sections 

that can be opened up to one ballroom, 

which will hold over 225 guests. The upper 

and lower terrace in the enclosed atrium can 

hold an additional 125 guests or be rented 

separately depending on guests’ needs. The 

conference room located on the fourth floor 

is excellent for business meetings. It 

accommodates fifteen people comfortably and 

has a kitchen to prepare refreshments. 

The restaurant, Pier 51, was previously a Red 

Lobster. Red Lobster moved to build a stand 

alone restaurant. Pier 51 has kept the theme of 

steaks and seafood. It features many Cajun 

dishes such as fried alligator, crab cakes, Creole 

gumbo jambalaya, fried crawfish, blackened 

Cajun chicken, Louisiana Treasure, and 

L'Acadian blackened catfish, plus American 

steaks and seafood. The food is complimented 

by the delicious Starbuck's coffee. The 

lounge has several big screen televisions and 

features a large selection of wines by the glass 

or bottle. 

❖ 

LaCrosse's spacious, elegant rooms. 


Pier 51 is open from 6:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. 

for breakfast, 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. for lunch, 

and 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. for dinner, 11:00 

p.m. on the weekends. 

Being a full-service hotel means that they 

have room service for breakfast, lunch and 

dinner served from the Pier 

51 Restaurant. 

The Holiday Inn, 

recently changed to a 

LaCrosse Hotel, has been a 

Texarkana landmark for 

thirty years. It is the only 

full service hotel in 

Texarkana, Arkansas, and 

continues to maintain its 

great reputation of Southern 

hospitality, welcoming 

guests to a warm 

atmosphere with a lobby 

greeter to assist guests with 

their luggage, directions to 

hotel facilities, or directions to Texarkana 

attractions. Historic downtown features the 

beautifully restored Perot Theatre, Union Station, 

Regional Arts Center, Museum of Regional 

History, and the unique Photographers Island, 

where visitors can stand with one foot in Arkansas 


and the other firmly in Texas. The LaCrosse hotel 

is also centrally located near many large area 

businesses including Cooper Tire, Texarkana 

Regional Airport, Lone Star Ammunition Plant, 

Red River Army Depot, DOMTAR Industries, and 

International Paper. For more information about 

the LaCrosse Hotel or to make reservations, please 

visit www.lacrosse-hotel.com. 

❖ 

Below: LaCrosse's exquisite 

banquet room. 


DR. MITCHELL 

YOUNG FAMILY 

❖ 

Above: The Young Family. Back row 

(from left to right): Dr. Matt Young, 

Dr. Mark Young, Dr. Mitchell Young, 

Donna Young, Dr. Mike Young, and 

Mary Ellen Young. Front row (from 

left to right): Dr. Patrick Young, Dr. 

Tom Young, Dr. David Young, and Dr. 

Chris Young. Not pictured: Lesa 

Young and Dr. John Young. 

Below: All Eagle Scouts: Dr. Mitchell 

Young and his sons. Back row (from 

left to right): Chris, Matt, and David. 

Front row (from left to right): Pat, 

Mike, Dr. Mitchell Young, John, and 

Mark. Not pictured: Tom. 

Born of strong Scottish and Irish descent in 

1928 at St. Michael Hospital in Texarkana, 

Arkansas, Mitchell Michael Young began 

working at an early age with a paper route for 

the Texarkana Gazette for four years. He 

attended Sacred Heart Catholic School where at 

the age of twelve he joined Boy Scout Troop 3. 

Shortly thereafter, he served on the aquatic staff 

for five years at Camp Pioneer near Mena, 

Arkansas, where he taught swimming, 

lifesaving, canoeing, and rowing. 

At age fourteen, Young and two other camp 

counselors rode their bicycles over one hundred 

miles to Camp Pioneer from Texarkana. From 

camp on Sundays, he would ride his bike to 

Mena to attend mass at the Catholic Church. He 

earned the character award from the Order of 

the Arrow and served as chief of the Order of 

the Arrow in 1944 and 1945. He then received 

his Eagle Scout Award in which twenty-one 

merit badges were required; however, Young 

eagerly earned seventy-two badges and ten 

palms. His scouting experience and his belief in 

the Scout Oath soon became a way of life. 

Young attended Texas High School and 

played football and tennis and served as Senior 

Class President. He graduated in 1945 and went 

on to the University of Arkansas where he 

played football, tennis, ran track, and boxed. He 

turned down a football scholarship to focus on 

his pre-med studies and worked in the school 

cafeteria to help pay his way through school. 

Young graduated in 1949 with a degree in premedicine 

and was accepted to the University of 

Arkansas for Medical Sciences–College of 

Medicine in Little Rock. 

While attending medical school, Young 

worked as the Red Cross Aquatic Program 

Director. He taught swimming, lifesaving, and 

water safety lessons at the College Hill 

swimming pool and at Texarkana Country Club 

as well as demonstrated lifesaving techniques at 

Camp Pioneer Boy Scout Camp and Camp High 

Point Girl Scout Camp. As the Aquatics Director 

at Texarkana Country Club, Young also directed 

aquacades for the Texarkana area. After rescuing 

a man and his grandson from drowning in the 

lake at Texarkana Country Club, he received a 


National Certificate of Merit from the American 

Red Cross, which is now locally known as the 

Dr. Mitchell Young Award. He also wrote water 

safety articles for the Texarkana Gazette. 

In 1953, Young moved to St. Louis, Missouri, 

for his Surgical Residency at St. Louis City 

Hospital where he later met Donna Joan Koch, a 

nursing student and resident of St. Louis (of 

Finnish and German descent). After only dating 

six months, Young proposed, and he and Donna 

soon began their life together. 

In 1955, Young was called into the United 

States Air Force to serve two years in Bangkok, 

Thailand. Being the only medical officer in 

Thailand, Young served JUSMAG as a first 

lieutenant before a promotion to the rank of 

captain. He was awarded the Legion of Merit 

medal for his exemplary military service. 

During his two years in Thailand, Young also 

implemented a water safety program, taught 

swimming lessons, and directed aquacades at 

the Royal Bangkok Sports Club. Dr. Mitchell 

and Donna Young began their family with the 

birth of their first son in Thailand. 

Returning to the United States, the Young 

family then moved to Texas where Dr. Young 

continued his surgical residency at Parkland 

Hospital in Dallas. 

After completing his residency in 1960, the 

Youngs returned to Texarkana in 1961 where 

Dr. Young began his private practice as a general 

surgeon. Dr. Young operated at Christus St. 

Michael Hospital and Wadley Regional Medical 

Center and served as chief of staff twice at 

Christus St. Michael Hospital as well as Medical 

Arts Hospital. Dr. Young practiced medicine 

from 1961 to 2000 in Texarkana. 

The Young’s have ten children—two 

daughters and eight 

sons. All eight boys 

are Eagle Scouts, 

and the girls are 

Girl Scout Gold 

Award Recipients. 

Dr. Young also 

received the Silver 

Beaver Award, the 

Silver Antelope 

Award, and the 

Distinguished Eagle 

Award in Scouting. 

Dr. Young served 

on the Texarkana 

ISD School Board 

for twelve years and, 

while serving as the 

❖ 

Above: Dr. Mitchell Young treating a 

young Thai boy in Bangkok, Thailand. 

Below: Texarkanian gets Legion of 

Merit. On March 26, 1957, Dr. 

Mitchell Young, right, a former 

captain in the USAF Medical Corps is 

awarded the Legion of Merit by 

Brigadier General Nils O. Ohman, 

commander of the 19th Air Division, 

Carswell AFB. Dr. Young's award 

was for meritorious service in 

Thailand from June 15, 1955- 

February 26, 1957, as a doctor with 

Detachment Two, 1173rd Foreign 

Mission Squadron. 


❖ 

Above: Dr. Mitchell and Donna Young 

on their farm in Leary, Texas. 

Bottom, left: Lesa Young. 

president of the school board, TISD was 

named the “Best School Board” in the State 

of Texas. The Youngs attended St. Edward 

Catholic Church where they remain as 

parishioners today. 

Today, the Dr. Mitchell Young Family 

continues the proud legacy of service and caring 

into the twenty-first century. Dr. Young passed 

away on January 24, 2008. He was a retired 

general surgeon in Texarkana. Donna Koch 

Young is a housewife and mother of ten in 

Texarkana. Michael Joseph Young, M.D., is an 

orthopedic surgeon in Hot Springs, Arkansas. 

Mark David Young, M.D., is an orthopedic 

surgeon in Dallas. Lesa Ann Young is a 

registered nurse in Benton, Arkansas. Thomas 

Christopher Young, M.D., is an orthopedic 

surgeon in Texarkana. Mary Ellen Young is an 

associate English professor in Texarkana. David 

Matthew Young, M.D., is a family practice 

physician in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Christopher 

Mitchell Young, M.D., is an orthopedic surgeon 

in Hot Springs, Arkansas. John Patrick Young, 

M.D., is an orthopedic surgeon in Birmingham, 

Alabama. Matthew Stephen Young, M.D., is an 

emergency room physician in Texarkana. 

Patrick Hunter Young, D.V.M., is an equine 

veterinarian in Washington, Oklahoma. 

Once named “Outstanding Parents” by the 

State of Arkansas, Dr. and Mrs. Young recently 

welcomed their twenty-sixth grandchild, thus 

continuing a powerful family heritage that has 

been built upon a strong faith in God, an 

emphasis on family and education, and lives 

lived by the Scout Law. 

Bottom, right: Dr. John Young. 


In 1966 a group of local citizens established 

the Texarkana Historical Society and subsequently 

opened the Texarkana Historical 

Museum in 1971. The Museum, in the city’s oldest 

brick building, built in 1879, was first home 

to Hake’s Bank and later known as the 

Offenhauser Insurance Building. 

Museum exhibits focus on the history of 

Texarkana and the Four States Region while fulfilling 

the mission to collect, preserve and present 

the history of Texarkana, Texas and 

Texarkana, Arkansas, as well as the four states of 

Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. 

With the addition of two more museums, the 

Draughon-Moore Ace of Clubs House, obtained 

in 1985, and Discovery Place Children’s 

Museum in 1990, the Society changed its name 

to the Texarkana Museums System in 1993. 

The much anticipated opening of the 

Draughon-Moore Ace of Clubs House (1885) as 

a museum occurred in 1988. The Italianate- 

Victorian home, with its unique octagonal rooms 

forming a club-like design, offers docent guided 

tours throughout the year. It has been featured 

numerous times on local and national television, 

including one of an elite selection among Bob 

Vila’s Guide to Historic Homes of America and 

HGTV’s Christmas Castles for its original furnishings, 

lavish décor and holiday spirit. 

Discovery Place Children’s Museum is now 

one of the region’s most popular museums offering 

hands-on science and history education. A 

complete updating occurred in 1994 with an 

initial gift from the Junior League of Texarkana 

and numerous other generous supporters. It has 

since welcomed an average of fifteen thousand 

school children annually. An original twelvefoot 

sound wall, dress-up theater, living science 

lab and numerous other learning activities make 

it a favorite among families. 

The growth of the Texarkana Museums 

System demanded improvements and expansion 

of exhibits at the Texarkana Historical Museum. 

In 2001 the Museum became the Museum of 

Regional History with additional permanent displays 

and quarterly rotating exhibits using the 

museum’s collection of over thirty-five thousand 

artifacts from prehistory to the twentieth century. 

Greater access and availability of archival 

holdings within the Wilbur Smith Research 

Library and Archives of books, newspapers, 

maps, blueprints and over twelve thousand 

photographs was also established. The ever 

growing collections of the Texarkana Museums 

System include decorative arts, industrial and 

agricultural objects, military items and textiles. 

The Museum of Regional History and the Ace 

of Clubs House are listed on the National 

Register of Historic Places and the Texas 

Recorded Historical Landmarks. The three 

museums of the Texarkana Museums System are 

among the less than ten percent accredited by 

the American Association of Museums. 

Approximately sixty thousand visit annually 

with thousands taking advantage of opportunity 

at the annual Quadrangle Street Festival held in 

the heart of downtown on the state line. 

Additional information is available at 

www.texarkanamuseums.org, or by visiting the 

museum at 219 North State Line Avenue in 

downtown Texarkana, Texas. 

TEXARKANA 

MUSEUMS 

SYSTEM 

❖ 

Top, left: Bank of Texarkana/Hake’s 

Bank in 1879. The structure would 

later be expanded and housed the 

Offenhauser Insurance Company. 

Above: The Offenhauser Insurance 

Company, c. 1900. 

Below: Bustling downtown Texarkana 

c. 1942. Intersection of State Line 

Avenue and Broad Street Museum of 

Regional History in background. 


UNIVERSITY OF 

ARKANSAS FOR 

MEDICAL 

SCIENCES AREA 

HEALTH 

EDUCATION 

CENTER- 

SOUTHWEST 

❖ 

A UAMS CHRP respiratory care 

student takes vital signs during her 

clinical rotation at Arkansas 

Children’s Hospital. 

To address the decline in primary care 

physicians and health-related professionals 

during the 1950s and ’60s, the University of 

Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) began 

the Arkansas Area Health Education Center 

(AHEC) program in 1973, through the 

combined efforts of then-governor Dale 

Bumpers and the state Legislature. As the state’s 

only comprehensive academic health sciences 

campus, UAMS sought to expand its education 

outreach efforts by decentralizing medical and 

health-related professions education through 

the AHEC program. Six AHECs were established 

from 1973-1976 across the state, including 

Texarkana. The AHEC program focused on 

training more primary care physicians and 

retaining more graduates of health-related 

professions to practice throughout the state. 

Currently, eight AHECs operate under UAMS 

Regional Programs to further the efforts of 

expanding medical and healthcare education. 

UAMS AHEC-Southwest (UAMS AHEC-SW) 

was established in July 1976 in collaboration 

with the Sisters of Charity St. Michael Hospital. 

UAMS AHEC-SW opened as a medical library 

on the fifth floor of St. Michael Hospital, 

providing access to medical monographs and 

journals for physicians and health-related 

professionals. In 1982 the medical library 

moved to the Michael Meagner Building to 

expand its services. As more programs were 

added, more space was needed. In 1992 several 

programs relocated to the current campus (the 

historic Southern Clinic building), leaving the 

medical library and cancer registry at the 

Michael Meagner building. UAMS AHEC-SW 

and Southern Clinic operated jointly from the 

300 East Sixth street building until 1995, at 

which time, Southern Clinic relocated to the 

new St. Michael campus north of Interstate 30. 

Renovations began on the old Southern Clinic 

facility, allowing all UAMS AHEC-SW programs 

to relocate to the current campus. Today, 

UAMS AHEC-SW is home to three UAMS 

colleges, four primary care clinics, a regional 

cancer registry, community outreach programs, 

and the Texarkana Regional Center on Aging. 

UAMS AHEC-SW strives to incorporate the 

UAMS mission—“Teaching, Healing, Searching 

and Serving.” 

The UAMS College of Health Related 

Professions offers six degrees through UAMS 

AHEC-SW. These programs include Medical 

Technology, Respiratory Care, Radiologic 

Imaging Sciences, Nuclear Medicine Imaging 

Sciences, Diagnostic Medical Sonography and 


Health Information Management. These 

programs are available at the UAMS AHEC-SW 

campus, as well as through interactive video. 

The two local hospitals, CHRISTUS ST. Michael 

Health System and Wadley Health System, serve 

as clinical sites for the CHRP programs. In 

addition, students also have clinical rotations 

through smaller surrounding community 

hospitals, as well as UAMS and Arkansas 

Children’s Hospital in Little Rock. 

The UAMS College of Nursing Program 

was established in 1989. The college began 

providing graduate nursing education to the 

four states area in 1992 and the RN to 

BSN program in 1994. In 1999 the UAMS 

Off-Campus BSN program was established at 

the University of Arkansas Community College 

at Hope. Since that time the program has 

produced 50 RN-BSN, 88 MNSc-RNs, and 

154 BSNs through our partnership with the 

Hope program. Sixty-four percent of the 

BSN-RN graduates and 74 percent of the 

MNSc graduates are currently working in the 

Texarkana region. 

The UAMS College of Medicine Family 

Medicine Residency program began in 1993. 

Since that time the program has graduated 74 

family medicine physicians; 47 are currently 

working in Arkansas and 15 are working in 

Texas. The program started in order to supply 

the area with family medicine physicians. 

Residents gain experience by providing care to 

patients through the Southwest Family Practice 

Clinic at UAMS AHEC-SW. Residents rotate 

through both local hospitals to gain hands-on 

experience. In addition, the program also 

provides one-month rotations for current UAMS 

junior medical students to gain experience in 

family medicine. 

In addition to the Southwest Family Practice 

Clinic, UAMS AHEC-SW provides primary care 

through the Faculty Clinic and “All For Kids” 

Pediatric Clinic. The Faculty Clinic opened in 

2003, allowing faculty physicians to continue 

seeing their private-care patients while 

precepting the resident physicians. In 2004 the 

“All For Kids” opened its doors to fulfill a 

community need for pediatric care. “All For 

Kids” provides primary care for children 

newborn to eighteen years of age, well-child 

checkups for newborns and infants, and 

cardiology and endocrine specialists in 

association with Arkansas Children’s Hospital. 

In total, all three clinics serve over twenty 

thousand patients per year. In August 2008 the 

Texarkana Community Clinic joined UAMS 

AHEC-SW to serve additional patients in need 

of a medical home. 

The medical library provides up-to-date 

medical information and research to the 

❖ 

High school students learn about chest 

x-rays during the summer M*A*S*H 

program held at UAMS AHEC-SW. 


❖ 

A resident physician provides care to 

a patient at the Southwest Family 

Practice Clinic at UAMS AHEC-SW. 

Texarkana area. Over the years, the library 

has not only expanded in space, but also in 

the range of services. In the beginning, 

physicians primarily utilized the library to 

request research or journal articles and have 

copies delivered to their offices via mail. Most 

journal requests are now researched on the 

Internet, and any loaned materials from other 

libraries can be sent via e-mail. Additionally, a 

small consumer health section provides books 

and videos for patients and the community to 

view and gain valuable health information at 

no cost. 

The UAMS AHEC-SW cancer registry is a 

joint project between Wadley Health System 

and CHRISTUS St. Michael Health System to 

track and monitor cancer cases in the Texarkana 

area. This information is used to improve 

treatments of cancer as and for medical 

research. Breast cancer treatment statistics from 

the cancer registry have been used to educate 

physicians on the benefits of lumpectomies 

versus mastectomies. The cancer registry has 

also served as a model to other registries, 

particularly the formation of a national cancer 

registry for Japan. 

To respond to the growing needs of its 

service area, UAMS AHEC-SW established a 

community outreach department in 2002. 

This department provides health-related 

services and programs to the area primarily 

through grant-related projects. Projects include 

a community-based tobacco prevention 

education, breast health education and 

services, diabetes education and heart disease 

prevention education. 

In 1990, UAMS AHEC-SW adopted the 

Medical Applications of Science for Health 

(M*A*S*H) to provide a health careers pipeline 

for the Texarkana area. This two-week summer 

program allows high school students to explore 

multiple health careers while connecting 

classroom math and science skills to everyday 

activities. Additionally, M*A*S*H emphasizes 

the need for students to complete a healthcare 

education, and then practice in a rural area in 

need of trained professionals. M*A*S*H 

currently takes place at the UAMS AHEC-SW 

campus and at Howard Memorial Hospital in 

Nashville, Arkansas. 

UAMS AHEC-SW continues to lead health 

and medical education in the four states area by 

teaching through its educational programs, 

healing through its clinics, searching through 

the medical library and cancer registry and 

serving through multiple outreach programs. 


Luke and Wiely Kemp have always 

loved cars and, after spending most of 

their youth working at Frank Sangalli’s 

garage, it felt only natural when their 

passion for cars followed them into 

adulthood. With a small loan they 

decided to start their own auto repair 

business with their older brother Mo in 

1970 and Kemp Bros. Body Shop, Inc. 

opened its doors. 

It has now been almost forty years 

since the shop opened and it still stands at the 

original location, 2007 Texas Boulevard. Over 

the years there have been several additions to 

the shop and, today, Kemp Bros. Body Shop, 

Inc., boasts well over thirteen thousand square 

feet of space to serve its customers. 

Extremely proud of their team of 

professionals and superior craftsmanship, Kemp 

Bros. Body Shop, Inc., technicians apply years 

of experience, knowledge, and judgment to 

expertly restore vehicles to precondition. Each 

technician is also individually certified through 

accredited training programs. The experienced 

and trained staff will provide a quality repair 

and assist in the claims process. By working 

with over ten direct repair insurance companies, 

Kemp Bros. can make its customers’ experience 

hassle-free. 

As a family business, Kemp Bros. Body 

Shop, Inc., takes great pride in every job that 

leaves the shop, and, after almost forty years, 

they still have a passion for what they do 

everyday. Among their favorite quotes, “U Bend 

Em. We Mend Em.”, still says it all. Kemp Bros. 

uses only the latest and best equipment and 

paints to make sure all auto body repairs are 

done right the first time. You can trust Kemp 

Bros. Body Shop, Inc., for all your auto body 

repair needs. 

Stop by Kemp Bros. Body Shop, Inc., Monday 

through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., or 

visit www.kempbrosbodyshop.com. 

KEMP BROS. 

BODY SHOP, 

INC. 


TEXARKANA 

ARKANSAS 

SCHOOL 

DISTRICT 

For several years after its creation in 1873, 

Texarkana had no public schools. A number of 

private schools, however, were almost 

immediately established and operated in the 

Railroad Conductors’ Hall. The conductors’ hall 

served as several one-room schools by day, and by 

evening, the hall served the railroad conductors’ 

dining, entertainment, and social needs. 

The first public school facility in Texarkana, 

Arkansas, was built in the 1880s. The school 

was located near Fifth and Walnut Streets and 

was probably the first facility of what eventually 

became the Texarkana Arkansas School District 

(TASD). This building burned in 1885 and was 

rebuilt at Fifth and Beech in 1886. 

In 1896 a building was opened to include 

grades eight and nine, “higher levels of 

instruction.” The first graduating class of eleven 

students graduated in 1899. In 1904 a new 

elementary school building was constructed 

replacing the 1886 building. The new building 

was the spacious, red brick, metallic-domed, 

two-story Central Ward School. After opening 

Central Ward, a four-year elementary school, 

Fairview, was constructed at Tenth and Garland 

Streets. This Fairview campus was short lived; 

in 1919 another Fairview campus was 

constructed at Sixteenth and Garland. 

Meanwhile, the high school continued to be 

housed in the smaller classroom building on the 

block with Central Ward. 

A continuing increase in student population 

had underscored the need for the Central Ward 

School. In 1911 the need for even more facilities 

brought about another major building project, 

the new Arkansas Senior High. In 1914 the first 

junior high in the state, Texarkana Arkansas 

Junior High, was begun in the original Fairview 

Elementary building. 

By 1918 the Texarkana Arkansas School 

District included Arkansas High, Arkansas 

Junior High, and Central Ward, Fairview, 

Union, and College Hill Elementary Schools. 

For almost one hundred years, the schools 

of Texarkana were segregated, and “colored” 

school campuses included Ash Street High, Orr 

Elementary, and College Hill Elementary. 

The first school for black students was Orr 

located on Laurel Street. American composer 

and Pulitzer Prize winner Scott Joplin attended 

Orr. Booker T. Washington High School opened 

in 1925. Eventually, elementary and junior 

grades were added. In the 1950s the elementary 

grades were moved, and Booker T. Washington 

became a stand-alone high school. After 

integration, Booker T. Washington became the 

district’s middle school campus. 

Jefferson Avenue Junior High was built at 

Twelfth and Jefferson in 1950. That same year, a 

new gymnasium was constructed just north of 

Jefferson Avenue Junior High campus and south 

of Buhrman Field that was established in 1927 


on land donated by the W. J. Buhrman Family. 

Two years later, construction would be 

underway next to the gym on a new senior 

high school. 

In 1953 a major change occurred with the 

Texarkana Arkansas School District—the 

district consolidated with the North Heights 

School District. The North Heights District was 

comprised of the North Heights Senior High, 

Junior High, and elementary school, all located 

at Thirty-fifth and Garland Streets. Home 

Economics and Agricultural buildings were also 

located on the high school campus. The district 

also had three other campuses. Separate 

“colored” and “white” elementary campuses 

were located in Mandeville, and the third 

campus was East Heights Elementary at a site 

near the present location of the Texarkana 

Regional Airport. 

A major facilitator in the Texarkana and 

North Heights consolidation decision was the 

construction of a new Arkansas High School in 

1953. With consolidation the new high school 

would serve all the senior high students 

including those that formerly had attended 

North Heights. The former North Heights High 

School building at Thirty-fifth and Garland 

continued to house junior high students for 

many years after consolidation. In 2002 the 

building was torn down. 

In the 1955-56 school year, Carver was 

built at 2300 Preston Street, and a “new 

Union” campus opened at Line Ferry Road and 

Euclid Streets. That same year, Central 

Elementary closed and moved to the Tenth and 

Hickory campus. 

In 1957, three elementary schools were 

added: College Hill, Kilpatrick, and W. T. 

Daniels. In 1966, College Hill Junior High 

(CHJH) was built at 1600 Forrest Street. 

Integration occurred during the 1969-70 

school year, and major realignment of the 

school district happened around this time. 

In 1971, North Heights Junior High (NHJH) 

was built, and all junior high students attended 

either CHJH or NHJH. The Jefferson Avenue 

Junior High building was annexed into the 

Arkansas High campus. Also in 1971, Razorback 

Stadium was introduced. 

In 1983, Trice Elementary was built to satisfy 

the northern development of the city. In 1992, 

Fairview Elementary burned and was rebuilt 

in 1993. 

In 2006 several new facilities were added to 

the district. A new Arkansas High building was 

added at its existing site allowing half of the 

outdated 1953 building to be closed. Athletics 

received a new field house and turf at Razorback 

Stadium, and a new administration building 

was built. 

In the 2005-06 school year, Texarkana 

Arkansas School District adopted the magnet 

school concept for kindergarten through 

eighth grades. After a community survey 

was conducted on thematic studies, each 

elementary campus was assigned its own unique 

theme. The magnet themes became the 

springboards for a variety of hands-on learning 

experiences that engaged the students and 

tapped into the natural intelligences of each 

student. Students in fifth through eighth grades 

continued their studies into thematic academies 

at College Hill Middle School and North 

Heights Junior High. 

Today, TASD continues to educate through 

the magnet school concept with 4,427 students 

enrolled at Arkansas Senior High, North Heights 

Junior High, College Hill Middle School, and 

the following elementary campuses: College 

Hill International Baccalaureate, Fairview 

Environmental Science for the Space Age, 

Kilpatrick Math/Science and Wellness, Trice 

Performing Arts, and Union Communications 

and Literary Arts. 

Additional information is available on 

Texarkana Arkansas School District at 

www.txk.k12.ar.us. 


CITY OF 

TEXARKANA, 

TEXAS 

❖ 

Above: City of Texarkana, Texas 

Interstate 30 Corridor Construction. 

Below: Christus St. Michael 

Health System in the heart of the 

Medical District. 

The City of Texarkana, Texas is the 

transportation, commercial, and industrial 

center for this Texas-Arkansas area, as well as 

the hub for portions of Oklahoma and 

Louisiana; it is also the educational, cultural and 

medical center of the metropolitan area. 

This thriving city is located at the junction of 

Interstate 30 and US Highways 59, 67, 71, and 

82 in extreme northeast Texas on the Texas- 

Arkansas border and is experiencing phenomenal 

growth along the Interstate 30 corridor. 

Texarkana was named number two on Forbes’ list 

of America’s Fastest Growing Metropolitan Areas 

and is expected to show a 28.57 percent increase 

in its gross metropolitan product. 

The City of Texarkana, Texas is a Home Rule 

city and operates under the Council/Manager 

form of government. The City Council consists 

of a Mayor elected at large and six Council 

Members elected by ward for two-year staggered 

terms. The City Manager serves as the Chief 

Executive Officer and oversees the overall 

budget and operations of the city’s departments. 

Public safety is a key component of the city’s 

department structure, which includes the Police 

and Fire Department, as well as Regional 

Emergency Management. The Police Department 

presently employs ninety-eight officers. The 

Department consists of the Uniform Services 

Division, Investigative Services Division, 

Support Services Division, and Administrative 

Services. The officers are provided well equipped 

patrol units, including mobile data computers, 

modern weapons, and state-of-the-art radios. 

The Fire Department is divided functionally 

into four divisions, which consists of 

Administration, Operations, Prevention, and 

Training and Safety. All uniformed personnel in 

all divisions are certified through the Texas 

Department of Health to provide emergency 

medical care. Most are certified as Emergency 

Medical Technicians (EMT). 

The city is the regional medical center for a 

population of more than 400,000 within a 60- 

mile radius of the community, serving a 20- 

county area. Two acute care hospitals, totaling 

over 700 beds, are staffed by more than 3,150 

healthcare professionals. The Texarkana medical 

community is equipped to treat virtually every 


major medical condition and is serviced by both 

ground and air transport. 

The city has 13 parks totaling 522 acres. 

There are nineteen athletic fields, nine picnic 

pavilions and five lakes. The Southwest 

Recreation Center provides ongoing activities as 

well as four lighted tennis courts. The Collins 

Memorial Senior Citizens Center also provides 

ongoing activities for the seniors in our area. 

The Parks Department continues to increase its 

inventory of physical assets annually. The 

Bringle Lake Regional Park is a 157-acre park 

located on Bringle Lake. It has thirty-three acres 

developed with playground equipment, walking 

trails, two pavilions, two tennis courts, a 

basketball court, and volleyball courts. It also 

features a fishing dock, boat landing and a fish 

cleaning station. The remaining 124 acres has 

been designated as the Bringle Lake Wilderness 

Area. It includes a trail, canoe landing, and two 

primitive campsites. In addition, an eighteen 

hole, world-class golf course is located on the 

Bringle Lake property. 

The City of Texarkana, Texas, is home 

to Texas A&M University-Texarkana and 

Texarkana Community College. Currently, the 

university is in the process of building a new 

campus adjoining Bringle Lake on the north 

side of the city. The city donated over threehundred-plus 

acres of land to make this project 

possible. This will be the first four-year 

university to be located in 

the Texarkana area. It is 

expected that this expansion 

will contribute significantly 

to the city’s continued 

economic growth. 

The city’s economic base 

is broadly diversified. 

Manufacturing has shown a 

steady increase over the past 

30 years and approximately 

70 percent of new jobs have 

come from the expansion of 

existing industry. Strong 

retail sales in Texarkana, 

Texas have continued 

throughout the years, contributing 

to a continued 

increase in sales tax revenue. 

An influx of new hotel 

construction has continued to boost the city’s 

hotel/motel tax revenue, enabling the city to 

promote tourism. From January 2007 through 

December 2007, 663 building permits were 

issued, with a construction cost totaling over 

$36 million. 

The City of Texarkana, Texas, is proud of its 

economic growth and looks forward to even 

greater things in its future. For more 

information about the city and its departments, 

visit www.ci.texarkana.tx.us/ourcity. 

❖ 

Above: City of Texarkana, Texas 

Municipal Building. 

Below: Texas A&M University- 

Texarkana construction adjoining 

Bringle Lake. 


SHADY PINES 

RV CENTER, 

INC. 

Shady Pines Trailer Sales, Inc., began as a 

hobby for Lavada Jones in 1967 when she was 

searching for something to do while she stayed 

home with her two young daughters, Pam and 

Paula. Her husband, Leroy, traveled for a living 

but would always find his way home on the 

weekends to spend time with the family. 

Lavada began the business by simply selling 

travel trailers from her front yard. Pam and Paula 

would use the trailers for playhouses and, on 

occasion, when a customer was given a tour of a 

trailer, the sofa would be piled with their dolls. 

When playtime was over, Pam and Paula received 

a nickel for each trailer they cleaned. When a unit 

was sold, the girls would entertain the customers 

by playing the piano while their mother prepared 

the bill of sale at their 

dining room table. 

Lavada managed 

the business during 

the week with the 

help of her father, 

Collen Jones, and 

Leroy helped when 

he returned home 

on Fridays. There 

were no set business 

hours since the 

sales property was 

right outside their 

front door. 

After the business outgrew the front yard, 

Leroy and Lavada purchased the land next door 

at 9956 West Seventh Street, Highway 67 South, 

just six miles from the Texarkana city limits. 

This property is still home to the company’s 

sales and service departments. 

When the business was founded, the inventory 

consisted of two Shasta travel trailers. The first 

trailer sold was a thirteen-foot Shasta for $995. A 

twenty-one-foot travel trailer was a long trailer in 

those days. A transport truck could bring five 

small thirteen-foot trailers at one time. Windows 

and sleeping space were the most important 

features in those early days while pickup covers 

and slide-ins later joined the travel trailers, fifth 

wheels, and pop-ups. Motorhomes joined the fleet 

just before a gas shortage began to slow sales. 

With the increase in sales, Lavada, Pam, and 

Paula needed extra help. Now with sixteen 

employees (sales, service, parts, and office 

personnel), the hobby has evolved into a thriving 

business. Granddaughters Ashley and Lacey 

worked in the business during high school. 

Grandson Cody works around his college classes 

and mini-sprint racing. Boasting of the largest 

parts department in the area, Shady Pines’ Service 

Department is second to none. With fifteen service 

bays and two power lifts, the trained service 

technicians are prepared to keep RVs ready for the 

road or campground so their owners can enjoy the 

wonderful world of camping! 


Today, Shady Pines RV Park next door offers 

forty-eight spaces with an activity building for 

overnighters and travel clubs. Washer/dryers, 

full hook-ups, and a fishing lake are also 

included among the amenities. 

Celebrating their fortieth year in business in 

2007, Shady Pines has seen a number of changes 

over the years. A new name, Shady Pines RV 

Center, Inc., was introduced in February 2007 to 

better include the numerous services offered by 

the group. 

Their website, www.shadypinesrv.com, allows 

customers from across the country to shop 

online. RV’s are now used for camping, travel, 

working, and second homes. Slide-outs and 

washer/dryers are common accessories and diesel 

engines are common in longer motorhomes. 

Shady Pines RV Center, Inc., now has over a 

hundred new and preowned units on display. 

Shady Pines RV Center, Inc., supports the Four 

States Fair with three units and the famed Duck 

Race is supplied one annual unit for their benefit 

to the hospital. The business name can be found 

on the local baseball scoreboard, while a banner at 

the football field shows the company’s support of 

Redwater School, where Lavada, Leroy, Pam, 

Paula, and their three grandchildren are all 

graduates. Two other grandchildren, Cole and 

Courtney, still attend there and the first greatgrandchild, 

Gracie, comes by the office to entertain 

the customers until she can start selling RVs. 

Customer satisfaction is a key ingredient of the 

long success of Shady Pines RV Center. With 

three generations on the payroll and a fourth 

waiting in the wings, the owners like to think of 

the business as one big family serving other 

families. Customers have more free time and 

many are retiring earlier than in years gone by. 

RVs are used for work and by families longing for 

good quality time together. 

Simply put, Shady Pines RV Center, Inc., 

realizes the importance of its customers. They 

are not outsiders in this business; they are an 

important part of it! 

❖ 

Above: Shady Pines’ sales lot in 

the 1980s. 

Below: Shady Pines’ sales lot in 2007. 


❖ 

TEXAS A&M 

UNIVERSITY- 

TEXARKANA 

Above: The dedication of the 

Academic Building in 1999. 

Below: The current Science & 

Technology Building opened in 

Spring 2008. 

Founded in 1971 as East Texas State 

University at Texarkana (ETSU-T), today Texas 

A&M University-Texarkana (A&M-Texarkana) 

is committed to its historic role as a 

distinguished comprehensive regional 

university offering forty-eight outstanding and 

varied majors across the curriculum. 

The University is dedicated to providing 

residents of Northeast Texas with the broadest 

possible access to quality educational 

opportunities and services, and educates both 

traditional and nontraditional students. 

A cornerstone of university philosophy is 

the conviction that education should form 

a foundation for continuing intellectual 

development or lifelong learning. A&M- 

Texarkana prepares students for a knowledgebased, 

technology-oriented, global economy 

and society. Emphasis is placed on the 

development of leadership skills that enhance 

work and personal relationships, because 

the work place of the future will require 

higher-level skills performed from an 

international perspective. 

In addition to teaching and community 

service, through scholarly research, the 

institution seeks to expand and/or clarify 

existing knowledge and to create new solutions 

to practical problems. Research enriches 

university teaching, and enhances the region's 

businesses; school districts; and public, private, 

nonprofit, and governmental agencies. 

Citizens in Texarkana and Northeast Texas 

had long wanted a four-year degree program 

for the area when the idea of an upperlevel 

institution appeared on the horizon in 

1970. After the success of the state’s first 

upper-level institution in Laredo in 1968, 

the Education Committee of the Texarkana 

Chamber of Commerce and other leaders 

rapidly adopted the idea of an upperlevel 

institution and the spirit of the times to 

build their dream of a four-year degree program 


On February 11, 1970, Senator A. M. Aikin 

of Paris was a guest at the groundbreaking 

for the new Texarkana College Library building 

along with ETSU President, D. Whitney 

Halladay, and District One Representative, Ed 

Howard of Texarkana. 

In June, ETSU President Halladay announced 

plans to establish an upper-division campus in 

Texarkana. Dr. John F. Moss was chosen as 

director of ETSU-T Center and began assessing 

the educational needs of the area and making 

the citizens aware of the center’s presence and 

its higher education offerings. 

The school was given a blank slate with 

which to start and was encouraged to be 

innovative in higher education with flexible and 

personalized programs, incorporating the 

community as a classroom, and reflecting on the 

idea of education as a lifelong process…a 

“university without walls.” 

Dr. Moss planned for the center, with space 

leased from Texarkana Community College, to 

incorporate community involvement. An 

institution with this two-fold mission of 

innovation and close community cooperation 

would be “truly unique,” Dr. Moss believed. It 

would be a school “fundamentally different from 

traditional colleges.” 

Finally, in the summer of 1972, the school 

welcomed its first enrollment of students at the 


ETSU-T Center and classes began with an 

enrollment of 315 students on August 28, 1972. 

The first faculty consisted of twelve 

instructors assisted by six part-time instructors. 

They were young professors who would not 

mind being flexible, agreeable to working 

together often in interdisciplinary approaches 

and comfortable working without typical 

facilities. “They officed out of the trunks of their 

cars” was the typical description of a faculty 

member’s location and job task. 

For the next twenty years, ETSU-T welcomed 

a steady progression of outstanding students 

and faculty to the school. By 1993, the 

university received authorization from the Texas 

Legislature through HB1666 to issue degrees at 

Texarkana, rather than through Commerce. In 

1994, after twenty-three years as president, Dr. 

Moss announced his retirement and Dr. Stephen 

R. Hensley was named as his successor. In the 

fall of 1996 the university became part of The 

Texas A&M University System and a new 

Academic Building was completed in 1999 

to provide additional classroom space and 

faculty offices. In 2003, the Texas Legislature 

authorized A&M-Texarkana to downward 

expand and enroll freshman and sophomore 

students upon completion of classroom facilities 

at a new campus. 

Over the past decade, A&M-Texarkana has 

experienced a renewed and exciting series of 

expansions and generous donations. In 2004 

the Texarkana, Texas, City Council passed and 

approved ordinances to donate 300 acres of 

land for a new campus at Bringle Lake; the city 

of Texarkana, Texas, gave a Gift of Real Property 

for the new campus; and an additional seventyfive 

acres for development of the new campus 

was donated by Truman and Anita Arnold. In 

2006 construction began on the Science & 

Technology Building and, in 2008, construction 

will begin on the Multi-Purpose Library and 

Central Plant. 

For more information about Texas A&M 

University-Texarkana, visit www.tamut.edu. 

❖ 

Above: Dr. Moss receiving the 

Legislative Resolution at his 

retirement from John Armstrong of 

Bonham, Texas, ETSU board chair. 

Below: An early graduation ceremony 

on December 20, 1991, at East Texas 

State University-Texarkana. Dr. Moss 

is introducing the speaker, Senator 

Bill Ratliff. 


❖ 

TEXARKANA 

AUTO BODY 

WORKS, INC. 

Right: The first location of Texarkana 

Auto Body Works, 1945. 

Below: Mack Thomas, Sr., in the 

original bake oven, 1945. 

In 1945, Mack Thomas, Sr., began working 

as an employee at Texarkana Auto Body Works, 

Inc. At the time, the shop was located on Spruce 

Street and was housed in a four-thousandsquare-foot 

building. Owners Ed Levy and two 

other businessmen eventually sold the business 

to Mack Thomas, Sr., over a period of the next 

few years, and he owned and operated the 

business until his retirement in 1977. 

Texarkana Auto Body Works, Inc., was 

initially an automotive paint shop, but over 

time has evolved into a collision repair facility 

because customers desired the same quality in 

repairs on their vehicles as was offered by 

Texarkana Auto Body Works, Inc.’s custommatched 

paint jobs. With the growth of the 


usiness, the shop’s size grew to a total of 

eighty-six hundred square feet. 

After Thomas, Sr.’s retirement, his two sons 

ran the business until 1981, when Mack 

Thomas, Jr., became owner of the business. His 

wife Sharon, daughter Jennifer, and son Jared 

Thomas, are also employed at the shop, making 

it a true family affair for three generations. 

Business has been growing at such a steady 

rate that 1991 brought the purchase of a new 

shop located at 3535 New Boston Road. The 

newer facility houses 28,000 square feet and 

23 employees. 

For more information about Texarkana 

Auto Body Works, Inc., please visit them at 

www.texarkanaautobodyworks.com. 

❖ 

Top: The current location of 

Texarkana Auto Body Works. 

Middle: Painter Terry Walls prepares 

a vehicle to be painted. 

Bottom: Owner Mack Thomas, Jr. 


TEXARKANA 

INDEPENDENT 

SCHOOL 

DISTRICT 

❖ 

Right: The new Texas High School 

Math & Science Center opened in 

January 2007 featuring 72,000 

square feet of science/traditional 

classrooms, engineering/computer labs 

and complete with state-of-the-art 

technology. The impressive front 

entrance tower now serves as an icon 

for the school while the evening’s glow 

of the tower symbolizes to the 

Texarkana community the TISD 

legacy of excellence in education. 

Below: TISD received an American 

School Board Journal Magna Award 

in 2006 for their partnership with 

Texas A&M University–Texarkana in 

the establishment of a Professional 

Development School (PDS) at 

Westlawn Elementary. The PDS 

program provides a rich learning 

environment for all students with 

a clinical teacher preparation 

program and a research center 

focused on best practices in teaching 

and teacher preparation. 

The proud history and rich traditions of 

Texarkana Independent School District (TISD) 

began with the first graduating class of Texas 

High School in 1889. In a report to the Board of 

Education in 1919, the TISD Superintendent of 

Schools echoed a philosophy that is as 

appropriate now as it was then. 

“Whatever the community is to be in the next 

decade, the school must make it. The Texarkana 

of today must determine what the Texarkana of 

tomorrow is to be by declaring what kind of 

school it will have. A broadly conceived system 

of education is a good investment for any 

community, no matter what it costs, and for 

Texarkana the investment in good schools will 

pay a hundredfold.” 

Over a century later, TISD continues its 

legacy of excellence in education with strong 

leadership and high student achievement, 

which showcases the ever present Tiger Pride. 

Currently featuring eleven campuses, TISD 

provides a quality education for prekindergarten 

through twelfth grade, as well as 

career and technology and special education 

opportunities for pre-school and school-age 

children. Additionally, the District operates 

Tiger Learning Centers that provide childcare 

services for children ages three and up. 

TISD’s philosophy expresses a desire for 

students to achieve intellectual, social, physical, 

economic and occupational competence 

through their learning activities. The District 

strives to provide a variety of educational 

opportunities and involvement to the student, 

allowing for the development of a well-rounded 

educational experience. 

At TISD, “we believe that our strength lies in 

the cultural and socioeconomic diversity of our 

students.” Through strategic planning and a 

commitment to excellence, we have captured 

the enthusiasm and support of the community 

and the attention of the state. Serving 6,448 

students, TISD faces the challenge of providing 

quality services and facilities to meet the needs 


❖ 

Left: Leading TISD into the future, the 

2008 Board of Trustees continues their 

commitment to the Texarkana 

community by dedicating their efforts 

to ensuring that the students of TISD 

are given every opportunity. Pictured 

left to right are: Bryan DePriest, 

Jerry Chapman, Wanda Boyette, Scott 

Bruner, Jo McMullen, Dr. James 

Grant and Greg Pulido. 

arising from continuous growth. A long-term 

plan is in place to provide a strategic framework 

for facility development, property expansion, 

and financial management. 

“"We believe in a personalized education 

that maximizes the potential for each student.” 

The District is actively involved in the 

collection, synthesis and interpretation of 

data, which assists in improving student 

performance and allows for the development of 

new and innovative curricular and 

extracurricular opportunities that focus on 

the individual talents and interests of each 

student. By engaging students in real-world 

experiences to promote real-world success, 

the District optimizes learning experiences for 

every child. 

“We believe that community trust and 

support are critical to the success of our 

district.” The community has played an integral 

role in the development of additional 

opportunities. To maximize those opportunities, 

the District has become the leader in 

collaborative efforts with area school districts, 

colleges, universities, and local governments. 

This collaboration has resulted in the addition 

of academies with postsecondary institutions. It 

also has facilitated the development of a K-16 

plan for math and engineering education. 

“We believe that a competent, committed, 

and caring staff is essential to a quality 

education for all children.” A quality education 

includes excellence in teaching and exposure to 

technology, essential materials, and a variety of 

learning experiences. The TISD staff has been 

the driving force in student achievement. With 

sound financial management, the District has 

been successful in its effort to recognize the 

extraordinary contributions of staff members by 

providing them with state-of-the-art facilities 

and resources, which guarantee that all students 

will be exposed to a quality environment that 

ensures learning. 

While respecting the traditions of the past 

and of the community, Texarkana Independent 

School District looks to the future and 

integrates a global perspective of education. 

The result is a district with strong student and 

community confidence in the quality of its 

schools and with state and national recognition 

for its success. 

Below: TISD received national 

attention for their efforts behind and 

reasons for the establishment of a 

STEM-based public elementary 

school. History was made in 

Texarkana, when the U.S. House of 

Representatives Committee on Science 

and Technology held a Field Hearing 

at Morriss Elementary in order to 

further examine STEM education 

before high school. Chairman Bart 

Gordon, Ranking Member Ralph Hall 

and Congressman Mike Ross listened 

to local and national witnesses testify 

on the importance of shaping our 

future Science, Technology, 

Engineering and Math leaders of 

tomorrow and how Morriss 

Elementary could serve as a model for 

the nation. 


COMMERCIAL 

NATIONAL 

BANK 

❖ 

Right: Commercial National Bank 

opening at 224 East Fourth Street, 

Texarkana, Arkansas, in 1966. 

Below: (From left to right) George W. 

Peck, Jr., Julia Peck Mobley, George 

W. Peck, and Betty Burton Peck. 

Proudly serving as Texarkana’s 

only locally owned and operated 

bank, Commercial National 

Bank’s (CNB) historic legacy 

began early in 1964 with the first 

meeting of its shareholders to 

determine how to best serve the 

banking and economic needs of 

the city and its surrounding 

communities in Miller County, 

Arkansas and Bowie County, 

Texas. Originally opening for 

business in a small leased, red 

brick building on the corner of 

Fourth and Walnut Streets on 

February 5, 1964, the bank 

had grown to $843,989.07 in 

deposits by April. Less than two 

years later, in December 1965, 

the Bank would report over $3 million in deposits. 

By 1969, they would become the repository of 

Texarkana’s largest bank deposit when locally 

owned Howard Gibco Corporation went public 

and sold some $4 million in shares. 

The bank’s first Board of Directors included 

visionary community leaders George W. Peck, 

Vincent Foster, P.D. Burton, Boyce Lanier, Jr., 

John Massey, Dr. Walter Barnes, Lewie P. Henry, 

Bun Hutchinson, Frank King, Jr., Robert Lowe, 

and Eric Wade. 

The board’s first chairman, George W. Peck, 

was also elected president of the bank in 1965 

and served in the position until 1977. He 

remained as chairman until his death in 1990. 

Ray Starkey, who had been the bank’s vice 

president since 1966, served as president from 

1977 to 1995, when he was elected vicechairman 

of the board. Today, Dennis Huffman, 

who began his career at the bank in 1993, serves 

as president. 

Julia Peck Mobley began her distinguished 

career in the 1960s at the State of Arkansas 

Securities Divisions in Little Rock. She was 

elected to the Board of Directors at CNB in 

1977. Joining the management team of CNB in 

1983, she assumed her current role as Chairman 

of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of the 

company in 1989. Continuing the family 

tradition, her daughter Helen Mobley joined the 

board in 2004. 

With current assets at over $186 million, 

CNB remains today a strong community 

bank dedicated to serving its customers 

and small businesses with the best in leading 

edge technological products and services. 

CNB began electronic check processing in 

1997 and was the first in Texarkana to offer 

on-line banking, mobile banking, and 

merchant capture. 

The first branch location of CNB was opened 

in 1968 on North State Line Avenue. As the 

bank continued to grow, a branch was opened 

on East Ninth Street in 1973 and in Fouke, 

Arkansas, in 1974. The bank opened a fourth 

branch location at the corner of Jefferson and 

Arkansas Boulevard in 1997. 


In 1995, CNB’s home office was moved 

to a temporary location at 5512 Summerhill 

Road in Texarkana, Texas, and remained 

there until 1996, when the legality of the 

move of the office from Arkansas to Texas 

was questioned by the state of Texas. 

After the Texas law on out-of-state branches 

was repealed, the full service operation 

resumed and the groundbreaking ceremony for 

a new bank facility was held at 5515 

Summerhill Road. 

Today, Commercial National Bank celebrates 

nearly a half century of outstanding service to 

the communities it serves and remains a strong 

supporter of charitable activities including 

Arkansas Children’s Hospital, The Nature 

Conservancy, Susan G. Komen Race for the 

Cure, Bulldog 100 benefiting Texarkana 

College, Relay for Life benefiting the Temple 

Memorial Rehabilitation Center, and Texarkana 

Senior Open Golf Tournament to benefit 

Texarkana First Tee. 

❖ 

Above: Downtown branch at 224 East 

Fourth in Texarkana, Arkansas. 

Below: Summerhill branch at 

5515 Summerhill Road in 

Texarkana, Texas. 


FIRST TAPE & 

LABEL 

❖ 

Above: The old milk house. 

Below: Bob’s Grocery and Market. 

First Tape & Label produces a wide variety of 

pressure sensitive labels for a broad range of 

industries including tire, packaging, automotive 

and more. The company produces its own label 

stock, which allows supply to its customers of a 

one-of-a-kind product adapted for their 

individual needs. 

David Haak owns First Tape & Label with his 

wife, Debbie. David is a fourth-generation 

Texarkanian. His paternal great-grandparents, 

along with their children, emigrated to the U.S. 

from Germany in the 1870s. After his greatgrandfather’s 

death, his great-grandmother 

moved the family to Texarkana where David’s 

grandfather and father were raised. In the late 

1800s, David’s paternal grandmother also 

emigrated from Germany, alone at the age of 

eighteen. She came to Texarkana for 

employment and, brought together by their 

similar backgrounds, met and married David’s 

paternal grandfather in Texarkana. 

Debbie Reese Haak moved to Texarkana as a 

child and graduated from AHS. She married 

David in 1969 and their only child, Jennifer, 

was born in 1973. Debbie worked as an 

elementary school teacher and later as an 

elementary school counselor in the Texarkana 

Arkansas School District for over twenty years 

before retiring. 

With a desire to own their own business, 

David and Debbie bought a very small gum tape 

printing business in August 1980. The existing 

business consisted of one small, old four inch 

press and very few customers. After realizing 

people were no longer using gum tape, David 

adapted the business to produce pressure 

sensitive labels. 

During the first few years the company was 

located in a friend’s old three-hundred-square- 


foot milk house. To make ends meet, David 

had to work nights as a printer and taught 

school for the Texarkana Arkansas School 

District during the day. He began producing 

labels for the chicken industry and then tire 

labels for a local tire plant. During this time, 

David was the only employee. 

In 1986 the growing business moved into the 

nine-hundred-square-foot building, which was 

formerly David’s father’s store known as Bob’s 

Grocery on East Ninth. In less than a year, the 

business was again moved to a twenty-fivehundred-square-foot 

building on County 

Avenue. It was at this location that David hired 

his first full-time employee. 

In 1996, David and Debbie’s daughter, Jennifer 

Chesshir, began working in the family business. In 

2004, needing someone with experience in sales, 

David hired his son-in-law, Michael Chesshir. 

Jennifer and Michael have three children, twin 

girls, Mica and Reese, and son, Haak. 

In 1990, First Tape & Label moved to its 

current location at 1810 L.E. Gilliland Drive. The 

10,000 square foot facility seemed enormous at 

the time. However, growth has made it necessary 

for David to build several additions. Finished in 

2007, the last addition set the square footage total 

at sixty-four thousand square feet. Currently, 

First Tape & Label employs twenty-two people 

and operates two hot melt coaters and eleven 

flexographic presses, with the capability of 

printing eighteen inches wide. 

With a long history of involvement in the 

community, David has been active as the 

2008 Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce 

and commissioner on Arkansas Economic 

Development Commission. He is a former 

Texarkana City Board Member and threeterm 

Arkansas State Representative. Debbie 

has served on numerous community and 

charitable boards and currently serves as 

commissioner on the Arkansas State Parks, 

Recreation, and Tourism Commission and is 

a member on the board of the Wadley 

Health System. David and Debbie are also longtime, 

active members of Beach Street First 

Baptist Church. 

For more information about First Tape & 

Label, please visit www.firsttapeandlabel.com. 

❖ 

The Haak Family. 


LIBERTY-EYLAU 

INDEPENDENT 

SCHOOL 

DISTRICT 

❖ 

Above: Rader Dome, named in honor 

of former Superintendent Don Rader, 

was completed in 2003. 

Below: Liberty-Eylau Independent 

School District is home to the 1999 

Division 1 AAA State Football 

Champions, the 2006 State Baseball 

Champions, and the 2006 Division 1 

AAA State Football Champions. 

It was through the visionary leadership of 

C. K. Bender, the superintendent of Liberty 

Schools, and H. E. Markham, the 

superintendent of Eylau Schools that talks first 

began regarding a new partnership among their 

schools in 1933. That vision was ultimately 

realized in 1955 when Liberty-Eylau School 

District was officially founded. 

Students attending Liberty-Eylau that first 

year chose the school colors, maroon and white; 

the school mascot, the Leopard; a student council 

was formed and a band program began. Athletics 

were limited to basketball, baseball, and track for 

boys and volleyball for girls. There were twentythree 

graduating seniors in the first class. 

Bender served as superintendent of the newly 

formed district until his retirement in July of 

1968. G. C. Jackson was the first high school 

principal. Grades first through twelfth attended 

the campus on Buchanan Road until the new 

high school, located on Leopard Drive was 

completed in 1958, which housed grades nine 

through twelve. 

Historically, each community has its own 

unique legacy. The first Liberty School was 

organized around 1886 by P. F. McCormick and 

others. The school house was a crude frame 

building and the equipment was not plentiful. A 

spring about 200 yards east of the school house 

supplied the drinking water. In 1902 the school 

was moved to the Shreveport Highway 

(Highway 59). 

In 1915, when Carmichael Hill, Liberty and 

the Bearden Schools voted to consolidate, a 

brick building with six rooms and a small 

auditorium were built. The pupils were 

transported to the new school by wagons. 

In 1928 two more classrooms were added, 

the auditorium was expanded, and a stage and 

dressing rooms were built. The school was 

standardized in 1930 and during the 1934-35 

school year it applied for and secured a 

classification as a two year high school. 

In 1941, Buchanan School was consolidated 

with Liberty and new brick classrooms and 

cafeteria buildings were added. After 

consolidation in 1955, the district included two 

campuses—grades first through twelfth at 

Liberty and grades first through eighth at Eylau. 

Liberty was renamed Liberty-Eylau 

Intermediate Campus in 1969 when the district 

integrated with the Grandview and Macedonia 

schools and grades forth through sixth were 

housed on that campus. In 1972 the Liberty- 

Eylau Rural High School District voted to 

become an independent school district. 

A handful of children arrived at the 

Methodist Church in Eylau to attend the first 

day of school in 1886. The surrounding country 


was sparsely settled and there were only two 

houses between Eylau and Texarkana. 

Within a year the small school was moved 

north into Eylau. The new building and 

furniture were crude and drinking water was 

obtained from the nearby branch until the 

following year when a well was dug. The next 

school building was a one-room building 

erected by the patrons of the community and 

was used as a combination school and church. 

In 1889 a new building came equipped with 

modern desks and a teacher’s desk and chair. In 

1917 the school had outgrown the building and 

a new school with three classrooms, a library, 

and a store room was erected. 

The changing of the route of Highway 47 and 

the growth of the community created a desire to 

move the school building to the highway. In 1929 

a modern brick building housing five classrooms, 

an office, a library, and a large auditorium was 

built on a beautiful eleven acre tract of land. In 

1931, Moores District consolidated with Eylau’s 

high school program. In 1935 the two districts 

voted for a complete consolidation. 

In March 1938 the brick school burned 

and students attended classes in the Christian 

and Methodist churches. A stone school on 

Highway 59 was completed in 1939 just in time 

for graduation ceremonies to be held on the 

front steps. 

Today the Liberty-Eylau Independent School 

District covers 76.4 miles and has six campuses, 

serving students from Early Childhood through 

twelfth grade. It remains a school and 

community dedicated to student achievement. 

Graduates are prepared to meet their full 

potential, instilled with a lifetime desire to learn, 

and are confident in their ability to succeed. 

Liberty-Eylau educators work as a team of fair, 

respectful, and nurturing leaders; together, they 

create a supportive learning environment that 

inspires students to achieve their best. 

For more information, please visit the 

District online at www.leisd.net. 

❖ 

Above: Eylau School. 

Below: Liberty School. 


CAPITAL ONE 

History is about so much more than 

timelines and great events; it is about people, 

pioneers who ventured across America in search 

of something more. For the Fuller and Grimm 

families that history planted itself in the rich 

east Texas soil over a century ago. 

Great grandfather William Rhoads Grimm 

grew up in the small, southeastern Pennsylvania 

town of Boyertown and came into the banking 

business in New York City. He was a man of 

reputation from a family of some assets and 

ultimately found his way into the Texas banking 

business in the late 1800s. 

Grimm had an adventurous spirit and 

Texarkana, Texas, proved to be the perfect place 

in which to settle and raise a family. It was also 

during this pre-Depression period in America 

that larger city banks were reaching out to 

sponsor local branch banks in these areas. 

Investors came together to help gain the capital 

needed for these local banks and Grimm joined 

several others as shareholders to support 

Texarkana’s local banking ventures and establish 

Texarkana National Bank. 

Though he died in the mid-1920s, Grimm’s 

legacy would remain as his family continued to 

serve the community and work in the growing 

economy of the area. It was a time of expansion 

in the banking business and the railroad began 

bringing more and more investors and 

companies to the expanding city. 

Since that time, the Fullers have had a long 

association with the bank in a variety of 

capacities. Other shareholders and the 

community embraced the Grimms and the 

Fullers and had confidence in the families to 

lead one of the key financial institutions in 

Texarkana. 

The bank held steady throughout the Great 

Depression and the war. Grimm’s grandson, 

William Grimm “W. G.” Fuller, graduated from 

Harvard University in the late 1930s. Upon 

returning to Texarkana, he married Harriet 

Haydon and began his career in the family 

banking business. 

Ultimately, W. G. became president of the 

bank in 1954 after his father, Dr. Theron Earl “T. 


E.” Fuller, a local ear, nose, and throat doctor 

passed away. Dr. Fuller served on the board of the 

bank, was a respected businessman and remained 

active in numerous community efforts 

throughout his life. He originally migrated from 

the eastern United States and lived in the 

Clarksville, Texas, area, and owned a popular 

local general store in New Boston, Texas. 

W.G. and Harriett Fuller and their two sons, 

Haydon and Robert, worked in every capacity at 

Texarkana National Bank (TNB). Haydon joined 

the group in 1968 and Robert joined in 1972. 

Haydon graduated from Southern Methodist 

University (SMU) and worked in a variety 

of positions at the bank as a general loan 

officer, cashier, and vice president. Robert came 

to work in 1972 after working for Republic 

National Bank in Dallas, where he had taken a 

position upon graduating from Southern 

Methodist University. 

As Robert came into the banking business, 

the industry was just beginning to “wake up” 

and TNB wanted to establish branch banking. 

The state of Texas would not allow it at the time, 

so the only other way to create such a vital 

service in the surrounding communities was to 

charter a new bank, a unique idea at the time. 

Robert left Republic and came to work at the 

new charter, Twin City Bank in north Texarkana, 

where he worked there until the law was 

changed and TNB could finally own the branch 

bank. Robert later became president of TNB and 

remained in that position until 1997. 


PLEASANT 

GROVE 

INDEPENDENT 

SCHOOL 

DISTRICT 

❖ 

Above: An early Pleasant 

Grove School. 

Below: Pleasant Grove High School. 

Children in the Pleasant Grove area have been 

served by local schools for over one hundred 

years. Since 1877, when the first school in the 

Pleasant Grove area was established, the schools 

have grown and changed to meet the needs of 

the students and community. 

The area that now comprises the Pleasant 

Grove ISD formerly included several smaller 

districts. In 1916 the Baker District and the 

Morris District made Bowie County history 

when they united and became the Pleasant 

Grove Consolidated School District. The district 

was renamed the Pleasant Grove Independent 

School District in September 1978. 

Located in a rural area, Pleasant Grove 

operated only an elementary school for many 

years. As the city of Texarkana grew to the north 

to include the Pleasant Grove area, patrons and 

school officials began to consider the feasibility 

of establishing a secondary school in the district. 

A comprehensive study in 1976 called for the 

addition of a secondary school program. Later in 

the year, a $1,800,000 bond issue was passed, 

and Pleasant Grove Junior High School opened 

in August 1977 to serve students in grades 

seven through nine. The facility was enlarged in 

1980 to include a classroom annex for sixth 

grade students and an industrial arts complex. 

The growing population of the area, the 

increasing enrollment in the schools, and the 

continued interest in providing for the 

educational needs of all students in the PGISD 

prompted the Board of Trustees to appoint a 

twenty-member parent advisory committee in 

1982. This committee, after a thorough study, 

recommended the establishment of a high 

school program in the PGISD and the 

restructuring of the campuses. Studies 

completed in 1980 and 198l, by different 

groups, also called for the establishment of a 

high school in Pleasant Grove. 

In February 1983 a $5,595,000-bond issue to 

expand the educational program through grade 

twelve and reorganize the existing campuses was 

overwhelmingly approved by the voters. Tenth 

grade students were educated in the district in 

1983-84, and more classrooms were added to 

the elementary campus. The annex on the 

secondary campus was enlarged during the 

summer of l984 to provide needed classrooms 

for eleventh grade students. In 1985-86, all 

grades from pre-kindergarten through twelve 

were provided in the district, and the first class 

of seniors graduated in 1986. The new high 

school building was opened in 1986. 

Following recommendations from two 

different Parent Advisory Committees, patrons 

of PGISD approved a $5.95 million bond issue 

in March 1994 for additions and improvements 

on all three campuses. In December 1995 

additional classrooms were opened to students 

on both the middle school and high school 

campuses. A new practice gym was opened at 

the high school campus. Significant changes 

took place at the elementary campus where a 

major new classroom wing was completed in 

the spring of 1996. 

In October 2000 a $7-million bond issue was 

passed following study and recommendations by 

a committee of patrons. Air conditioned 

gymnasiums on the middle school and 

elementary school campuses, an additional 

middle school gym, a performing arts center for 

the high school campus, a new classroom wing for 


the high school campus, reopening of existing 

classrooms on the middle school campus, and a 

central services building were the result. 

In May 2007 a $29.5 million bond issue was 

passed following study and recommendations 

by a committee of patrons. Planning of these 

facility improvements is currently underway. 

Included are a new intermediate school campus 

to be located on the North Kings Highway 

acreage to serve grades three through five, as 

well as improvements and renovations for the 

existing elementary, middle, and high school 

campuses. Along with renovation of the existing 

facility to provide science/engineering labs, 

expanded journalism, and additional classroom 

areas, the high school will add a competition 

gym with adjoining weight room, multipurpose 

facility, and football/soccer stadium. Along with 

renovation of the existing middle school facility 

to provide expanded library space, lockers, and 

new finishes, a rehearsal hall will be added to 

the campus. The elementary school will receive 

renovations and new finishes. These facility 

improvements are scheduled to be completed by 

the 2009-2010 school year. 

In August 2007 the board of trustees 

acquired twenty-five acres of additional 

property for future growth and expansion of 

district facilities. The acreage is located on 

Scott Wright Road adjacent to the Texas 

A&M University-Texarkana campus, which is 

under construction. 

No longer primarily a rural area, the 

fifty-five square mile district now includes 

much of northern Texarkana. The city has 

grown to include portions of Pleasant Grove 

ISD, and the district is pleased to be a part of 

Texarkana, USA. From a one-room school in 

1877 to the campuses of today, Pleasant Grove 

ISD has grown and changed. At each step along 

the way, students, faculty, and staff have 

demonstrated outstanding accomplishments 

and successes. 

Pleasant Grove ISD and each of the campuses 

are accredited by the Southern Association of 

Colleges and Schools and the Texas Education 

Agency. Additionally, the district has earned the 

highest financial rating in the School Financial 

Integrity Rating System of Texas. 

❖ 

Above: Pleasant Grove Middle School. 

Below: Pleasant Grove 

Elementary School. 


MILLER-BOWIE 

SUPPLY 

❖ 

Above: Miller-Bowie Supply is located 

at 1007 West Third Street in 

Texarkana, Texas. c. 2008. 

Below: Miller-Bowie Supply 512 

Broad Street Texarkana, Arkansas. 

Miller-Bowie Supply at 1007 West Third 

Street began operation in November 1950. Prior 

to that time, a group of farmers gathered 

together and envisioned their own farm 

store. This would be a place to buy their 

supplies at dependable prices and be assured of 

dependable service. 

The group agreed to form their own farm 

cooperative and so they set out to raise enough 

money to open their doors. About one hundred 

farmers bought shares in their cooperative 

approximating $10,000. They called this 

preferred stock and paid six percent interest 

annually upon the investments. 

A board of directors was then elected. This 

board consisted of seven agricultural producers 

from within the membership. After the Coop 

received their charter in 1950, the doors were 

opened. They named the Cooperative Miller- 

Bowie County Farmers Association. The first 

manager was twenty-one year old G. W. Hogins. 

The main inventory items were characterized as 

feed, seed, fertilizer and general farm supplies. 

There were eleven other farm stores in 

Texarkana and they did not welcome the newly 

formed Cooperative. In fact, some even 

discussed it in some very cruel words. The first 

location was in the old Central Schoolhouse on 

Sixth and Spruce. The school building had 

various classrooms and the different rooms are 

where they segregated the various inventories. 

Tradition says that they loaded out some things 

through the school room windows. 

After a very short period of time, the business 

moved to a larger warehouse in the 500 block 

of Texarkana, Arkansas. The first eleven years 

were very rocky with six different manager 

changes and difficulty earning a profit. In 1961 

the Association moved back to the Texas side 

at its present location of 1007 West Third Street. 

In 1972 a new modern building of 

ten thousand square feet was added to the 

existing store and warehouse. Along the way, a 

small feed mill was put in place to custom 

mix feed for the livestock producers. The 

new building also allowed an opportunity to 

expand into a complete line of various farm 

supplies such as cattle vaccines, tack for horses, 

lawn and garden products as well as general 

tools and hardware that farmers use in their 

daily operation. 

In 1982 a grain elevator was purchased from 

Pillsbury Company. The association began 

buying grain such as wheat, soybeans and corn 

that the local farmers produced. The elevator is 

located at 801 Willis Street. 

Many changes in agriculture created the 

need to improve and stay abreast of the 

farmers’ needs. One was the beginning of 

using fertilizer in bulk and having it applied to 

the fields by spreader trucks. Because of this, 


the association purchased a farmer’s fertilizer 

location. This was the old Cotton Belt Round 

House before it was turned into the bulk 

fertilizer facility by Harold Trammel about 1950. 

Even though the business is located on a rail 

spur, they still run semi-trucks with hopper 

bottom trailers, tankers and vans, to get quick 

service from major feed mills and river ports. 

They do this for quick service for their 

members. Currently these trucks travel in excess 

of five hundred thousand miles annually. 

Many other additions were made as needed 

and the employment grew from three to over 

forty current employees. Sales also increased 

from $200,000 to $23 million annually. 

Throughout its history, the members have spent 

over a half-billion dollars through their 

association. In 1998 the association changed its 

name to Miller-Bowie Supply. 

Today Miller-Bowie Supply continues to be a 

source of supply for the farmers and ranchers of 

the four states area. As we will soon celebrate 

our sixtieth anniversary, we take pride in still 

being locally owned and located downtown 

with a mission of service to a changing 

agriculture. The members of the Board of 

Directors as of this publication are President 

Charlie Starks, Vice President Bill Goza, 

Secretary/Treasurer Arthur Lumbley, Dan York, 

Danny Pickering, Shep Gage and Greg Helms. 

The manager, Joe Bruick, is currently in his 

forty-seventh year as manager. 

❖ 

Above: Miller-Bowie Supply feed mill, 

c. 2008. 

Below: Miller-Bowie Supply elevator, 

c. 2008. 


CHRISTUS 

ST. MICHAEL 

HEALTH SYSTEM 

❖ 

Above: CHRISTUS St. Michael Health 

System, serving the Texarkana region 

since 1916. 

Below: Sister Damian Murphy breaks 

ground for CHRISTUS St. Michael 

Outpatient Imaging Center. 

It was a late summer evening when Phillip 

Brooks found his way into the boiler room of a 

building in Texarkana. As a transient, he had no 

job, no money, and no ties to the community. 

What he did have was a fever of 106 degrees. 

Brooks was dying when the Sisters of Charity of 

the Incarnate Word found him in the boiler 

room of the new fifty-bed Michael Meagher 

Memorial Hospital on its official opening day, 

September 14, 1916. 

Brooks personified the hospital’s original 

intent, “to serve those who are ill, regardless of 

race, religion, or economic status,” as requested 

by Catholic Irishman and Civil Engineer 

Michael Meagher, the hospital’s namesake. 

Found murdered in 1909, Meagher left his 

estate of $75,000 for the establishment of a 

hospital in Texarkana to meet the healthcare 

needs of the region. His will required the new 

hospital have little regard for the size of a 

patient’s pocketbook and view each person as a 

child of God. 

The will’s trustees asked the Sisters of Charity, 

known for their frugal ways and mission of 

Christian concern, to operate Michael Meagher 

Memorial Hospital. Originally staffed by 10 

physicians, 1 dentist, 6 Sisters of Charity and 10 

nurses, Michael Meagher Memorial Hospital 

remained in its first home until 1948. 

Always visionary, the Sisters oversaw the 

construction of a new, 127-bed “St. Michael 

Hospital” in 1948 despite the economic 

hardships of World War II. 

The Sisters’ prudence and dedication led to 

the development of the present-day, 129-acre 

campus of CHRISTUS St. Michael Health 

System along I-30. 

Today, the hospital is part of CHRISTUS 

Health, a Catholic, faith-based, not-for-profit 

health system formed in February 1999, when 

the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word in 

Houston and San Antonio combined their 

healthcare ministries to better serve the 

communities where they are located. 

The CHRISTUS legacy dates back to 1866 

when three Sisters from France responded to a 

passionate plea from the Bishop Claude Dubuis, 

second bishop of Galveston, “Our Lord Jesus 

Christ, suffering in the persons of a multitude of 

sick and infirm of every kind, seeks relief at 

your hands.” The Sisters left their homeland to 

establish their first hospital in Galveston in 

1867 and expanded their ministry to Texarkana 

in 1916. 

As a healthcare ministry committed to 

“extending the healing ministry of Jesus Christ,” 

CHRISTUS St. Michael delivers high quality 

care accessible to all. Additionally, in 2007, 

CHRISTUS St. Michael provided more than 

$26 million in charity care, grants, and 

community services. 

For nearly a century the Sisters of Charity 

have partnered with physicians, associates, 

volunteers and the community for continued 

growth and service to the people of the 

Texarkana region. 

CHRISTUS St. Michael includes a 312-bed 

acute care hospital, 40-bed CHRISTUS St. 

Michael Rehabilitation Hospital, CHRISTUS St. 

Michael Outpatient Imaging Center, the Cancer 

Center at CHRISTUS St. Michael, CHRISTUS St. 


Michael Outpatient Rehabilitation Center, and 

CHRISTUS St. Michael Health & Fitness Center. 

With a focus on service excellence through 

clinical quality, as well as patient, employee 

(Associates), and physician satisfaction, 

CHRISTUS St. Michael strives to deliver cuttingedge 

technology and medical services to the 

Texarkana region. CHRISTUS St. Michael was 

the first to utilize Low Dose Rate (LDR) 

Brachytherapy (seed implant therapy) for 

prostate cancer treatment; the first to 

accommodate shift workers with day-time sleep 

studies at CHRISTUS St. Michael Sleep Center; 

the first to premier digital mammography, open 

air MRI, and 64-slice CT imaging at CHRISTUS 

St. Michael Outpatient Imaging Center. 

Additionally, kyphoplasty, an advanced form of 

neck and back neurosurgery, is available. 

Focusing on the region’s growing healthcare 

needs, service expansions include a special care 

nursery supported by a neonatologist, 

continuing development of a Stroke Center of 

Excellence, hyperbaric services at CHRISTUS St. 

Michael Wound Care Center, and the Varian 

Medical Systems Trilogy TM for treating cancer 

and neurological lesions with image-guided 

radiotherapy (IGRT) and image-guided 

radiosurgery (IGRS) in the Cancer Center at 

CHRISTUS St. Michael. 

❖ 

Top, left: Sister Mary McCluskey, 

Sister Damian Murphy, and Sister 

Miriam Miller, Sisters of Charity of 

the Incarnate Word at CHRISTUS St. 

Michael. 

Top, right: Michael Meagher 

Memorial Hospital, 1916. 

Below: The 127-bed St. Michael 

Hospital, 1948. 


COOPER TIRE 

& RUBBER 

COMPANY 

❖ 

Above: The dedication of Cooper Tire 

& Rubber’s Texarkana plant, 1964. 

Below: The platform at the dedication 

of Cooper Tire & Rubber’s Texarkana 

plant in 1964. Shown are (from left to 

right) President Wayne Brewer of 

Cooper Tire; Arkansas Congressman 

Oren Harris; Chairman of the Board 

of Cooper Tire Ken Frost; Mayor of 

Texarkana Searcy Atkinson; and 

Public Relations of Cooper Tire 

Tenison Guyer. 

Cooper Tire & Rubber Company is a global 

competitor in the replacement tire industry, with 

manufacturing facilities on three continents, 

sales and distribution networks around the 

world and products that meet and exceed the 

demands of the world’s most dynamic markets. 

Cooper has maintained a competitive 

position among tire manufacturers in this 

country. It stands now as one of only two U.S. 

owned tire manufacturers. Cooper Tire & 

Rubber Company is the fourth largest tire 

manufacturer in North America and the ninth 

largest in the world, shipping tires to more than 

110 countries and employing nearly 14,000 

people worldwide. 

Cooper provides a full line of tires to meet 

the needs of virtually all consumers from 

everyday motorists to the most demanding 

high-performance, off-road and motorsport 

enthusiasts. The Findlay, Ohio-based company 

concentrates on the replacement tire market. 

The company produces tires for automobiles, 

trucks and motorcycles. Proprietary brands 

include Cooper, Mastercraft, Avon, Dean, 

Starfire, Mickey Thompson, Dick Cepek, 

Chengshan, and Austone. 

The company’s history dates back to 1914, 

when brothers-in-law John F. Schaefer and 

Claude E. Hart purchased M and M 

Manufacturing Company in Akron, producing 

tire patches, tire cement and tire repair kits. A 

year later, Schaefer and Hart purchased the 

Giant Tire & Rubber Company of Akron, a 

tire rebuilding business, and two years later 

moved the business to Findlay, Ohio. In 1918 a 

fire destroyed the main building of the 

plant; that same year a new plant was 

constructed at the present site in Findlay and in 

1920 the company was named Cooper 

Corporation. In 1930 the name was changed to 

Master Tire & Rubber Company. In 1946 the 

company changed its name one last time to 

Cooper Tire & Rubber Company. One of its 

founders, I. J. Cooper, coined the phrase the 


company lives by to this day, “A square deal at a 

fair price.” 

In the early 1960, Cooper Tire decided to 

expand its tire operations beyond Findlay. They 

built a new plant in Texarkana, Arkansas. 

Operations began in 1964 with the focus 

primarily on bias tire production. In the mid 

1980s the plant converted completely to radial 

tire construction with the majority of products 

offered in light truck and speed rated tires. The 

citizens of the Texarkana area have enjoyed 

many expansions of the Texarkana plant to 

its current size of 2.2 million square feet 

or about forty-seven acres under roof. 

Texarkana has given to the Texarkana plant by 

providing incentives for its construction and 

expansions and providing a fertile labor market 

from which the plant has grown its employment 

from the early days of just over 200 to nearly 

2,000 now and generating over $80 million in 

annual payroll. Texarkana has received from 

Cooper as well, as the Cooper Foundation has 

donated hundreds of thousands of dollars over 

the past forty years to good causes and 

community needs. 

Joining the Findlay and Texarkana plants are 

sister plants Tupelo, Mississippi (1984) and 

Albany, Georgia (1991) and Avon Tyres Limited, 

in Melksham, England (1997). In 2005, Cooper 

Tire announced an agreement to obtain fifty-one 

percent ownership in China’s third largest tire 

manufacturer, Cooper Chengshan (Shandong) 

Passenger Tire Company Ltd. and Cooper 

Chengshan (Shandong) Truck Tire Company 

Ltd. Cooper Tire has sixty-six manufacturing, 

sales, distribution, technical and design facilities 

within the family of companies located around 

the world and throughout the United States. 

But the company is hardly resting on past 

success. Cooper continues to improve plant 

efficiencies while capitalizing on its strong 

customer service and dealer relationships in 

North America; expanding its distribution 

network in Europe; and marketing Cooper Tires 

as a top brand in China. New products are 

driving increased sales and creating additional 

opportunity and growth potential. Continued 

change is inevitable for Cooper. One thing that 

will not change, however, is the company’s focus 

on delighting customers and increasing 

shareholder value. 

❖ 

Above: An aerial view of Cooper Tire 

& Rubber Company, 1964. 

Below: An aerial view of Cooper Tire 

& Rubber Company, 2008. 


❖ 

ASHDOWN 

MILL/DOMTAR 

INDUSTRIES, 

INC. 

Above: The mill as it looked in 1966. 

Below: The mill in 2008. 

The rich history of the Ashdown Mill began in 

1965 when Nekoosa-Edwards Paper Company 

decided to build a new mill in southwest 

Arkansas. The combination of a newly 

constructed reservoir, which could supply 

adequate water to a new mill, the great 

abundance of nearby wood, and the enthusiasm 

of the community’s residents, enticed Nekoosa to 

build a pulp and paper mill in Ashdown. 

Construction on the new mill began in 1967 

on a twenty-five-hundred-acre site and impacted 

the town immediately. When construction began, 

Ashdown’s population was thirty-five hundred 

and the income per capita of the area’s residents 

was one of the lowest in the state of Arkansas. 

The influx of workers helping to create the new 

neighbor in the community caused the population 

to quickly grow to six thousand people. The 

mill officially opened on July 17, 1968. 

Great Northern Paper Company and 

Nekoosa-Edwards Paper Company merged to 

create Great Northern Nekoosa Corporation in 

1970 and several areas of the mill experienced 

growth with new systems and equipment to 

improve their daily operations. 

In 1973 the company made the announcement 

of an expansion and the addition of a second 

paper machine. After its completion, the 

total paper mill capacity grew from 100,000 

tons to 225,000 tons per year. 

Another expansion began in 1977 with the 

construction of the “Challenger,” the mill’s third 

paper machine, a new pulp mill, and a recovery 

boiler and turbine generator for the power 

plant. Soon after, the mill began to be recognized 

for its production capability. 

On July 15, 1986, the company converted and 

shipped 337.65 tons on a nine-pocket Will sheeter, 

a world cut-size paper production record. Two 

years later, in July 1988, the “Challenger” established 

a world paper production record of 2.46 

tons of shipped product per inch of winder trim. 

In 1988 construction began on the mill’s 

tallest structure, a $90 million recovery boiler 

that aided the mill’s effort to protect the 

environment and added 90,000 tons of pulp 

production capacity annually. 

The largest expansion in the mill’s history— 

more than $500 million—began in mid-1989. In 

the midst of that project, which featured the 

world’s largest paper machine, known as the 

“Ashdown Express,” the mill officially became a 

part of Georgia-Pacific Corporation in 1990. 

Upon completion of the project, the mill 

became the largest fine paper complex in the 

world. The Ashdown Express shined early on 

when it set a world speed record just forty-five 

days after start-up. It also set a world tonnage 

record in 1993. 

Many employees were on the mill site to 

bring in the new millennium. A sense of anxiety 

took a back seat to excitement when the clock 

struck 12 a.m. with no major issues with 

computers or systems. 

On August 4, 2001, Domtar Industries Inc. 

purchased the facility. Throughout the new 

millennium, the historic mill has continued to 

see much improvement with various capital 

project initiatives. 

On a groundbreaking day in 1966, the only 

thing on the current mill site was a small sign 

that read, “Nekoosa Edwards Paper Company.” 

Today, the Ashdown Mill is one of the largest 

business and commercial printing paper mills in 

the world. 

Though no one knows what the next 

chapters of the Ashdown Mill story will tell, one 

thing is certain, Ashdown Mill employees made 

the difference in 1968, and they will continue to 

make the difference in the years to come. 


OFFENHAUSER 

& CO. 

When it comes to community involvement 

and insurance, Fred Offenhauser set an example 

in 1882 that the company stills upholds today. 

Offenhauser & Co. has been a leader in 

community service and insurance for 125 years, 

growing with Texarkana from a railroad town to 

a vibrant, growing community. 

From the brick building that now houses the 

Texarkana Museum of Regional History, 

Offenhauser helped in 1905 to start the 

Texarkana Board of Trade (Chamber of 

Commerce) as well as the Community Chest 

(United Way) in 1925. During World War II, an 

Offenhauser officer was loaned to the Chamber 

to lead lobbying efforts in Washington for what 

became Red River Army Depot & Lone Star 

Army Ammunition Plant, at one time employing 

twenty thousand residents. 

Offenhauser officers took a leadership role in 

expanding the Community Hospital into 

Wadley Regional Medical Center in the 1950s. 

They contributed their building to help 

establish the Texarkana Museums in 1971 and 

celebrated Offenhauser’s centennial by donating 

5,000 dogwood seedlings to the community. 

Along the way, Offenhauser produced five 

Chamber of Commerce Chairmen, eight United 

Way chairs, and seven C.E. Palmer Award 

winners. Today, they are leading the way again, 

providing leadership to create a world-class 

math and engineering initiative through 

Texarkana ISD and Texas A&M University- 

Texarkana while expanding TAMU-T’s offerings 

to a four year program. 

“We do all we can so we can all grow 

together, making Texarkana a better place to 

live,” states Don Morriss, president. 

Offenhauser & Co. is your Trusted Choice 

Insurance Leader for Fortune 500 corporations, 

small business, and families, fulfilling insurance 

and risk management needs with the highest 

standards of professional counsel, reliable service, 

and competitive prices. With their knowledge, 

integrity and dedication, you will get the same 

extraordinary service they give to our community. 

For additional information on Offenhauser & 

Co., please visit www.fwoins.com. 


TEXARKANA 

PUBLIC LIBRARY 

❖ 

Above: The first library opened in the 

house at Seventh and State Line, the 

Henry Harper home. 

Below: On January 28, 1980, 

Texarkana Public Library opened 

its doors. 

Texarkana’s first library was originally 

established as a reading room in 1918 by the 

Young Women’s Christian Association from 

member donations. Four years later, in her high 

school valedictorian commencement address, 

Josephine Wright Post addressed the issue of 

“Why Texarkana Needs a Public Library.” 

On November 10, 1924, a public meeting 

organized by Mrs. N. E. (Nanny) Foreman and 

F. E. Pharr resulted in the formation of the 

Texarkana Public Library Association. The 

Association opened the first public library on 

December 1, 1925, in a two-story house on 

State Line Avenue at Seventh Street in 

Texarkana, Arkansas. It was the former home of 

Mayor Robert L. Trigg, purchased from Henry 

and Fannie Harper. Vivian Smith was named 

librarian and funding came from the sale of 

memberships, gifts, and the Community Chest 

until 1951. 

In 1950 the city of Texarkana, Texas, donated 

a section of James Bowie City Park on State Line 

Avenue for a larger library. Texas residents 

approved a bond issue of $80,000 for a new 

building. In a spirit of cooperation and 

recognizing the contributions of the Library to the 

city, the Arkansas Legislature passed legislation 

allowing Arkansas tax funds to be used in another 

state for the benefit of Arkansas residents. 

A new, red brick, Georgian style library 

building was opened to the public in January of 

1952, with Georgia Parks serving as the 

librarian. Each of the two cities agreed to 

contribute funds for the library’s operation and, 

in 1969, increased their appropriations to the 

library, eliminating a membership fee and 

creating public library services for the residents 

of the cities. 

In 1977 an Economic Development 

Administration Grant provided the funding for 

today’s expansive library building at 600 West 

Third Street, which opened to the public in 

January of 1980 with Anne Capshaw serving as 

head librarian. In 2006 under the direction of 

Alice Coleman, the library renovated its facility 

with $1 million from a successful Texarkana, 

Texas City Bond Election. 

Nearly a century later, the Texarkana Public 

Library continues to provide a wealth of 

resources to the community. For more 

information, individuals can visit the library 

online at www.txar-publib.org. 


In 2007 the law firm of Dunn, Nutter & 

Morgan, L.L.P., moved to new offices at 3601 

Richmond Road, Texarkana, Texas, after 

decades in downtown Texarkana in the State 

First National Bank, more recently Regions 

Bank building. This move represents our firm 

commitment to the future of Texarkana and our 

desire to continue ethical and high quality 

services to our clients. Each of our lawyers is 

licensed to practice and appear in courts in 

Arkansas and Texas, and, for one of our 

attorneys, also Oklahoma. 

Willis B. Smith, Sr., and Ben Carter founded 

the original firm in 1926. As the successor, 

Dunn, Nutter & Morgan, is the oldest 

continuously practicing law firm in Texarkana. 

During our more than eighty-two years, the firm 

names have included: Smith & Sanderson; 

Smith, Sanderson, Stroud & McClerkin; Smith, 

Stroud, McClerkin, Conway & Dunn; and 

Smith, Stroud, McClerkin, Dunn & Nutter. 

Earlier firms included members who served 

as state legislators, judges, a State Supreme 

Court and Court of Appeals Justice, a U.S. 

Attorney, and an Oil and Gas Commissioner. In 

addition, past and present firm members have 

been active in local, state, and national bar 

associations, including serving as presidents and 

officers for the Texarkana Bar Association, 

American Board of Trial Advocates, and the 

Arkansas Bar Association. Firm members have 

served and continue to contribute to the 

community by serving as volunteers and board 

members in many nonprofit and community 

development groups. 

Dunn, Nutter & Morgan, L.L.P. has had the 

privilege of serving individual clients who have 

referred their children and grandchildren to the 

firm for legal services. Business clients, 

including major corporations and small 

businesses, continue to seek our services in the 

areas of banking, real estate, oil and gas, 

utilities, water, and insurance. The firm’s clients 

continue to seek its legal services because of 

demonstrated ability and commitment to 

excellence and quality regardless of whether the 

services involve millions of dollars, or 

individual or consumer services. 

Of equal importance is the belief of the firm’s 

clients in its honest, ethical, and professional 

efforts in its relationships with them and with 

the courts, other attorneys, and the clients they 

serve. At its new location the firm will continue 

to serve its clients in trials, oil and gas law, 

criminal defense, wills and trusts, estates, 

medical, consumer protection, insurance law, 

employment, and personal injury. 

We believe in and support Texarkana and its 

future. It has a rich and honored past as is so 

well preserved and promoted by the Texarkana 

Museum of Regional History. We at Dunn, 

Nutter & Morgan, L.L.P., believe that the 

members of our law firm will continue to be 

positive contributors to the future success of 

Texarkana, both in the legal profession and in 

community service. 

DUNN, NUTTER 

& MORGAN, 

L.L.P. 

❖ 

Below: Front Row (from left to right): 

Winford L. Dunn, Jr., Charles A. 

Morgan, and R. Gary Nutter. Back 

row (from left to right): Mark R. 

Adams, James L. Cook, Charles E. 

Friday, Lisa Mills Wilkins, James W. 

Smith, and M. Wade Kimmel. 


TOTAL 

HEALTHCARE OF 

ARK-LA-TEX 

Founded by Dr. Stacy and Mendy Warner, Total 

Healthcare of Ark-La-Tex has been serving the 

Texarkana community with quality chiropractic 

care in a Christ-centered environment since its 

opening in March of 1998. 

Total Healthcare is a full service chiropractic 

office offering the most technologically 

advanced chiropractic services available. The 

practice welcomes every patient and provides 

outstanding care to those involved in auto 

accidents, workers compensation injuries, cash 

cases, and major medical issues. 

A graduate of Leadership Texarkana 

and member of the United Way and the 

Texarkana Museum System, Dr. Warner 

also serves as a designated doctor for 

the Texas Workers Compensation Commission. 

He is joined at Total Healthcare by 

chiropractic assistants Karmen Tye and 

Rebecca Baker. 

Total Healthcare of Ark-La-Tex is honored to 

have served the Texarkana area for over a 

decade and celebrates its success with the 

annual “Patient Appreciation Day,” in which 

patients are asked to bring two canned goods or 

$2 in exchange for a chiropractic adjustment. 

All proceeds and/or canned goods are donated 

to Harvest Texarkana. 

❖ 

Early Texarkana had all the requirements that made it an ideal location to raise a family and to conduct business. 



Atchley, Russell, Waldrop & Hlavinka, L.L.P., 

is one of the oldest law firms in the ArkLaTex. 

The firm's history and the personal histories of 

the lawyers who have comprised the firm over 

the decades are rich and varied. 

When attorney Otto Atchley invited fellow 

attorney Norman Russell to join him in a 

partnership effective January 1, 1955, little did 

they know that their decision would form a law 

practice that would continue to grow and 

prosper into the twenty-first century. 

Within eighteen months of Atchley and 

Russell forming their partnership, they hired the 

firm’s first associate, Howard Waldrop, to 

handle the ever-increasing workload. 

With the growth of the city, the firm quickly 

developed the need for other experienced trial 

counsel. Judge Bun Hutchinson joined the firm 

in 1957, and the name of the firm was changed 

to Atchley, Russell & Hutchinson. Charles 

Hlavinka joined the firm in the fall of 1959 to 

handle finance, real estate, business 

transactions, and federal taxation. Victor 

Hlavinka joined the firm in 1960 and quickly 

developed his own trial practice. In 1962 the 

firm’s name was changed to Atchley, Russell, 

Hutchinson & Waldrop. Stephen Oden joined 

the firm in 1965; Steve left the firm in 1977 to 

serve as a Justice on the Texarkana Court of 

Appeals and returned to the firm a year later. 

Additional attorneys joined the firm over the 

next two decades as still others came and went: 

Dennis Chambers, 1979; Alan Harrel, 1981; 

Josh Morriss, III, 1983 (who withdrew in 2002 

to serve as Chief Justice of the Texarkana Court 

of Appeals); Louise Tausch, 1986; Jeffery Lewis, 

1990; Brandon Cogburn, 2002; Jo Thomason, 

2002; and Nick C. Newton, 2005. Included 

among notable departures from the firm are 

those of Atchley (who took “of counsel” status in 

1969), Bun Hutchinson (who withdrew in 1973 

to become Judge of the Fifth District Court), 

Charles Bleil (who later ascended to the same 

bench before moving to the Texarkana Court of 

Appeals and then being named Federal 

Magistrate for the Northern District of Texas), 

Norman Russell who remained with the firm 

until his death in 1996, and Howard Waldrop 

who died at the helm of the firm in 2005. 

The firm’s physical location over the years 

reflects the growth of both the firm and the city. 

Originally located in the Texarkana National 

Bank building, the firm moved to new offices at 

315 Main Street in 1956. When the Main Street 

building reached maximum capacity, new offices 

were built at the corner of Eighth and Spruce 

Streets. The firm outgrew the Spruce Street 

building and temporarily established a satellite 

office on Texas Boulevard. To house all attorneys 

and staff under one roof, the firm embarked 

upon a new building plan, moving in 1989 to 

what was once a sparsely populated area on 

Moores Lane in the Galleria Oaks addition—the 

firm’s current location at 1710 Moores Lane. 

Today, the firm provides a wide range of legal 

services throughout Texas and Arkansas. 

The major portion of the firm’s practice 

includes defense of tort and contract claims, 

environmental and asbestos litigation, defense 

of healthcare and other professional malpractice 

litigation, employment discrimination and 

human resources consultation, civil appeals, 

defense of local governmental entities and 

municipalities, school and education law, 

banking and corporate matters, taxation and tax 

planning, probate and estate matters, and 

commercial and business litigation. 

The Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review 

Ratings rate the firm “AV”, an objective 

indicator that the firm has the highest ethical 

standards and professional ability. 

Visit Atchley, Russell, Waldrop & Hlavinka, 

L.L.P. at www.arwhlaw.com. 

❖ 

ATCHLEY, 

RUSSELL, 

WALDROP & 

HLAVINKA, 

L.L.P. 

Front row (from left to right): Alan 

Harrel, Victor Hlavinka, Charles 

Hlavinka, and Dennis Chambers. 

Back row (from left to right): Nick 

Newton, Brandon Cogburn, Jo 

Thomason, Louise Tausch, and Jeffery 

Lewis. Not pictured: Steve Oden. 


❖ 

SOUTHWEST 

ARKANSAS 

ELECTRIC 

COOPERATIVE 

REA 

Above: Electricity is born in 

rural Texarkana. 

Below: Southwest Arkansas Electric 

Cooperative REA headquarters 


The historic Southwest Arkansas Electric 

Cooperative Corporation REA is a memberowned 

electric utility. Its mission is to provide 

first class electric service to the membership at a 

valued price, and to provide other services that 

add value to the organization. 

President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the 

Rural Electrification Administration with an 

executive order signed in May 1935. In March 

1937, W. T. Murphy, Jr., of Bradley, Arkansas, 

called together prominent farmers and businessmen 

of Lafayette, Miller, Columbia, Hempstead, 

and Howard Counties, and with the assistance 

of county agents Phil Anderson and John Measel, 

organized what is now known as the Southwest 

Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation. 

On August 18, 1937, Murphy received a 

telegram from Senator Hattie W. Caraway 

announcing a partial allotment of $150,000 to 

build 672 miles of electric lines to serve 2,098 farm 

families in Miller and Lafayette Counties. On 

August 31, 1937, a meeting was held in Little Rock, 

Arkansas and the cooperative was incorporated 

with those incorporators being W. E. Williams, Jim 

Keith, W. T. Murphy, Jr., Frank Hill, and J. C. Gary. 

Since that time, the Cooperative has expanded to 

include Sevier, Little River and Polk Counties in 

Arkansas, parts of Bowie and Cass Counties in 

Texas and McCurtain County in Oklahoma. 

Perhaps the most memorable sentiment 

regarding Southwest Arkansas Electric 

Cooperative and others like it from across the 

nation was expressed by a farmer giving witness 

in a small rural church in the early 1940s: 

“Brothers and sisters, I want to tell you this. The 

greatest thing on earth is to have the love of God 

in your heart, and the next greatest thing is to 

have electricity in your house.” 

Southwest Arkansas Electric Cooperative 

has become one of the leading electric 

cooperatives in the nation. Advanced metering 

infrastructure, supervisory control, and data 

acquisition, a sophisticated member information 

database and broadband communications with 

its district offices and substations, propels the 

Cooperative forward into the “high tech” twentyfirst 

century. 

Southwest Arkansas Electric Cooperative 

REA headquarters are located at 2904 East 

Ninth Street in Texarkana with district offices in 

Bradley, DeQueen, and Nashville, Arkansas. For 

more information, please visit www.swrea.com. 


Long regarded as “a bona fide Texarkana 

institution,” Bryce’s Cafeteria has been serving 

customers its trademark home-style cooking 

since Bryce K. Lawrence first opened his historic 

cafeteria in the old YWCA cafeteria at 215 Pine 

Street in downtown Texarkana on February 17, 

1931. The name was chosen because Bryce was 

concerned about the family’s last name being 

tarnished if the fledgling business failed. He 

borrowed the main cooks and salad maker from 

his former employer and was open seven days a 

week. Regarding those early days, Bryce once 

remarked, “We take in more money in ten 

minutes now than we did all day back then.” 

Though the Great Depression held the nation 

in its grip, the business quickly became a 

centerpiece in Texarkana’s downtown community 

and lines often formed around the block in 

anticipation of the Lawrence family’s outstanding 

fare, which included delicious entrees, soups, 

vegetables, breads and desserts. 

The restaurant remained at its original 

location until 1989, when construction began 

on a new building at 2021 Mall Drive. History 

records that the original site included an 

upstairs dining room with a “wonderful view of 

State Line Avenue and Pine Street,” while a long 

buffet line filled with a variety of foods 

tantalized lunch and dinner crowds for decades. 

Bryce and his wife Dorothy were joined in 

the business by their two sons, Bryce, Jr., and 

Richard, who would later become the owners of 

the cafeteria. As one journalist wrote, “The 

family’s contributions to our fair city have been 

constant and remarkable.” 

Today, Richard and his brother Bryce co-own 

the cafeteria and are proud to “do everything the 

old-fashioned way.” The famous cafeteria is 

marked by its classic Southern food with a 

healthy flavor and many of the dishes are still 

prepared from recipes as old as the store. Its 

prime location between Dallas and Little Rock 

and its many loyal employees who “know how 

to treat customers well” has ensured Bryce’s 

Cafeteria nearly a century of successful service 

and good cooking. 

Bryce’s Cafeteria has also reached legendary 

fame through features on the Food Network, and 

in the columns of New Yorker Magazine, Southern 

Living Magazine, and the Chicago Tribune. 

At the passing of Bryce Lawrence, Sr., in 

1992, Paul Greenberg of the Arkansas Democrat 

Gazette wrote in tribute, “Mister Bryce [kept in 

mind] certain principles…the quality of the 

product, personal service, the quality of the 

product, personal responsibility, the quality of 

the product…Bryce Lawrence’s idea worked. 

Mainly because he and his family did.” 

BRYCE’S 

CAFETERIA, 

INC. 


MILLER, JAMES, 

MILLER & 

HORNSBY, 

L.L.P. 

The law firm of Miller, James, Miller & 

Hornsby, L.L.P., was founded by L. E. Keeney 

and Edward Miller in 1966. Both were born and 

grew up in Texarkana. Keeney was the first 

attorney in the Texarkana area to limit his 

practice and specialize in tax law. Miller served 

in the United States Navy as a JAG officer before 

returning to the city and joining Keeney in the 

practice of tax and related law. Together they 

opened a law office located at 1012 Olive Street 

in January 1966. 

With the growth of the law practice, the 

firm expanded to provide comprehensive 

representation in the fields of estate planning, 

probate, real estate, family law, criminal law, 

medical defense litigation, personal injury, 

business law and appellate law in both state and 

federal courts in Texas and Arkansas. 

In 2003 the firm found the need to relocate 

and chose to build at 1725 Galleria Oaks Drive. 

As the city has grown to the north and west, the 

new location in the I-30 corridor continues to 

accommodate the needs of its clients. 

Throughout the years, the firm and its 

partners have remained dedicated to involvement 

in the community. Partners in the 

firm have gone on to serve as judges of the 

Texarkana Court of Appeals, state district 

judges, district attorney, county judge, city 

councilmen, and mayor pro tem of Texarkana, 

Texas. Partners have also served on the boards 

of many civic organizations. The firm has 

continually emphasized promoting the 

area’s visual and performing arts, including 

the Texarkana Symphony Orchestra, the 

Texarkana Regional Chorale, the Texarkana 

Regional Arts & Humanities Council 

(TRAHC), and the Texarkana Repertory 

Company, Inc. (Tex*Rep). 

Miller, James, Miller & Hornsby, L.L.P., is 

committed to improving the quality of life in the 

Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas area and to 

delivering a quality work-product which meets 

the legal needs of its clients 


By the turn of the twentieth century, the 

timber and railroad businesses of East Texas 

were welcoming people and prosperity to the 

Texarkana area. The population had grown to 

almost twenty thousand and the need for a city 

hospital was being voiced by many. 

To meet that need, Drs. S.A. Collom, George 

C. Abell, Thomas F. Kittrell, and R.H.T. Mann 

opened Texarkana’s first hospital, Pine Street 

Sanitarium, the forerunner of Wadley Regional 

Medical Center, in 1900. These men of great 

vision might never have realized the impact that 

a small fifteen bed hospital started in a 

residential home would have on the city of 

Texarkana and the four-states area throughout 

the next century. 

In 1905 the hospital incorporated and 

was renamed the Texarkana Sanitarium and 

Training School for Nurses. The hospital grew 

during its first eighteen years to a position of 

recognized eminence, being one of the finest 

institutions of its kind in the South. It grew and 

prospered as more physicians were added to the 

staff, and by 1920, the hospital had grown to 50 

beds with 50 physicians, admitting 3,000 

patients annually, and was officially called the 

Texarkana Hospital. 

As a new era of technology and population 

exploded in Texarkana, the Board of Trustees of 

the Hospital met in 1952 to discuss building a 

new 100-bed structure. J. K.Wadley, whose 

generous contributions to the building of the 

new hospital would result in its being named for 

him, made a far-reaching observation about the 

hospital, “The Lord favored us in these 

determinations…this hospital was built for the 

community…by the community…and should 

be community operated.” 

On January 10, 1959, the doors of the 

beautiful Wadley Hospital opened with a 200- 

bed capacity instead of the 100-bed capacity 

originally planned. 

With the completion of the hospital’s first 

expansion in 1971, Wadley entered the final 

decades of the twentieth century prepared to 

meet the ever-changing needs of its patients and 

the communities which it faithfully serves. 

The name of the hospital was officially 

changed to Wadley Regional Medical Center in 

1982 and was the only medical facility in the 

area to provide innovative newborn care, 

earning the hospital the title, “The Birth Place of 

Texarkana,” in 1989. 

Today, Wadley Regional Medical Center 

continues its historic, unwavering foundation of 

providing the best patient care possible, a 

community hospital based upon community 

needs. Wadley has received numerous national 

awards and recognitions with some of the most 

recent being certification by The Joint 

Commission as a Primary Stroke Center; 

certification by BlueCross BlueShield of Texas as 

a Blue Distinction Center for Bariatric Surgery; 

designation as a Bariatric Center of Excellence 

by the American Society for Bariatric Surgery; 

two Excellence awards from HealthGrades for 

Joint Replacement and Vascular Surgery. Wadley 

has also brought many “firsts” to the area 

including the first intensive care unit, 

pacemaker, open heart surgery, nuclear 

medicine, and a number of breast health 

technologies. With the help of the Wadley 

Foundation, Wadley will soon be bringing 

another first to Texarkana with the addition of 

technology that will allow for breast MRIs. 

Over a century of community care has 

proven that the blend of patient-focused care, 

the latest technologies available, the best in 

medical expertise from competent, caring 

physicians and staff means the patient will 

always come first and foremost at Wadley 

Regional Medical Center. 

WADLEY 

HEALTH SYSTEM 

❖ 

Wadley Regional Medical Center is 

located at 1000 Pine in Texarkana, 

Texas and at www.wadleyhealth.com. 


TEXARKANA 

COLLEGE 

Texarkana College (TC) was established in 

1927 as a branch of the Texarkana Independent 

School District in Texarkana, Texas. Discussions 

and research for the new college began as early 

as 1925 when Dr. Henry Stillwell, then 

president of the Texarkana Texas School board, 

presented plans to open a college in conjunction 

with the city’s public school system. Later, in 

January of 1926, the Texarkana, Texas, 

city council formally endorsed plans for the 

junior college. 

Founding board members included Clyde C. 

Bounds, Elmer L. Lincoln, Dr. Theron Earl 

Fuller, Mildred Fewell, George D. Garrett, 

Edward L. Berry, Henry Prator, George W. 

Middleton, G.W. Nicholls and Dr. Eli M. Watts, 

and the first announcement for the college 

appeared in the local paper, the Texarkana 

Gazette, in March 1926. The main building was 

to be located near the bi-state city’s downtown 

area and would include a gymnasium that could 

seat five hundred people. 

In 1926 the school board set conditions for 

admissions—tuition for attending the college 

was $150 per year with an additional $50 due 

from students living outside the Texarkana 

Independent School District. Dr. Stilwell 

remained president of TC and Superintendent 

of Texarkana Texas schools until the 1950s. 

Other noteworthy individuals instrumental in 

TC’s development include Dean W. P Akin and 

Businessman Truman Arnold. Past students 

include businessman and politician H. Ross 

Perot and businessman Truman Arnold. 

The school moved to its present location 

at 2500 North Robison Road in 1951 after 

a bond issue successfully passed in 1948 and 

the school purchased twenty acres to build a 

new campus. 

One of the oldest programs at Texarkana 

College is the school of nursing. The William 

Buchanan School of Nursing was established in 

1956 as the result of the efforts of Josh Morriss, 

Sr., Chairman of the Board of Directors at 

Wadley Hospital. The “Health Occupations 

Division” now includes an associate degree 

nursing program (RN), a licensed vocational 

nursing program (LVN), EMS training programs, 

and other specialized programs of study. 

With the rising cost of college tuition across 

the country, the Texarkana College Board of 

Trustees and college president, Frank Coleman, 

knew it was important to keep education 

options accessible to working class families 

who fell between the cracks of the financial 

aid system. 

In the spring of 2003, TC announced a 

unique scholarship opportunity for recent high 

school graduates known as The Rising Star 

Scholarship, which is unique as there are no 

geographic boundaries. Any high school 

graduate from anywhere in the world can 

qualify if they meet criteria. 

In the fall of 2008, TC recorded a total 

combined enrollment of about 4,500 students 

and offers over 30 associate degree programs 

and 25 technical certificate programs. 


❖ 

These two young ladies from 

Texarkana were eager to experience 

life on the Texas frontier in the 1880s. 



SPONSORS 

Ashdown Mill/Domtar Industries, Inc.........................................................................................................................................126 

Atchley, Russell, Waldrop & Hlavinka, L.L.P. ..............................................................................................................................131 

Bryce’s Cafeteria, Inc...................................................................................................................................................................133 

Capital One................................................................................................................................................................................116 

CHRISTUS St. Michael Health System ........................................................................................................................................122 

City of Texarkana, Texas.............................................................................................................................................................100 

Commercial National Bank.........................................................................................................................................................110 

Cooper Tire & Rubber Company................................................................................................................................................124 

Dr. Mitchell Young Family............................................................................................................................................................90 

Dunn, Nutter & Morgan, L.L.P. ..................................................................................................................................................129 

First Tape & Label......................................................................................................................................................................112 

Kemp Bros. Body Shop, Inc..........................................................................................................................................................97 

LaCrosse Hotel .............................................................................................................................................................................86 

Liberty-Eylau Independent School District .................................................................................................................................114 

Miller, James, Miller & Hornsby, L.L.P. .......................................................................................................................................134 

Miller-Bowie Supply ...................................................................................................................................................................120 

Offenhauser & Co. .....................................................................................................................................................................127 

Patriot Truck & Trailer .................................................................................................................................................................82 

Pleasant Grove Independent School District ...............................................................................................................................118 

Shady Pines RV Center, Inc. .......................................................................................................................................................102 

Southwest Arkansas Electric Cooperate REA...............................................................................................................................132 

Texas A&M University-Texarkana...............................................................................................................................................104 

Texarkana Auto Body Works, Inc................................................................................................................................................106 

Texarkana Arkansas School District ..............................................................................................................................................98 

Texarkana College ......................................................................................................................................................................136 

Texarkana Independent School District.......................................................................................................................................108 

Texarkana Museums System .........................................................................................................................................................93 

Texarkana Public Library............................................................................................................................................................128 

Total Healthcare of Ark-La-Tex ...................................................................................................................................................130 

University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Area Health Education Center-Southwest .................................................................94 

Wadley Health System................................................................................................................................................................135 


❖ 

The contents of Texarkana’s early 

timber buildings added fuel to the 

raging fires of the late 1800s. 



❖ 

The earliest photograph of a 

Texarkana church building in the 

downtown area. This building was 

made entirely of timber. 



ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Beverly J. Rowe received her Ph.D. in American history in 1999 from the University of North Texas in Denton, 

Texas. She has also earned minors in European history, higher education administration, sociology, and anthropology. 

While at the University of North Texas she also received extensive training in local history and oral history. 

Dr. Rowe was born in Denver, Colorado, and spent her teenage years in Billings, Montana. Both of her parents 

had a love of history and art, and they made sure that Beverly and her brother, Bill, visited all the museums and art 

galleries in the regions where the family lived. As a result, Beverly developed a love of local history and recognized 

that her adopted town, Texarkana, could benefit through her research and writing skills to record the unique aspects 

of the people and events that historically shaped these twin cities. The result has been six published books and 

more than one-hundred newspaper articles on Texarkana that have made that have made this town’s unique 

history accessible. 

Rowe has been married for forty-five years to her high-school sweetheart, Auby Rowe, III, and they have three 

grown children and seven granddaughters. 

About the Author ✦ 141

❖ 

Hotel Grim was named after William 

Rhoads Grim when it opened in 1925. 



❖ 

Farm produce from Ghio’s Vineyards 

and Witterstaetter’s Market Garden 

was abundant. 



For more information about the following publications or about publishing your own book, please call 

Historical Publishing Network at 800-749-9790 or visit www.lammertinc.com. 

Black Gold: The Story of Texas Oil & Gas 

Garland: A Contemporary History 

Historic Abilene: An Illustrated History 

Historic Albuquerque: An Illustrated History 

Historic Amarillo: An Illustrated History 

Historic Anchorage: An Illustrated History 

Historic Austin: An Illustrated History 

Historic Baldwin County: A Bicentennial History 

Historic Baton Rouge: An Illustrated History 

Historic Beaufort County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Beaumont: An Illustrated History 

Historic Bexar County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Birmingham: An Illustrated History 

Historic Brazoria County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Charlotte: 

An Illustrated History of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County 

Historic Cheyenne: A History of the Magic City 

Historic Comal County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Corpus Christi: An Illustrated History 

Historic DeKalb County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Denton County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Edmond: An Illustrated History 

Historic El Paso: An Illustrated History 

Historic Erie County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Fairbanks: An Illustrated History 

Historic Gainesville & Hall County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Gregg County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Hampton Roads: Where America Began 

Historic Hancock County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Henry County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Houston: An Illustrated History 

Historic Illinois: An Illustrated History 

Historic Kern County: 

An Illustrated History of Bakersfield and Kern County 

Historic Lafayette: 

An Illustrated History of Lafayette & Lafayette Parish 

Historic Laredo: 

An Illustrated History of Laredo & Webb County 

Historic Lee County: The Story of Fort Myers & Lee County 

Historic Louisiana: An Illustrated History 

Historic Midland: An Illustrated History 

Historic Montgomery County: 

An Illustrated History of Montgomery County, Texas 

Historic Ocala: The Story of Ocala & Marion County 

Historic Oklahoma: An Illustrated History 

Historic Oklahoma County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Omaha: 

An Illustrated History of Omaha and Douglas County 

Historic Ouachita Parish: An Illustrated History 

Historic Paris and Lamar County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Pasadena: An Illustrated History 

Historic Passaic County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Pennsylvania An Illustrated History 

Historic Philadelphia: An Illustrated History 

Historic Prescott: 

An Illustrated History of Prescott & Yavapai County 

Historic Richardson: An Illustrated History 

Historic Rio Grande Valley: An Illustrated History 

Historic Scottsdale: A Life from the Land 

Historic Shelby County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Shreveport-Bossier: 

An Illustrated History of Shreveport & Bossier City 

Historic South Carolina: An Illustrated History 

Historic Smith County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Temple: An Illustrated History 

Historic Texas: An Illustrated History 

Historic Victoria: An Illustrated History 

Historic Tulsa: An Illustrated History 

Historic Williamson County: An Illustrated History 

Historic Wilmington & The Lower Cape Fear: 


Historic York County: An Illustrated History 

Iron, Wood & Water: An Illustrated History of Lake Oswego 

Miami’s Historic Neighborhoods: A History of Community 

Old Orange County Courthouse: A Centennial History 

Plano: An Illustrated Chronicle 

The New Frontier: 

A Contemporary History of Fort Worth & Tarrant County 

The San Gabriel Valley: A 21st Century Portrait 

The Spirit of Collin County 

Water, Rails & Oil: Historic Mid & South Jefferson County 


ISBN 9781935377016

Historic Texarkana

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