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Historic Texarkana

An illustrated history of the Texarkana area, paired with the histories of companies, families and organizations that make the region great.

An illustrated history of the Texarkana area, paired with the histories of companies, families and organizations that make the region great.

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HISTORIC TEXARKANA<br />

An Illustrated History<br />

by Beverly J. Rowe, Ph.D.<br />

A PUBLICATION OF<br />

THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM


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producing your own book with us, please visit www.hpnbooks.com.


HISTORIC TEXARKANA<br />

An Illustrated History<br />

by Beverly J. Rowe, Ph.D.<br />

Commissioned by the <strong>Texarkana</strong> Museums System<br />

<strong>Historic</strong>al Publishing Network<br />

A division of Lammert Incorporated<br />

San Antonio, Texas


CONTENTS<br />

3 FOREWORD<br />

4 CHAPTER I “All Aboard for the Southwest”<br />

16 CHAPTER II No Room at the Inn<br />

26 CHAPTER III Guiding the Flock<br />

40 CHAPTER IV Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic<br />

52 CHAPTER V Beware the Fire Demons<br />

64 CHAPTER VI <strong>Texarkana</strong>! Queen City of the Southwest<br />

80 SHARING THE HERITAGE<br />

138 SPONSORS<br />

140 ABOUT THE AUTHOR<br />

First Edition<br />

Copyright © 2009 <strong>Historic</strong>al Publishing Network<br />

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<br />

from the publisher. All inquiries should be addressed to <strong>Historic</strong>al Publishing Network, 11555 Galm Road, Suite 100, San Antonio, Texas, 78254. Phone (800) 749-9790.<br />

ISBN: 9781935377016<br />

Library of Congress Card Catalog Number: 2009927050<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> <strong>Texarkana</strong>: An Illustrated History<br />

author: Beverly J. Rowe, Ph.D.<br />

cover artist: Dean Lynn<br />

contributing writers for “Sharing the Heritage”: Eric Dabney<br />

<strong>Historic</strong>al Publishing Network<br />

president: Ron Lammert<br />

project manager: Joe Neely<br />

Robin Neely<br />

administration: Donna M. Mata<br />

Melissa G. Quinn<br />

Evelyn Hart<br />

book sales: Dee Steidle<br />

production: Colin Hart<br />

Craig Mitchell<br />

Charles A. Newton, III<br />

Roy Arellano<br />

Glenda Tarazon Krouse<br />

PRINTED IN CANADA.<br />

2 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


FOREWORD<br />

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

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<br />

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

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

piece of art that can only be appreciated in the context of its creation.<br />

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

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

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

Because of this situation, <strong>Texarkana</strong> developed societies and cultures in each half of town that functioned independently, as well<br />

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

their own valued memories, heritage, and customs.<br />

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

to thank all those <strong>Texarkana</strong> residents, native and adopted sons and daughters, who have donated family treasures to the <strong>Texarkana</strong><br />

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

this work are available as reprints from the <strong>Texarkana</strong> Museums System by contacting their staff.<br />

Finally, I would like to thank Ron Lammert and the employees of <strong>Historic</strong>al Publishing Network for creating this wonderful, lasting<br />

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

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

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

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

<strong>Texarkana</strong>. How can we plan for our bright future if we cannot remember our past?<br />

Foreword ✦ 3


4 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


CHAPTER I<br />

“ALL A BOARD FOR THE S OUTHWEST!”<br />

While hardy settlers had come to the Bowie County region of northeast Texas long before the<br />

railroads came, the establishment of <strong>Texarkana</strong>, Arkansas, and <strong>Texarkana</strong>, Texas, was more the result<br />

of national railroad expansion than it was the actions of these earliest settlers. Railroad officials<br />

determined that the best route to access the greater United States Southwest was a direct route<br />

through Memphis, Little Rock, the <strong>Texarkana</strong> area, and on to the larger cities of the Texas interior.<br />

Railroad construction, in the form of the El Paso and Pacific Railroad, actually reached the<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> area in 1857, but this line was not completed until 1872, after the Civil War had ended<br />

and the El Paso and Pacific Railroad had become a part of the sprawling Texas and Pacific Railroad<br />

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

across the vast United States between 1850 and 1880. The establishment of <strong>Texarkana</strong> as a “railroad<br />

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

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

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

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

unpredictable synergy. Once in a great while, geography, culture, and whimsy would produce<br />

uniqueness written large, as in the case of <strong>Texarkana</strong>. Neither large nor small, this city was loud,<br />

boisterous, and fun, with a bit of a split personality. Selection of the site for <strong>Texarkana</strong> was explained<br />

in the Gate City News of January 2, 1875:<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>, the Gate City of Texas!<br />

Situated at the junction of the Cairo and Fulton Railroad and the Texas and Pacific Railway, on the<br />

northeastern boundary of Texas, at the Southwest corner of Arkansas, and near the northwest corner of<br />

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

the shortest route from the North and East into Texas, <strong>Texarkana</strong> is the natural inlet for trade and<br />

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

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

trade of a very large section of country.<br />

❖<br />

PAINTING BY CHARLOTTE HUETER.<br />

The townsite was described as being high and healthy, with good, natural drainage and an<br />

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

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

and easily worked.<br />

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

both commercial and residential lots in <strong>Texarkana</strong>. One of these lots was located at the corner of W.<br />

Chapter I ✦ 5


❖<br />

Right: Five unidentified railroad<br />

executives stand on Engine #300’s cow<br />

catcher during the early days of the<br />

railroad boom in <strong>Texarkana</strong>.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Below: The 1901 Sidney Stewart Map<br />

of <strong>Texarkana</strong> shows how the railroad<br />

tracks and State Line Avenue<br />

influenced the layout of the town.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Broad Street and State Street (later renamed<br />

Main Street), where Ghio later built his famous<br />

Opera House.<br />

Colonel Rollin W. Rodgers was one of<br />

the men present at the land sale, and he<br />

recognized the trouble an “imaginary” line<br />

dividing the two cities, counties, and states<br />

would cause in the future. Thus, he traveled to<br />

Marshall, Texas, to consult with General G. M.<br />

Dodge of the Texas & Pacific Railroad. Dodge<br />

granted Rodgers a fifty-foot-wide strip of land<br />

running on the Texas side of the state line from<br />

the railroad up to where the post office was later<br />

built. Rodgers then traveled to Little Rock,<br />

Arkansas, where he got a similar grant from<br />

Colonel Joseph A. Longborough, of the St.<br />

Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railroad<br />

Company for a fifty-foot-wide strip on the<br />

Arkansas side of the state line. With his<br />

foresight, Colonel Rodgers gave <strong>Texarkana</strong> its<br />

State Line Avenue, a one-hundred-foot-wide<br />

road from the railroad tracks up to Ninth Street.<br />

State Line Avenue later became part of U.S.<br />

Highway 71.<br />

In the early years, all aspects of life in<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> revolved around the railroads. The<br />

city’s geographic footprint mirrored the bend of<br />

the railroad tracks through town. The state line<br />

ran in a north-south direction while the<br />

residential and business streets ran in a more<br />

northwesterly-southeasterly direction. Streets<br />

were designated “East” or “West” determined by<br />

which side of the state line they were on.<br />

Numbered streets did not match up along the<br />

state line with West Twenty-fourth Street being<br />

some four blocks north of East Twenty-fourth<br />

Street at the state line. Street numbering of lots<br />

6 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


was also unique. “Even” addresses were located<br />

on the south side of Broad Street on the<br />

Arkansas side of town, but were on the north<br />

side of the same street on the Texas side of town.<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> had numerous triangle-shaped<br />

buildings and blocks, along with “short” and<br />

“long” streets such as 21st Street on the<br />

Arkansas side of town. These anomalies were<br />

the result of the discrepancy between the<br />

direction of the state line and the direction of<br />

the city streets.<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>’s early newspapers document the<br />

railroad companies’ attraction to the <strong>Texarkana</strong><br />

area. The earliest named were the Cairo &<br />

Fulton Railroad on the Arkansas side of town<br />

and the Texas & Pacific Railroad on the Texas<br />

side of town that brought people and goods into<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> from the west. In the earliest days,<br />

railroads could not cross state lines due to the<br />

gauge of the roadbed, or to state laws that<br />

required goods to be transferred to a “local”<br />

train. The International and Great Northern<br />

Railroad, Texas, and St. Louis Railroad, the<br />

Transcontinental Railroad, and St. Louis, Iron<br />

Mountain and Southern Railroads were also<br />

early rail companies with connections in<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>. In time, smaller railroad companies<br />

merged with large companies such as Jay<br />

Gould’s Texas & Pacific Railroad Company and<br />

Colonel Samuel Wesley Fordyce’s Texas & St.<br />

Louis Railroad Company. However, <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s<br />

early citizens were not content with the nine<br />

railroad companies that were already here, they<br />

also wanted connections with the Memphis and<br />

Little Rock Railroad and the Houston and Texas<br />

Central Railroad.<br />

Some interesting statistics from the early<br />

newspapers document the scope and<br />

importance of these railroads to the<br />

development of the <strong>Texarkana</strong> region. The Daily<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> Independent of July 17, 1885, noted<br />

that in Bowie County alone the valuation of<br />

railroad and telegraph property was $587,600,<br />

in a time period when a five-room house could<br />

be purchased for $800. On October 30, 1885,<br />

the Independent wrote that the Missouri-Pacific<br />

and Texas & Pacific railroads had paid $1,983<br />

in passenger taxes to the state of Texas so far<br />

that year. On November 23, 1885, Editor E. A.<br />

Warren of the Independent wrote that a total of<br />

thirty-four trains left the city of <strong>Texarkana</strong> every<br />

day. The next day he wrote that more than sixhundred<br />

car-loads of freight had been sent out<br />

of <strong>Texarkana</strong> in one week’s time; and, probably<br />

the most staggering statistic of all, on December<br />

16, 1885, the Independent noted that seventy<br />

trains arrived and departed from <strong>Texarkana</strong><br />

every day! Even if a certain degree of “bragging”<br />

was included in these statistics, it is clear to see<br />

that <strong>Texarkana</strong> was an important railroad<br />

crossroads during the last quarter of the<br />

nineteenth century.<br />

The location of <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s railroad depot<br />

was an ongoing problem throughout the cities’<br />

history. In the early days, Texas trains and<br />

Arkansas trains had to stop at the state line.<br />

Thus, <strong>Texarkana</strong> started out with a Texas side<br />

depot and an Arkansas side depot. The earliest<br />

locations of these two depots were noted in the<br />

Gate City News of January 2, 1875, one year<br />

after the city was founded. The Lyon Hotel, at<br />

the corner of Front Street and State Street (later<br />

❖<br />

Above: The state line between Texas<br />

and Arkansas ran along the middle of<br />

State Line Avenue, a one-hundred foot<br />

wide dirt road.<br />

COURTESY OF THE AUTHOR.<br />

Below: Women and children were also<br />

caught up in the excitement of<br />

building railroad tracks through the<br />

“wilderness.”<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Chapter I ✦ 7


❖<br />

Above: Colonel Samuel Wesley<br />

Fordyce was affiliated with the Texas<br />

and St. Louis Railroad.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Below: Many trains passed through<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> at all hours of the day<br />

and night.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

renamed Main Street) on the Texas side of town,<br />

was the “official eating house of the Texas &<br />

Pacific Railroad, located across the street from<br />

the passenger depot.” The Marquand House<br />

Hotel, located some two-thousand feet east of<br />

the 1930 Union Depot on Front Street, was the<br />

official depot and railroad eating house for the<br />

Cairo & Fulton Railroad, which later merged<br />

with the St. Louis, Iron Mountain, and Southern<br />

Railroad (St. L. I. M. & S.).<br />

In 1886, after a lengthy dispute with Colonel<br />

Joseph Huckins, Manager of the Marquand<br />

House Hotel, the St. L. I. M. & S. Railroad<br />

abandoned the Marquand House and made plans<br />

to construct a new depot and official railroad<br />

eating house. Not too long after that the<br />

Marquand House Hotel burned, making the<br />

railroad’s plans to replace Huckins easier to fulfill.<br />

In the late 1880s, as the St. L. I. M. & S.<br />

began plans for their new depot on the Arkansas<br />

side of town, Texas side residents became<br />

concerned that the new depot would cause the<br />

abandonment of the Texas & Pacific depot on<br />

their side of town. Eventually, railroad<br />

authorities decided to build <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s first<br />

Union Station at the foot of State Line Avenue,<br />

where the franchise rights of both the Texas &<br />

Pacific and the St. L. I. M. & S. railroads ended.<br />

This building, sometimes called the “red depot’<br />

was completed about 1890.<br />

The old state line issues came up again in<br />

1905 when the Cotton Belt Railroad, successor<br />

to the St. L. I. M. & S., decided to rebuild a<br />

frame structure on the Arkansas side of the state<br />

line to use as their own depot. An agreement<br />

was finally reached whereby Cotton Belt would<br />

continue to use the larger Union Depot. Kansas<br />

City Southern (K.C.S.), successor to the<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> and Fort Smith Railroad, built its<br />

depot at the foot of Oak Street, near the Texas<br />

Viaduct. However, by 1910, K.C.S. had also<br />

been convinced to use Union Depot. Thus,<br />

Union Depot became the “heart” of <strong>Texarkana</strong>, a<br />

geographical point from which all other sites<br />

and events were measured.<br />

During World War I, downtown life pulsed<br />

as passenger, freight, and troop trains spilled<br />

into the depot at all hours of the day and night.<br />

Soldiers and their supplies stretched<br />

transportation facilities to their limits, while<br />

local residents responded with a Red Cross<br />

Canteen to provide soldiers with food, drink,<br />

and encouragement as they traveled to their<br />

posts around the country and overseas.<br />

Downtown streets were jammed with horses,<br />

wagons, and a few automobiles, and cash<br />

registers in downtown stores merrily rang with<br />

the sounds of a booming economy.<br />

In 1929, railroad traffic was immense and<br />

talks of building a massive new Union Depot in<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> began. Public sentiment had<br />

galvanized by that time, and the citizens of both<br />

sides of town demanded that this new depot be<br />

placed right on the state line. They wanted a<br />

unique depot to match their unique town, with<br />

architecture that paid homage to both the state<br />

line and the city. “A tile path tracing the exact<br />

course of the line through the entire building,”<br />

was suggested. Legal requirements, contested<br />

jurisdictions, and plain old “bull-headedness”<br />

slowed progress on the depot until, finally, a<br />

8 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


gala opening was held for the new depot on May<br />

12, 1930. The new Union Station, a Renaissance<br />

style building, was the creation of A. B.<br />

Butterworth and E. M. Tucker, and was replete<br />

with brass and glass chandeliers, terrazzo tile<br />

floors, and highly polished passenger benches<br />

that seemed to stretch out across the vast<br />

interior spaces of the depot. Efficient offices for<br />

railroad officials, ticket sales, and railway<br />

express package services were included.<br />

However, upon completion of the depot,<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> residents were disappointed to find<br />

that no tile pathway marked the location of the<br />

state line through the building; they were,<br />

however, intrigued by the expansion joint<br />

running diagonally through the building which<br />

allowed the structure to grow up to eight inches<br />

in warm weather.<br />

Life in <strong>Texarkana</strong> centered on the railroads<br />

from 1875 to the late 1950s. The population of<br />

the city grew from 2,500 in 1880, to 10, 918 in<br />

1887. By 1900, the twin cities had a population<br />

of 18,054 and by 1950 it had reached 52,000.<br />

Most of this early growth was directly attributable<br />

to the railroad and lumber industries. As part of<br />

their railroad and town building of the late<br />

1800s, the major railroad trunk lines sponsored<br />

“immigrant trains” and “booster trains” that crisscrossed<br />

newly settled areas bringing prospective<br />

settlers into town for their first look at the area.<br />

The Gate City News of January 2, 1875, told<br />

riders on the immigrant trains that “<strong>Texarkana</strong> is<br />

today the liveliest city in Texas, and is growing<br />

with astonishing rapidity. Now is the time to buy<br />

while prices are low and benefit by enhanced<br />

valuation.” In 1880, local newspapers noted<br />

“There is plenty of work for laborers on the<br />

railroad extensions now being made in Texas….<br />

Men’s wages are $1.50 per day; teams $2.75 to<br />

$3.00 per day; board per week $4.00.”<br />

The future arrival of immigrant and booster<br />

trains was telegraphed ahead to the towns<br />

on the tour, so that local residents could put<br />

out the “welcome mat.” In November 1884,<br />

the Daily <strong>Texarkana</strong> Independent announced,<br />

“Commencing yesterday, regular semi-monthly<br />

excursions through Arkansas and Texas will<br />

be run on the Texas & St. Louis Railroad, so<br />

as to give land seekers an opportunity to see<br />

the country.”<br />

At times, <strong>Texarkana</strong> residents were swept up<br />

on the excursion trains to see other parts of the<br />

great American West. In December 1884 an<br />

❖<br />

Above: Kansas City Southern<br />

Railroad Company had a travel office<br />

in downtown <strong>Texarkana</strong> and<br />

encouraged local travelers to take the<br />

“Port Arthur Route.”<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Below: <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s first Union Depot<br />

was the center of town and the site of<br />

many political events.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Chapter I ✦ 9


❖<br />

Above: The first Union Depot was<br />

demolished in 1928 to make room for<br />

the Grand Union Depot designed by<br />

A. B. Butterworth and E. M. Tucker.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Below: The interior of the new depot<br />

featured the very latest in passenger<br />

comfort and ease of travel, with<br />

various departments in the train<br />

station clearly identified.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

advertisement in the local newspaper told<br />

residents that “The Missouri-Pacific Railway has<br />

made arrangements to run an excursion train of<br />

Palace Pullman cars to San Francisco and<br />

return. The train will leave St. Louis on<br />

December 17 and, reaching this point, will<br />

make special rates from here to ’Frisco and<br />

return, the tickets to be good in returning<br />

anytime within six months.” Quickly, it became<br />

“normal” for the newspapers to write of<br />

excursion trains that had come through town<br />

the previous day, or during the night.<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> had competition from all around<br />

for the excursionists who came its way. In 1885,<br />

E. A. Warren, editor of the Daily <strong>Texarkana</strong><br />

Independent, warned citizens, “Hope will give<br />

the 500 excursionists coming over the Iron<br />

Mountain a grand reception. They will be there<br />

May 29. What will <strong>Texarkana</strong> do? Remember<br />

that the excursion will consist principally of<br />

capitalists and manufacturers seeking places for<br />

investment and those are just the sort of people<br />

we need to make our city grow.” However,<br />

excursion trains did not stop at every town<br />

along the rail line; they went to communities<br />

that invited them to stop. On the occasion of<br />

this train in late May 1885, <strong>Texarkana</strong> citizens<br />

could not be roused to host the excursionists<br />

and so, the city lost an opportunity for growth<br />

and good community relations. After its early<br />

growth spurt, it seemed that city leaders felt<br />

there was no longer a need to entice people to<br />

come to <strong>Texarkana</strong> to live—that they would<br />

come on their own. And many did.<br />

Because the <strong>Texarkana</strong> economy was<br />

intertwined with the health and well-being of<br />

the railroads, the community’s heart skipped a<br />

beat every time tragedy came. Train wrecks and<br />

mishaps fed the rumor mill because nearly every<br />

other home in town relied on the railroads for<br />

their family’s income. Safety standards on the<br />

railroads were lax, at best, but all railroad hands<br />

knew their jobs were dangerous. An article in<br />

the Gate City News of August 22, 1878,<br />

described Dan Kegan’s accident on the Iron<br />

Mountain Railroad. Kegan, a brakeman for the<br />

railroad, fell through the trestle near Fulton,<br />

Arkansas, giving him a concussion and a broken<br />

leg. What made the article more disturbing was<br />

10 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


that Kegan claimed that he had been pushed<br />

from the train while it was over the trestle. The<br />

same day’s paper noted that the Texas & Pacific<br />

Train No. 1 was wrecked that day at the Hoxie<br />

Woodyards, derailing every coach car on the<br />

train. The engine was the only car that remained<br />

on the track. Amazingly, only the negro porter<br />

was hurt in that accident.<br />

Railroad officials on each line were well<br />

known up and down their routes. In January<br />

1885, <strong>Texarkana</strong> residents learned that<br />

Conductor Frazier of one of the local passenger<br />

trains had been shot and killed when he tried to<br />

evict some tramps from his train near Overton,<br />

Texas. In August 1884 an attempt was made to<br />

wreck the eastbound train between <strong>Texarkana</strong><br />

and Malvern, Arkansas. Obstructions were<br />

placed on the track but were discovered in time.<br />

Those responsible were never caught, and local<br />

citizens were outraged. In<br />

October 1884 a Texas & Pacific<br />

freight train was wrecked by running<br />

over a horse that would not,<br />

or could not, get off the track. In<br />

this accident Fireman Kercheval<br />

was scalded to death and the<br />

engineer was slightly injured. In<br />

November a brakeman named<br />

“Shorty” McDonald had his hand<br />

badly mashed between two cars in<br />

the Texas & St. Louis Railroad<br />

yards in <strong>Texarkana</strong>. In November<br />

1885 the conductor on the<br />

Transcontinental train coming<br />

into <strong>Texarkana</strong> from New Boston<br />

was injured when he stopped the<br />

train to evict a passenger who<br />

could not produce a ticket.<br />

Marshal George Edwards of<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> happened to be on the<br />

train and was instrumental in<br />

ending the dispute, taking the<br />

passenger into custody. During<br />

that same month, Engineer Jo<br />

Poole of the narrow gauge railroad<br />

in <strong>Texarkana</strong> was injured in a<br />

train wreck and died on<br />

November 11 of his injuries. The<br />

newspaper noted, “He was one of<br />

the best men and most popular<br />

engineers on the road, and his<br />

death is much deplored.”<br />

At times, drinking at <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s wide open<br />

saloons caused accidents on the railroads. In<br />

❖<br />

Left: As the economy of the United<br />

States boomed, so did that of<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>. The railroads kept the<br />

city’s economy booming for more than<br />

seventy years.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Below: In its early days, <strong>Texarkana</strong><br />

depended on the railroads’ freight and<br />

passenger service to connect citizens<br />

with the outside world.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Chapter I ✦ 11


❖<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>’s rail yards served as the<br />

repair site for wrecked or damaged<br />

trains on the Texas & Pacific and the<br />

St. Louis, Iron Mountain, and<br />

Southern lines.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

December 1884, Jim Pate was run over and<br />

mangled by the train as it entered the Iron<br />

Mountain roundhouse. He had been a track<br />

cleaner for this road and had gotten drunk and<br />

laid down to sleep, apparently too close to the<br />

tracks. On another occasion a man had spent<br />

the evening drinking in <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s barrooms<br />

and had walked home via the railroad tracks. At<br />

some point he passed out on the tracks and was<br />

beheaded by the train coming into town. A<br />

coroner’s inquest was held, and everyone agreed<br />

as to the cause of the poor man’s death.<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> became the main repair station for<br />

some of the railroads, and its citizens frequently<br />

saw the results of train wrecks firsthand.<br />

In February 1885 wrecked cars came in on<br />

the Transcontinental Road for repair. The<br />

newspaper noted that “Deputy U.S. Marshal<br />

Goslen of Texas, was en route to Detroit with a<br />

lot of prisoners. A gun battle ensued in which<br />

Goslen, his deputy, and one of the female<br />

passengers were killed. The train cars were full<br />

of bullet holes, some were smashed, and there<br />

were many wounded passengers who were later<br />

treated by <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s physicians.<br />

Railroad strikes caused economic hardship<br />

and hard feelings when they occurred in<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>. Rumors of the first such strike<br />

circulated in November 1884 and were reported<br />

in the local newspaper. Laborers were going to<br />

strike the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railroad<br />

because the railroad company had cut down<br />

their workforce and reduced the salaries of<br />

remaining workers by from forty to sixty per<br />

cent. By February 1885, newspapers<br />

commented on local conductors and engineers<br />

who had been laid off by the Texas & Pacific and<br />

Texas & St. Louis railroads. In March 1885,<br />

12 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


<strong>Texarkana</strong> citizens learned that all along the rail<br />

lines, strikers were preventing freight trains<br />

from moving. The reason given was that these<br />

railroads had implemented large reductions in<br />

wages for the third time in five months, and that<br />

efforts to negotiate with the railroad owners<br />

had failed. A local meeting of railroad men was<br />

held at Ghio’s Opera House on the evening of<br />

March 9 to discuss the situation and plan a<br />

local response.<br />

In spite of the turmoil, things were relatively<br />

quiet in <strong>Texarkana</strong> on March 12, when the<br />

newspaper reported that all employees of<br />

the Gould System would be discharged if<br />

they took part in the strike. Texas Governor<br />

Ireland sent a proclamation regarding the strike<br />

to be exhibited at the New Orleans<br />

Exposition—editor Warren of the Daily<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> Independent said that Ireland’s<br />

Proclamation “would take the premium in<br />

the contest for the best production of Executive<br />

Jackassness.” Thereafter, Warren encouraged<br />

local businessmen to ship their goods over<br />

the Texas & St. Louis (narrow gauge) railroad<br />

until the strike on the Texas & Pacific system<br />

was settled. He also noted how quiet and<br />

expectant the city felt, waiting for the<br />

nationwide strike to hit home in <strong>Texarkana</strong>.<br />

This railroad strike paralyzed <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s<br />

economy for two months, and at the end of it,<br />

the strikers had been fired, the local economy<br />

was in shambles, and there was great bitterness<br />

towards the railroad owners.<br />

In the ensuing years, other railroad strikes<br />

caused problems for <strong>Texarkana</strong>, but city fathers<br />

learned to cope and to diversify by enticing<br />

other businesses to locate in the city. In 1915<br />

Texas & Pacific officials visited <strong>Texarkana</strong> and<br />

toured the city as the guests of <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s<br />

Board of Trade. The railroad men were surprised<br />

by the city’s charm and beauty. General Traffic<br />

Manager for the Texas & Pacific said that his<br />

railroad had “always felt a sort of fatherly<br />

❖<br />

Above: World War I soldiers came<br />

into town on the trains and were kept<br />

in groups on the city’s streets, until<br />

their trains pulled out of the station.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Below: Railroad strikes caused<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> citizens to lose their<br />

jobs and created problems for the<br />

local economy.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Chapter I ✦ 13


❖<br />

Above: Many of the railroad<br />

companies encouraged their<br />

employees’ participation in local<br />

events. It was good public relations for<br />

the company.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Below: The Kansas City Southern<br />

baseball team played in <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s<br />

City League.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

interest in your city. We can’t do without<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>, we need the city, we need the<br />

people, and we need the business here.”<br />

However, by this time <strong>Texarkana</strong> residents had<br />

become wary of railroad praise and knew that<br />

whatever the railroads giveth, the railroads<br />

could also quickly taketh away!<br />

In the 1920s and ’30s the use of trucks to<br />

haul freight had begun and had taken off in<br />

earnest. Truck freight rates were competitive<br />

with railroad freight rates, and the highway<br />

system across the United States was being<br />

built. Automobile traffic grew, as well, from the<br />

1920s through the 1950s. This was the<br />

first serious competition the railroads had<br />

faced since their nationwide rail systems<br />

were completed. Traffic at <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s<br />

Union Station began to decline; shopping<br />

in downtown <strong>Texarkana</strong> also began to<br />

decline. In the late 1950s, President Dwight<br />

Eisenhower inaugurated the Interstate Road<br />

System across the United States, and the<br />

golden era of the railroads came to an end. The<br />

last passenger train to pull out of <strong>Texarkana</strong> did<br />

so on May 1, 1971. The Texas Eagle had<br />

Engineer G. R. Rothermel at the controls and<br />

was headed to St. Louis, Missouri. Freight traffic<br />

continued at the <strong>Texarkana</strong> yards with the<br />

Kansas City Southern, Cotton Belt, Missouri<br />

Pacific, and the Texas & Pacific railroads<br />

through 2008.<br />

In October 1972, Amtrak service was<br />

proposed and $4.1 million was earmarked by<br />

Congress to develop this new form of passenger<br />

train service for the United States. The lack of<br />

passenger train service was not just a local<br />

14 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


problem; it was a nationwide problem that<br />

called for a national solution. However,<br />

President Richard Nixon impounded funds,<br />

ending the Amtrak dream for a time. In 2008,<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> has sporadic Amtrak service, but the<br />

service provided is a pale shadow of that once<br />

enjoyed by <strong>Texarkana</strong> residents. Today, Union<br />

Depot on Front Street sits empty and vacant. No<br />

longer can the excitement of railroads’ golden<br />

era be seen and heard in <strong>Texarkana</strong>.<br />

❖<br />

Above: In 1971 passenger train<br />

service ended in <strong>Texarkana</strong> for a<br />

number of years, until Amtrak service<br />

opened in the area.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Left: The architecture of the first<br />

Union Depot was beautiful as well<br />

as functional.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Chapter I ✦ 15


16 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


CHAPTER II<br />

N O R OOM AT THE I NN<br />

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

proposed city of <strong>Texarkana</strong>, men came from the surrounding area on horseback to be there on the<br />

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

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

Thus, it was important to build <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s first hotels quickly to house the people the railroad<br />

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

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

large hotel of fifty rooms. Rooming houses, boarding houses, and rooms in private residences were<br />

other options available to <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s early newcomers.<br />

It was the Cairo & Fulton Railroad and the Texas & Pacific Railroad that built <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s first two<br />

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

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

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

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

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

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

East Front Street and Pine Street, or, at the corner of East Front Street and Vine Street (later renamed<br />

Olive Street).<br />

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

Railroad, hired Colonel Joseph Huckins to manage the Marquand House Hotel. Huckins brought<br />

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

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

railroad’s goals forward in <strong>Texarkana</strong>. Huckins hired Miss Pauline Stock as the hotel’s cashier, Tom<br />

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

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

frequented the hotel were greatly entertained by everything from the pet deer that occasionally got<br />

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

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

served piping hot for scheduled meals and train arrivals.<br />

Local newspapers documented that this hotel enjoyed full occupancy most of the time from the<br />

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

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

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

reign in lawless citizens or visitors.<br />

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

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

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

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

March 1886, the railroad moved their ticket office and some of the restaurant furniture out of the<br />

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

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

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

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

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

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

❖<br />

PAINTING BY CHARLOTTE HUETER.<br />

Chapter II ✦ 17


❖<br />

Joseph Huckins had extensive hotel<br />

experience when he was hired by<br />

the Cairo & Fulton Railroad to<br />

manage the Marquand House Hotel<br />

in <strong>Texarkana</strong>.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

held and the property brought $2,810. By April,<br />

public opinion had turned, and Colonel<br />

Huckins was being chastised in the local paper<br />

to “do his duty” and withdraw from the hotel.<br />

Railroad authorities had promised to make the<br />

hotel once again its “official” location on<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>’s east side, if they could get Huckins<br />

out. Colonel Huckins finally abandoned the<br />

Marquard House in mid-April 1886.<br />

Rumors spread that the railroad was going to<br />

build a beautiful, new $30,000 depot and hotel<br />

where the old Marquand sat in the near future.<br />

Work crews began to tear things out of the<br />

hotel, bring in new lumber, and generally go<br />

through motions that <strong>Texarkana</strong> citizens<br />

interpreted as proof that a brand new hotel<br />

would be built. Then, on the afternoon of June<br />

22, 1886, the Marquand House Hotel burned to<br />

the ground. Officials believed that arson was the<br />

cause of this fire. After the ashes cooled, work<br />

crews came in and cleaned up the lots. The site<br />

sat vacant for months with rumors flying that<br />

the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern<br />

Railroad had let contracts for brick and for a<br />

contractor to build that wonderful new hotel on<br />

the site. After a time more interesting news<br />

stories replaced the saga of the Marquand House<br />

Hotel, and <strong>Texarkana</strong> citizens finally gave up<br />

waiting for the “new” Marquand to be built.<br />

The second railroad hotel built in early<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> was located on the west side of town.<br />

The Texas & Pacific Railroad built the Lyon<br />

Hotel on the corner of West Front Street<br />

and State Street (later renamed Main Street). It<br />

was located opposite the Texas & Pacific<br />

passenger depot, and Raymond Herz was the<br />

proprietor. A newspaper advertisement in the<br />

Gate City News of 1875 noted that the Lyon was<br />

the “official railroad eating house” of the Texas<br />

& Pacific road and was run on the European<br />

plan, which provided lodging and service,<br />

excluding meals. This hotel was of timber<br />

construction and is only mentioned in the 1875<br />

newspaper. There is no additional information<br />

on this early hotel.<br />

The third hotel mentioned in early <strong>Texarkana</strong><br />

was the Apex Hotel. Very little is known<br />

about this hotel because it is only mentioned<br />

in early newspapers in connection with other<br />

hotels, or directions to other sites. It was<br />

located in the downtown area and near the<br />

Texas side train depot, but, other than that,<br />

information is nonexistent.<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>’s fourth hotel of note was the<br />

Cosmopolitan Hotel. John B. (or V.) Davis bought<br />

the lots on the southwest corner of Block 28, of<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>, Texas, on which the Cosmopolitan<br />

Hotel was later built, at the land sale of December<br />

8, 1873. Davis built a timber hotel he named<br />

“The Cosmopolitan Hotel” in 1876. William H.<br />

McCartney, a former railroad engineer, moved his<br />

family to <strong>Texarkana</strong> in 1874 from Missouri and,<br />

once in town, he quit the railroad and became the<br />

manager of the Marquand House Hotel and, later,<br />

the Apex Hotel. In 1878, McCartney bought the<br />

Cosmopolitan Hotel from Davis, and he and his<br />

family ran the hotel from 1878 to 1887.<br />

McCartney was also a partner in the clothing firm<br />

of Marx and McCartney before going into the<br />

hotel business completely. In November 1885,<br />

John Davis sued McCartney to regain one-half<br />

interest in the Cosmopolitan, which by then had<br />

become a <strong>Texarkana</strong> landmark. While the lower<br />

court decided in McCartney’s favor, the Texas<br />

Supreme Court decided Davis was due more<br />

money for his interest in the Cosmopolitan Hotel.<br />

McCartney’s Cosmopolitan Hotel was known far<br />

and wide for its comfortable rooms, well-laid<br />

eating table, and its “family” atmosphere.<br />

Late in 1886, McCartney began making<br />

improvements on the sidewalks around the<br />

hotel and adding beautiful new awnings which<br />

18 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


ightened up the fading exterior considerably.<br />

However, by early 1887, he had decided that to<br />

be competitive with other <strong>Texarkana</strong> hotels,<br />

he should build a “new” Cosmopolitan. Thus,<br />

in March 1887, he let the contract for a threestory<br />

brick hotel with forty-five to fifty rooms,<br />

water, and electric lights. It would be a<br />

“modern,” first-class establishment that would<br />

be a credit to himself and <strong>Texarkana</strong>. In April<br />

the old Cosmopolitan was demolished and<br />

foundations were dug for his new hotel. Mr.<br />

McKlemurry was the contractor on the project<br />

which, once completed, was the tallest structure<br />

around for quite a distance. William H.<br />

McCartney died in 1897, leaving his wife Anna<br />

and his son William A. McCartney to run the<br />

hotel until Anna’s death in 1918. After that time<br />

William ran the hotel on his own until it was<br />

demolished in 1930.<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>’s Benefield Hotel was built in 1874<br />

by Captain J. M. Benefield on two lots at 218<br />

and 220 West Broad Street, near the corner of<br />

West Broad Street and Maple Street (later<br />

renamed Texas Boulevard), soon after he and his<br />

family arrived in town. Benefield was born in<br />

Missouri in 1837 and married Kate Talkington<br />

in Arkansas around 1865. He and his wife had<br />

one child, a daughter, Alice T. Benefield. The<br />

Benefield Hotel was described as being “not very<br />

large, but comfortable.” The 1885 Sanborn Fire<br />

Insurance Map for <strong>Texarkana</strong>, Texas, shows that<br />

the hotel occupied space about fifty feet wide<br />

and sixty feet deep, in two, twenty-five feet wide<br />

store fronts divided by stairs leading up to the<br />

buildings’ second floors. The downstairs area on<br />

the east side was dedicated to the hotel’s office<br />

and dining room, while the space west of the<br />

stairs housed a barber shop and grocery store.<br />

Guest rooms were located on the second floor<br />

and probably wound through buildings from<br />

218 through 222 West Broad Street. The map<br />

showed the hotel’s kitchen and work area off the<br />

back of the eastern-most building, facing the<br />

alley. In June 1885, the Benefield Hotel staff was<br />

readying the hotel for a reception following<br />

Alice Benefield’s marriage to local Judge Richard<br />

Bartlett. Sadly, Alice died within two years of<br />

her marriage.<br />

The Benefield Hotel gained the reputation of<br />

being <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s “Gretna Green” for marriages<br />

of young couples coming in on the train, getting<br />

married, sometimes without parental consent,<br />

and either going home, or starting their new<br />

lives in <strong>Texarkana</strong>. In May 1886, Captain<br />

Benefield contemplated getting an “official”<br />

marriage register to record all the ceremonies<br />

that occurred at his hotel.<br />

In June 1886, Captain Benefield bought<br />

several lots at the corner of Maple Street and W.<br />

Broad Street, west of the current location of his<br />

hotel, with plans to construct a new three-story<br />

hotel that would include fifty guest rooms.<br />

Workmen cleared the lots, and brick for the<br />

project arrived. However, the workmen were<br />

diverted to the area behind the old Benefield<br />

Hotel on July 1 to rescue a horse that had fallen<br />

down an open well there, the second horse to do<br />

so within a month. The New Benefield Hotel<br />

was completed in September 1886 and opened<br />

to rave revues. Commercial travelers loved the<br />

new furnishings and the beautiful registration<br />

desk. The lobby was beautifully appointed and<br />

functioned well as a gathering place. Benefield<br />

continued to update his new hotel by adding<br />

incandescent lights and new awnings. The<br />

Grand Eastern Ball was held at the New<br />

Benefield Hotel at the end of March in 1887.<br />

The New Benefield Hotel served <strong>Texarkana</strong> well<br />

until about 1900, when its name was changed to<br />

the Randolf Hotel for about ten years; then the<br />

name was changed back to the Benefield Hotel.<br />

❖<br />

The New Benefield Hotel was located<br />

at the corner of West Broad Street and<br />

Maple Street, and was grand and<br />

spacious in its layout.<br />

COURTESY OF BILL SHARP.<br />

Chapter II ✦ 19


❖<br />

Above: The lobby of Hotel Grim could<br />

only be described as elegant<br />

and fashionable.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Below: The construction site of Hotel<br />

Grim had formerly been the site of the<br />

“Airdome,” an open air theater.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

This hotel served <strong>Texarkana</strong> until 1956 when<br />

fire destroyed the top two floors, and, today,<br />

the remaining floor of the old hotel occupies<br />

the corner lot at Texas Boulevard and West<br />

Broad Street.<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>’s fifth hotel can be traced back to<br />

Colonel J. H. Draughon. The Draughon House<br />

Hotel was built by Colonel Draughon on Block<br />

76 of <strong>Texarkana</strong>, Arkansas, sometime prior to<br />

1884. In the early spring of 1884, the <strong>Texarkana</strong><br />

Daily Independent noted that Draughon was<br />

having the hotel completely remodeled and that<br />

he had purchased all new furniture for the hotel<br />

that would arrive very soon. At the time of this<br />

announcement, Hank Best and a Mr. Blake were<br />

managing the hotel for Draughon. A Mr.<br />

Anderson served as the hotel’s restaurant<br />

manager, and it was noted that he got fresh<br />

seafood daily from Galveston, Texas, by train.<br />

The hotel catered to commercial travelers and<br />

its rates were $2 and $2.50 per day.<br />

In the fall of 1884 the Draughon House<br />

Hotel’s name was changed to the Arlington<br />

Hotel by Colonel Draughon. Plans were made to<br />

have a grand reopening on January 7, 1885.<br />

More than one thousand invitations were<br />

sent out to this gala event and Draughon hired<br />

new staff from large hotels in St. Louis,<br />

Missouri, and Chicago, Illinois, who knew just<br />

how to make hotel patrons feel pampered<br />

and welcome. The dining room and lobby<br />

were described as follows: “The papering is<br />

of gold tint and the border is wide and beautiful,<br />

and are evenly and well put on by the Messieurs<br />

DePrato. In the hall are ten large mirrors,<br />

each seven feet high, and mounted on Tennessee<br />

marble basements. The mirrors are splendid<br />

and reflect perfectly. In the front of the hall a<br />

space of fifteen feet is handsomely picketed off<br />

the full width of the room, which is to be<br />

handsomely carpeted and filled with perpetual<br />

blooming hot house plants. The elegant silver<br />

20 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


coffee urn will be mounted on a pure marble<br />

slab, and all the furniture is new and<br />

handsome.” The hotel bar, described as<br />

“The hole in the wall” by Editor E. A. Warren of<br />

the Daily <strong>Texarkana</strong> Independent, was “one of<br />

the handsomest bar rooms Warren had ever<br />

seen. “A real little beauty and chuck full of the<br />

choicest liquors.”<br />

In May 1885, Colonel Draughon sold the<br />

Arlington Hotel, along with a number of other<br />

choice properties in <strong>Texarkana</strong>, to Mr. A.<br />

Goldberg. Goldberg set hotel prices at $2.00 per<br />

day, or $25 per month, and named Captain C. E.<br />

Dixon manager. In June, Dixon closed the hotel’s<br />

restaurant until September 1, 1885, while it was<br />

being remodeled; however, it appeared that the<br />

hotel continued to accept guests. Editor Warren<br />

often commented in the newspaper regarding<br />

the Arlington’s consistently high occupancy rates<br />

throughout the summer of 1885, and it appeared<br />

that renovations were nearly complete when<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>’s greatest disaster struck in the<br />

early morning hours of August 21, 1885. A<br />

terrible fire began in second-floor rooms over the<br />

hotel’s restaurant undergoing remodeling. From<br />

Warren’s newspaper account of the fire, it<br />

was spectacular in its devastation, destroying<br />

all frame buildings on Block 76, along with<br />

nearly half of the buildings in every surrounding<br />

block. Arson was suspected, but nothing was<br />

ever proven. For a time the owners assured<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> citizens that the hotel would be<br />

rebuilt, even bigger and better than before;<br />

however, that never happened. Captain Dixon<br />

was injured in the fire and after he regained<br />

his health, he turned to other projects and<br />

away from the hotel business. Mr. Goldberg<br />

also seemed to fade into obscurity after the<br />

Arlington burned.<br />

The Auburn House Hotel was another of<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>’s early hotels, built sometime prior to<br />

1884. An advertisement in the Daily <strong>Texarkana</strong><br />

Independent of September 12, 1884, let citizens<br />

know that this hotel, located on E. Broad Street,<br />

had a full restaurant where meals could be<br />

obtained for twenty-five cents. The manager was<br />

E. C. Donnelly, who set room rates at 75 cents<br />

per day or $4.50 per week. In August 1885, the<br />

Auburn House Hotel was being “thoroughly<br />

repainted, overhauled, and refurnished.” It was<br />

to reopen on August 21, 1885. The terrible<br />

fire that claimed the Arlington Hotel also<br />

claimed the Auburn House Hotel. Donnelly<br />

lost more than $10,000 in this fire, and,<br />

while he said he would rebuild this hotel and<br />

his other businesses after the fire, he never did.<br />

From October 1885 onward, Donnelly’s name<br />

became associated with his real estate business,<br />

❖<br />

The lots on which Hotel Grim was<br />

built were prominently located at the<br />

junction of Pine Street, State Line<br />

Avenue, and West Third Street.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Chapter II ✦ 21


❖<br />

Joseph Huckins’ mammoth Huckins<br />

House Hotel stood at the corner of<br />

East Front Street and Pine Street, and<br />

was later known as Hotel Savoy.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

one of <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s earliest such businesses, and<br />

he began building “cottages” to fill the need for<br />

residences in the city.<br />

The Behan Hotel was one of the hotels that<br />

sprang up after the “Great Fire” to fill the<br />

continuing need for accommodations in<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>. Construction of this hotel began on<br />

May 28, 1886, and the second-story and roof<br />

were completed on July 20, 1886. The hotel was<br />

located near the narrow-gauge freight depot on<br />

the Texas side of town. When it was completed,<br />

Behan sold the hotel to W. M. Wood of New<br />

Orleans for $9,500. The next newspaper<br />

mention of Mr. Behan was on September 17,<br />

1886, when he was awarded the one-year lease<br />

to run the West Side Water Works for $2,150.<br />

Dr. Henry M. Beidler was one of <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s<br />

early builders and entrepreneurs. He is known<br />

for building Park Beidler, a housing addition to<br />

the city where its early water works was located,<br />

and an “electric belt,” his invention that<br />

promised good health and vigor when the<br />

customer wore it faithfully. Beidler was also<br />

responsible for a downtown hotel named the<br />

Beidler Hotel. It was thought to have been<br />

located in “Beidler Block,” a multi-story<br />

building built to house several businesses and<br />

the hotel. Construction of the hotel began in<br />

June 1885 with his purchase of fifty-thousand<br />

feet of lumber and was completed by September<br />

1885. Hotel patrons complained that the area<br />

around the hotel was a “hog wallow” and that<br />

the area did not smell like Cape Jessamines. The<br />

Beidler Hotel caught fire on February 5, 1887,<br />

but little damage was done, and Dr. Beidler<br />

thanked <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s firemen for their prompt<br />

attention to saving his property. After this,<br />

Beidler’s name was more associated with real<br />

estate in <strong>Texarkana</strong> and his fight with the Iron<br />

Mountain Railroad over ownership of several<br />

important downtown lots. Dr. Beidler served as<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>’s mayor for a time and was also<br />

instrumental in starting the cities’ water works,<br />

street railway, and electric lighting system. His<br />

hotel was not mentioned after the fire in 1887<br />

and it is believed he probably sold the building<br />

to someone else about that time.<br />

Another interesting early <strong>Texarkana</strong> hotel was<br />

the Tivoli Hotel and Restaurant. Mr. M. Ash and<br />

a Mr. Lewyn were the proprietors of this hotel in<br />

March 1886. This hotel had a restaurant and<br />

front desk area located at the street level, but<br />

guest rooms were located on the second floor<br />

over Mayor Dorrian’s new brick building located<br />

on the corner, and over Lightfoot’s Drug Store.<br />

The hotel was described as being “elegant,” with<br />

new and stylish carpeting and furniture, an<br />

attractive and clean dining room where “tables<br />

were loaded down with all the substantials and<br />

delicacies of the season.” It appeared that this<br />

hotel was not new in March 1886, but had<br />

perhaps enjoyed a surge of business after the<br />

disastrous fire in August 1885 that destroyed a<br />

number of other hotels. In May 1886, the<br />

proprietor, Mr. Ash, committed a “faux pas” of<br />

some sort in his dealings with a female guest of<br />

the hotel. His action, though unidentified, “was<br />

most shameful and very properly deserves the<br />

condemnation of our citizens.” By June 9, 1886,<br />

the hotel and restaurant were up for sale, and the<br />

notice said that it was the “best paying<br />

establishment in town, with a clear profit of<br />

$25.00 per day.” Messrs. Hobbs and Northcut<br />

bought the Tivoli on July 23, 1886, and<br />

promised to “continue the business in first-class<br />

style.” Editor Warren of the Daily <strong>Texarkana</strong><br />

Independent said that both of these men had<br />

extensive hotel experience and he knew they<br />

would do all in their power to make Tivoli guests<br />

feel welcome. Unfortunately, success was not to<br />

be for the Tivoli and on September 17, 1886, the<br />

furniture and fixtures were auctioned off. The<br />

Tivoli was not mentioned again after that sale.<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>’s Commercial Hotel, located<br />

opposite the Texas and St. Louis Depot, was also<br />

22 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


an early hotel. It is believed this hotel was built<br />

around 1885, but it could have been in place as<br />

early as 1880, depending on whether an 1880<br />

newspaper article that included “a commercial<br />

hotel” actually meant “The Commercial Hotel.” J.<br />

W. Davidson managed this hotel, which catered<br />

to commercial travelers of all kinds, and it was<br />

the first hotel to publish a list of those registered<br />

at the hotel and their home cities. In July 1886<br />

the hotel had thirteen guests, in August it had<br />

twenty-seven, and in January 1887, it had<br />

twenty-six. The newspaper advertisement for<br />

this hotel said that “its tables are always supplied<br />

with the best, the rooms are comfortable, and<br />

everything is done to contribute to the comfort<br />

and convenience of guests.” Room rates at the<br />

Commercial Hotel were $1.50 and $2 per day,<br />

with special rates for “day boarders,” train<br />

travelers who had long layovers before the next<br />

leg of their travel began. This hotel was also the<br />

scene of an ongoing tragedy when a Mr. McGee<br />

committed suicide at the hotel, and later, when<br />

his sister, a Mrs. Wyatt, came to investigate what<br />

had happened to her brother, hoping to take his<br />

remains home to Rison, Arkansas, for burial.<br />

Local officials discouraged Mrs. Wyatt from<br />

taking her brother’s body before their<br />

investigation into his death was completed;<br />

therefore, she left town unsatisfied.<br />

The Southern Cottage was part hotel and part<br />

boarding house. This entity began as Mrs.<br />

Shean’s Boarding House, but in September<br />

1886, was expanded and remodeled to handle<br />

overflow resulting from the big fire. Proprietor<br />

of Southern Cottage was Mrs. Captain Mat<br />

White of Prescott, Arkansas, and it was<br />

managed by Mrs. S. B. Shutt. The Cottage was<br />

described as “reminding one more of an elegant<br />

southern home, surrounded by flowers, luxuries<br />

and conveniences.” The rooms had been newly<br />

furnished and were large and well ventilated<br />

with a southern exposure. The bathrooms had<br />

hot and cold water, and the table “could not be<br />

excelled in the city.” Staying at the Southern<br />

Cottage must have been like visiting a relative.<br />

An earlier injustice in <strong>Texarkana</strong> hotel business<br />

was righted on March 26, 1887, when Colonel<br />

Joseph Huckins got even with the Iron Mountain<br />

Railroad for dumping him as manager of the<br />

Marquand House Hotel. It was on that morning<br />

that Huckins opened his own grand hotel at the<br />

corner of Pine Street and E. Front Street, just<br />

across from the depot. It was a modern, four-story<br />

beauty with 150 rooms, dining room, barber<br />

shop, laundry, and fully-functioning kitchen. The<br />

front entry of this large hotel faced the depot and<br />

seemed to welcome train travelers with its multistoried<br />

guest room wings. The front portico was<br />

stacked three-stories high and there was no doubt<br />

that the interior was elegant. Huckins ran his<br />

Huckins House Hotel on the American plan,<br />

which included lodging, service, and meals.<br />

Rooms with a private bath rented for $2 per day<br />

while rooms without a bath rented for $1.50 per<br />

day. Huckins’ new hotel quickly gave the other<br />

hotels in town stiff competition, because this hotel<br />

man meant business! Colonel Huckins allied<br />

himself with national hotelier organizations and<br />

often contributed articles in their trade journals.<br />

The Huckins House Hotel remained in the<br />

❖<br />

The Avenue Hotel was located on<br />

State Line Avenue between Fourth<br />

Street and the Post Office Building.<br />

Its grand entry can still be seen<br />

among the storefronts.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Chapter II ✦ 23


❖<br />

Above: Hotel Holman had uniformed<br />

bell boys and a bell captain to keep<br />

things running smoothly.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Below: William A. McCartney, Sr.,<br />

owner of Hotel McCartney, was the<br />

son of William H. McCartney, owner<br />

of the earlier Cosmopolitan Hotel.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Huckins family under the management of Colonel<br />

Huckins’ sons, Paul G. Huckins and Joseph<br />

Huckins, Jr. The Huckins family sold their hotel<br />

to L. Sol Feinberg in the 1940s, and this family<br />

ran the hotel as “Hotel Savoy” until 1980, when<br />

the hotel was demolished to make room for the<br />

Bi-State Criminal Justice Building. Huckins’<br />

wonderful hotel served travelers in <strong>Texarkana</strong> for<br />

nearly a century.<br />

Other early hotels included the Bickham<br />

House Hotel, located at 213-215 Vine Street, El<br />

Paso Hotel located at 403 West Broad Street,<br />

Hurt House Hotel located at 222 ½ East Broad<br />

Street, McClure House Hotel, located at 305 ½<br />

East Broad Street, Silver Moon Hotel located at<br />

217 West Broad Street, Vaughan House Hotel,<br />

located at 402 Maple Street and the Avenue<br />

Hotel in the four-hundred block of State Line<br />

Avenue. All of these were documented in the<br />

1899-1900 <strong>Texarkana</strong> City Directory.<br />

Between 1907 and 1910, Thomas J. Brock<br />

built a three-story hotel at the corner of W. Third<br />

Street and State Street (later renamed Main<br />

Street). He called his hotel the Brockhaus, and its<br />

location next to the Grand Opera House made it<br />

a popular site in the city. This unusual hotel was<br />

built in a unique style with two three-story<br />

buildings linked by a joining hallway, making the<br />

resulting structure “U” shaped. A continuous<br />

portico surrounded three sides of the building<br />

that contained fifty guest rooms. The guest-room<br />

wings had been built to take advantage of crossventilation<br />

through the windows in the days of<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>’s sweltering summers without air<br />

conditioning. The hotel’s lobby was large, with<br />

the main desk near the staircase to the upper<br />

floors. In the center of the lobby sat a round<br />

bench seat with a conical, padded center and<br />

heavily cushioned seat. Its gracefully curved legs<br />

made the bench look like it could walk in any<br />

direction. By 1920 the Brockhaus name had been<br />

changed to Hotel Holman. Frank Dodge was the<br />

hotel’s owner at that time. By 1931, Clarence K.<br />

Faison and his wife, Mary V., had purchased<br />

Hotel Holman, and it remained in their family<br />

until it was demolished in 1979 or 1980.<br />

Perhaps the two most iconic hotels in<br />

downtown <strong>Texarkana</strong> were the Hotel Grim and<br />

the Hotel McCartney. Hotel Grim, named for<br />

William Rhoads Grim, a banker affiliated with<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> National Bank, a railroad man who<br />

served as president of the Louisiana & Arkansas<br />

Railroad, and later as a director for the Kansas<br />

City Southern Railroad, and a lumber man with<br />

business interests intertwined with those of James<br />

and William Buchanan. Grim died on January 2,<br />

1924, while business leaders were working on a<br />

project to give <strong>Texarkana</strong> the grand hotel it<br />

deserved. They decided that the new hotel<br />

should carry Grim’s name. Hotel Grim was<br />

designed by the architectural firm of George R.<br />

Mann, E. J. Stern, and A. N. McAnich, who<br />

designed an eight-story building with 250 guest<br />

rooms, constructed of reinforced concrete with<br />

reinforced concrete floor slabs supported on<br />

beams of the same construction. This building<br />

was “V” shaped, with one side extending down<br />

Pine Street and the other down State Line Avenue<br />

24 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


etween Third and Fourth Streets. The hotel’s<br />

main entrance was on State Line Avenue and<br />

opened into a beautiful lobby with walls of Caen<br />

stone and wainscoting of rich Kascota marble<br />

with a black Belgian marble base. The floor was<br />

of white Alabama marble laid in a basket-weave<br />

pattern. Ceiling panels were decorated in dull<br />

red, old gold, ivory, pale blue, and mottled<br />

amber. Hotel guests were always impressed by<br />

their grand surroundings at the Grim.<br />

Food service at Hotel Grim offered a main<br />

dining room: Palm Court, where afternoon teas,<br />

bridge games, and small parties could be held;<br />

the Coffee Shop, where black Carara glass tops<br />

supported glass pastry cases full of mouthwatering<br />

pies and cakes; and the Roof Garden<br />

where elegant entertainments could be held for<br />

local groups or hotel guests. The hotel’s ballroom<br />

was located on the eighth floor and extended<br />

across the front of the hotel from Pine Street to<br />

State Line Avenue. Many famous bands of the<br />

day played in this ballroom, including Tommy<br />

Dorsey’s band. Guest needs were seen to by bell<br />

boys wearing uniforms of Cadet Gray trimmed<br />

with black braid and blue piping. Pages wore<br />

bright blue uniforms with shiny brass buttons,<br />

and waitresses were clad in stiff white uniforms<br />

trimmed in apple green. Hotel Grim was “THE”<br />

place to stay in <strong>Texarkana</strong> during its glory days,<br />

and the hotel served <strong>Texarkana</strong> from 1925 to<br />

October 1990, when it closed.<br />

The Hotel McCartney replaced the earlier<br />

Cosmopolitan Hotel at the foot of State Line<br />

Avenue, across Front Street from <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s grand<br />

Union Station. This ten-story hotel, designed by<br />

Joseph Finger, was built in 1930 at a cost of<br />

$500,000. One-hundred twenty-five guest rooms<br />

awaited train travelers with beautiful, functional<br />

furniture and comfortable beds. The hotel’s lobby<br />

opened onto three streets: State Line Avenue, West<br />

Front Street, and Main Street. Large banquet halls<br />

and a grill on the ground floor served tasty meals<br />

under the direction of a most capable chef. The<br />

lobby had massive, fluted columns and an inset<br />

ceiling. Metallic decorations in silver, gold, and<br />

blue complemented the wainscoting of Grand Isle<br />

Fleiri Marble. William A. McCartney, son of<br />

William H. McCartney, affiliated with the<br />

Cosmopolitan and Marquand hotels, was the<br />

owner of this beautiful new hotel. The motto he<br />

selected for his new hotel reflected his family’s<br />

decades in the hotel business here in <strong>Texarkana</strong>.<br />

“You’ll always find real old southern hospitality at<br />

Hotel McCartney.” The McCartney was nearly selfcontained<br />

and became a jewel in <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s<br />

commercial crown during its heyday. Hotel<br />

McCartney served the city well from 1930 to 1970.<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> had numerous other hotels during<br />

the busy years of railroad transportation.<br />

However, by the mid- to late 1950s, private<br />

automobile travel on the nation’s expanding<br />

network of highways and superhighways led to<br />

the decline of downtown hotel patronage. As a<br />

result, motels along the highways replaced<br />

hotels in the city’s core, and <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s grand<br />

hotels became vacant structures haunting the<br />

city’s skyline.<br />

❖<br />

Above: Mr. John D. Hazlett became<br />

the first manager of the Hotel Grim.<br />

Groundbreaking ceremonies featured<br />

a set of twins from the Arkansas side<br />

of <strong>Texarkana</strong>, and one from the Texas<br />

side of town.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Below: Hotel Grim was named after<br />

William Rhoads Grim when it opened<br />

in 1925.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Chapter II ✦ 25


26 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


CHAPTER III<br />

G UIDING THE F LOCK<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>’s rough and tumble beginnings certainly created a rich field of work for religious<br />

denominations and their preachers. The predominantly male population of the city in its earliest<br />

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

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

need for community rules and regulations took over. Very quickly a dozen congregations were<br />

created with wholehearted social support and encouragement.<br />

The first mention of <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s religious denominations was in the Gate City News of January<br />

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

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

Saturday evening during Lent. The second notice said that services at the Methodist church<br />

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

that afternoon.<br />

Another very early source on the birth of religious denominations in <strong>Texarkana</strong> was a series of<br />

“Reminiscences” printed in the Daily <strong>Texarkana</strong> Independent of February 16, 23, 25, and March 1,<br />

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

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

accurate source.<br />

Little said that the first church building erected in <strong>Texarkana</strong> was a timber building at the corner<br />

of Vine Street (later renamed Olive Street) and Drennon Street (later renamed Sixth Street). It was<br />

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

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

school in this church building because there was not a school building in <strong>Texarkana</strong> in the mid- to<br />

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

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

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

for some time.<br />

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

Forest Street (later renamed Fourth Street). Reverend Mr. Sewell was the preacher Forest Little<br />

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

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

part of the congregation that built the first Methodist-Episcopal Church at the corner of Vine and<br />

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

replaced by Reverend Shea, and in 1882, Shea was replaced by Reverend Worley. In 1883 Reverend<br />

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

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

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

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

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

❖<br />

PAINTING BY CHARLOTTE HUETER.<br />

Chapter III ✦ 27


❖<br />

Above: Central Methodist Church was<br />

located at the intersection of West<br />

Fourth Street and State Line Avenue.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Below: The Methodist-Episcopal<br />

Church, South, was a beautiful brick<br />

building with magnificent stained<br />

glass windows.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

ornamented. In 1903, under the supervision of<br />

Reverend O. T. Hotchkiss, a new, brick church<br />

building was built. It was a grand edifice that<br />

graced the downtown area, with magnificent<br />

stained-glass windows and a central bell tower<br />

over the main entrance. On the building’s west<br />

corner was a Norman tower that housed the<br />

building’s secondary entrance. This beautiful<br />

building served the congregation until 1959,<br />

when it was demolished to make room for the<br />

building now standing on this corner.<br />

In 1902 the General Conference of the<br />

Methodist-Episcopal Church met in Dallas, Texas,<br />

and decreed that a First Methodist Church should<br />

be built on <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s east side. Dr. James<br />

Thomas was named as pastor of the new church,<br />

and he called his first meeting of interested<br />

citizens on December 14, 1902, in the Miller<br />

County Courthouse. A charter membership of<br />

fifteen people initially met in the synagogue of<br />

Mount Sinai Congregation as they made plans for<br />

their new building to be erected on the corner of<br />

E. Fourth Street and Laurel Streets. The first<br />

service was conducted in the new church on June<br />

16, 1904. This beautiful church had dramatic<br />

interior woodwork and huge stained-glass<br />

windows that added dramatic flair to the Quality<br />

Hill neighborhood. Unfortunately, this building<br />

was destroyed by fire in the early 2000s; however,<br />

the congregation banded together and decided to<br />

rebuild their church to look like the one that<br />

burned. Even the gorgeous stained-glass windows<br />

have been restored.<br />

Catholic services began very early in the<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> area with priests coming from<br />

Galveston, Texas, to administer the Sacraments<br />

of baptism, matrimony, and burial. It was also<br />

recorded in Catholic archives that the second<br />

bishop of Galveston, the Right Reverend C.M.<br />

Dubuis, D.D., visited the <strong>Texarkana</strong> area on<br />

October 8, 1871. The first mass celebrated in<br />

28 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


<strong>Texarkana</strong>, Texas, was held in a small building<br />

located on the lots where the Hotel McCartney<br />

was later built. Father Theodore Bufford, a<br />

native of France, celebrated this mass and<br />

became the first pastor of Sacred Heart Catholic<br />

Church. Until an actual church building was<br />

erected, the Catholic flock met in the homes of<br />

Colonel R. W. Rodgers, Mrs. Thomas Daley, and<br />

James O’Brien. They also met in the<br />

Cosmopolitan Hotel, once it had been built, and<br />

in Richie’s Hall. Sacred Heart Church was<br />

completed late in December 1874. The first<br />

Sacred Heart building was built on lots donated<br />

by Colonel Rodgers and his wife, Frances, on<br />

Spruce Street, between W. Broad Street and<br />

Clinton Street (W. Third Street). This building<br />

was a combination church and school, housing<br />

St. Agnes Academy, under the supervision of the<br />

Sisters of St. Agnes, originally of Fond du Lac,<br />

Wisconsin, which was founded in 1858. Father<br />

Bufford was replaced by Reverend P.A. Levy, also<br />

a native of France, in 1879. Father Alexis Barbin<br />

replaced Father Levy in 1889 or 1890. Barbin<br />

was a native of Lyon, France, and served as<br />

pastor of Sacred Heart until 1904. He died in<br />

December 1905 and was buried in Sacred Heart<br />

Cemetery on Texas Boulevard. The first Sacred<br />

Heart Church building served the congregation<br />

from 1874 to 1890.<br />

The second Sacred Heart Church building<br />

was erected in 1890 on the site of the earlier<br />

one. It was a single-story, brick structure with a<br />

basement. It had a center doorway surmounted<br />

by a cross, and above that stood the steeple with<br />

its magnificent bell. Beautiful stained-glass<br />

windows surrounded the sanctuary on three<br />

sides, one of which was donated in memory of<br />

❖<br />

Above: The second Sacred Heart<br />

Catholic Church building was located<br />

on Spruce Street between W. Third<br />

Street and W. Fourth Street.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Below: The Sacred Heart Church bell<br />

had a clear and recognizable “voice.”<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Chapter III ✦ 29


❖<br />

The Old School Presbyterian Church<br />

was located on Clinton Street (W.<br />

Third) between Maple Street (Texas<br />

Boulevard) and Spruce Street.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Reverend Alexius Barbin. In 1904,<br />

Reverend Edward F. Campbell came to<br />

replace Father Barbin and remained at<br />

his post here until 1909. In 1908,<br />

Father James M. Hayes was appointed<br />

pastor of Sacred Heart. Hayes was<br />

responsible for extensive renovations to<br />

Sacred Heart Rectory and in bringing<br />

the Ursuline Nuns in to oversee Sacred<br />

Heart Academy. Father Hayes served<br />

Sacred Heart from 1908 to 1914, when<br />

Reverend P. Boniface, O.S.B., assumed<br />

his duties at Sacred Heart and remained<br />

at the church until 1917. Right<br />

Reverend William F. O’Brien served as<br />

pastor of Sacred Heart from 1918 to<br />

1948. In later years Sacred Heart<br />

Catholic Church moved out of<br />

downtown <strong>Texarkana</strong> to the suburbs on<br />

Elizabeth Street.<br />

The third <strong>Texarkana</strong> church<br />

mentioned by Forest Little was the Old<br />

School Presbyterian Church which was located on<br />

the Texas side of the city, between Maple Street<br />

(Texas Boulevard) and Spruce Street, on Clinton<br />

Street (Third Street). There was a controversy<br />

among Presbyterians beginning about 1837 that<br />

resulted in the designations of “New School” and<br />

“Old School.” The split originated in the Second<br />

Great Awakening, and, by the late 1830s, the<br />

purpose of Presbyterianism was being questioned.<br />

The “Old School” side believed that the Plan of<br />

Union (1801) compromised the polity and<br />

theology of their church and associated their<br />

church too closely with Congregationalism. The<br />

“New School” side was nationalistic in its view<br />

and promoted church revivals as well as moral<br />

reforms such as temperance and abolition. In<br />

1876 a minister from somewhere in Texas, whose<br />

name has been lost, came to <strong>Texarkana</strong> and held a<br />

series of meetings, gaining a number of converts<br />

to the Old School Presbyterian theology, which, at<br />

that time, did not exist in town. In late 1877, Mr.<br />

W.F. Howison came from Missouri and preached<br />

for about a year, and was then succeeded<br />

by Reverend Mr. Wiggins, who was still pastor<br />

of this church in 1886, when Forest Little wrote<br />

his reminiscences.<br />

Reverend Charles Goldberg, of the Methodist-<br />

Episcopal Church sometimes filled the pulpit of<br />

the Old School Presbyterian Church when it was<br />

vacant, and it was he who organized a<br />

Cumberland Presbyterian (New School) Church<br />

that built their sanctuary where the skating rink<br />

stood in 1886 on the Arkansas side of town.<br />

Goldberg served as <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s general missionary<br />

in the days before individual congregations formed<br />

to follow specific religious tenets. He was a<br />

wonderful Christian man who had been raised in<br />

a Jewish family in Warsaw, Poland, in the 1830s.<br />

Goldberg’s father was a rabbi, and, after his death,<br />

Charles stowed away on a ship bound for the<br />

United States, arriving here in 1840, knowing no<br />

one. Goldberg became an itinerant Presbyterian<br />

minister who finally settled in <strong>Texarkana</strong>, where he<br />

ministered to all of its citizens in many ways. He<br />

was personally involved in the formation of both<br />

the Old School Presbyterian Church and later the<br />

Cumberland Presbyterian Church.<br />

Eventually, Goldberg secured lots where the<br />

skating rink had been, near an abandoned<br />

graveyard, and built a box meeting house,<br />

fronting on the south on Sixth Street, near the<br />

middle of the block. He used this structure as<br />

both a school and a church house. However, a<br />

Mr. Woodward, manager of the stockyards, had<br />

purchased the same block. Many hard feelings<br />

and harsh words were exchanged by the parties,<br />

but since the church’s title had been issued by<br />

the local land agent for the railroad, and<br />

30 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


Woodward’s title had been issued by the general<br />

land office at Little Rock, it appeared the two<br />

parties were at a standoff. Woodward prevailed,<br />

and Goldberg, at considerable expense, moved<br />

his church building to the corner of Sixth and<br />

Laurel streets. Shortly thereafter, Goldberg gave<br />

his resignation in 1881, and Mr. Braley was sent<br />

under missionary appointment to this church,<br />

where he served until 1882. Braley’s tenure here<br />

was plagued by failure and disappointment,<br />

and, in 1883 or 1884, the membership of this<br />

church, citing the remoteness of their building<br />

from the center of town, determined to sell<br />

the church building and look for something<br />

more suitable. The property at Sixth and<br />

Laurel was sold to Messrs. Cook & Bro.,<br />

who remodeled the building and occupied it as<br />

a residence at least through 1886. Mr. Braley<br />

was succeeded by Reverend Mr. Awalt who<br />

served two miserable years and was unable<br />

to either build up the congregation or secure<br />

a new house of worship. At the time Forest<br />

Little wrote his reminiscences, this church was<br />

still floundering.<br />

Interestingly, the Old School Presbyterian<br />

Church building became the spawning ground<br />

for the formation of the Baptists, Jews, and other<br />

denominations in <strong>Texarkana</strong> through their<br />

generous loaning policy on the use of their<br />

building. After the Methodist-Episcopal Church<br />

sold their building at the corner of Vine and<br />

Drennon streets, this congregation met in the<br />

Old School Presbyterian Church on Clinton<br />

Street. During that time Reverend Mr. Blair was<br />

pastor. Baptists held a revival meeting in the<br />

Presbyterian church building in 1877 under the<br />

direction of Elder T. N. Coleman. After that<br />

meeting, the Baptist church here was organized.<br />

About the same time, Rabbi Wise, of the Mount<br />

❖<br />

Above: First Presbyterian Church of<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>, Texas, was located on<br />

State Street (Main Street) and West<br />

Fifth Street.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Below: First Presbyterian Church of<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>, Arkansas, stands at the<br />

corner of Pecan Street and East<br />

Sixth Street.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Chapter III ✦ 31


❖<br />

Above: The second church building for<br />

the Pine Street First Baptist Church<br />

was completed in 1900s.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Sinai Congregation, held lecture in the<br />

Presbyterian church building for local Jews.<br />

Forest Little noted that the local Baptist<br />

congregation dated back to 1874 or 1875, when<br />

a first attempt to organize was made and this<br />

group met in the Methodist-Episcopal Church<br />

at the corner of Vine and Drennon streets.<br />

Reverend Dr. Lewis came here from Jefferson,<br />

Texas, to serve as pastor for a time. Difficulties<br />

arose between Lewis and a member of the<br />

church, Elder Ridlin, causing this Baptist<br />

congregation to dissolve. Then in 1877, Elder<br />

T. N. Coleman held a meeting in the Old<br />

School Presbyterian Church and got a new<br />

congregation started. Elder James Franklin<br />

Shaw was called to be pastor of that group.<br />

Membership growth caused this congregation to<br />

move to Professor J. D. Cook’s school house<br />

located near State Street (Main Street), between<br />

West Front and West Broad Streets. In 1877 Eli<br />

Moores donated a lot to the Baptists located on<br />

Pine Street, between Forest Street (Fourth<br />

Street) and Moores Street (Fifth Street) on the<br />

Texas side of town for the sum of $5.00. A frame<br />

building, (28 by 40 feet) was built on the lot<br />

and completed by January 5, 1878. An organ<br />

was purchased for the church on March 2,<br />

1878, at a cost of $200. The congregation held<br />

Christmas services in the unfinished church<br />

building in 1877. The Baptists were again struck<br />

by inner conflict between 1876 and 1880,<br />

ending with the coming of Elder H. B. Pender of<br />

Right: First Baptist Church members<br />

gathered on the church steps for a<br />

photograph in the 1920s.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

32 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


Gilmer, Texas, who remained the pastor of this<br />

church until 1884, when he accepted a call to<br />

the church in Greenville, Texas. Elder G. A.<br />

Moffatt succeeded Pender.<br />

Robert A. Baker, author of Her Walls Before<br />

Thee Stand (1977) gives a slightly different<br />

version of the founding of the Baptist church on<br />

Pine Street. He says that a group that met in<br />

1877 at the Presbyterian Church<br />

were members of the Mt. Pisgah<br />

Baptist Church. J. M. Renfro was<br />

pastor of Mt. Pisgah church and<br />

fifteen members of his<br />

congregation were there to<br />

organize <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s Baptist<br />

Church: Thomas S. Collins,<br />

Rebecka Collins, Eliza Collins, A.<br />

C. Hill, Elizabeth Mahone, Miss<br />

C. M. Granberry, Mrs. M. J.<br />

Bailey, W. W. Watkins, Sr., A. R.<br />

Moores, W. H. Tilson, J. B.<br />

Hamilton, W. A. Stacey, Mrs. M.<br />

A. Markham, B. F. Granberry, and<br />

Elder G. B. Granberry. Mrs.<br />

Cordelia Rochelle was also<br />

thought to have been present.<br />

Elder T.N. Coleman, pastor of<br />

the First Baptist Church of<br />

Marshall, Texas, participated with<br />

Renfro, pastor of Mt. Pisgah and<br />

they, along with G. B. Granberry,<br />

an ordained minister, formed a<br />

presbytery (in this case a<br />

governing body) for the new<br />

church. The former members of<br />

Mt. Pisgah church lettered out of<br />

their old church and into the new one. A church<br />

covenant was approved and Articles of Faith<br />

adopted; Elder Granberry delivered the Charge<br />

to the new congregation. Nineteen candidates<br />

awaiting baptism, resulting from Coleman’s<br />

revival efforts in <strong>Texarkana</strong> were included. Elder<br />

James Franklin Shaw was named the church’s<br />

first pastor, W. H. Tilson was named church<br />

❖<br />

Above: The second First Baptist<br />

Church building on Pine Street was<br />

demolished in 1930 to make room for<br />

a new sanctuary.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Below: Architectural styles of the<br />

1930s varied widely from that of<br />

1900. However, both church buildings<br />

were elegant and well designed.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Chapter III ✦ 33


❖<br />

Above: Central Christian Church had<br />

an elegant and large building at the<br />

intersection of State Line Avenue and<br />

West Sixth Street.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Below: This early postcard shows the<br />

proximity of Central Christian<br />

Church to the Post Office Building.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

clerk, and W. W. Watkins, Sr., and Ham. Graves<br />

were the first deacons.<br />

These were “straight-laced” Baptists who<br />

chastised each other as much and as often as<br />

they did saloon owners and businessmen.<br />

Internal controversy within the church caused<br />

James Shaw to resign in March 1879. He and a<br />

group of his followers tried to establish<br />

Grace Baptist Church on College Hill, but they<br />

were unsuccessful. Elder Shaw did, however,<br />

establish the Seventh-Day Baptist Church on<br />

College Hill by 1886. This church met on<br />

Saturday and held a Sabbath school every<br />

Saturday morning. Elder H.B. Pender became<br />

the Pine Street Baptist Church’s second pastor in<br />

1879. Pender’s pastorate was fraught with<br />

conflict, including issues regarding former<br />

pastor Shaw. Records show that in his<br />

initial revival held at the church, Pender<br />

doubled membership, but at the end of his<br />

pastorate, due to the continuing conflicts,<br />

church membership was virtually the same as<br />

when he took over. He continued until 1884,<br />

when he resigned and was replaced by W.H.<br />

Wallace, an older man who sickened and died in<br />

September 1884.<br />

G. A. Moffatt became fourth pastor of the<br />

Baptist Church on Pine Street. Moffatt came<br />

from Mineral Springs, Texas, to take over the<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> church, which had hosted the<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> Baptist Association meeting held<br />

from September 11 to 13, 1885. On July 4,<br />

1886, Moffatt conducted his last church<br />

conference and by the end of July he had died.<br />

His wife remained a moving force in the Baptist<br />

church until her death.<br />

Jerry H. Cason became the next pastor of the<br />

Baptist Church. He was a graduate of Union<br />

University and was experienced and mature.<br />

Under his pastorate, repairs were made to the<br />

existing building, a new organ was purchased,<br />

and a lot was bought for a parsonage, a fiveroom<br />

house to be built at the cost of $400.<br />

Church funds lagged in September 1889, and<br />

the parsonage lot had to be sold. Cason resigned<br />

34 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


on November 18, 1888, and was replaced in<br />

December by M. D. Early. Cason went on to a<br />

position at Ouachita Baptist College in<br />

Arkadelphia, Arkansas, and Early remained in<br />

his new position in <strong>Texarkana</strong> about one month,<br />

later becoming a prominent denominational<br />

leader in Arkansas and the Baptist General<br />

Convention in Texas.<br />

W. A. Forbes took up the pastorate of<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>’s Baptist Church on March 31, 1889.<br />

Forbes attended Bethel College in Kentucky<br />

and, for a time, was the only Baptist minister in<br />

the state of Arkansas with a college degree. He<br />

secured the property in Arkadelphia that later<br />

became the site of Ouachita Baptist College and,<br />

in 1886, became editor of Arkansas Baptist<br />

Evangel. While at the Pine Street church, the<br />

church invited Major W. E. Penn, a well-known<br />

revivalist, to hold a revival there, resulting in the<br />

addition of fifty members, which, in turn,<br />

strained the small frame building. The building<br />

was increased by fifteen feet toward the alley,<br />

and, in 1889, a lot belonging to Green B. Turner<br />

became available. The church overextended<br />

itself to secure this lot before it could be sold to<br />

someone else, and members had to personally<br />

pledge to cover the cost of $2,350. Forbes was<br />

loved and respected by the congregation, and<br />

his resignation in January 1894 was deeply<br />

regretted; however, he continued to serve from<br />

time to time in various capacities until the<br />

church secured J. T. Jenkins at a salary of<br />

$800 plus the use of the parsonage. Jenkins<br />

resigned on November 24, 1895, and was<br />

replaced by Charles W. Daniel, who served until<br />

January 1898. W. W. Thornton said of Daniel,<br />

“Although his ministry here was brief, it marked<br />

a new era for the First Baptist Church. He was in<br />

some respects the most notable pastor the<br />

church ever had. A young man, a thorough<br />

Christian, a gifted orator, inspired by his<br />

Seminary training, and eager to see the new<br />

principles and theories translated into practice<br />

in Baptist Church life, he lost no time in<br />

promoting them.”<br />

❖<br />

Above: The new Central Christian<br />

Church building was built on Walnut<br />

Street near West Ninth Street.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Below: The oldest St. James<br />

Episcopal Church building was built<br />

on a lot donated by the Texas &<br />

Pacific Railroad.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Chapter III ✦ 35


❖<br />

Above: The present St. James<br />

Episcopal Church building is similar<br />

to the older one, though made of<br />

brick, and the interior exhibits<br />

beautiful woodwork and stained<br />

glass windows.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Below: Beech Street Baptist Church is<br />

a grand edifice in the Classical Greek<br />

style. Its unique silver dome can be<br />

seen for a great distance.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

In 1897, the Pine Street Baptists got serious<br />

about constructing a new church building. W.<br />

W. Thornton noted, “The little old frame<br />

building had long been entirely inadequate,<br />

even with fifteen feet added on the alley, and<br />

numerous repairs. When hogs, under the<br />

building, disrupted a worship service, someone<br />

would go out and drive them away, but when<br />

one end of the overcrowded building collapsed,<br />

as it did one day, precipitating quite a few<br />

members into an unpremeditated huddle, it was<br />

time to do something about it.” A building fund<br />

was established and the existing church<br />

building was offered for sale. On January 16,<br />

1898, Elder Daniel suddenly resigned and was<br />

subsequently replaced by W. A. Freeman of<br />

Hope, Arkansas. Freeman authorized a “pay-asyou-go”<br />

construction of the new church<br />

building, and actual construction began in<br />

November 1898. During the construction, the<br />

congregation met at various places, including<br />

the Jewish Synagogue. The new building was<br />

completed by February 9, 1900, and was<br />

mentioned in the Baptist Standard of Texas<br />

published that month.<br />

The beautiful church building had a front<br />

entry that faced the intersection of Pine and<br />

Fourth streets. Above the two-sided doorway<br />

stood an elegant steeple with a bell. Many<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> residents will remember attending<br />

this church during the early 1900s, when the<br />

church was very active. In the 1930s this church<br />

was demolished to make room for a larger, more<br />

accommodating building to house the ever<br />

expanding congregation. This church building<br />

continues to serve the First Baptist Church<br />

congregation in 2008.<br />

36 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


<strong>Texarkana</strong>’s Second Baptist Church was<br />

organized at the Cumberland Presbyterian<br />

Church in 1880, resulting from the conflict in<br />

the local Baptist Church on Pine Street between<br />

Elders Shaw and Pender. It was first called<br />

Grace Baptist Church, and Elder Renfro was the<br />

first preacher called to the pastorate of this<br />

church. He resigned within one week. The<br />

Second Baptists met in Orr’s Opera House<br />

initially and were thought to be in “disorder” by<br />

the regular Baptists. The <strong>Texarkana</strong> Baptist<br />

Association rejected this congregation when first<br />

proposed because of the ongoing conflicts<br />

surrounding Elder Shaw, and over their<br />

observance of Saturday as the “holy day.” The<br />

congregation moved from Orr’s building out to<br />

College Hill in 1882, naming Elder Shaw as<br />

their pastor. Shaw served until 1884, but was<br />

unable to get his congregation recognized<br />

locally, and, in 1885, formed the Seventh-Day<br />

Baptist Church, which was still active in 1886.<br />

This latter congregation was in the process of<br />

constructing a church, fronting on the Texas &<br />

St. Louis Railroad tracks, near the street leading<br />

to College Hill in 1886.<br />

The Christian Church (sometimes referred to<br />

as Campbellite) in <strong>Texarkana</strong> began with the<br />

efforts of Elder Northum, who first held<br />

meetings at the school house on College Hill in<br />

1878. Elder Smith and Elder Tool began holding<br />

meetings for this congregation, but it was Elder<br />

J. C. Mason who had the greatest success in<br />

organizing the denomination in October 1883.<br />

Mason came as a speaker initially and was later<br />

called to the pastorate, serving from 1883 to<br />

1886. In 1885 a large meeting house with<br />

baptistery and dressing rooms was constructed<br />

near the intersection of State Line Avenue and<br />

Sixth Street on lots donated by J. F. Kirby, and,<br />

by late 1886, this was one of the largest<br />

congregations in <strong>Texarkana</strong>.<br />

Under the administration of W. S. Bullard,<br />

the original frame church was demolished, and<br />

an elegant brick structure with stained-glass<br />

windows was built in its place. This massive<br />

church building became a landmark, in part<br />

because of its proximity to the post office in the<br />

middle of State Line Avenue. When a new<br />

federal courthouse and post office building that<br />

would serve both states was proposed in 1930,<br />

this beautiful church building and its lots were<br />

sold to the city to expand the property on which<br />

the new post office would stand. A new church<br />

was built on Walnut Street, near Ninth Street,<br />

and was described at the time of its construction<br />

as, “One of the most modern church plants in<br />

the country.”<br />

St. James Episcopal Church was established<br />

in 1877, after the approval of a petition sent to<br />

Bishop Alexander Garrett, Bishop for the<br />

Church of Texas, New Mexico, and Indian<br />

Territory. The first church building was<br />

constructed on a lot donated by the Texas &<br />

❖<br />

Above: The first church house<br />

occupied by St. Edwards Catholic<br />

congregation was built around 1915<br />

and was of timber construction.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Below: St. Edward’s new church<br />

building was a beautiful design with<br />

twin domes on spires that flanked the<br />

front entry.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Chapter III ✦ 37


❖<br />

Above: Parishioners and visitors from<br />

a wide area came to see the new St.<br />

Edward’s Catholic Church dedicated.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Below: An unidentified nun and<br />

novice attended the dedication of St.<br />

Edward’s new building.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Pacific Railroad at a cost of $1,417.80. Money<br />

for the construction of this church was literally<br />

donated by people from all walks of life in<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>, from school children to saloon<br />

keepers. Right Reverend Alexander C. Garrett<br />

served as St. James’ first pastor in 1878. The first<br />

frame building served the St. James<br />

congregation from 1878 to 1893, when a large<br />

brick building was erected. The new building<br />

echoed the older one in style and structure,<br />

though it was much larger. A magnificent pipe<br />

organ was purchased in Illinois for the new<br />

church building. This building has served the<br />

congregation for more than one-hundred years,<br />

with numerous modifications.<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> had a fairly large Jewish<br />

community in its early years, which first met in<br />

Kosminsky Hall. Marks Kosminsky and Joe<br />

Deutschmann were instrumental in getting this<br />

congregation organized as early as 1874. By<br />

1890 a synagogue had been built at the corner of<br />

Eighth Street and State Line Avenue, but this<br />

building was destroyed by fire before 1892. A<br />

new building was constructed for the Mount<br />

Sinai Congregation by 1894 and was located at<br />

the southeast corner of Fourth Street at its<br />

intersection with Walnut Street. The Ehrlich<br />

Educational Building was built adjacent to the<br />

original synagogue in 1935, and both buildings<br />

continued to serve this congregation until the<br />

new synagogue was built at 1310 Walnut Street.<br />

“The Rabbis have not only ministered ably to the<br />

needs and wants of the Jewish people, but have<br />

been men of high principle who have taken an<br />

active part in building up a finer <strong>Texarkana</strong>.” The<br />

first rabbi to serve Mt. Sinai Congregation was A.<br />

Shriber, who came to <strong>Texarkana</strong> in the late<br />

1890s. Those who followed Shriber were Joseph<br />

Bogen, Israel L. Heinberg, Rudolph Farber, A.<br />

Rosenberg, Arthur S. Montaz, David B. Albert<br />

and David Max Eichhorn.<br />

Forest Little described two early African-<br />

American churches in <strong>Texarkana</strong>: the African<br />

Methodist-Episcopal Church and the Mt. Zion<br />

38 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


Baptist Church. First mention of the A.M.E.<br />

church in <strong>Texarkana</strong> was in 1877, when this<br />

group purchased the M.E. church on the corner<br />

of Vine and Drennon streets, after members of<br />

that church decided to move closer to town.<br />

Little said that the A.M.E. Church met almost<br />

nightly and stayed quite late into the night,<br />

making joyful noise unto the Lord with their<br />

singing and dancing. The noise was “not akin to<br />

the noisy rippling of the brooklet, but more as<br />

the roaring of an Alleghany cataract.” Neighbors<br />

of this church voiced their complaints about<br />

disturbed sleep and a longing for the days<br />

when the more staid Methodist-Episcopal<br />

congregation had inhabited this house of<br />

worship. In a year or so, a new pastor came to<br />

the church, a “prudent and orderly man,” whose<br />

first order of business was the purchase of a bell<br />

from the Methodist Church in Arkadelphia,<br />

Arkansas. With the new bell in place, the<br />

neighbors heard every call to worship as well as<br />

the acts of worship themselves. Ringing oratory<br />

and multi-part harmony were the order of the<br />

day for this congregation.<br />

In 1876, away out on the corner of Oak and<br />

Trigg streets, on the Texas side of town, a<br />

worship house made of wooden slabs cut from<br />

saw logs was constructed to house the Mt. Zion<br />

Baptist Church congregation. Pastor Marcellius<br />

Rochelle gathered the flock together and<br />

impressed members of his congregation as well<br />

as citizens of <strong>Texarkana</strong> with his piousness and<br />

good sense in preaching to this church. In 1878<br />

Reverend Skurlock came from Hot Springs,<br />

Arkansas, and, according to Forest Little, took<br />

over the congregation, relegating Pastor<br />

Rochelle to a back seat. A new lot was<br />

purchased on Forest Street, at the edge of<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>’s Swampoodle entertainment district,<br />

and the congregation proceeded to build a new<br />

church building for Mt. Zion. Little said that<br />

Skurlock’s ministry ended in disgrace with his<br />

involvement in “secret societies.” By 1880,<br />

problems arose regarding legal title to the lot on<br />

which the church building stood, and the<br />

congregation was forced to remove it to another<br />

lot south of this one. It was also during this<br />

chaotic time that a group of members broke<br />

away from Mt. Zion Baptist Church and formed<br />

a new church on the Arkansas side of town.<br />

Little did not name this congregation.<br />

Churches established after the turn of the<br />

twentieth century included Beech Street Baptist<br />

Church, which was organized in the Miller<br />

County Courthouse on April 10, 1904. Eightythree<br />

charter members were present, forty-seven<br />

of whom were separating from First Baptist<br />

Church on Pine Street in <strong>Texarkana</strong>, Texas. This<br />

new congregation first met in the building<br />

formerly used by the Olive Street Baptist<br />

Church at the corner of Olive and Eighth<br />

streets. In time, George W. Bottoms donated the<br />

lots where Beech Street Baptist Church was<br />

built. Initially, the Olive Street building was<br />

moved to the new site and used, however, it was<br />

destroyed by fire in 1905. A new building was<br />

built, and it, too, was partially destroyed by fire<br />

in 1909. The congregation immediately rebuilt<br />

the glorious domed church now standing at the<br />

corner of Beech Street and E. Sixth Street at a<br />

cost of $60,000.<br />

St. Edwards Catholic Church built a timber<br />

church building in 1915 that was located at 319<br />

Hickory Street. In the late 1920s, St. Edwards<br />

built a new church building at 410 Beech Street.<br />

Elaborate dedication ceremonies were well<br />

attended by parishioners and dignitaries alike.<br />

Other early <strong>Texarkana</strong> churches included<br />

First Congregational Church located on State<br />

Line Avenue at East Sixth Street, under the<br />

leadership of Reverend Finos E. Maddox; and<br />

the Lutheran Church located at the corner of<br />

East Fourth Street and Hazel Street on the East<br />

side of town.<br />

❖<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>’s early residents were<br />

“church-goers” and loved to<br />

spend their Sundays enjoying<br />

church fellowship.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Chapter III ✦ 39


40 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


CHAPTER IV<br />

R EADING, WRITING, AND<br />

A RITHMETIC<br />

Widespread access to education shaped the hearts and minds of <strong>Texarkana</strong> citizens through the<br />

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

Southern in nature. Each generation planned for better educational opportunities for their children<br />

than their own generation had experienced. As a result, <strong>Texarkana</strong> created private schools, two<br />

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

are for the millions, the academies are for the thousands, and the colleges or universities are for<br />

the hundreds.”<br />

From 1874 to the early 1880s, <strong>Texarkana</strong> made do with private subscription schools. Curriculums<br />

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

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

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

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

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

it was unthinkable that they would go into the working world, as boys would.<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>’s early private schools were considered top-notch, with teachers and owners who<br />

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

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

in mathematics and literary exercises. This school opened as early as 1878 and was owned by<br />

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

real estate agent.<br />

The <strong>Texarkana</strong> Graded and Normal School opened under the leadership of Professor G. A. Hays.<br />

This school offered, “Experienced Normal teachers, an assortment of maps, globes and charts,<br />

Chemical, Philosophical, Botanical, Astronomical and Mathematical Apparatus; a large Geological<br />

Cabinet; a large library; excellent advantages in Music, Writing, Elementary Drawing and<br />

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

common school, $3 to $4 for high school, and $4 to $5 for collegiate.<br />

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

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

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

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

intermediate, and $4 for high school.<br />

St. Agnes Academy opened in 1879 under the leadership of the Sisters of St. Agnes. It was<br />

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

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

patronage of local citizens and members of Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Its curriculum emphasized<br />

moral culture and general deportment. “Neatness, order, and diligence are not only encouraged,<br />

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

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

❖<br />

PAINTING BY CHARLOTTE HUETER.<br />

Chapter IV ✦ 41


❖<br />

Above: College Hill School as it<br />

appeared in 1913.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Below: A school group at St. Agnes<br />

Academy which was located on<br />

Spruce Street.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Mary C., Sister Ignacia, Sister Clementius, and<br />

Sister Ollinisius.<br />

Dr. W. F. Thurm opened the English-German<br />

Private School for Boys in the early 1880s. His<br />

curriculum offered instruction in French,<br />

Latin, and German, and tuition at this school<br />

was $4 per month, in advance. Mrs. Zella<br />

Hargroves Gaither opened a private school on<br />

State Line Avenue and Sixth Street in the<br />

early 1880s as well. Gaither emphasized<br />

manners and a basic, practical education for<br />

both girls and boys.<br />

All of these early schools were classed as<br />

private subscription schools. However, in the<br />

1870s and ’80s, educational trends were<br />

changing all across the United States, and<br />

citizens were looking for ways to create public<br />

educational systems that guaranteed standard<br />

curriculum, a set number of class days, and the<br />

expectation that all students completing their<br />

school years would have a well-defined<br />

education. By 1884 these trends had arrived in<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>, and citizens on both sides of the<br />

state line named school boards of trusted<br />

neighbors who were then charged with<br />

implementing “public” education here. On the<br />

Arkansas side of town, H. M. Beidler served<br />

as president of the school board, which was<br />

composed of O. L. Thompson, F. A. Byers,<br />

and W. G. Wadley. On the Texas side of town<br />

Mayor A. L. Ghio served as school board<br />

president, with F. M. Henry, J. F. Smith, J. T.<br />

Rosborough, W. Behan, and L. C. DeMorse<br />

serving on the board.<br />

On the Texas side of town a petition was<br />

circulated and signed, asking the mayor to<br />

call an election to determine whether the city<br />

would assume control of its public free schools.<br />

The mayor stated that the legislature, then in<br />

session, was expected to pass special acts<br />

regarding the public school question. He,<br />

therefore, asked for more time to see what the<br />

legislature would do. Much grumbling met the<br />

long delay that ensued, and, finally, some ten<br />

months later, the citizens presented, another<br />

petition asking the mayor to act on the school<br />

question. The mayor seemed reluctant to<br />

proceed, presenting trivial objections and “red<br />

herring” arguments designed to delay action<br />

further. After three citizen petitions had been<br />

presented the mayor finally called an election on<br />

the question, and citizens overwhelmingly voted<br />

to move forward; in fact, they chose trustees to<br />

carry out their desires. The mayor ignored<br />

citizens’ wishes and eventually appointed a<br />

board of six school trustees, four of whom were<br />

known to oppose the institution of public<br />

42 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


schools. “Why has the West <strong>Texarkana</strong> school<br />

board been so supinely indifferent? Why was the<br />

selection of trustees taken away from the people,<br />

if no sinister motive was in view?” Thus, the<br />

West side stalled out and wasted valuable time in<br />

instituting a public school system.<br />

Citizens of the East side, on the other hand,<br />

enjoyed full cooperation from their mayor and<br />

school board from the beginning of the public<br />

school question. By January of 1885, the East<br />

side school board had adopted a standardized<br />

series of school textbooks for the whole city,<br />

for the school years from 1884 to 1887.<br />

Books mentioned in this series were: Swinton’s<br />

Word Exercises (spelling), McGuffey’s Revised<br />

Readers (reading), Spencerian Longer Course<br />

Revised (writing), Ray’s Revised Arithmetic<br />

(mathematics), Bud & Kellogg’s Grammar,<br />

Eclectic Revised Geography, U.S. Eclectic History,<br />

Steele’s Fourteen Weeks (physiology), Townsend’s<br />

Twenty Lessons (civil government), White’s<br />

Drawing Series, and Hinkle’s Test Speller. J. S.<br />

Ragland was appointed to be the East Side<br />

School Board’s agent in negotiations with school<br />

book publishers.<br />

E. A. Warren, editor of the Daily <strong>Texarkana</strong><br />

Independent, commended the board’s actions,<br />

saying, “Nothing will do so much toward<br />

building up our city as good schools. They are<br />

necessary to the success of any community. Let<br />

all commence right now to arouse our people to<br />

the importance of building a splendid school<br />

house convenient to the citizens of both sides of<br />

the city.”<br />

On September 11, 1884, the Independent<br />

reported that a number of <strong>Texarkana</strong> citizens<br />

wanted to set up a public school that would be<br />

funded through a combination of subscription<br />

and state school tax monies collected between<br />

November 1 and February 15. The article said<br />

that there were about 600 school age children<br />

on the Arkansas side of town (400 white and<br />

200 black). Regular tuition rates were between<br />

$2.50 and $5.00 per pupil, per month, and, if<br />

those already subscribing for their own children<br />

would continue to do so, the tax money<br />

collected would be enough to run a first-class<br />

graded school for white students for ten months<br />

per year. Colored students were initially left out<br />

of the plan, or, at least put on hold for a while.<br />

The editor of the Independent asked for citizen<br />

input on this plan, and several open meetings<br />

were held at Orr’s Opera House in the next few<br />

months. Meanwhile, as both sides of town<br />

❖<br />

The East Side School was built in<br />

1886 and was located on Beech<br />

Street, between East Fifth Street and<br />

East Sixth Street.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Chapter IV ✦ 43


❖<br />

Above: East Side Public School<br />

in 1910.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Below: Students pose for their picture<br />

at Whitaker School.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

considered the public school question, private<br />

schools continued to operate until the issue was<br />

settled. Warren wrote, “Education does more<br />

than the laws to prevent crime, and the best way<br />

to secure education is to support good free<br />

schools in every neighborhood.”<br />

The Arkansas side school board had three<br />

thousand circulars printed for distribution to<br />

every household on that side of town. The<br />

circular presented the advantages of public<br />

graded schools and included testimonials<br />

from citizens of other towns where the plan<br />

had taken root. Colored citizens held meetings<br />

at city hall asking that their portion of the<br />

public school fund be reserved to purchase a lot<br />

on which to construct a free school for the<br />

colored population. Soon a wonderful, twostory<br />

school building for white students was<br />

built on the Arkansas side near the Miller<br />

County Courthouse, and it was announced that<br />

“free school” would open on September 29,<br />

1884. Parents were asked to get their children<br />

ready to enter school and noted that each<br />

student would be “properly classified and<br />

graded.” Warren noted, “If the attendance of<br />

pupils upon the free school is as large as is<br />

reasonably expected, the cost of instruction per<br />

pupil will be about one dollar per month, for all<br />

grades. At the very cheapest private schools,<br />

tuition then ranged from $1.50 to $4.00 per<br />

month.<br />

On September 29, Editor Warren wrote:<br />

The East side free school opened this<br />

morning in the public school building under the<br />

principalship of Prof. G.A. Hays. In company<br />

with Mayor Cook and Judge Orr, we attended<br />

the opening and witnessed the process of<br />

grading. Between ninety and one-hundred<br />

pupils were in attendance, which number was<br />

considered encouraging, when the bad weather<br />

was considered and the fact that a number of<br />

persons were not certain that it would<br />

commence this morning. The assistants are<br />

Misses Whitcomb, Senter, and Apperson. The<br />

two former were in their places, becoming<br />

acquainted with the pupils and arranging their<br />

44 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


classes. Miss Apperson could not possibly attend<br />

today, but will take her place in the class and<br />

study rooms tomorrow. The faculty is considered<br />

exceptionally fine. Each of the teachers have had<br />

experience and possess excellent reputations.<br />

The school starts under propitious<br />

circumstances, notwithstanding the failures<br />

heretofore to establish a good, graded school.<br />

The prospects are good now to continue a first<br />

class, free graded school for all time to come,<br />

and we are satisfied that every class of our<br />

citizens will give it a hearty support when they<br />

find that it is an assured success. Let everybody<br />

give it a hearty endorsement by sending their<br />

children, if entitled to the free fund budget.<br />

The West Side School Board faced increasing<br />

pressure to open a public free school on their<br />

side of town. Even students sent letters to the<br />

board recommending this action:<br />

To the School Board of the West Side:<br />

We, the undersigned, request that you will<br />

please decide whether the West Texarkanians are<br />

to have a public school, or not. We are tired of<br />

being in the same room with the A.B.C. pupils<br />

and would like to be in a graded school. You<br />

know the old proverb, “Procrastination is the<br />

thief of time,” and, closing with a very earnest<br />

petition that you will soon relieve us of our<br />

doubts,<br />

We are respectfully,<br />

Willie Elliot<br />

Phemia Richardson<br />

Mamie Burke<br />

Students at Mrs. Hogane’s School<br />

At the end of October, it was announced that<br />

a public school would open in West <strong>Texarkana</strong><br />

on November 3, 1884. On that morning<br />

110 pupils showed up to open the school,<br />

and, as with the East Side Public School,<br />

attendance continued to increase as parents<br />

became more comfortable with this form of<br />

education. A complete breakdown of the graded<br />

school curriculum was published in Editor<br />

Warren’s newspaper between November 11 and<br />

21 of 1884.<br />

Editor Warren admonished the faculties and<br />

administrations of both the East side school and<br />

the West side school as follows:<br />

For their own sake, as well as that of<br />

education, school boards and committees ought<br />

to encourage teachers to think, question, and<br />

suggest in matters of school regulation, and<br />

❖<br />

Students at Highland Park School<br />

in 1913.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Chapter IV ✦ 45


❖<br />

Above: Manual Training Class at<br />

Arkansas High School in 1915.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Below: <strong>Texarkana</strong>, Arkansas, High<br />

School graduating class of 1902.<br />

Individuals are identified on the<br />

original picture.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

encourage them to bring forward new ideas, if<br />

they have any, at fit times and places. The<br />

antagonism sometimes existing between teachers<br />

and supervising authorities is quite as unnatural<br />

and groundless as that between teachers and<br />

pupils. It will be done away with when each<br />

party recognizes the others’ rights, and concedes<br />

to it a full measure of courtesy, and this will<br />

happen only when each, not tolerates merely,<br />

but respects the views of the other.<br />

By late November, the teachers and<br />

administrators of the East Side Public School<br />

hosted the members of the Arkansas Teachers’<br />

Association in <strong>Texarkana</strong> for their monthly<br />

meeting. Additionally, the faculty invited the<br />

directors to visit the school at any time and<br />

observe in the various classrooms.<br />

The January 1885 spring term opened on the<br />

East side with a new board taking their places.<br />

Colonel James Aikin was president, Judge Thomas<br />

Orr was secretary, and the East Side School Board<br />

included W. G. Wadley, F. M. Duncan, J. H.<br />

Wootten, and J. C. Weed. G. A. Hays served as<br />

principal, and Miss Whitcomb was his assistant.<br />

Subscription fees were still being charged to those<br />

who did not qualify for “free” school at rates of<br />

$1.50 for grades one through four, $2.00 for<br />

grades five and six, $2.50 for grades seven<br />

through nine; and $3 for grade ten.<br />

The spring term on the Texas side of town<br />

opened with Mayor Anthony Ghio as president<br />

of the school board, and board members<br />

included F. M. Henry, J. F. Smith, J. T.<br />

Rosborough, W. Behan, and L. C. DeMorse. The<br />

faculty of the West Side Public School included<br />

W. F. Thurm, principal; Mrs. Hogane, assistant<br />

teacher; and Miss Lelia Walker, assistant teacher.<br />

Students here were divided into three grades,<br />

and each grade was comprised of two or more<br />

subgrades. Those students not qualifying for<br />

“free” school paid $1.50 for grade one, $2 for<br />

grade two, and $2.50 for grade three.<br />

Thus, by February 1885, <strong>Texarkana</strong> had<br />

three schools functioning: East Side Public<br />

46 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


School, West Side Public School, and St. Agnes<br />

Academy. Within the public school system of<br />

each side of town, segregated schools were also<br />

being set up for minority students. The private<br />

schools of Pattillo, Thurm, Gaither, and Hogane<br />

closed for a time, but when either public school<br />

closed, or had difficulties with funding, the<br />

private schools opened up again, and, after<br />

public free schools were created here, students<br />

were expected to attend school regularly when<br />

they were in session.<br />

On April 5, 1885, the East Side school<br />

building, located near the Miller County<br />

Courthouse, burned and was considered a total<br />

loss. The cause of the fire was never determined.<br />

Miss Abby Whitcomb, one of the East side<br />

teachers, opened a temporary school in the<br />

Episcopal Church house and ran it as a private<br />

school until the public school reopened. Mrs.<br />

Gaither did the same thing.<br />

At the East Side School Board meeting<br />

held in April, every member was present,<br />

and they discussed building a $10,000<br />

schoolhouse to replace the one that burned.<br />

Committees were appointed to look at plans and<br />

financing options.<br />

At the West Side School Board meeting<br />

held in May, the board unanimously<br />

agreed that their school would remain in<br />

session until the end of June. They also<br />

agreed to purchase a suitable block of land<br />

on which to build a public free schoolhouse.<br />

Advertising for proposals was authorized<br />

about the same time that <strong>Texarkana</strong> residents<br />

voted for a full five mills school tax. In<br />

June 1885, this school board purchased<br />

six lots from Jo Marx, on which to build<br />

a “handsome public school house.” They<br />

also named Director Thomas Orr as a<br />

committee of one to close trades for lots, and<br />

they named Orr, Weed, and Duncan as the<br />

building committee.<br />

It was a unique time in <strong>Texarkana</strong> because<br />

both school boards were going to build large<br />

❖<br />

Above: Central School (Texas) was<br />

located on Spruce Street between West<br />

Fifth and West Sixth streets. It may<br />

also have been called Texas Central<br />

High at one time.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Below: William Brown and his<br />

students stand in front of the West<br />

Side Central School, 1910-1920.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Chapter IV ✦ 47


❖<br />

Above: Thelma Taliafero Creekmore’s<br />

First Grade Class at Central School<br />

(Texas) in 1922.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Below: The Texas High School<br />

basketball team in 1913.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

school houses at the same time. A. M. Hawkins<br />

was named to build the East Side school<br />

building at an estimated cost of $7,990.<br />

Plans called for a two-story, eight-room<br />

brick building to be built at the corner of<br />

East Fifth Street and Beech Street, on lots<br />

donated by the Iron Mountain Railroad. The<br />

beautiful school house, once complete, actually<br />

cost $12,000.<br />

The Texas Side School Board, however, got<br />

bogged down in legalities and students there<br />

went back to attending private schools such as<br />

Mrs. Gaither’s, Professor Hays’, and Mrs.<br />

Hogane’s. The West Side Public School was not<br />

completed until after the spring term of 1887.<br />

By the 1899-1900 school year, a fully<br />

functioning, segregated public school system<br />

was in place on both sides of the state line.<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>, Arkansas, offered Hays School which<br />

was located on Ash Street, between East Fifth<br />

Street and East Sixth Street. Allen Winham was<br />

the principal of Hays School and the<br />

superintendent of the school district. Arkansas<br />

High School was located on East Fifth Street at<br />

the northwest corner of Beech Street and Miss<br />

Allie DeuPree was the principal there. Orr<br />

School, the minority school, was located on<br />

Laurel Street, between East Eighth Street and<br />

East Ninth Street. A. B. Crump was the principal<br />

of Orr School. At this time the <strong>Texarkana</strong>,<br />

Arkansas, School Board included W. G. Cook,<br />

president; G. A. Hays, secretary; Allen Winham,<br />

superintendent; W. H. Arnold, Dr. Wm. C.<br />

Spearman, W. L. Williams, and T. E. Webber.<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>, Texas, offered Rose Hill School<br />

located on Rose Hill, with Miss Emma Adams<br />

listed as the teacher there. Sunset School at<br />

1520 Olive Street, was under the leadership of<br />

Thomas Perry, principal. <strong>Texarkana</strong>, Texas,<br />

Public School, located at 620 West Sixth Street<br />

was run by Miss Adine Vaughan, principal, and<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>, Texas, Colored Public School,<br />

located on West Sixth Street near Elm Street,<br />

had S. J. Spencer as its principal. The<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>, Texas, School Board included W. C.<br />

Hardin, president; Joseph Hughes, secretary; W.<br />

Owens, superintendent; Dr. James McMahon,<br />

Ab Terry, Samuel Hiller, R. B. Ayers, F. G. Cook,<br />

and William Matthews.<br />

The 1899-1900 <strong>Texarkana</strong> City Directory listed<br />

9 music teachers and 45 school teachers among<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>’s citizens. Eleven of those teachers<br />

mentioned were men. Thus, between 1885 and<br />

1900, the public school systems had taken<br />

root and were a significant employer of mostly<br />

single community women. School boards<br />

were in place and prominent citizens were<br />

rotating through their ranks contributing their<br />

ideas and expertise.<br />

Public schools in <strong>Texarkana</strong>, listed in the<br />

1910 <strong>Texarkana</strong> City Directory included: Bowie<br />

Public School located on Cotton Belt Avenue,<br />

between Willis Street and Buchanan Avenue<br />

where C. A. Bonham was principal; Central<br />

48 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


School (East Side) located on Ash Street between<br />

East Fifth Street and East Sixth Street, where E.<br />

A. Brennan was superintendent; and College Hill<br />

School located on Missouri Avenue, three blocks<br />

north of the Cotton Belt tracks, where F. M. Cook<br />

was principal. Fairview School was built on East<br />

Tenth Street between Locust Street and Garland<br />

Avenue. In 1910, James W. Williams was<br />

principal there. Fannin School sat at the corner<br />

of West Fifth Street and Whitaker Street and<br />

Miss Emma Adams was its principal. Highland<br />

Park School was located on Walnut Street<br />

between Twenty-first and Twenty-second Streets.<br />

Miss Annie R. Boyd was principal of Highland<br />

Park. <strong>Texarkana</strong> High School (Arkansas) was<br />

located on Beech Street, at the northwest corner<br />

of East Fifth Street. William J. Christian was<br />

principal there. Texas Central School was located<br />

on Spruce Street at the corner of West Sixth<br />

Street. John B. Lytal served as its principal.<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> High School (Texas) was located on<br />

Spruce Street between West Sixth and West<br />

Seventh Streets. Richard P. Bowen was its<br />

principal. Interestingly, the long-term rivalry<br />

between these two high schools was already a<br />

well-established fact by 1910.<br />

Minority schools listed in 1910 included<br />

Central School, located on West Sixth Street, two<br />

blocks south of Elm Street, where S. J. Spencer<br />

was principal; College Hill School, located on<br />

Missouri Avenue three blocks north of the<br />

Cotton Belt tracks, William H. Hilliard was<br />

principal here; Orr High School, located on<br />

Laurel Street between East Eighth and East Ninth<br />

street. William T. Daniels was the principal<br />

there; and Sunset School, located on Capps<br />

Street three blocks north of Redwater Road, and<br />

Z. S. Cappony was the principal there.<br />

The 1920 <strong>Texarkana</strong> City Directory showed<br />

that new schools had been built to accommodate<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>’s rising population. On the East side<br />

of <strong>Texarkana</strong>, Grandview School was located in<br />

the Grand View Addition, a junior high school<br />

had been added to the campus of Fairview<br />

School. North Heights School had been built at<br />

the corner of Thirty-fifth Street and Grand<br />

Avenue, and the W. G. Cook School had been<br />

built at 2424 Hickory Street. Allie Johnson was<br />

principal there. Colored High School had been<br />

❖<br />

Above: Mrs. Plant’s class at Dunbar<br />

School about 1900.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Below: Workmen clear the site for the<br />

new Texas High School at the corner<br />

of Texas Avenue and W. Sixteenth<br />

Street in 1909.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Chapter IV ✦ 49


❖<br />

Above: Texas High School Band on the<br />

steps of Texas High in 1919.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Below: These two young ladies from<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> were eager to experience<br />

life on the Texas frontier in the 1880s.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

built at 814 Ash Street and L. C. Deloney was<br />

principal of that institution. On the West side of<br />

town, Rose Hill School occupied the corner of<br />

West Tenth Street and Lucas Street and H. L.<br />

Lamb was principal of Rose Hill. Fannin School<br />

had been renamed Whitaker School, and Mrs.<br />

Effie H. Britt served as principal there. Colored<br />

schools on the West side included Dunbar,<br />

located on West Sixth Street at the northeast<br />

corner of Cedar Street. B. A. Jackson was<br />

principal of Dunbar. Newton School (later<br />

renamed New Town) was located on Stevenson<br />

Street. G. V. Goree was principal there.<br />

In the 1920s, both white high schools got<br />

new buildings. Texas High School’s building was<br />

at the corner of W. Sixteenth Street and Texas<br />

Avenue. This building had become <strong>Texarkana</strong><br />

Junior High School by 1931, and Benjamin<br />

Franklin Pierce was its principal. In 1929 Texas<br />

High School was built on the same campus but<br />

faced Pine Street. This building was used as the<br />

Texas side high school until the 1960s, when a<br />

new campus was built on Kennedy Lane.<br />

Arkansas high school was constructed on<br />

Pecan Street near Short Tenth Street. Later<br />

Arkansas High was moved out to Jefferson<br />

Avenue. Additionally, by 1931 Orr had ceased to<br />

be a high school but was still functioning<br />

and Booker T. Washington High School was in<br />

place at the corner of Preston Street and<br />

Pinehurst Avenue.<br />

Parochial schools continued to play a role in<br />

the education of <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s children. St. Agnes<br />

Academy changed its name to Sacred Heart<br />

Academy but continued to function until 1970,<br />

when Sacred Heart Catholic Church made its<br />

move from Spruce Street to Elizabeth Street. In<br />

1908, St. Edward’s Catholic Church opened<br />

Providence Academy, under the leadership first<br />

of the Benedictine Sisters of Olivetan<br />

Congregation and later under the Sisters of<br />

Divine Providence. Providence Academy<br />

became St. Edwards Catholic School in 1960,<br />

and it continued to serve <strong>Texarkana</strong> until 1970.<br />

St. James Day School opened in 1948 as a<br />

kindergarten and first grade school under the<br />

leadership of Thomas H. Carson, Rector.<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>’s Patty Hill School, for children<br />

from kindergarten to second grade ages, was<br />

started by Mrs. Mary C. Patterson between 1921<br />

and 1924. Patty Smith Hill was the key founder<br />

of the National Association of Nursery<br />

Education and created a kindergarten system<br />

based on “modern educational methods.” Mrs.<br />

Hill, a native of Anchorage, Kentucky, was born<br />

in 1868. Mary C. Patterson was also a native of<br />

Kentucky and learned of the Patty Hill School<br />

methods. This school and its methods were<br />

important in molding the early years of some<br />

illustrious <strong>Texarkana</strong> residents, such as Frances<br />

and Lima Fouke (1924), Katrina Offenhauser<br />

and Charles Temple (1925), Arthur Temple, Jr.,<br />

(1928) Ross and Bette Perot (1938), and Hayes<br />

McClerkin (1939).<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> had a number of “colleges,” which<br />

opened as early as 1889. The Southwest<br />

50 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


Arkansas College was established on College<br />

Hill by T. E. Webber in 1889. This institution<br />

had one hundred students and four teachers.<br />

In 1902, Gate City Medical College opened<br />

in <strong>Texarkana</strong>. It had formerly been Sulphur<br />

Rock College then John W. Decker, its<br />

founder, decided to move it to <strong>Texarkana</strong> and<br />

change its name to Gate City Medical College<br />

and School of Pharmacy. Decker’s highest<br />

enrollment was 128 students. <strong>Texarkana</strong> also<br />

had nursing schools affiliated with each of its<br />

main hospitals, Michael Meagher Hospital (now<br />

Christus St. Michael) and <strong>Texarkana</strong> Hospital<br />

(now Wadley Regional Medical Center). The<br />

nursing schools opened in the mid- to late<br />

1920s and continued to serve the community<br />

into the late 1950s.<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> also had a number of business<br />

colleges over the years. Draughon’s Practical<br />

Business College, established in the early 1880s<br />

at 206 West Broad Street, was probably the first<br />

such institution here. It was owned by Professor<br />

James M. Draughon, who acted as the school’s<br />

principal, and his wife, who served as the<br />

principal of the Shorthand Department.<br />

Draughon’s was open from 1882 through 1910.<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> Business College opened in the<br />

Courier Building on West Broad Street in 1908.<br />

H. D. Henderson began this college and was<br />

succeeded by S. T. Maxwell, Charles H. Finley,<br />

G. S. Gaston, and Mrs. L. R. Nash. At one time<br />

this college offered both day and evening<br />

classes to accommodate those who wanted<br />

to take a class. <strong>Texarkana</strong> Business College<br />

was open from 1908 through 1960.<br />

Bishop’s Commercial College opened<br />

between 1925 and 1931 at Sixteenth<br />

Street and Texas Avenue. The curriculum<br />

at Bishop’s was bookkeeping, shorthand,<br />

typing, spelling, business English,<br />

penmanship, commercial law, banking,<br />

mimeographing, and office methods. Mrs.<br />

E. L. Bishop was the owner of this school.<br />

Wadsley’s Business College was open near<br />

the site of the Grim Hotel from 1922 until<br />

about 1930. And, finally, Four-States<br />

Business College was opened by Morris E.<br />

Welch between 1945 and 1950. It was<br />

located at 519 Olive Street and offered<br />

courses leading to office positions in<br />

business and government.<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> College, a two-year academic and<br />

vocational institution, opened in 1927 at<br />

Sixteenth and Pine streets, under the leadership<br />

of Dr. Henry Stilwell, who served in that capacity<br />

for thirty-two years. The second longest<br />

presidency of the college was that of Dr. Carl<br />

Nelson, who served from 1975 to 2001.<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> College changed its name over time<br />

from <strong>Texarkana</strong> Junior College to <strong>Texarkana</strong><br />

Community College, and at present is called<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> College. In 1927 enrollment at the<br />

college was 109 students; in 2005, the<br />

enrollment was over four thousand students. In<br />

2002, it was estimated that the college had served<br />

its 100,000th student in its 75-year history.<br />

In 1972, East Texas State University opened<br />

in <strong>Texarkana</strong> as an upper two year institution<br />

that, in conjunction with <strong>Texarkana</strong> College,<br />

would form a full four-year university system for<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> and its surrounding region. In 1996,<br />

East Texas State University became part of the<br />

sprawling Texas A&M University System and<br />

will soon be a free-standing, four-year university<br />

at its own Bringle Lake campus.<br />

It is evident that education was important to<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>’s residents and it played a crucial role<br />

in establishing <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s unique culture.<br />

Many educational trends and theories were tried<br />

out on its children through the years and quite<br />

often reverted to the basics—reading, writing,<br />

and arithmetic.<br />

❖<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>’s colleges have turned out<br />

many graduates over the years who<br />

had illustrious professional careers in<br />

many fields.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Chapter IV ✦ 51


52 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


CHAPTER V<br />

B EWARE THE F IRE D EMONS<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>’s physical image was sculpted through the years by fire. Early efforts to create pleasant<br />

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

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

editor of the <strong>Texarkana</strong> Daily Independent, <strong>Texarkana</strong> citizens were “determined and plucky” when it<br />

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

rather than a unified persona.<br />

In the years from 1873 to 1885 most of <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s downtown buildings were of timber<br />

construction and were single-, double-, and triple-story configurations. “Business blocks” were<br />

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

resulting structure housed numerous “storerooms” along the street level of each wing with the<br />

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

and insurance agents, or for bedrooms. Early <strong>Texarkana</strong> city directories frequently noted the presence<br />

of both professional offices and bedrooms coexisting in the upper floors of these buildings. Notable<br />

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

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

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

dirt streets and muddy, open sewage drains, especially along Front and Broad streets and the<br />

streets running perpendicular between them. Airy, carved wooden decorations danced along secondfloor<br />

balconies facing business streets and, on parade days, these balconies were filled with men,<br />

women and children enjoying the circus spectacle in the warm sunshine. On buildings with no<br />

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

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

Opera House paraded the downtown streets trying to build up their evenings’ audiences.<br />

However, <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s wonderful wooden buildings sent out silent invitations to fiery demons that<br />

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

goods created the perfect playgrounds for disaster that would continue to feed off the timber stores<br />

until there was no more fuel to burn. Alcoholic inventories in <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s numerous saloons and<br />

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

to get the fire under control and the bodies out of the wreckage. Thirty-five <strong>Texarkana</strong> residents and<br />

❖<br />

PAINTING BY CHARLOTTE HUETER.<br />

Chapter V ✦ 53


❖<br />

Above: <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s downtown streets<br />

were an ever-changing kaleidoscope of<br />

sounds and sights that caused citizens<br />

to drop what they were doing to come<br />

and watch.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Below: <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s volunteer firemen<br />

worked with the equipment they had,<br />

and wished for more.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

visitors died in the Paragon fire, and, on July 13,<br />

a dark cloud hung over town as arrangements<br />

were made to bury the dead in Rose Hill<br />

Cemetery. Some residents believed that the<br />

Paragon Saloon fire was the “hand of God”<br />

striking <strong>Texarkana</strong> for its evil ways and love of<br />

base entertainment. Others saw the fire as just<br />

another example of the fickleness of “Fate.”<br />

On September 1, 1884, the Daily <strong>Texarkana</strong><br />

Independent chronicled a fire on Maple Street<br />

(Texas Boulevard) that destroyed Dr. Talbot’s<br />

residence and tenant properties. Talbot’s losses<br />

amounted to nearly $10,000 in a time when a fiveroom<br />

cottage could be purchased for about $800.<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>’s Hook & Ladder Company, our first<br />

volunteer fire-fighting group, responded to this<br />

fire and though they were unsuccessful in saving<br />

Dr. Talbot’s property, they did save Mrs. Pitcher’s<br />

home nearby, and she thanked the firemen<br />

profusely in the next morning’s newspaper.<br />

In October, two barrels of printer’s ink in the<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> Gazette office caught fire, damaging the<br />

double-cylinder printing press and causing the<br />

newspaper to cease publication until fire damage<br />

could be repaired and a new press shipped into<br />

the city. Later in October, John Ockles’ shingle<br />

mill, located a few miles outside of town burned,<br />

creating a spectacular fire that could be seen from<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>. Ockles’ losses amounted to $800.<br />

Over the winter of 1884-85, numerous fires<br />

occurred. On December 8 the East side<br />

calaboose (jail) was set afire by a prisoner who<br />

hoped to burn a hole in the floor and escape.<br />

On January 2 a large fire at Matthews’ Mill,<br />

outside of town ended with the death of one of<br />

the workers there. Three days later, a drunken<br />

man tried to sneak back into Dr. Hawkins’<br />

home, where he was a boarder, via the chimney.<br />

There was a fire in the fireplace at the time and,<br />

unfortunately, the man got stuck and no one<br />

heard his screams and pleas for help before he<br />

either burned to death or smothered. Dr.<br />

Hawkins was horrified, but blamed the man’s<br />

own sins for his death. Another fire at the<br />

College Hill school building in January was the<br />

result of a defective stove flue.<br />

On February 21, 1885, <strong>Texarkana</strong> experienced<br />

its first mammoth fire with some $210,000 in<br />

losses. The Independent announced, “About half<br />

past one o’clock this morning the fire alarm called<br />

out citizens from their warm beds to discover that<br />

the Marx Block, the most elegant structure in our<br />

city, was on fire. The fire, having, as it is supposed,<br />

originated in the storeroom of the <strong>Texarkana</strong><br />

Grocery and Provision Company, in the center of<br />

said block, some however are of the opinion that<br />

it originated in the store of J. H. Draughon. But<br />

however that may be, the fire fiend has come, all<br />

today our city is in gloom over losses estimated<br />

at $210,000.”<br />

The newspaper account of this fire points out<br />

many interesting facts about the city and items<br />

that were once prominent fixtures here. For<br />

example, in a section entitled “Losses and<br />

Insurance,” we learn that “the building known as<br />

the Eck Building, occupied by Grocery and<br />

Provision Co., sustained a loss of $10,000; with<br />

insurance for $7,000; $6,000 with Beard &<br />

McCorkle’s agencies and $1,000 with Kelsey &<br />

Offenhauser.” Early fire insurance companies<br />

besieged <strong>Texarkana</strong> after its earliest fires,<br />

convincing citizens of the need to insure their<br />

property against loss by fire. Beard & McCorkle<br />

were considered “up-right” and “knowledgeable”<br />

54 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


about their business; however, they had not<br />

insured their own office, which was a total loss!<br />

Kelsey & Offenhauser, on the other hand, built<br />

their reputation for standing behind their clients<br />

and covering insured losses without grumble or<br />

qualification. As a result, Offenhauser Insurance<br />

continued to be one of the city’s leading business<br />

houses for more than a century. Other early fire<br />

insurance companies that had to pay out for the<br />

February 21 fire were: Connecticut of Hartford,<br />

Fire Association of Philadelphia, Insurance<br />

Company of North America, Continental of New<br />

York, Royal England Insurance, London &<br />

Lancashire Insurance, Sun California Insurance,<br />

German-American Insurance, Western<br />

Assurance, and many, many others.<br />

“M.V. Flippin, loss on dwelling and<br />

household goods, $10,000. Insurance on<br />

building $2,500 in East Texas [Insurance], on<br />

household goods $250 in same company. He<br />

also lost the big sign, 'Headquarters of the Army<br />

of Northern Virginia. 'Loss cannot be<br />

estimated.” Flippin had been so proud of his<br />

sign that proclaimed to everyone his allegiance<br />

in the late Civil War. In the last quarter of the<br />

1800s, <strong>Texarkana</strong> had many vestiges of that war,<br />

mementos really of hopes and shattered dreams<br />

that could not, as yet, be consigned to attics.<br />

This spectacular fire was no respecter of person<br />

or status. Both homes and businesses were lost, as<br />

were personal property, family letters, office<br />

furniture, even coffins. Businesses affected<br />

included <strong>Texarkana</strong> Grocery and Provision<br />

Company, Citizens’ Bank, Ramsear & Motz Wagon<br />

Factory, Inter-State News, Whitener Livery Stable,<br />

Texas Produce Company, Todd & Hudgins Law<br />

Office, B. & O. Telegraph Office, and First<br />

National Bank. Warren rallied those burned out<br />

with, “Do not become discouraged, keep a stiff<br />

upper lip and have plenty of pluck, and you will<br />

soon drive hard times to the rear.” Then he chided<br />

residents with, “Don’t neglect to insure your<br />

property, none of us can tell when the fiery<br />

elements will come.”<br />

The fire had some positive results, as well.<br />

They were so ill prepared when the first fires<br />

struck that huge losses had many doubting<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> could survive. After this fire in<br />

February, Warren, ever the “<strong>Texarkana</strong> booster,”<br />

began a drumbeat in his newspaper calling for the<br />

construction of brick buildings, more equipment<br />

for the Hook & Ladder Company, and a water<br />

works. He theorized that the elimination of timber<br />

buildings would cut down on the number and<br />

severity of the fires in the city. Additionally, brick<br />

buildings would be more beautiful and durable.<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>’s Hook & Ladder Company was<br />

only one step up from our original bucket<br />

brigade that fought local fires using shovels and<br />

water from downtown wells. No doubt it was<br />

time to consider better equipping the town’s<br />

volunteer firemen. Warren wrote, “Say, did you<br />

understand our remark that it is bad policy to<br />

wait until after the next big fire before steps are<br />

taken to secure a fire engine?” In April of 1885,<br />

Warren reminded, “A small fire engine would<br />

❖<br />

A number of <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s more<br />

affluent citizens lost their rental<br />

properties to the city’s early fires.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Chapter V ✦ 55


have saved every dollar’s worth of property<br />

destroyed by the fire last night, and yet no steps<br />

have been taken to secure an engine.” In June,<br />

after several more fires, an angry Warren fumed,<br />

“Waco has determined to buy a new fire engine,<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> has not even an old one!”<br />

However, in March of 1885, Warren and<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>’s citizens had reason to celebrate:<br />

❖<br />

Above: The East Side Fire Company<br />

and City Hall was located at 401 East<br />

Third Street.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Below: Kelsey & Offenhauser<br />

Insurance Company covered<br />

numerous losses from fires in the<br />

downtown area.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Water Works A Certainty!<br />

From a conversation with Mr. Raeder, agent<br />

for the water-works contracting company of St.<br />

Louis, we were much gratified to learn that the<br />

contract agreed upon by both of our city councils<br />

would certainly be accepted, and that the<br />

construction of the water-works will begin within<br />

the next thirty days and be finished and in<br />

working order by August or September. The<br />

councils have made a contract perfectly<br />

satisfactory to the contractors, and the waterworks<br />

are now a certainty, and will afford such<br />

capacity as will supply all the demands of the city.<br />

A large number of plugs or hydrants have been<br />

taken by the city, and a sufficient number will be<br />

secured, regardless of the cost, to do efficient<br />

service in case of fire. This enterprise will be of<br />

immense benefit to the city, and greatly lessen the<br />

danger of fire, and reduce the cost of insurance,<br />

not only reduce the price of insurance, but will<br />

cause the very best insurance companies to do<br />

business here. This is a big boom for our city, now<br />

let us boom it more by having gas-works.<br />

An additional benefit from fire destruction<br />

was the opportunity to make “course<br />

56 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


corrections” in the ways the downtown area was<br />

being built. “While the Marx Block was an<br />

ornament to the city, and a credit to the<br />

gentleman who had it erected, it is a fact that the<br />

third story never yielded any income and it is<br />

probable that the new block to be erected may<br />

be only two stories high.”<br />

Notifying residents of fires was uniquely<br />

handled in <strong>Texarkana</strong>. The downtown streets lay<br />

adjacent to the Texas & Pacific and St. Louis,<br />

Arkansas & Texas railroad tracks through the city.<br />

Train whistles shrilly broke through the night<br />

hours, awakening citizens with a start. Once<br />

awakened, men and women heard the church bells<br />

of the Methodist, Episcopal, Catholic, and<br />

Presbyterian churches tolling a frantic message to<br />

wake up and help their neighbors defeat the fiery<br />

demons. Suddenly racing horses could be heard<br />

through the town, pulling wagons loaded with<br />

primitive tools and shouting men giving directions.<br />

Frightened children clung to their mothers’<br />

nightgowns as their fathers and big brothers raced<br />

out of the house to join the volunteers. Though<br />

rudimentary, it was an effective alarm system that<br />

could turn out hundreds of volunteers within the<br />

space of fifteen minutes.<br />

Neighbor helped neighbor until the volunteers<br />

could get there, by dragging furniture and<br />

belongings into the street or alley; or by alerting<br />

those nearby that a dangerous fire was in process.<br />

Sometimes items came up missing in the<br />

confusion such as Mrs. Blackburn’s beloved family<br />

Bible and Murray Taylor’s ceremonial Knights of<br />

Pythias sword. In the aftermath of these dreadful<br />

fires, life had to go on; and <strong>Texarkana</strong> residents<br />

struggled to be ready. “Messrs. Todd & Hudgins<br />

having had their wardrobes burned were around<br />

last night trying to borrow a couple of shirts to<br />

wear to court at Boston.” However, some losses<br />

were irreplaceable, such as Professor Hays’<br />

“Cabinet of Curiosities,” a lifetime collection of<br />

one-of-a-kind items he used in teaching his<br />

classes. While he had the cabinet insured for<br />

$1,000, its contents were irreplaceable and were<br />

truly gone forever.<br />

The <strong>Texarkana</strong> Rescue Company, of which<br />

the Hook & Ladder Company was a part,<br />

established a fire station near the James Richie<br />

Hall at the corner of East Broad Street and Vine<br />

Street (later Olive Street); Charles W. Bramble<br />

served as its first fire chief. This entity had only<br />

❖<br />

Above: Bowie No. 1 wagon of the<br />

West Side Fire Department saw lots of<br />

action in the early fires.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Below: A horse-drawn fire engine<br />

races to a fire. This picture was taken<br />

at the corner of State Line Avenue<br />

and E. Broad Street.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Chapter V ✦ 57


❖<br />

Above: Neighbor helped neighbor get<br />

their belongings out of burning<br />

buildings until firemen arrived to put<br />

out the fire.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Below: “Imogene,” the fire engine on<br />

the right, was named for Imogene<br />

Stuart, daughter of <strong>Texarkana</strong> mayor,<br />

A. C. Stuart.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

one piece of equipment in its early days, a hose<br />

reel drawn by men pulling ropes. The next piece<br />

of equipment purchased was a horse-drawn fire<br />

wagon that firemen named “Imogene,” after<br />

Imogene Stuart, daughter of Mayor and Mrs. A.<br />

C. Stuart. Local groups periodically held benefit<br />

dances and suppers to produce enough money<br />

to buy uniforms and supplies for the fire<br />

company, but large, rolling equipment wagons<br />

were harder to come by. The Rescue Company<br />

remained a volunteer group until 1902, when a<br />

paid fire chief was hired.<br />

Fires continued to harass <strong>Texarkana</strong>'s citizens<br />

as they worked to gain a water works and to<br />

effectively equip their firemen. On April 6,<br />

1885, the East side schoolhouse burned to<br />

the ground with a loss of nearly $50,000,<br />

including adjacent properties. The Little Rock<br />

newspaper incorrectly wrote that <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s<br />

entire West side had been destroyed in the<br />

fire, but Editor Warren set them straight.<br />

Additionally, on May 11, Bales’ old mill shed<br />

burned, and on August 18, W.T. Fagan’s Lumber<br />

Yard was reduced to ashes by a stray locomotive<br />

engine spark.<br />

In the early morning hours of August 21,<br />

1885, <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s citizens were shaken from<br />

their beds by insistent bells and whistles<br />

spreading the alarm. The new Arlington Hotel<br />

was on fire! It proved to be a monstrous fire that<br />

got out of hand, quickly destroying all of<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>, Arkansas,’ Block 75 and nearly onehalf<br />

of Blocks 72, 73, and 74. The heart of<br />

downtown <strong>Texarkana</strong> on the Arkansas side was<br />

gone, and in its place was a blackened, dead<br />

zone that residents quickly began calling the<br />

“Burnt District.”<br />

The Arlington was located in the onehundred<br />

block of East Broad Street with<br />

hallways and guest rooms that stretched into the<br />

second-floor spaces over businesses along Broad<br />

Street. Neighbor rushed to help neighbor save<br />

whatever they could save from each building,<br />

and in so doing, a number of people were<br />

injured in the chaos. John White, the porter of<br />

the Arlington Hotel, risked his life and received<br />

serious injuries while awakening hotel guests<br />

and directing them to safe exits. Frank Varner<br />

was badly cut in the chest by glass exploding<br />

from a window in one of the burning buildings.<br />

Tom Kyle had his foot badly mashed when a<br />

large office desk was heaved through a secondfloor<br />

window, landing on him.<br />

Many residents lost buildings they had built,<br />

almost as an expression of faith in this growing<br />

town, of which they were very proud. Those<br />

with the largest losses included Jo Kosminsky,<br />

George Langsdale, J. F. Smith, C. E. Bramble,<br />

Marx Kosminsky, E. F. Freidell, Mrs. H. E.<br />

Moore, Mrs. Ben Collins, A. Goldberg, J. Moran,<br />

M. Levy, Mr. Thompson, Mr. Jacobs, Joe Cella,<br />

Mrs. Berlina, Ed Donnelly, and H. P. Williams.<br />

58 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


Well-known businesses were forced to<br />

relocate or close temporarily until a new<br />

building could be built. These included Ragland<br />

Stationery & News Company, Telephone<br />

Exchange Saloon, Smith Drug Company, the<br />

Masonic Lodge, Southern Express Company,<br />

Young America Saloon, Applebaum’s Ladies<br />

Bazaar, Vogel’s Cigar Store, the Chinese Laundry,<br />

Miss Irene Wells’ Millinery House, and the<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> Post Office. Moreover, the burned<br />

area housed numerous boarding houses and<br />

private rooms. Those occupying rented rooms<br />

like these rarely had fire insurance on their<br />

belongings and they lost nearly everything<br />

they had.<br />

“Scorched, but still in the ring.” <strong>Texarkana</strong><br />

residents pulled together to overcome losses in<br />

the downtown area. Businessmen scrambled to<br />

find space somewhere in the area of Broad and<br />

Front Streets, to reopen their stores and offices.<br />

Editor Warren gave plenty of newspaper space<br />

to encouraging those burned out, and<br />

redirecting customers to the new locations of<br />

their favorite stores. “On next Monday morning,<br />

F. L. Schuster will open out his jewelry<br />

establishment in the house with Ed. Schicker.<br />

He saved most of his stock and tools, and has<br />

telegraphed orders to supply all that was lost.”<br />

When available business space was gone, tents<br />

were erected to house C. Nagle’s Furniture Store<br />

and Mrs. Berlina’s Millinery Shop.<br />

The August 21, 1885, fire was a bonanza for<br />

local building contractors and Varner Brothers<br />

Brick Works. A. W. Hawkins’, W. T. Barrow’s,<br />

and Frank Varner’s names were frequently<br />

mentioned as having gotten the contract to<br />

build new brick buildings to replace business<br />

houses lost in the fire. <strong>Texarkana</strong> city<br />

governments passed ordinances dictating that<br />

new buildings had to be of brick construction to<br />

reduce losses in future fires. Frank Varner and<br />

his brother set up a huge brick kiln near the foot<br />

of State Line Avenue and began producing more<br />

than sixty-thousand bricks per week for about<br />

three months. These incompletely fired bricks<br />

can still be found in buildings along East Broad<br />

Street in 2008.<br />

Numerous insurance agents and adjustors<br />

flooded into <strong>Texarkana</strong> to assess and pay off<br />

claims, or, to get residents to buy new fire<br />

insurance policies. The Arlington fire was<br />

certainly a good “object lesson” for the agents to<br />

use in their negotiations. Absentee landowners<br />

also came into town to check on their properties<br />

and to make arrangements to have their burned<br />

lots cleared, and to contract with builders to<br />

have new buildings built. Mr. Meagher of the<br />

Memphis and Little Rock Railroad and M.S.<br />

Jacobs of Magnolia, Arkansas, were mentioned<br />

among these land owners. Editor Warren noted,<br />

“Although the burnt district casts a look of<br />

gloom over the city, it is very evident that<br />

business is reviving rapidly.”<br />

On September 9, 1885, Editor Warren wrote<br />

an article after touring the burned district:<br />

This morning we took a stroll amongst the<br />

mechanics now at work in the burnt district, and<br />

found everybody busy, and the building boom<br />

going right on.<br />

A large force of workmen are engaged in<br />

removing brick and rubbish on the lots of J. A.<br />

Roberts, where two large, two-story bricks are to<br />

be erected, one of which will be occupied by the<br />

post office.<br />

J. F. Smith has purchased the lot of Jo<br />

Kosminsky (Hart’s old stand), and will at once<br />

❖<br />

Above: An early fire engine is drawn<br />

along in a parade on Broad Street.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Below: This ladder wagon was<br />

initially horse-drawn, but was later<br />

converted to automobile use.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Chapter V ✦ 59


❖<br />

Above: Firemen of the Arkansas<br />

Central Fire Department stand before<br />

their building on East Third Street.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Below: The <strong>Texarkana</strong>, Arkansas, fire<br />

chief drove this sporty car and was a<br />

recognizable sight at every fire.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

erect a very large business house on it. Mr.<br />

Jacobs, of Magnolia, has a large force of<br />

workmen digging for the foundation for a large<br />

two-story brick block on his four lots, running<br />

from Broad Street through State Line Avenue.<br />

Levy & Bro. have already made ready for<br />

the laying of the foundation for a two-story<br />

brick house on their lot at the corner of State<br />

Line Avenue and Broad Street, and have<br />

contracted for the erection of a large two-story<br />

brick business on the lot where Applebaum’s<br />

Bazaar stood.<br />

The brick layers are already at work, laying<br />

brick on Capt. Bramble’s two brick business<br />

houses. The brick work is about finished on the<br />

large new store-house of Mayor Dorrian, on the<br />

lot where the Owl Saloon stood, and he will have<br />

no delay in the erection of another large twostory<br />

brick building on his lot where Cassidy<br />

and Sweeney were.<br />

M. Kosminsky is having brick hauled to<br />

his lot, and will erect two very large brick<br />

store houses, over one of which will be the<br />

Masonic Hall.<br />

Negotiations are pending for a number of<br />

other buildings, and we believe that by the new<br />

year the entire burnt district will be rebuilt—<br />

rebuilt, too, with substantial brick houses.<br />

Mr. Shaw informs us that the post office will<br />

go back to its old headquarters just as soon as<br />

the new building is completed. Mr. Roberts will<br />

at once put a very large force at work so as to<br />

complete the building as soon as possible.<br />

While for the time being it may work a<br />

hardship on a very few for the East side city<br />

council to refuse to permit wooden buildings to<br />

be erected in the burnt district, very soon it will<br />

be of benefit to them, for brick buildings will<br />

make adjacent property more valuable. The city<br />

council is strongly backed by public sentiment<br />

in its determination to permit no wooden<br />

buildings, and the interests of the whole city<br />

demand that it shall adhere to that<br />

determination, for one wooden house might<br />

cause the destruction by fire of many blocks, and<br />

a wooden house would greatly increase the cost<br />

of insurance. Let the fire limit ordinances be<br />

strictly enforced.<br />

Eventually, the chaos dissipated, and<br />

residents got back to daily routines. However,<br />

fire demons continued to plague <strong>Texarkana</strong><br />

until most of the original timber structures had<br />

been replaced by those of brick and metal. In<br />

60 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


October of 1885, an exploding gas lamp set fire<br />

to the Texas & Pacific ticket office, but fire<br />

fighters were quick and damage was slight. The<br />

college building on Cane Hill caught fire, and,<br />

because it was some distance from downtown, it<br />

was completely destroyed, a loss of $10,000.<br />

In November the Witterstaetter Block was the<br />

scene of a stove fire that caused slight damage;<br />

and in December stove flue fires singed<br />

Conductor’s Hall and the F.A. Felton Machinery<br />

Company. Between September 2, 1884, and<br />

April 4, 1887, more than twenty-five fires<br />

occurred in <strong>Texarkana</strong>. However, by 1887 most<br />

of the downtown buildings had been<br />

reconstructed of brick, and the fire brigade had<br />

become fast, efficient, and better equipped. In<br />

1902, each side of the city hired fire chiefs and<br />

drivers for horse-drawn hose wagons, but<br />

firemen were still volunteers. In 1909 the fire<br />

departments of both sides of town were<br />

combined under the leadership of J.J. Hussey,<br />

who replaced horse-drawn vehicles with fire<br />

trucks that actually were slower than the horsedrawn<br />

vehicles in responding to fires. William J.<br />

Springer served as fire chief from 1913 to 1934<br />

and was the first to serve for any length of time.<br />

In 1934 the fire departments of each side went<br />

back to choosing their own chiefs.<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> residents will also remember five<br />

spectacular fires that occurred in the 1900s.<br />

One was an industrial fire that occurred near the<br />

train yards and involved gasoline and oil tanks.<br />

This fire produced towering flames and huge,<br />

roiling clouds of black smoke that hung over the<br />

downtown area for several days. The second was<br />

the Foreman Building fire of March 10, 1952.<br />

The Foreman Building was built in between<br />

1901 and 1902 by Benjamin M. Foreman in the<br />

three hundred block of State Line Avenue. It was<br />

a triangular, three-story building with ornate<br />

stonework and arches on the ground floor, and<br />

elegant brick tracery on the second and third<br />

floors. An elaborate building sign stood on the<br />

roof above the building’s corner nearest the train<br />

depot, and the building’s upper floors housed<br />

the Swann Hotel (later renamed the Splawn<br />

Hotel) and Foreman Hall. On the evening of<br />

March 10, 1952, fire broke out on the second<br />

floor of this building, consuming both the<br />

second- and third-floors before firefighters<br />

could bring it under control. One female hotel<br />

guest lost her life in this fire, and pictures of the<br />

fire scene show a raging inferno reflecting in<br />

every third-floor window as hungry plumes of<br />

fire licked the sky. In the days after this fire, the<br />

second- and third-floors were removed from the<br />

building, leaving only the stonework arcade<br />

surrounding the first floor of the building. In<br />

time, residents forgot that this one-story<br />

building ever had two more floors, and they<br />

forgot its original wedding cake façade that<br />

brightened State Line Avenue.<br />

In November of 1952, fire broke out in the<br />

Parker Hotel at the corner of West Front Street<br />

❖<br />

Above: Industrial fires happened<br />

frequently in <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s early days,<br />

especially near the rail yards.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Below: The Arkansas side fire<br />

department moved into this new<br />

facility in the 1930s.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Chapter V ✦ 61


❖<br />

Above: On March 10, 1952, the<br />

historic Foreman Building was nearly<br />

destroyed when fire consumed the top<br />

two floors.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Below: The Jefferson Coffee Shop<br />

burned in 1963. It was sad to see this<br />

cultural icon destroyed.<br />

COURTESY OF BILL SHARP.<br />

and Main Street, on the Texas side of town. In<br />

the mid-1880s, Mayor Anthony Ghio built a<br />

two-story, frame business block called “Ghio’s<br />

Cotton Belt Block” there. This building<br />

occupied one-quarter of Block 27, lying<br />

opposite Ghio’s Opera House in Block 28.<br />

Around 1930, Ghio’s original Cotton Belt Block<br />

was razed, and the Parker Hotel was constructed<br />

in its place. It was a three-story hotel with<br />

business spaces along its first-floor level, facing<br />

Main Street. Among long-term tenants there<br />

were the White House Café, Barbieri Grocery,<br />

and Babb’s Garage, along with Harp’s News<br />

Stand. Early that November morning, fire broke<br />

out in the hotel and fire fighters worked all day<br />

and into the night to be sure the fire was<br />

extinguished. Since the fire was quickly<br />

contained, and damage was limited to the top<br />

floor and roof area; the hotel reopened and was<br />

managed by Bennie Benoist and his wife Mary<br />

until the 1960s. The Parker Hotel was<br />

eventually demolished in November of 1983.<br />

Jefferson Coffee Shop stood on the corner of<br />

East Front Street and Pine Street, on the<br />

Arkansas side of town. Its corner front door,<br />

housed in a unique, two-story “tower” facing<br />

Union Depot, welcomed travelers in for a cup of<br />

coffee and a slice of delicious pie. This coffee<br />

shop, owned and managed by Thomas Asimos,<br />

was built between 1929 and 1930. The Jefferson<br />

Coffee Shop’s unusual façade made it a wellknown<br />

landmark in town for more than thirty<br />

years. In August of 1963, fire broke out in the<br />

coffee shop kitchen, escalating until it finally<br />

consumed the coffee shop and business houses<br />

along the State Line Avenue side of the block.<br />

The Jefferson Coffee Shop reopened at another<br />

location under Asimos family management<br />

and continued until the late 1970s, but its<br />

original charm and unique location were<br />

never replicated.<br />

The Ben F. Smith Department Store fire in<br />

1981 was visible for quite some distance and<br />

62 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


ought many memories back to local residents.<br />

This building was originally built in 1908 for<br />

the State Bank of <strong>Texarkana</strong>, chartered in 1896.<br />

It was a beautiful, brick, five-story building with<br />

arched windows along the building’s top floor<br />

on both the State Line Avenue and E. Broad<br />

Street sides. This building was originally fifty<br />

feet wide, but was later increased to onehundred<br />

feet or more. State First National Bank<br />

occupied this building from 1908 until 1971,<br />

when the bank moved to State Line Plaza, one<br />

block north. Ben F. Smith Department Store<br />

moved into the former bank building from its<br />

earlier location in the one-hundred block of E.<br />

Broad Street and adopted a new motto, “If it’s<br />

new—it’s at Smith’s.” In the late 1970s Trey’s<br />

Supper Club opened in the building’s top floor,<br />

soon becoming known for good food, a wide<br />

assortment of alcoholic drinks, and spectacular<br />

views of the city, especially at night. In 1981 fire<br />

broke out in the supper club, and, because the<br />

building’s interior featured a five-floor atrium,<br />

quickly spread. The fire caused the building to<br />

remain closed for a number of years until<br />

David Potter and David Potter, II, renovated<br />

the building, closing in the interior atrium<br />

space, and renaming the building the<br />

“Landmark Building.”<br />

Over the years <strong>Texarkana</strong> suffered through<br />

many, many fires that destroyed or altered<br />

original building trends. The most spectacular<br />

fires occurred in the last quarter of the 1800s,<br />

when most of the buildings were made of<br />

timber and the fire department had little<br />

equipment with which to wage war on the<br />

fiery demons. Later, brick construction, fire<br />

codes, and well-equipped firemen made big<br />

fires rare occurrences.<br />

❖<br />

Above: The State National Bank<br />

building was built about 1908. In<br />

1981 fire in Trey’s Supper Club on the<br />

building’s top floor caused extensive<br />

smoke damage to most of the<br />

building’s interior.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Below: Interior of Ben F. Smith<br />

Department Store before the fire<br />

in 1981.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Chapter V ✦ 63


64 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


CHAPTER VI<br />

T EXARKANA! QUEEN C ITY OF THE S OUTHWEST<br />

Railroads created the twin cities of <strong>Texarkana</strong>, and hotels provided housing for both visitors and<br />

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

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

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

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

In December of 1885, Colonel E. A. Warren, editor of the <strong>Texarkana</strong> Daily Independent wrote an<br />

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

extravagant or unreasonable in our ideas and believe that our hopes for the great future of <strong>Texarkana</strong><br />

are based on reason and judgment.”<br />

He went on to extol <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s virtues:<br />

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

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

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

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

Our church facilities are first class, almost every denomination having comfortable houses of worship,<br />

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

endorsing the graded system of public schools. We also have most excellent schools in charge of the<br />

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

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

educational facilities.<br />

❖<br />

PAINTING BY CHARLOTTE HUETER.<br />

On November 11, 1885, Warren gave an additional description of <strong>Texarkana</strong>. He noted that the<br />

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

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

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

the following formula for making a prosperous city:<br />

• Enterprise,<br />

• Men of Money,<br />

• Attractive Location,<br />

• True Merits, Advertised,<br />

• Rich and Fertile,<br />

• Patronize Home Principles,<br />

• Churches and Schoolhouses,<br />

• Cordial Welcome to Strangers,<br />

• Harmonize in Various Societies,<br />

• A Prevailing Moral Sentiment,<br />

• Not Drones and Chronic Grumblers,<br />

• About Twenty Natural Born Loafers,<br />

• A Proper Confidence in Your Town, and its People, and an<br />

• Open Hand in Welcome to Your Competitors. . . .<br />

Warren frequently admonished his fellow citizens with wonderful quaintness. His proverbs included:<br />

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

Chapter VI ✦ 65


❖<br />

Above: The sights and sounds of<br />

nature all around the city drew people<br />

to <strong>Texarkana</strong> in its early days.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Below: Lush farms and vineyards<br />

sprang up from the soil of East Texas,<br />

and cattle grazed contentedly.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

to you in a straight line,” “In trying to win respect<br />

have your olive branch well-loaded,” and “The<br />

present life and the future life are not what God<br />

makes them. If we would have heaven in the<br />

future life, we must not build hell now.”<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> was a beautiful place, a green zone<br />

in the heart of East Texas pine forests where the<br />

sounds of birds calling to each other and<br />

running water abounded. Game such as deer,<br />

duck, goose, and squirrel was plentiful in the<br />

marketplace. Fresh seafood came in daily by<br />

train from the Texas coast, and local restaurants<br />

and hotels had skilled kitchen staffs who could<br />

turn out delicious food all day long. <strong>Texarkana</strong><br />

was once touted as “The Orchard Capital of the<br />

World,” and, in fact, Mayor Anthony Ghio had a<br />

vineyard on the West side near the intersection<br />

of Estes Street (Seventh Street) and Congress<br />

Street, just past West Street, that produced not<br />

only excellent grapes, but a number of fine wines<br />

as well. On August 10, 1885, Warren thanked<br />

Ghio for a large basket of very fine grapes he had<br />

given him, which were greatly enjoyed by the<br />

“Boss” (his wife) and the little “Independents.”<br />

Large, delicious Concord grapes became a<br />

specialty of the Ghio Vineyards, and, in 1885, he<br />

planned to make one-thousand gallons of wine<br />

from that year’s crop of grapes.<br />

Witterstaetter’s Market Garden was also one<br />

of the local attractions. It was located just off<br />

State Line Avenue, south of the cemetery, and<br />

was twelve acres of land “in the highest state of<br />

cultivation, interspersed with hot houses and<br />

hot beds. A windmill pumps from an everlasting<br />

well, water for the garden, and even in<br />

the most severe drouth, vegetation continues to<br />

vegetate.” Witterstaetter grew all kinds of<br />

vegetables, strawberries, and other fruits, and he<br />

frequently supplied fresh food for picnics, balls,<br />

garden parties, and summer celebrations. State<br />

66 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


Line Avenue carried on the green park tradition<br />

by having beautiful oak trees standing<br />

majestically down the center of the street,<br />

providing shade for passing wagons, horses, and<br />

riders. In July of 1887 there was a call to “save<br />

the trees” here because some citizens proposed<br />

cutting them down. Stegall’s Conservatory,<br />

located in the “Fairview” Addition, also a<br />

favorite park area, featured a hot house full of<br />

colorful, exotic blooming plants, and his<br />

gardens drew the eye to rare and hardy plants<br />

that would do well in the East Texas summer<br />

heat. It was a beautiful place to stroll and enjoy<br />

nature’s beauty.<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>’s beautiful green parks provided<br />

relaxation and entertainment for young and old,<br />

rich and poor. Residents enjoyed summer<br />

picnics at Old River, Park Beidler, Presbyterian<br />

Park, and the Gate City Ball Park. Roller skating<br />

was featured at Spring Lake Park and Park<br />

Beidler, while Episcopal Park had bicycle racing<br />

on an oval track that always brought out a<br />

crowd to see local men and boys pedal at<br />

dizzying speed until winners were proclaimed.<br />

The skating rink at Episcopal Park was fifty feet<br />

by one hundred feet, and admission was twentyfive<br />

cents, ladies admitted free of charge. On<br />

December 1, 1884, “A large crowd attended the<br />

skating rink Saturday night, and everyone<br />

passed a delightful evening. There was a large<br />

number of elegant skaters, and many who were<br />

not so elegant, though all enjoyed the excellent<br />

sport. A spirited race was run between Hershel<br />

Byers and Claude Ward, in which the latter was<br />

victorious, though Hershel’s skating was good.”<br />

Fresh dairy and creamery butter were always on<br />

hand at Daum’s, opposite Ghio’s Opera House,<br />

and soda fountains did a booming business<br />

during hot summer days in most of the drug<br />

stores along Broad Street.<br />

During the fall-winter season, Ghio’s Opera<br />

House featured the best touring acts available,<br />

and seats were sometimes difficult to come by. It<br />

was Ghio’s intention to have none but “stars”<br />

during the season in <strong>Texarkana</strong>. Often the<br />

performers took to <strong>Texarkana</strong> streets to draw a<br />

❖<br />

Above: <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s early citizens had<br />

plenty to eat and lots of room to play<br />

and enjoy life.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Below: The area’s many rivers,<br />

ponds, and lakes provided fresh fish<br />

in abundance.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Chapter VI ✦ 67


❖<br />

Above: Local produce stores like B.B.<br />

Moore and Sons Grocery bought and<br />

sold farm fresh fruits and vegetables<br />

for the town market in the 1890s.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Below: <strong>Texarkana</strong> had a preference<br />

for green space and many small green<br />

islands such as Kline Park dotted<br />

city streets.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

crowd for their evening performances. A grand,<br />

military band—Miss Lilly Clay’s Company of<br />

Ladies—performed in the streets, and at the<br />

Opera House, and were so successful that Editor<br />

Warren noted, “It was with difficulty that the<br />

“madam” (his wife) prevented his going to<br />

Dallas, Texas, where the Lilly Clay troupe<br />

perform tonight.” Ghio also featured the Mabel<br />

Norton Combination, Frank Cotton, Comedian,<br />

and Keene, the Great Tragedian, among many<br />

other acts. In the off season, <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s young<br />

adults organized the Amateur Dramatic Club, a<br />

Gymnasium Club, political clubs, and Whist<br />

and Euchre clubs. The dramatic club presented<br />

“Among the Breakers” to rave revues and<br />

demands that they continue to provide local<br />

entertainment during the summer, until the<br />

next opera house season opened in the fall.<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> citizens enjoyed amazing sights<br />

on city streets. Frequently, large herds of cattle<br />

68 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


❖<br />

Above: Spring Lake Park featured<br />

swimming and was a popular<br />

spot during <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s<br />

sweltering summers.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Left: Many a new romance<br />

began with a walk through Spring<br />

Lake Park.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Chapter VI ✦ 69


❖<br />

Above: Spring Lake Park had a<br />

bicycle race track, a dance pavilion,<br />

and a skating rink.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Below: Concession stands sold tickets<br />

and provided light refreshments.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

were driven through the downtown streets to<br />

the stockyards on the West side, raising<br />

dust clouds that could be seen from neighboring<br />

subdivisions. Late at night and early in the<br />

morning, wagon trains of immigrants headed<br />

into Texas made their way through the city,<br />

trailing barefoot children and packs of<br />

mongrel dogs. The circus came to town<br />

frequently, parading their huge animal<br />

menageries through city streets while men,<br />

women, and children hung out of second-story<br />

windows to catch a glimpse of the exciting<br />

sights and sounds. In September 1885, S. H.<br />

Barrett’s New United Monster Railroad Show<br />

stopped in <strong>Texarkana</strong>, featuring two hundred<br />

star performers, bareback riders, a mammoth<br />

menagerie, a huge hippopotamus, a coal<br />

black tiger, rhinoceroses, and other marvels.<br />

Another time, a circus company spent the winter<br />

in the <strong>Texarkana</strong> train yards area, allowing locals<br />

to see preparation and training first-hand.<br />

Additionally, citizens were treated to parades<br />

and bands livening up city streets with their fun<br />

and mayhem.<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> was an “up and coming” city<br />

with the latest technology available. Telephone<br />

service was first rumored to be coming to<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> in September 1884 with a newspaper<br />

notice that telephone would soon be established<br />

between Little Rock and <strong>Texarkana</strong>. On<br />

January 5, 1885, Warren wrote, “That the<br />

telephone is a great convenience all will<br />

admit, but in this city, it is not as much so<br />

as it should be, because times are so hard that<br />

70 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


the people cannot afford to pay five dollars a<br />

month for its use; hence, not enough are<br />

supplied with it to make it of very much benefit<br />

to the subscribers.<br />

“…let the rates be reduced and then we<br />

believe we will see a telephone in almost every<br />

business house in the city.” In June 1885,<br />

Mr. Pullen, superintendent of <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s<br />

telephone company, connected telephone wires<br />

with those of Western Union Telegraph<br />

Company and carried on a conversation with<br />

people in Tyler, Texas, more than one hundred<br />

miles away. “The words came over the wires so<br />

perfectly that they were easily understood.”<br />

Soon, Warren’s prediction came true, and both<br />

business houses and residences embraced the<br />

new technology.<br />

In October 1884, Warren cried for electricity,<br />

saying, “Why not have street lamps? It is awful<br />

dark for newspaper men to prowl around at<br />

night, and we are fearful Brother Allen (another<br />

newspaper man) will hurt himself.” Soon, new<br />

hotels being built were described as “fully<br />

modern” because they featured incandescent<br />

lamps. In May 1885, electricity was being used<br />

to drive fans in the city’s restaurants. “Graham<br />

has put up fans in his restaurant which will not<br />

only drive away flies but keep guests cool while<br />

they eat.” In March 1887, <strong>Texarkana</strong> Ice<br />

Company advertised rates for incandescent<br />

electric lights for residences—one and threefourths<br />

cents per hour, per lamp.<br />

A unified waterworks system became a<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> priority after the numerous downtown<br />

fires had destroyed many properties. On March<br />

13, 1885, Editor Warren wrote, “Water Works a<br />

Certainty!” A contract had been agreed upon by<br />

city officials and a Mr. Raeder, agent for the Water<br />

Works Contracting Company of St. Louis,<br />

whereby a waterworks would be constructed,<br />

beginning within the next thirty days, to be<br />

finished by August or September of 1885. “A<br />

large number of plugs or hydrants have been<br />

taken by the city, and a sufficient number will be<br />

secured, regardless of the cost, to do efficient<br />

service in cases of fire.” Dr. Beidler took $3,000<br />

❖<br />

Above: Many of <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s drug<br />

stores had soda fountains such as this<br />

one in the McWilliams-Sain Drug<br />

Store at W. Third and Main streets.<br />

Mrs. McWilliams is seated on the left.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Below: The local amateur club<br />

performed during the summers when<br />

the opera house professional circuit<br />

had ended.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Chapter VI ✦ 71


❖<br />

Above: Children’s groups also<br />

performed in the parks for the<br />

enjoyment of parents and neighbors.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Below: <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s stockyards was<br />

the destination of many cows herded<br />

through city streets.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

in stock in the water works enterprise in May<br />

1885, signaling to local citizens that it had his<br />

endorsement. The Texas side waterworks were<br />

located way out of the West side horizon in the<br />

1888 “<strong>Texarkana</strong> Perspective Map,” but its<br />

standpipe was located near Ghio’s Vineyards,<br />

closer to town. The demand for a gas works<br />

began to be voiced as soon as it became a<br />

certainty that <strong>Texarkana</strong> would get its water<br />

works. “Now that the water works are a certainty,<br />

let us work for gas. <strong>Texarkana</strong> is too large to be<br />

without it.”<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>’s streetcar system began in 1886,<br />

when Frank Whitley, A. Deutschmann, and<br />

Benjamin M. Foreman wanted some type of<br />

transportation to bring people out to Whitley<br />

Park located near Fourteenth Street and the<br />

Kansas City Southern Railroad tracks. A muledrawn<br />

streetcar system was implemented first,<br />

becoming known as the <strong>Texarkana</strong> Street Railway<br />

Company, which served the city until 1890,<br />

citing daily receipts of $26. In May 1887 an<br />

advertisement stated that the street railway was<br />

selling half-rate tickets to children. Those under<br />

twelve years of age could get two tickets for a<br />

nickel. In 1890 a franchise for electric streetcar<br />

service was granted to George Baumhoff, who<br />

purchased the mule-drawn system from Whitley,<br />

Deutschmann, and Foreman. About the same<br />

time, a second electric company, the <strong>Texarkana</strong><br />

Gas & Electric Light Company also received a<br />

franchise to operate an electric railway along<br />

State Line Avenue. By the end of the 1890s,<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> Gas and Electric Light Company was<br />

the surviving streetcar operator in <strong>Texarkana</strong><br />

proper. In 1902, Thomas Crouch and E. J.<br />

Spencer organized <strong>Texarkana</strong> Traction Company,<br />

and in 1903 Crouch and Spencer bought out<br />

the College Hill Light and Traction Company, a<br />

72 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


third company founded in the late 1890s, and<br />

laid two and one-half miles of track in the city<br />

before selling out to <strong>Texarkana</strong> Gas and Electric<br />

Light Company. Eventually, six trolley lines crisscrossed<br />

the city: “Buchanan,” “Rose Hill,” “State,”<br />

“Hazel,” “County Avenue,” and “College Hill.”<br />

Maroon-colored streetcars with gold trim and<br />

dark green streetcars with gold trim bustled along<br />

the tracks carrying businessmen, shoppers, and<br />

park-goers; and in the summertime, brightlycolored,<br />

open-sided cars took hundreds of<br />

residents out to the various parks.<br />

However, life in <strong>Texarkana</strong> was not all picnics<br />

and lemonade. The city faced numerous<br />

problems and residents thought city officials<br />

should do more to alleviate them. Some of the<br />

problems existed because <strong>Texarkana</strong> was new<br />

and functioned somewhat like a “frontier” town.<br />

Open sewers ran between Front and Broad street,<br />

causing comments such as, “The sewer running<br />

on the west side of Vine Street, between Broad<br />

and Front, and alongside of which every stranger<br />

who enters the city must walk is a disgrace to this<br />

city. . . .The water and mud is stagnated into a<br />

green loblolly, and the stench is sickening. In the<br />

name of the health of the town, what is the city<br />

government for?” Every business and residence in<br />

town had an outhouse located near the alleys and<br />

during the summer; when the heat set in, these<br />

produced an odor that could “make the eyes<br />

water and the nose run.” Standing water in places<br />

like these bred mosquitoes, that, in turn, brought<br />

malaria, dengue fever, and other illnesses.<br />

Frequently, citizens were admonished to empty<br />

containers holding water and to apply lime freely<br />

around their properties.<br />

❖<br />

Above: An early parade in downtown<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> in 1910. Mrs. A. W. Ball<br />

and Mrs. L. D. Lovett are shown.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Below: <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s Brass Band<br />

performed in front of the Dixie<br />

Theatre in the 1920s.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Chapter VI ✦ 73


<strong>Texarkana</strong> experienced a high death rate for<br />

children and infants in the days before public<br />

hospitals. Diseases such as whooping cough,<br />

diphtheria, measles, mumps, chicken pox,<br />

yellow jaundice, and ague claimed many young<br />

lives, leaving parents and relatives disconsolate.<br />

Editor Warren attempted to comfort the<br />

bereaved saying, “their souls have gone to<br />

Heaven, where no sorrows or troubles will come<br />

to mar their happiness.” Death was no respecter<br />

of persons, taking children from the Kelsey,<br />

Applebaum, and Draughon families, along with<br />

children from the community’s poorest families.<br />

On one occasion Death claimed one child of a<br />

set of twins, and came back two days later to<br />

take the other twin. <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s children died in<br />

buggy accidents, fires, drownings, and train<br />

accidents as well.<br />

City streets and sidewalks were continuing<br />

problems. <strong>Texarkana</strong> had dirt streets, and<br />

residents were required to contribute so many<br />

hours per month graveling, smoothing, and<br />

filling in wagon ruts. Those who did not<br />

complete their “road hours” were brought before<br />

the judge and fined, or thrown in jail to<br />

reconsider. During the rainy season these roads<br />

and pathways were nearly impassable, and<br />

timber planks were laid down to make passage<br />

74 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


easier. Sidewalks in the downtown area were<br />

just planks initially, then became timber<br />

walkways nailed together, then brick pathways,<br />

and finally raised concrete. Getting around town<br />

was particularly odious after both fire and rain<br />

had struck an area. Then it was not<br />

just a muddy mess, but a black,<br />

muddy mess that ruined shoes<br />

and clothing.<br />

Animals of various types were<br />

downtown nuisances for many,<br />

many years. Mongrel dogs hung<br />

around downtown restaurants,<br />

bars, and grocers, looking for a<br />

handout. Children, too, ran the<br />

streets, and, at times, children and<br />

dogs got into trouble. “Kite flying<br />

on the streets should not be<br />

permitted. Somebody’s horse will be<br />

frightened and somebody will be<br />

hurt if it is not stopped.” Screaming<br />

children and barking dogs caused<br />

one horse, pulling a wagon, to bolt<br />

and run, “playing everlasting<br />

smash” with the wagon before<br />

running through a storefront<br />

window. In 1885 rabies became a<br />

problem among the dog population<br />

in town, and editor Warren called<br />

for a muzzle law and a death penalty for any<br />

unmuzzled dog found on the streets. Dozens of<br />

dogs were killed by the sheriff and his crew. A<br />

large rat population downtown was also an<br />

ongoing problem, causing Warren to write that<br />

❖<br />

Opposite, top: <strong>Texarkana</strong> Gas &<br />

Electric Company streetcars were a<br />

familiar sight on downtown streets<br />

and neighborhood boulevards.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Opposite, bottom: The streetcar’s<br />

motorman could reverse the car’s<br />

direction by walking to the other end<br />

of the car, reversing seat backs on<br />

his way.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Above: <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s children died of<br />

diseases such as whooping cough,<br />

diphtheria, measles, and mumps, as<br />

well as from accidents.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Below: All adult male citizens were<br />

required to work on <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s dirt<br />

roads, or pay the road tax.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Chapter VI ✦ 75


❖<br />

Above: Noisy children and barking<br />

dogs spooked many horses, causing<br />

damage to buggies, store windows,<br />

and the horses themselves.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Below: The telephone switchboard in<br />

the Offenhauser Buildingwas complex.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

the rats were “as large as rabbits and as bold as<br />

alley cats.”<br />

Crime in <strong>Texarkana</strong> came in many varieties<br />

and was somewhat tied to the city’s state line<br />

status. Loitering and begging seemed to go hand<br />

in hand. In December of 1884 tramps begging<br />

for bread and meat were positively endorsed by<br />

the paper, saying that these tramps would “go to<br />

work if they had the opportunity.” But before<br />

long, Warren was saying that city housewives<br />

were being besieged in their homes by the tramps<br />

and that city officials<br />

should put the tramps to<br />

work or run them out of<br />

town. One week a party of<br />

tramps came into town and<br />

begged on the streets.<br />

“Able-bodied men who<br />

looked healthy enough to<br />

work, in fact one of them<br />

was able to get drunk and<br />

boisterous, for which<br />

Officer Sweeney escorted<br />

him to the calaboose.”<br />

Bootblacks, both black and<br />

white, loitered as they<br />

waited for customers to<br />

stop by. Soon gangs of<br />

bootblacks were dicing and<br />

swearing, taking up the<br />

whole sidewalk, making<br />

“good” citizens walk in the<br />

streets and embarrassing the ladies with their<br />

language. However, poverty was sometimes the<br />

reason people loitered on the streets. In March of<br />

1885, Miller County had recently established a<br />

poorhouse, and Warren endorsed it as a good<br />

investment. “Before it was built, the county was<br />

paying for the support of about thirty paupers,<br />

but since the order of Judge Hervey was made<br />

for all paupers to be sent to the poor house,<br />

the county is taxed with the support of only two<br />

of them.”<br />

76 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


Drunkenness was a frequent charge listed<br />

on court dockets published in the local<br />

newspaper. <strong>Texarkana</strong> had more than its<br />

fair share of saloons, like the Paragon, Young<br />

America, the Parlor, and the Palace. Drunks<br />

got into fights, fired their guns on the<br />

streets, ran horse races down Broad Street,<br />

and started bonfires to keep warm. The penalty<br />

for a good drunk, if caught, was $1 and a night<br />

in jail.<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>’s Swampoodle entertainment<br />

district, located initially near the train depots<br />

on Front Street, featured barrooms, gambling<br />

halls, and brothels. Streetwalking, “sporting,”<br />

and prostitution were the various charges<br />

related to prostitution brought up before<br />

local courts, and it was frequently charged.<br />

City officials adopted a “laissez-faire” policy<br />

on prostitution because it provided release<br />

and companionship for hundreds of single<br />

and married men employed on the railroads<br />

or in the lumber industry. As these men<br />

married or brought their families to live in<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>, the demand for more consistent<br />

action on the prostitutes increased. Houses<br />

of prostitution were run by three madams,<br />

who cited their occupations as such in the 1900<br />

U.S. Census: Kitty Stone, Annabelle Lee, and<br />

Zoe LaRoy. Interestingly, <strong>Texarkana</strong> seemed to<br />

be part of a prostitution circuit that followed the<br />

railroads from Little Rock, Hot Springs,<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>, all the way down to Beaumont, and<br />

over to Fort Worth.<br />

Robbery and murder were also charges<br />

frequently brought before local judges and items<br />

taken were varied. In late 1884 and early 1885,<br />

residences were being burgled at an alarming<br />

rate, and citizens were encouraged to load their<br />

guns and give the robbers reason to stay away.<br />

Sometimes, in their haste to get away from<br />

❖<br />

Above: <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s high infant<br />

mortality rate touched many<br />

prominent families as well as those<br />

who were not so well known. Mrs. E.<br />

L. Simons and daughter Doris are<br />

shown in this 1904 photograph.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Below: Maude Maddox was<br />

supervisor for A.C. Stuart<br />

Telephone Office located in the<br />

Offenhauser Building.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Chapter VI ✦ 77


❖<br />

Above: Prostitution went hand-inhand<br />

with drunkenness and crime in<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>’s Swampoodle<br />

entertainment district. Zoe LeRoy, on<br />

the right, and Kittie Stone, on the left,<br />

were two of <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s madams<br />

shown in this 1890s photograph.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Below: <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s produce<br />

warehouses on Front Street and its<br />

many restaurants and bars caused it<br />

to have a high rat population.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

startled owners’ guns, robbers took pants,<br />

suspenders, and anything attached, rather than<br />

taking the time to get only the valuables in a<br />

man’s pockets. In May of 1885, Miss Lizzie<br />

Markham’s canary and cage were stolen off of<br />

her front porch overnight when she forgot to<br />

bring them inside. Guns, jewelry, money, and<br />

clothing were taken from a judge, county<br />

officials, and local residents alike. Murder<br />

occurred when drunkenness and orneriness<br />

clashed. Men carried guns in early <strong>Texarkana</strong> to<br />

protect themselves and their families, and<br />

shooting guns on the streets during the<br />

nighttime hours was often complained about.<br />

The city drew criminals because it was so easy to<br />

skip across the state line and be out of<br />

jurisdiction where a crime was committed; it<br />

was also easy to board a train and disappear.<br />

Sometimes, prominent people were murdered,<br />

such as the shooting of Pete Dixon, a local<br />

sheriff’s deputy. Criminals shot him down<br />

because he had been very efficient at his job.<br />

An unusual crime was noted in local<br />

newspapers when Sheriff Dixon and Alderman<br />

Sweeney were looking for an escaped prisoner<br />

and dropped in on Wah Lee’s Chinese Laundry<br />

on State Line Avenue. In an area off of the back<br />

of the laundry, they found “an opium dive in full<br />

blast and nine white men laid up on wooden<br />

bunks, some asleep and others quietly smoking<br />

away.” From the surroundings it was evident<br />

that the “dive” had existed for some time.<br />

Authorities quickly broke up the dive and took<br />

Wah Lee and the nine men to jail.<br />

Over time, <strong>Texarkana</strong> gained a reputation as a<br />

“half-way house for burglars, thieves, and<br />

robbers.” Swampoodle, its entertainment district,<br />

was known far and wide for its sinful ways and<br />

unrepentant attitude. Little Rock newspapers<br />

delighted in tattling on juicy bits of gossip from<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> and local preachers ranted to<br />

their congregations that the city was<br />

“hanging over hell by the very brittle<br />

thread of life.” In truth, there was a time<br />

when the city could only be described as<br />

“wild and unruly.” However, as<br />

civilization settled into <strong>Texarkana</strong>, its<br />

wild ways were abandoned for more<br />

prosperous pursuits such as building city<br />

economies, road systems, school systems,<br />

and social networks of agencies and<br />

clubs. Ordinances were written to control<br />

those who remained unruly and courts<br />

and jails took care of those who would<br />

not reform.<br />

78 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


Today, <strong>Texarkana</strong> is much like thousands<br />

of other cities that began in the days of the<br />

railroad barons. It has grown in population,<br />

mellowed in attitude, and gained and<br />

lost important industries. It seeks a new identity<br />

that will draw entrepreneurs and businesses and<br />

it struggles with an aging infrastructure<br />

desperately in need of repair or replacement.<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> is a stable, beautiful, safe place to<br />

raise a family and grow old. It is also an exciting<br />

place to live, with industrious citizens and a<br />

bright future.<br />

❖<br />

Above: It was jail time for thieves and<br />

criminals in <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s early days.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Below: The Miller County Jail<br />

building was constructed before 1900<br />

to house <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s lawless citizens.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Chapter VI ✦ 79


❖<br />

Painting by Dean Lynn.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

80 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


SHARING THE HERITAGE<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> profiles of businesses,<br />

organizations, and families that have<br />

contributed to the development and<br />

economic base of <strong>Texarkana</strong><br />

Patriot Truck & Trailer ...................................................................82<br />

LaCrosse Hotel ...............................................................................86<br />

Dr. Mitchell Young Family................................................................90<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> Museums System..............................................................93<br />

University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences<br />

Area Health Education Center-Southwest .......................................94<br />

Kemp Bros. Body Shop, Inc. ..............................................................97<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> Arkansas School District...................................................98<br />

City of <strong>Texarkana</strong>, Texas................................................................100<br />

Shady Pines RV Center, Inc.............................................................102<br />

Texas A&M University-<strong>Texarkana</strong>....................................................104<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> Auto Body Works, Inc. ....................................................106<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> Independent School District .............................................108<br />

Commercial National Bank .............................................................110<br />

First Tape & Label ........................................................................112<br />

Liberty-Eylau Independent School District ........................................114<br />

Capital One .................................................................................116<br />

Pleasant Grove Independent School District.......................................118<br />

Miller-Bowie Supply ......................................................................120<br />

CHRISTUS St. Michael Health System ..............................................122<br />

Cooper Tire & Rubber Company ......................................................124<br />

Ashdown Mill/Domtar Industries, Inc. ..............................................126<br />

Offenhauser & Company ................................................................127<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> Public Library ...............................................................128<br />

Dunn, Nutter & Morgan, L.L.P. .......................................................129<br />

Total Healthcare of Ark-La-Tex .......................................................130<br />

Atchley, Russell, Waldrop & Hlavinka, L.L.P......................................131<br />

Southwest Arkansas Electric Cooperate REA ......................................132<br />

Bryce’s Cafeteria, Inc. ...................................................................133<br />

Miller, James, Miller & Hornsby, L.L.P. ............................................134<br />

Wadley Health System ...................................................................135<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> College.........................................................................136<br />

Sharing the Heritage ✦ 81


PATRIOT TRUCK<br />

& TRAILER<br />

❖<br />

BY DOUG<br />

CUMMINGS<br />

Above: Heber D. Hopkins, Doug’s<br />

grandfather, with truck in Civilian<br />

Conservation Corp at Pinnacles,<br />

California, 1937 at the age of twenty<br />

with friend Cecil Dillard.<br />

Below: George A Cummings, Doug’s<br />

father, delivering freight for Jones<br />

Truck Lines in Little Rock, Arkansas,<br />

January 1962.<br />

Heber D. Hopkins, George A.<br />

Cummings, Charles Cummings, Ronald<br />

Hopkins and Steve Hopkins. These may<br />

be just names to most people but for me<br />

they represent a family heritage steeped<br />

in the trucking industry and the beginning<br />

of the journey of how Patriot Truck<br />

& Trailer came into being.<br />

Heber Hopkins, my grandfather,<br />

began driving a truck when he was just<br />

thirteen years old. He retired from a distinguished<br />

driving career from Strickland<br />

Systems with over forty years of driving without<br />

a single chargeable accident. Ronald Hopkins<br />

and Steve Hopkins, two of my uncles, have also<br />

retired from the LTL (less than truckload)<br />

segment of the trucking industry. Charles<br />

Cummings, another one of my uncles who is<br />

still in the trucking business, also started and<br />

sold a trucking company as did my father,<br />

George A. Cummings. My mother, two brothers<br />

and sister and many cousins have also been<br />

involved in the trucking industry. The trucking<br />

industry has been a good and stable provider for<br />

many of our families for several generations and<br />

continues to be so.<br />

In 1980, my father, George A. Cummings,<br />

left Little Rock, Arkansas and moved to<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> with my mother and siblings and<br />

started Tri-State Delivery. He left Jones Truck<br />

Lines with a twenty-five year tenure while holding<br />

the position of terminal manager. From a<br />

very humble beginning and with modest means,<br />

my father rewrote his career and destiny at the<br />

age of forty-two.<br />

In 1981, I made the choice to rejoin my family<br />

and moved to <strong>Texarkana</strong> where I started<br />

working with my Dad in the family business.<br />

Thanks to hard work, my father’s experience<br />

and prosperous times, I was exposed to nearly<br />

every facet of a LTL operation in a short three to<br />

four year period. I performed many roles and<br />

assumed many responsibilities from forklift<br />

operator and dockhand to truck driver and<br />

dock foreman. As the company grew, the<br />

amount of equipment grew with it. Away from<br />

work, building and racing dirt track racecars<br />

was a hobby of mine and given my experience<br />

and knack for things mechanical, by default, I<br />

assumed the responsibility of servicing and<br />

repairing the company equipment in addition to<br />

other labor and driving responsibilities. In<br />

1985, we purchased a shop in order to support<br />

the growing maintenance needs of the company’s<br />

equipment. Over the years, our fleet of<br />

equipment continued to grow and we modified<br />

and/or built seventeen specialty trailers in our<br />

company shop to use exclusively for the transportation<br />

of carbon black, a key ingredient in<br />

the manufacturing process of rubber. In 1995,<br />

we participated in the startup of another company,<br />

Innovative Trailers, Inc., that went on to<br />

manufacture over 275 carbon black trailers for<br />

Tri-State Delivery. In 1997, my father sold Tri-<br />

State Delivery and retired.<br />

In 2001, with a twenty-year tenure at Tri-<br />

State Delivery and the position of executive vice<br />

president and chief operating officer and a<br />

diverse resume, I set out to start my own business,<br />

Patriot Truck and Trailer. Much like my<br />

82 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


father before me, I reshaped my career and destiny<br />

at the age of forty-two.<br />

Patriot was formed in 2002 and on January 2,<br />

2003, we opened for business at 510 Realtor<br />

Avenue, which formerly housed the local<br />

Kenworth dealership. With years of experience<br />

in the maintenance arena of the trucking industry,<br />

I enjoyed a mutual respect among many colleagues<br />

in my field. My father had purchased<br />

another trucking company, Excalibur<br />

Transportation, which was expanding and had a<br />

need for a maintenance facility therefore representing<br />

a valuable customer for a start-up operation.<br />

In addition to these relationships, my<br />

start up staff at Patriot was some of the same<br />

staff I had worked with for years while at Tri-<br />

State. My friend, and administrative assistant,<br />

Suzanne McGuire and I had worked together for<br />

fourteen years. In addition to Suzanne, my startup<br />

staff consisted of Ron Stroup, Sr., Ron<br />

Stroup, Jr., Robert Duran, Shawn Wiegref, and<br />

Chris Windham, all of whom had worked with<br />

me at TSD.<br />

The experience and work ethic combined<br />

with our fleet background in maintenance was<br />

an asset for Patriot from the beginning. While it<br />

was not our intent to try to be all things to all<br />

people, our fleet experience allows us to provide<br />

all the services associated with a fleet maintenance<br />

program and therefore be a “one-stop”<br />

service provider. Our services include, but are<br />

not limited to, truck and trailer repair for all<br />

makes and all models, alignments, tires and tire<br />

repair, air conditioning work, suspension and<br />

brake work, major repairs and overhauls as well<br />

as a full aftermarket parts department.<br />

In addition to a strong work ethic, a dedication<br />

to customer service and a family atmosphere<br />

based on Christian principles some key<br />

events early in Patriots history were as follows.<br />

When we first conceived Patriot, and before we<br />

even acquired our facility, we were able to<br />

acquire the phone number used by the previous<br />

occupier of our building, the Kenworth dealer,<br />

which proved to be one of our most successful<br />

marketing strategies. Although greatly diminished,<br />

even five years later, we still occasionally<br />

benefit from having this phone number.<br />

Secondly, in our first year of business, the Mid-<br />

Continent Truck stop located a few blocks up<br />

the road from us went out of business after more<br />

than thirty years in <strong>Texarkana</strong>, which channeled<br />

truck traffic and customers directly to our driveway.<br />

Lastly, Southern Refrigerated Transport, a<br />

local trucking company, experienced a large volume<br />

of new trucks which resulted in preparation<br />

of trade trucks in 2003. This volume of new<br />

truck and trade truck preparation led to an<br />

increase in work load for their maintenance staff<br />

and consequently, they outsourced some of this<br />

volume to Patriot Truck and Trailer. This really<br />

helped to jump start our revenues and profits. I<br />

do not know how long it would have taken us<br />

to reach the level that we did without SRT but,<br />

I do know that without the opportunity that<br />

Tony Smith the owner, Wiley Peters and Glen<br />

Rosenbaum in the shop entrusted us with, it<br />

❖<br />

Above: Ronald Hopkins and Steve<br />

Hopkins, two of Doug’s uncles, at a<br />

Jones Truck Lines reunion in<br />

Maumelle Park, Arkansas, in 1992.<br />

Below: Doug and his father with two<br />

new KW cabovers for Tri-State<br />

Delivery, <strong>Texarkana</strong>, Arkansas, 1990.<br />

Sharing the Heritage ✦ 83


❖<br />

Above: Patriots’ first Christmas<br />

Banquet 2003. In attendance were<br />

(from left to right) Shawn Wiegref,<br />

Kevin Chriestenson, Ron “JR” Stroup,<br />

Rosie Carmona, Brandon Frederick,<br />

Mike Wincher, Efren Carmona,<br />

Suzanne McGuire, Robert Duran,<br />

Amos Burt, Ron Stroup, Doug<br />

Cummings, and Allen Cummings.<br />

surely would have taken us much longer to<br />

achieve our success.<br />

At the end of 2007, we reached a milestone<br />

in the history of any company and we closed<br />

one chapter and opened a new one as we celebrated<br />

the close of our fifth year in business.<br />

During that time, we have added on to our<br />

facility twice, which tripled our warehouse<br />

area for parts and increased our shop<br />

capacity an additional fifty percent over<br />

the existing facility. We were fortunate<br />

enough to show a profit in our fourth<br />

month in business! We enjoyed a thirtyfour<br />

percent increase in revenues in our<br />

second year in business when compared to<br />

our first year and have maintained an average<br />

of a five-percent increase in revenues<br />

each subsequent year when compared to<br />

the previous year. Approximately one<br />

third of our total sales historically and<br />

even today are from cash customers.<br />

During our first five years, our top revenue<br />

customers have consistently been, in<br />

alphabetical order, B & L Metals,<br />

Excalibur Transportation Group, Johnny<br />

Johnson Trucking, Landstar, Linde Gas, M<br />

& M Milling and PNK Transportation.<br />

Many employees have come and gone in our<br />

first five years and they represent an integral<br />

part of the history of our company. Efren and<br />

Rosie Carmona, Robert Duran and Mike<br />

Wincher are prominent names that come to<br />

mind as we reflect upon our history. Four of our<br />

Right: Team Patriot and new sign in<br />

2006. Back row (from left to right):<br />

Filiberto Moya, Chris Windham, and<br />

Robert Duran. Middle row (from left<br />

to right): Tamara Williams, Coty<br />

Nipper, Gary Newcomer, Ron “JR”<br />

Stroup, Doug Cummings, Daniel<br />

Cummings, Ron Stroup, Amos Burt,<br />

and Suzanne McGuire.<br />

Kneeling (from left to right): Mike<br />

Wincher and Jon Jimenez.<br />

84 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


original start-up staff is still with the<br />

company. Our existing staff, as of<br />

our five year anniversary, consisted<br />

of Suzanne McGuire, Ron Stroup,<br />

Sr., Ron Stroup, Jr., Chris<br />

Windham, Amos Burt, Martin<br />

Marshall, Filiberto Moya, Charles<br />

Walker, Daniel Cummings, Amanda<br />

Cummings, Kristal McGuire, Dan<br />

Blatter and James Shuman.<br />

Patriot has purchased a 1.5-acre<br />

lot adjacent to our existing location<br />

and is in the process of expanding<br />

their parking in the short term<br />

while creating room for shop<br />

expansion in the future. Their experienced<br />

and devoted team with an<br />

exceptional work ethic provides the<br />

highest level of customer service<br />

while creating a work environment<br />

of which people want to be a part.<br />

This has been the key to our success<br />

during our first five years in business<br />

and will continue to be what carries us into<br />

the future.<br />

“But remember the Lord your God, for it is he<br />

who gives you the ability to produce wealth and so<br />

confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers,<br />

as it is today.”<br />

- Deuteronomy 8:18.<br />

While many events and ingredients have<br />

combined to help make Patriot Truck & Trailer<br />

a success they all would have been in vain without<br />

God having blessed our company. Just as my<br />

family before me, God’s blessings have provided<br />

our continued success in the trucking industry.<br />

I am thankful today and am confident that<br />

Patriot Truck & Trailer will continue to play a<br />

small role in the history of my family and the<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> community.<br />

“Patriot (pa’tre et) one who loves and zealously<br />

supports one’s country.”<br />

God Bless America!<br />

❖<br />

Above: Team Patriot at their five year<br />

anniversary in 2007. Standing (from<br />

left to right): Doug Cummings, Marty<br />

Marshall, Dan Blatter, Ron “JR”<br />

Stroup, Daniel Cummings, Charles<br />

“Booger” Walker, Filiberto Moya,<br />

James Shuman, and Ron Stroup.<br />

Sitting (from left to right): Chris<br />

Windham, Amanda Cummings,<br />

Suzanne McGuire, Kristal McGuire,<br />

and Amos Burt.<br />

Left: Doug Cummings and family in<br />

September 2007. Standing (from left<br />

to right); Allen and Doug. Sitting<br />

(from left to right): Rebecca, Diane,<br />

Courtney, Alexia, Stephanie, Hallie,<br />

Tamara, Melanie, and Amanda.<br />

Sharing the Heritage ✦ 85


LACROSSE<br />

HOTEL<br />

❖<br />

Above: The hotel lobby.<br />

The LaCrosse Hotel, Member of World<br />

Hotels, is located at 5100 North Stateline just<br />

inside the Arkansas/Texas border of the bi-state<br />

city of <strong>Texarkana</strong>, U.S.A.. The LaCrosse Hotel<br />

was newly renovated in 2007 and has many<br />

upscale amenities. The original building was<br />

built as a Holiday Inn in the late l970s with 210<br />

large guest rooms, a banquet facility for as many<br />

as 250 people, conference room, Olympic size<br />

indoor swimming pool, in-ground hot tub and<br />

large sauna. In October of 2003, the William<br />

and Roxann Davis Company, LLC purchased the<br />

Holiday Inn from Felcor Corporation. From that<br />

time until January 2008, it has been operated as<br />

a full-service Holiday Inn with restaurant,<br />

lounge, and meeting rooms. The Holiday Inn<br />

has been very popular with regular guests and<br />

travelers between Memphis, Little Rock, Dallas,<br />

Fayetteville and Shreveport.<br />

As of January 2008, the Holiday Inn was<br />

changed to a LaCrosse Hotel, a member of<br />

World Hotels. World Hotels has the largest<br />

membership of hotels in the world. They only<br />

accept full service hotels with a three to five<br />

Diamond rating. Airline miles are available with<br />

the airline of your choice when staying at the<br />

LaCrosse Hotel and/or twenty percent off Avis’<br />

standard car rental rates. World Hotel's motto is<br />

"Bringing Unique Hotels and People Together."<br />

The LaCrosse Hotel is centrally located and<br />

easily accessible just off I-30. It can be identified<br />

by the three large LaCrosse signs and lighted<br />

trees all around the property. There is the Link's<br />

golf course right behind the LaCrosse and free<br />

86 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


games are available at the LaCrosse Front Desk,<br />

with the golf room package.<br />

The newly renovated rooms are all furnished<br />

with a microwave, refrigerator, coffeemaker with<br />

complimentary Starbucks coffee, and iron with<br />

board, free WiFi and hard line Internet. The<br />

LaCrosse is <strong>Texarkana</strong>'s only hotel that has an<br />

enclosed recreational atrium with indoor garden<br />

and indoor heated swimming pool, hot tub that<br />

seats up to twenty people, sauna, arcade room,<br />

pool tables, children's play area, putting green,<br />

exercise/workout room and more.<br />

The LaCrosse has three banquet sections<br />

that can be opened up to one ballroom,<br />

which will hold over 225 guests. The upper<br />

and lower terrace in the enclosed atrium can<br />

hold an additional 125 guests or be rented<br />

separately depending on guests’ needs. The<br />

conference room located on the fourth floor<br />

is excellent for business meetings. It<br />

accommodates fifteen people comfortably and<br />

has a kitchen to prepare refreshments.<br />

The restaurant, Pier 51, was previously a Red<br />

Lobster. Red Lobster moved to build a stand<br />

alone restaurant. Pier 51 has kept the theme of<br />

steaks and seafood. It features many Cajun<br />

dishes such as fried alligator, crab cakes, Creole<br />

gumbo jambalaya, fried crawfish, blackened<br />

Cajun chicken, Louisiana Treasure, and<br />

L'Acadian blackened catfish, plus American<br />

steaks and seafood. The food is complimented<br />

by the delicious Starbuck's coffee. The<br />

lounge has several big screen televisions and<br />

features a large selection of wines by the glass<br />

or bottle.<br />

❖<br />

LaCrosse's spacious, elegant rooms.<br />

Sharing the Heritage ✦ 87


Pier 51 is open from 6:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.<br />

for breakfast, 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. for lunch,<br />

and 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. for dinner, 11:00<br />

p.m. on the weekends.<br />

Being a full-service hotel means that they<br />

have room service for breakfast, lunch and<br />

dinner served from the Pier<br />

51 Restaurant.<br />

The Holiday Inn,<br />

recently changed to a<br />

LaCrosse Hotel, has been a<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> landmark for<br />

thirty years. It is the only<br />

full service hotel in<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>, Arkansas, and<br />

continues to maintain its<br />

great reputation of Southern<br />

hospitality, welcoming<br />

guests to a warm<br />

atmosphere with a lobby<br />

greeter to assist guests with<br />

their luggage, directions to<br />

hotel facilities, or directions to <strong>Texarkana</strong><br />

attractions. <strong>Historic</strong> downtown features the<br />

beautifully restored Perot Theatre, Union Station,<br />

Regional Arts Center, Museum of Regional<br />

History, and the unique Photographers Island,<br />

where visitors can stand with one foot in Arkansas<br />

88 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


and the other firmly in Texas. The LaCrosse hotel<br />

is also centrally located near many large area<br />

businesses including Cooper Tire, <strong>Texarkana</strong><br />

Regional Airport, Lone Star Ammunition Plant,<br />

Red River Army Depot, DOMTAR Industries, and<br />

International Paper. For more information about<br />

the LaCrosse Hotel or to make reservations, please<br />

visit www.lacrosse-hotel.com.<br />

❖<br />

Below: LaCrosse's exquisite<br />

banquet room.<br />

Sharing the Heritage ✦ 89


DR. MITCHELL<br />

YOUNG FAMILY<br />

❖<br />

Above: The Young Family. Back row<br />

(from left to right): Dr. Matt Young,<br />

Dr. Mark Young, Dr. Mitchell Young,<br />

Donna Young, Dr. Mike Young, and<br />

Mary Ellen Young. Front row (from<br />

left to right): Dr. Patrick Young, Dr.<br />

Tom Young, Dr. David Young, and Dr.<br />

Chris Young. Not pictured: Lesa<br />

Young and Dr. John Young.<br />

Below: All Eagle Scouts: Dr. Mitchell<br />

Young and his sons. Back row (from<br />

left to right): Chris, Matt, and David.<br />

Front row (from left to right): Pat,<br />

Mike, Dr. Mitchell Young, John, and<br />

Mark. Not pictured: Tom.<br />

Born of strong Scottish and Irish descent in<br />

1928 at St. Michael Hospital in <strong>Texarkana</strong>,<br />

Arkansas, Mitchell Michael Young began<br />

working at an early age with a paper route for<br />

the <strong>Texarkana</strong> Gazette for four years. He<br />

attended Sacred Heart Catholic School where at<br />

the age of twelve he joined Boy Scout Troop 3.<br />

Shortly thereafter, he served on the aquatic staff<br />

for five years at Camp Pioneer near Mena,<br />

Arkansas, where he taught swimming,<br />

lifesaving, canoeing, and rowing.<br />

At age fourteen, Young and two other camp<br />

counselors rode their bicycles over one hundred<br />

miles to Camp Pioneer from <strong>Texarkana</strong>. From<br />

camp on Sundays, he would ride his bike to<br />

Mena to attend mass at the Catholic Church. He<br />

earned the character award from the Order of<br />

the Arrow and served as chief of the Order of<br />

the Arrow in 1944 and 1945. He then received<br />

his Eagle Scout Award in which twenty-one<br />

merit badges were required; however, Young<br />

eagerly earned seventy-two badges and ten<br />

palms. His scouting experience and his belief in<br />

the Scout Oath soon became a way of life.<br />

Young attended Texas High School and<br />

played football and tennis and served as Senior<br />

Class President. He graduated in 1945 and went<br />

on to the University of Arkansas where he<br />

played football, tennis, ran track, and boxed. He<br />

turned down a football scholarship to focus on<br />

his pre-med studies and worked in the school<br />

cafeteria to help pay his way through school.<br />

Young graduated in 1949 with a degree in premedicine<br />

and was accepted to the University of<br />

Arkansas for Medical Sciences–College of<br />

Medicine in Little Rock.<br />

While attending medical school, Young<br />

worked as the Red Cross Aquatic Program<br />

Director. He taught swimming, lifesaving, and<br />

water safety lessons at the College Hill<br />

swimming pool and at <strong>Texarkana</strong> Country Club<br />

as well as demonstrated lifesaving techniques at<br />

Camp Pioneer Boy Scout Camp and Camp High<br />

Point Girl Scout Camp. As the Aquatics Director<br />

at <strong>Texarkana</strong> Country Club, Young also directed<br />

aquacades for the <strong>Texarkana</strong> area. After rescuing<br />

a man and his grandson from drowning in the<br />

lake at <strong>Texarkana</strong> Country Club, he received a<br />

90 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


National Certificate of Merit from the American<br />

Red Cross, which is now locally known as the<br />

Dr. Mitchell Young Award. He also wrote water<br />

safety articles for the <strong>Texarkana</strong> Gazette.<br />

In 1953, Young moved to St. Louis, Missouri,<br />

for his Surgical Residency at St. Louis City<br />

Hospital where he later met Donna Joan Koch, a<br />

nursing student and resident of St. Louis (of<br />

Finnish and German descent). After only dating<br />

six months, Young proposed, and he and Donna<br />

soon began their life together.<br />

In 1955, Young was called into the United<br />

States Air Force to serve two years in Bangkok,<br />

Thailand. Being the only medical officer in<br />

Thailand, Young served JUSMAG as a first<br />

lieutenant before a promotion to the rank of<br />

captain. He was awarded the Legion of Merit<br />

medal for his exemplary military service.<br />

During his two years in Thailand, Young also<br />

implemented a water safety program, taught<br />

swimming lessons, and directed aquacades at<br />

the Royal Bangkok Sports Club. Dr. Mitchell<br />

and Donna Young began their family with the<br />

birth of their first son in Thailand.<br />

Returning to the United States, the Young<br />

family then moved to Texas where Dr. Young<br />

continued his surgical residency at Parkland<br />

Hospital in Dallas.<br />

After completing his residency in 1960, the<br />

Youngs returned to <strong>Texarkana</strong> in 1961 where<br />

Dr. Young began his private practice as a general<br />

surgeon. Dr. Young operated at Christus St.<br />

Michael Hospital and Wadley Regional Medical<br />

Center and served as chief of staff twice at<br />

Christus St. Michael Hospital as well as Medical<br />

Arts Hospital. Dr. Young practiced medicine<br />

from 1961 to 2000 in <strong>Texarkana</strong>.<br />

The Young’s have ten children—two<br />

daughters and eight<br />

sons. All eight boys<br />

are Eagle Scouts,<br />

and the girls are<br />

Girl Scout Gold<br />

Award Recipients.<br />

Dr. Young also<br />

received the Silver<br />

Beaver Award, the<br />

Silver Antelope<br />

Award, and the<br />

Distinguished Eagle<br />

Award in Scouting.<br />

Dr. Young served<br />

on the <strong>Texarkana</strong><br />

ISD School Board<br />

for twelve years and,<br />

while serving as the<br />

❖<br />

Above: Dr. Mitchell Young treating a<br />

young Thai boy in Bangkok, Thailand.<br />

Below: Texarkanian gets Legion of<br />

Merit. On March 26, 1957, Dr.<br />

Mitchell Young, right, a former<br />

captain in the USAF Medical Corps is<br />

awarded the Legion of Merit by<br />

Brigadier General Nils O. Ohman,<br />

commander of the 19th Air Division,<br />

Carswell AFB. Dr. Young's award<br />

was for meritorious service in<br />

Thailand from June 15, 1955-<br />

February 26, 1957, as a doctor with<br />

Detachment Two, 1173rd Foreign<br />

Mission Squadron.<br />

Sharing the Heritage ✦ 91


❖<br />

Above: Dr. Mitchell and Donna Young<br />

on their farm in Leary, Texas.<br />

Bottom, left: Lesa Young.<br />

president of the school board, TISD was<br />

named the “Best School Board” in the State<br />

of Texas. The Youngs attended St. Edward<br />

Catholic Church where they remain as<br />

parishioners today.<br />

Today, the Dr. Mitchell Young Family<br />

continues the proud legacy of service and caring<br />

into the twenty-first century. Dr. Young passed<br />

away on January 24, 2008. He was a retired<br />

general surgeon in <strong>Texarkana</strong>. Donna Koch<br />

Young is a housewife and mother of ten in<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>. Michael Joseph Young, M.D., is an<br />

orthopedic surgeon in Hot Springs, Arkansas.<br />

Mark David Young, M.D., is an orthopedic<br />

surgeon in Dallas. Lesa Ann Young is a<br />

registered nurse in Benton, Arkansas. Thomas<br />

Christopher Young, M.D., is an orthopedic<br />

surgeon in <strong>Texarkana</strong>. Mary Ellen Young is an<br />

associate English professor in <strong>Texarkana</strong>. David<br />

Matthew Young, M.D., is a family practice<br />

physician in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Christopher<br />

Mitchell Young, M.D., is an orthopedic surgeon<br />

in Hot Springs, Arkansas. John Patrick Young,<br />

M.D., is an orthopedic surgeon in Birmingham,<br />

Alabama. Matthew Stephen Young, M.D., is an<br />

emergency room physician in <strong>Texarkana</strong>.<br />

Patrick Hunter Young, D.V.M., is an equine<br />

veterinarian in Washington, Oklahoma.<br />

Once named “Outstanding Parents” by the<br />

State of Arkansas, Dr. and Mrs. Young recently<br />

welcomed their twenty-sixth grandchild, thus<br />

continuing a powerful family heritage that has<br />

been built upon a strong faith in God, an<br />

emphasis on family and education, and lives<br />

lived by the Scout Law.<br />

Bottom, right: Dr. John Young.<br />

92 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


In 1966 a group of local citizens established<br />

the <strong>Texarkana</strong> <strong>Historic</strong>al Society and subsequently<br />

opened the <strong>Texarkana</strong> <strong>Historic</strong>al<br />

Museum in 1971. The Museum, in the city’s oldest<br />

brick building, built in 1879, was first home<br />

to Hake’s Bank and later known as the<br />

Offenhauser Insurance Building.<br />

Museum exhibits focus on the history of<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> and the Four States Region while fulfilling<br />

the mission to collect, preserve and present<br />

the history of <strong>Texarkana</strong>, Texas and<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>, Arkansas, as well as the four states of<br />

Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Louisiana.<br />

With the addition of two more museums, the<br />

Draughon-Moore Ace of Clubs House, obtained<br />

in 1985, and Discovery Place Children’s<br />

Museum in 1990, the Society changed its name<br />

to the <strong>Texarkana</strong> Museums System in 1993.<br />

The much anticipated opening of the<br />

Draughon-Moore Ace of Clubs House (1885) as<br />

a museum occurred in 1988. The Italianate-<br />

Victorian home, with its unique octagonal rooms<br />

forming a club-like design, offers docent guided<br />

tours throughout the year. It has been featured<br />

numerous times on local and national television,<br />

including one of an elite selection among Bob<br />

Vila’s Guide to <strong>Historic</strong> Homes of America and<br />

HGTV’s Christmas Castles for its original furnishings,<br />

lavish décor and holiday spirit.<br />

Discovery Place Children’s Museum is now<br />

one of the region’s most popular museums offering<br />

hands-on science and history education. A<br />

complete updating occurred in 1994 with an<br />

initial gift from the Junior League of <strong>Texarkana</strong><br />

and numerous other generous supporters. It has<br />

since welcomed an average of fifteen thousand<br />

school children annually. An original twelvefoot<br />

sound wall, dress-up theater, living science<br />

lab and numerous other learning activities make<br />

it a favorite among families.<br />

The growth of the <strong>Texarkana</strong> Museums<br />

System demanded improvements and expansion<br />

of exhibits at the <strong>Texarkana</strong> <strong>Historic</strong>al Museum.<br />

In 2001 the Museum became the Museum of<br />

Regional History with additional permanent displays<br />

and quarterly rotating exhibits using the<br />

museum’s collection of over thirty-five thousand<br />

artifacts from prehistory to the twentieth century.<br />

Greater access and availability of archival<br />

holdings within the Wilbur Smith Research<br />

Library and Archives of books, newspapers,<br />

maps, blueprints and over twelve thousand<br />

photographs was also established. The ever<br />

growing collections of the <strong>Texarkana</strong> Museums<br />

System include decorative arts, industrial and<br />

agricultural objects, military items and textiles.<br />

The Museum of Regional History and the Ace<br />

of Clubs House are listed on the National<br />

Register of <strong>Historic</strong> Places and the Texas<br />

Recorded <strong>Historic</strong>al Landmarks. The three<br />

museums of the <strong>Texarkana</strong> Museums System are<br />

among the less than ten percent accredited by<br />

the American Association of Museums.<br />

Approximately sixty thousand visit annually<br />

with thousands taking advantage of opportunity<br />

at the annual Quadrangle Street Festival held in<br />

the heart of downtown on the state line.<br />

Additional information is available at<br />

www.texarkanamuseums.org, or by visiting the<br />

museum at 219 North State Line Avenue in<br />

downtown <strong>Texarkana</strong>, Texas.<br />

TEXARKANA<br />

MUSEUMS<br />

SYSTEM<br />

❖<br />

Top, left: Bank of <strong>Texarkana</strong>/Hake’s<br />

Bank in 1879. The structure would<br />

later be expanded and housed the<br />

Offenhauser Insurance Company.<br />

Above: The Offenhauser Insurance<br />

Company, c. 1900.<br />

Below: Bustling downtown <strong>Texarkana</strong><br />

c. 1942. Intersection of State Line<br />

Avenue and Broad Street Museum of<br />

Regional History in background.<br />

Sharing the Heritage ✦ 93


UNIVERSITY OF<br />

ARKANSAS FOR<br />

MEDICAL<br />

SCIENCES AREA<br />

HEALTH<br />

EDUCATION<br />

CENTER-<br />

SOUTHWEST<br />

❖<br />

A UAMS CHRP respiratory care<br />

student takes vital signs during her<br />

clinical rotation at Arkansas<br />

Children’s Hospital.<br />

To address the decline in primary care<br />

physicians and health-related professionals<br />

during the 1950s and ’60s, the University of<br />

Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) began<br />

the Arkansas Area Health Education Center<br />

(AHEC) program in 1973, through the<br />

combined efforts of then-governor Dale<br />

Bumpers and the state Legislature. As the state’s<br />

only comprehensive academic health sciences<br />

campus, UAMS sought to expand its education<br />

outreach efforts by decentralizing medical and<br />

health-related professions education through<br />

the AHEC program. Six AHECs were established<br />

from 1973-1976 across the state, including<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>. The AHEC program focused on<br />

training more primary care physicians and<br />

retaining more graduates of health-related<br />

professions to practice throughout the state.<br />

Currently, eight AHECs operate under UAMS<br />

Regional Programs to further the efforts of<br />

expanding medical and healthcare education.<br />

UAMS AHEC-Southwest (UAMS AHEC-SW)<br />

was established in July 1976 in collaboration<br />

with the Sisters of Charity St. Michael Hospital.<br />

UAMS AHEC-SW opened as a medical library<br />

on the fifth floor of St. Michael Hospital,<br />

providing access to medical monographs and<br />

journals for physicians and health-related<br />

professionals. In 1982 the medical library<br />

moved to the Michael Meagner Building to<br />

expand its services. As more programs were<br />

added, more space was needed. In 1992 several<br />

programs relocated to the current campus (the<br />

historic Southern Clinic building), leaving the<br />

medical library and cancer registry at the<br />

Michael Meagner building. UAMS AHEC-SW<br />

and Southern Clinic operated jointly from the<br />

300 East Sixth street building until 1995, at<br />

which time, Southern Clinic relocated to the<br />

new St. Michael campus north of Interstate 30.<br />

Renovations began on the old Southern Clinic<br />

facility, allowing all UAMS AHEC-SW programs<br />

to relocate to the current campus. Today,<br />

UAMS AHEC-SW is home to three UAMS<br />

colleges, four primary care clinics, a regional<br />

cancer registry, community outreach programs,<br />

and the <strong>Texarkana</strong> Regional Center on Aging.<br />

UAMS AHEC-SW strives to incorporate the<br />

UAMS mission—“Teaching, Healing, Searching<br />

and Serving.”<br />

The UAMS College of Health Related<br />

Professions offers six degrees through UAMS<br />

AHEC-SW. These programs include Medical<br />

Technology, Respiratory Care, Radiologic<br />

Imaging Sciences, Nuclear Medicine Imaging<br />

Sciences, Diagnostic Medical Sonography and<br />

94 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


Health Information Management. These<br />

programs are available at the UAMS AHEC-SW<br />

campus, as well as through interactive video.<br />

The two local hospitals, CHRISTUS ST. Michael<br />

Health System and Wadley Health System, serve<br />

as clinical sites for the CHRP programs. In<br />

addition, students also have clinical rotations<br />

through smaller surrounding community<br />

hospitals, as well as UAMS and Arkansas<br />

Children’s Hospital in Little Rock.<br />

The UAMS College of Nursing Program<br />

was established in 1989. The college began<br />

providing graduate nursing education to the<br />

four states area in 1992 and the RN to<br />

BSN program in 1994. In 1999 the UAMS<br />

Off-Campus BSN program was established at<br />

the University of Arkansas Community College<br />

at Hope. Since that time the program has<br />

produced 50 RN-BSN, 88 MNSc-RNs, and<br />

154 BSNs through our partnership with the<br />

Hope program. Sixty-four percent of the<br />

BSN-RN graduates and 74 percent of the<br />

MNSc graduates are currently working in the<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> region.<br />

The UAMS College of Medicine Family<br />

Medicine Residency program began in 1993.<br />

Since that time the program has graduated 74<br />

family medicine physicians; 47 are currently<br />

working in Arkansas and 15 are working in<br />

Texas. The program started in order to supply<br />

the area with family medicine physicians.<br />

Residents gain experience by providing care to<br />

patients through the Southwest Family Practice<br />

Clinic at UAMS AHEC-SW. Residents rotate<br />

through both local hospitals to gain hands-on<br />

experience. In addition, the program also<br />

provides one-month rotations for current UAMS<br />

junior medical students to gain experience in<br />

family medicine.<br />

In addition to the Southwest Family Practice<br />

Clinic, UAMS AHEC-SW provides primary care<br />

through the Faculty Clinic and “All For Kids”<br />

Pediatric Clinic. The Faculty Clinic opened in<br />

2003, allowing faculty physicians to continue<br />

seeing their private-care patients while<br />

precepting the resident physicians. In 2004 the<br />

“All For Kids” opened its doors to fulfill a<br />

community need for pediatric care. “All For<br />

Kids” provides primary care for children<br />

newborn to eighteen years of age, well-child<br />

checkups for newborns and infants, and<br />

cardiology and endocrine specialists in<br />

association with Arkansas Children’s Hospital.<br />

In total, all three clinics serve over twenty<br />

thousand patients per year. In August 2008 the<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> Community Clinic joined UAMS<br />

AHEC-SW to serve additional patients in need<br />

of a medical home.<br />

The medical library provides up-to-date<br />

medical information and research to the<br />

❖<br />

High school students learn about chest<br />

x-rays during the summer M*A*S*H<br />

program held at UAMS AHEC-SW.<br />

Sharing the Heritage ✦ 95


❖<br />

A resident physician provides care to<br />

a patient at the Southwest Family<br />

Practice Clinic at UAMS AHEC-SW.<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> area. Over the years, the library<br />

has not only expanded in space, but also in<br />

the range of services. In the beginning,<br />

physicians primarily utilized the library to<br />

request research or journal articles and have<br />

copies delivered to their offices via mail. Most<br />

journal requests are now researched on the<br />

Internet, and any loaned materials from other<br />

libraries can be sent via e-mail. Additionally, a<br />

small consumer health section provides books<br />

and videos for patients and the community to<br />

view and gain valuable health information at<br />

no cost.<br />

The UAMS AHEC-SW cancer registry is a<br />

joint project between Wadley Health System<br />

and CHRISTUS St. Michael Health System to<br />

track and monitor cancer cases in the <strong>Texarkana</strong><br />

area. This information is used to improve<br />

treatments of cancer as and for medical<br />

research. Breast cancer treatment statistics from<br />

the cancer registry have been used to educate<br />

physicians on the benefits of lumpectomies<br />

versus mastectomies. The cancer registry has<br />

also served as a model to other registries,<br />

particularly the formation of a national cancer<br />

registry for Japan.<br />

To respond to the growing needs of its<br />

service area, UAMS AHEC-SW established a<br />

community outreach department in 2002.<br />

This department provides health-related<br />

services and programs to the area primarily<br />

through grant-related projects. Projects include<br />

a community-based tobacco prevention<br />

education, breast health education and<br />

services, diabetes education and heart disease<br />

prevention education.<br />

In 1990, UAMS AHEC-SW adopted the<br />

Medical Applications of Science for Health<br />

(M*A*S*H) to provide a health careers pipeline<br />

for the <strong>Texarkana</strong> area. This two-week summer<br />

program allows high school students to explore<br />

multiple health careers while connecting<br />

classroom math and science skills to everyday<br />

activities. Additionally, M*A*S*H emphasizes<br />

the need for students to complete a healthcare<br />

education, and then practice in a rural area in<br />

need of trained professionals. M*A*S*H<br />

currently takes place at the UAMS AHEC-SW<br />

campus and at Howard Memorial Hospital in<br />

Nashville, Arkansas.<br />

UAMS AHEC-SW continues to lead health<br />

and medical education in the four states area by<br />

teaching through its educational programs,<br />

healing through its clinics, searching through<br />

the medical library and cancer registry and<br />

serving through multiple outreach programs.<br />

96 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


Luke and Wiely Kemp have always<br />

loved cars and, after spending most of<br />

their youth working at Frank Sangalli’s<br />

garage, it felt only natural when their<br />

passion for cars followed them into<br />

adulthood. With a small loan they<br />

decided to start their own auto repair<br />

business with their older brother Mo in<br />

1970 and Kemp Bros. Body Shop, Inc.<br />

opened its doors.<br />

It has now been almost forty years<br />

since the shop opened and it still stands at the<br />

original location, 2007 Texas Boulevard. Over<br />

the years there have been several additions to<br />

the shop and, today, Kemp Bros. Body Shop,<br />

Inc., boasts well over thirteen thousand square<br />

feet of space to serve its customers.<br />

Extremely proud of their team of<br />

professionals and superior craftsmanship, Kemp<br />

Bros. Body Shop, Inc., technicians apply years<br />

of experience, knowledge, and judgment to<br />

expertly restore vehicles to precondition. Each<br />

technician is also individually certified through<br />

accredited training programs. The experienced<br />

and trained staff will provide a quality repair<br />

and assist in the claims process. By working<br />

with over ten direct repair insurance companies,<br />

Kemp Bros. can make its customers’ experience<br />

hassle-free.<br />

As a family business, Kemp Bros. Body<br />

Shop, Inc., takes great pride in every job that<br />

leaves the shop, and, after almost forty years,<br />

they still have a passion for what they do<br />

everyday. Among their favorite quotes, “U Bend<br />

Em. We Mend Em.”, still says it all. Kemp Bros.<br />

uses only the latest and best equipment and<br />

paints to make sure all auto body repairs are<br />

done right the first time. You can trust Kemp<br />

Bros. Body Shop, Inc., for all your auto body<br />

repair needs.<br />

Stop by Kemp Bros. Body Shop, Inc., Monday<br />

through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., or<br />

visit www.kempbrosbodyshop.com.<br />

KEMP BROS.<br />

BODY SHOP,<br />

INC.<br />

Sharing the Heritage ✦ 97


TEXARKANA<br />

ARKANSAS<br />

SCHOOL<br />

DISTRICT<br />

For several years after its creation in 1873,<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> had no public schools. A number of<br />

private schools, however, were almost<br />

immediately established and operated in the<br />

Railroad Conductors’ Hall. The conductors’ hall<br />

served as several one-room schools by day, and by<br />

evening, the hall served the railroad conductors’<br />

dining, entertainment, and social needs.<br />

The first public school facility in <strong>Texarkana</strong>,<br />

Arkansas, was built in the 1880s. The school<br />

was located near Fifth and Walnut Streets and<br />

was probably the first facility of what eventually<br />

became the <strong>Texarkana</strong> Arkansas School District<br />

(TASD). This building burned in 1885 and was<br />

rebuilt at Fifth and Beech in 1886.<br />

In 1896 a building was opened to include<br />

grades eight and nine, “higher levels of<br />

instruction.” The first graduating class of eleven<br />

students graduated in 1899. In 1904 a new<br />

elementary school building was constructed<br />

replacing the 1886 building. The new building<br />

was the spacious, red brick, metallic-domed,<br />

two-story Central Ward School. After opening<br />

Central Ward, a four-year elementary school,<br />

Fairview, was constructed at Tenth and Garland<br />

Streets. This Fairview campus was short lived;<br />

in 1919 another Fairview campus was<br />

constructed at Sixteenth and Garland.<br />

Meanwhile, the high school continued to be<br />

housed in the smaller classroom building on the<br />

block with Central Ward.<br />

A continuing increase in student population<br />

had underscored the need for the Central Ward<br />

School. In 1911 the need for even more facilities<br />

brought about another major building project,<br />

the new Arkansas Senior High. In 1914 the first<br />

junior high in the state, <strong>Texarkana</strong> Arkansas<br />

Junior High, was begun in the original Fairview<br />

Elementary building.<br />

By 1918 the <strong>Texarkana</strong> Arkansas School<br />

District included Arkansas High, Arkansas<br />

Junior High, and Central Ward, Fairview,<br />

Union, and College Hill Elementary Schools.<br />

For almost one hundred years, the schools<br />

of <strong>Texarkana</strong> were segregated, and “colored”<br />

school campuses included Ash Street High, Orr<br />

Elementary, and College Hill Elementary.<br />

The first school for black students was Orr<br />

located on Laurel Street. American composer<br />

and Pulitzer Prize winner Scott Joplin attended<br />

Orr. Booker T. Washington High School opened<br />

in 1925. Eventually, elementary and junior<br />

grades were added. In the 1950s the elementary<br />

grades were moved, and Booker T. Washington<br />

became a stand-alone high school. After<br />

integration, Booker T. Washington became the<br />

district’s middle school campus.<br />

Jefferson Avenue Junior High was built at<br />

Twelfth and Jefferson in 1950. That same year, a<br />

new gymnasium was constructed just north of<br />

Jefferson Avenue Junior High campus and south<br />

of Buhrman Field that was established in 1927<br />

98 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


on land donated by the W. J. Buhrman Family.<br />

Two years later, construction would be<br />

underway next to the gym on a new senior<br />

high school.<br />

In 1953 a major change occurred with the<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> Arkansas School District—the<br />

district consolidated with the North Heights<br />

School District. The North Heights District was<br />

comprised of the North Heights Senior High,<br />

Junior High, and elementary school, all located<br />

at Thirty-fifth and Garland Streets. Home<br />

Economics and Agricultural buildings were also<br />

located on the high school campus. The district<br />

also had three other campuses. Separate<br />

“colored” and “white” elementary campuses<br />

were located in Mandeville, and the third<br />

campus was East Heights Elementary at a site<br />

near the present location of the <strong>Texarkana</strong><br />

Regional Airport.<br />

A major facilitator in the <strong>Texarkana</strong> and<br />

North Heights consolidation decision was the<br />

construction of a new Arkansas High School in<br />

1953. With consolidation the new high school<br />

would serve all the senior high students<br />

including those that formerly had attended<br />

North Heights. The former North Heights High<br />

School building at Thirty-fifth and Garland<br />

continued to house junior high students for<br />

many years after consolidation. In 2002 the<br />

building was torn down.<br />

In the 1955-56 school year, Carver was<br />

built at 2300 Preston Street, and a “new<br />

Union” campus opened at Line Ferry Road and<br />

Euclid Streets. That same year, Central<br />

Elementary closed and moved to the Tenth and<br />

Hickory campus.<br />

In 1957, three elementary schools were<br />

added: College Hill, Kilpatrick, and W. T.<br />

Daniels. In 1966, College Hill Junior High<br />

(CHJH) was built at 1600 Forrest Street.<br />

Integration occurred during the 1969-70<br />

school year, and major realignment of the<br />

school district happened around this time.<br />

In 1971, North Heights Junior High (NHJH)<br />

was built, and all junior high students attended<br />

either CHJH or NHJH. The Jefferson Avenue<br />

Junior High building was annexed into the<br />

Arkansas High campus. Also in 1971, Razorback<br />

Stadium was introduced.<br />

In 1983, Trice Elementary was built to satisfy<br />

the northern development of the city. In 1992,<br />

Fairview Elementary burned and was rebuilt<br />

in 1993.<br />

In 2006 several new facilities were added to<br />

the district. A new Arkansas High building was<br />

added at its existing site allowing half of the<br />

outdated 1953 building to be closed. Athletics<br />

received a new field house and turf at Razorback<br />

Stadium, and a new administration building<br />

was built.<br />

In the 2005-06 school year, <strong>Texarkana</strong><br />

Arkansas School District adopted the magnet<br />

school concept for kindergarten through<br />

eighth grades. After a community survey<br />

was conducted on thematic studies, each<br />

elementary campus was assigned its own unique<br />

theme. The magnet themes became the<br />

springboards for a variety of hands-on learning<br />

experiences that engaged the students and<br />

tapped into the natural intelligences of each<br />

student. Students in fifth through eighth grades<br />

continued their studies into thematic academies<br />

at College Hill Middle School and North<br />

Heights Junior High.<br />

Today, TASD continues to educate through<br />

the magnet school concept with 4,427 students<br />

enrolled at Arkansas Senior High, North Heights<br />

Junior High, College Hill Middle School, and<br />

the following elementary campuses: College<br />

Hill International Baccalaureate, Fairview<br />

Environmental Science for the Space Age,<br />

Kilpatrick Math/Science and Wellness, Trice<br />

Performing Arts, and Union Communications<br />

and Literary Arts.<br />

Additional information is available on<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> Arkansas School District at<br />

www.txk.k12.ar.us.<br />

Sharing the Heritage ✦ 99


CITY OF<br />

TEXARKANA,<br />

TEXAS<br />

❖<br />

Above: City of <strong>Texarkana</strong>, Texas<br />

Interstate 30 Corridor Construction.<br />

Below: Christus St. Michael<br />

Health System in the heart of the<br />

Medical District.<br />

The City of <strong>Texarkana</strong>, Texas is the<br />

transportation, commercial, and industrial<br />

center for this Texas-Arkansas area, as well as<br />

the hub for portions of Oklahoma and<br />

Louisiana; it is also the educational, cultural and<br />

medical center of the metropolitan area.<br />

This thriving city is located at the junction of<br />

Interstate 30 and US Highways 59, 67, 71, and<br />

82 in extreme northeast Texas on the Texas-<br />

Arkansas border and is experiencing phenomenal<br />

growth along the Interstate 30 corridor.<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> was named number two on Forbes’ list<br />

of America’s Fastest Growing Metropolitan Areas<br />

and is expected to show a 28.57 percent increase<br />

in its gross metropolitan product.<br />

The City of <strong>Texarkana</strong>, Texas is a Home Rule<br />

city and operates under the Council/Manager<br />

form of government. The City Council consists<br />

of a Mayor elected at large and six Council<br />

Members elected by ward for two-year staggered<br />

terms. The City Manager serves as the Chief<br />

Executive Officer and oversees the overall<br />

budget and operations of the city’s departments.<br />

Public safety is a key component of the city’s<br />

department structure, which includes the Police<br />

and Fire Department, as well as Regional<br />

Emergency Management. The Police Department<br />

presently employs ninety-eight officers. The<br />

Department consists of the Uniform Services<br />

Division, Investigative Services Division,<br />

Support Services Division, and Administrative<br />

Services. The officers are provided well equipped<br />

patrol units, including mobile data computers,<br />

modern weapons, and state-of-the-art radios.<br />

The Fire Department is divided functionally<br />

into four divisions, which consists of<br />

Administration, Operations, Prevention, and<br />

Training and Safety. All uniformed personnel in<br />

all divisions are certified through the Texas<br />

Department of Health to provide emergency<br />

medical care. Most are certified as Emergency<br />

Medical Technicians (EMT).<br />

The city is the regional medical center for a<br />

population of more than 400,000 within a 60-<br />

mile radius of the community, serving a 20-<br />

county area. Two acute care hospitals, totaling<br />

over 700 beds, are staffed by more than 3,150<br />

healthcare professionals. The <strong>Texarkana</strong> medical<br />

community is equipped to treat virtually every<br />

100 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


major medical condition and is serviced by both<br />

ground and air transport.<br />

The city has 13 parks totaling 522 acres.<br />

There are nineteen athletic fields, nine picnic<br />

pavilions and five lakes. The Southwest<br />

Recreation Center provides ongoing activities as<br />

well as four lighted tennis courts. The Collins<br />

Memorial Senior Citizens Center also provides<br />

ongoing activities for the seniors in our area.<br />

The Parks Department continues to increase its<br />

inventory of physical assets annually. The<br />

Bringle Lake Regional Park is a 157-acre park<br />

located on Bringle Lake. It has thirty-three acres<br />

developed with playground equipment, walking<br />

trails, two pavilions, two tennis courts, a<br />

basketball court, and volleyball courts. It also<br />

features a fishing dock, boat landing and a fish<br />

cleaning station. The remaining 124 acres has<br />

been designated as the Bringle Lake Wilderness<br />

Area. It includes a trail, canoe landing, and two<br />

primitive campsites. In addition, an eighteen<br />

hole, world-class golf course is located on the<br />

Bringle Lake property.<br />

The City of <strong>Texarkana</strong>, Texas, is home<br />

to Texas A&M University-<strong>Texarkana</strong> and<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> Community College. Currently, the<br />

university is in the process of building a new<br />

campus adjoining Bringle Lake on the north<br />

side of the city. The city donated over threehundred-plus<br />

acres of land to make this project<br />

possible. This will be the first four-year<br />

university to be located in<br />

the <strong>Texarkana</strong> area. It is<br />

expected that this expansion<br />

will contribute significantly<br />

to the city’s continued<br />

economic growth.<br />

The city’s economic base<br />

is broadly diversified.<br />

Manufacturing has shown a<br />

steady increase over the past<br />

30 years and approximately<br />

70 percent of new jobs have<br />

come from the expansion of<br />

existing industry. Strong<br />

retail sales in <strong>Texarkana</strong>,<br />

Texas have continued<br />

throughout the years, contributing<br />

to a continued<br />

increase in sales tax revenue.<br />

An influx of new hotel<br />

construction has continued to boost the city’s<br />

hotel/motel tax revenue, enabling the city to<br />

promote tourism. From January 2007 through<br />

December 2007, 663 building permits were<br />

issued, with a construction cost totaling over<br />

$36 million.<br />

The City of <strong>Texarkana</strong>, Texas, is proud of its<br />

economic growth and looks forward to even<br />

greater things in its future. For more<br />

information about the city and its departments,<br />

visit www.ci.texarkana.tx.us/ourcity.<br />

❖<br />

Above: City of <strong>Texarkana</strong>, Texas<br />

Municipal Building.<br />

Below: Texas A&M University-<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> construction adjoining<br />

Bringle Lake.<br />

Sharing the Heritage ✦ 101


SHADY PINES<br />

RV CENTER,<br />

INC.<br />

Shady Pines Trailer Sales, Inc., began as a<br />

hobby for Lavada Jones in 1967 when she was<br />

searching for something to do while she stayed<br />

home with her two young daughters, Pam and<br />

Paula. Her husband, Leroy, traveled for a living<br />

but would always find his way home on the<br />

weekends to spend time with the family.<br />

Lavada began the business by simply selling<br />

travel trailers from her front yard. Pam and Paula<br />

would use the trailers for playhouses and, on<br />

occasion, when a customer was given a tour of a<br />

trailer, the sofa would be piled with their dolls.<br />

When playtime was over, Pam and Paula received<br />

a nickel for each trailer they cleaned. When a unit<br />

was sold, the girls would entertain the customers<br />

by playing the piano while their mother prepared<br />

the bill of sale at their<br />

dining room table.<br />

Lavada managed<br />

the business during<br />

the week with the<br />

help of her father,<br />

Collen Jones, and<br />

Leroy helped when<br />

he returned home<br />

on Fridays. There<br />

were no set business<br />

hours since the<br />

sales property was<br />

right outside their<br />

front door.<br />

After the business outgrew the front yard,<br />

Leroy and Lavada purchased the land next door<br />

at 9956 West Seventh Street, Highway 67 South,<br />

just six miles from the <strong>Texarkana</strong> city limits.<br />

This property is still home to the company’s<br />

sales and service departments.<br />

When the business was founded, the inventory<br />

consisted of two Shasta travel trailers. The first<br />

trailer sold was a thirteen-foot Shasta for $995. A<br />

twenty-one-foot travel trailer was a long trailer in<br />

those days. A transport truck could bring five<br />

small thirteen-foot trailers at one time. Windows<br />

and sleeping space were the most important<br />

features in those early days while pickup covers<br />

and slide-ins later joined the travel trailers, fifth<br />

wheels, and pop-ups. Motorhomes joined the fleet<br />

just before a gas shortage began to slow sales.<br />

With the increase in sales, Lavada, Pam, and<br />

Paula needed extra help. Now with sixteen<br />

employees (sales, service, parts, and office<br />

personnel), the hobby has evolved into a thriving<br />

business. Granddaughters Ashley and Lacey<br />

worked in the business during high school.<br />

Grandson Cody works around his college classes<br />

and mini-sprint racing. Boasting of the largest<br />

parts department in the area, Shady Pines’ Service<br />

Department is second to none. With fifteen service<br />

bays and two power lifts, the trained service<br />

technicians are prepared to keep RVs ready for the<br />

road or campground so their owners can enjoy the<br />

wonderful world of camping!<br />

102 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


Today, Shady Pines RV Park next door offers<br />

forty-eight spaces with an activity building for<br />

overnighters and travel clubs. Washer/dryers,<br />

full hook-ups, and a fishing lake are also<br />

included among the amenities.<br />

Celebrating their fortieth year in business in<br />

2007, Shady Pines has seen a number of changes<br />

over the years. A new name, Shady Pines RV<br />

Center, Inc., was introduced in February 2007 to<br />

better include the numerous services offered by<br />

the group.<br />

Their website, www.shadypinesrv.com, allows<br />

customers from across the country to shop<br />

online. RV’s are now used for camping, travel,<br />

working, and second homes. Slide-outs and<br />

washer/dryers are common accessories and diesel<br />

engines are common in longer motorhomes.<br />

Shady Pines RV Center, Inc., now has over a<br />

hundred new and preowned units on display.<br />

Shady Pines RV Center, Inc., supports the Four<br />

States Fair with three units and the famed Duck<br />

Race is supplied one annual unit for their benefit<br />

to the hospital. The business name can be found<br />

on the local baseball scoreboard, while a banner at<br />

the football field shows the company’s support of<br />

Redwater School, where Lavada, Leroy, Pam,<br />

Paula, and their three grandchildren are all<br />

graduates. Two other grandchildren, Cole and<br />

Courtney, still attend there and the first greatgrandchild,<br />

Gracie, comes by the office to entertain<br />

the customers until she can start selling RVs.<br />

Customer satisfaction is a key ingredient of the<br />

long success of Shady Pines RV Center. With<br />

three generations on the payroll and a fourth<br />

waiting in the wings, the owners like to think of<br />

the business as one big family serving other<br />

families. Customers have more free time and<br />

many are retiring earlier than in years gone by.<br />

RVs are used for work and by families longing for<br />

good quality time together.<br />

Simply put, Shady Pines RV Center, Inc.,<br />

realizes the importance of its customers. They<br />

are not outsiders in this business; they are an<br />

important part of it!<br />

❖<br />

Above: Shady Pines’ sales lot in<br />

the 1980s.<br />

Below: Shady Pines’ sales lot in 2007.<br />

Sharing the Heritage ✦ 103


❖<br />

TEXAS A&M<br />

UNIVERSITY-<br />

TEXARKANA<br />

Above: The dedication of the<br />

Academic Building in 1999.<br />

Below: The current Science &<br />

Technology Building opened in<br />

Spring 2008.<br />

Founded in 1971 as East Texas State<br />

University at <strong>Texarkana</strong> (ETSU-T), today Texas<br />

A&M University-<strong>Texarkana</strong> (A&M-<strong>Texarkana</strong>)<br />

is committed to its historic role as a<br />

distinguished comprehensive regional<br />

university offering forty-eight outstanding and<br />

varied majors across the curriculum.<br />

The University is dedicated to providing<br />

residents of Northeast Texas with the broadest<br />

possible access to quality educational<br />

opportunities and services, and educates both<br />

traditional and nontraditional students.<br />

A cornerstone of university philosophy is<br />

the conviction that education should form<br />

a foundation for continuing intellectual<br />

development or lifelong learning. A&M-<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> prepares students for a knowledgebased,<br />

technology-oriented, global economy<br />

and society. Emphasis is placed on the<br />

development of leadership skills that enhance<br />

work and personal relationships, because<br />

the work place of the future will require<br />

higher-level skills performed from an<br />

international perspective.<br />

In addition to teaching and community<br />

service, through scholarly research, the<br />

institution seeks to expand and/or clarify<br />

existing knowledge and to create new solutions<br />

to practical problems. Research enriches<br />

university teaching, and enhances the region's<br />

businesses; school districts; and public, private,<br />

nonprofit, and governmental agencies.<br />

Citizens in <strong>Texarkana</strong> and Northeast Texas<br />

had long wanted a four-year degree program<br />

for the area when the idea of an upperlevel<br />

institution appeared on the horizon in<br />

1970. After the success of the state’s first<br />

upper-level institution in Laredo in 1968,<br />

the Education Committee of the <strong>Texarkana</strong><br />

Chamber of Commerce and other leaders<br />

rapidly adopted the idea of an upperlevel<br />

institution and the spirit of the times to<br />

build their dream of a four-year degree program<br />

in <strong>Texarkana</strong>.<br />

On February 11, 1970, Senator A. M. Aikin<br />

of Paris was a guest at the groundbreaking<br />

for the new <strong>Texarkana</strong> College Library building<br />

along with ETSU President, D. Whitney<br />

Halladay, and District One Representative, Ed<br />

Howard of <strong>Texarkana</strong>.<br />

In June, ETSU President Halladay announced<br />

plans to establish an upper-division campus in<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>. Dr. John F. Moss was chosen as<br />

director of ETSU-T Center and began assessing<br />

the educational needs of the area and making<br />

the citizens aware of the center’s presence and<br />

its higher education offerings.<br />

The school was given a blank slate with<br />

which to start and was encouraged to be<br />

innovative in higher education with flexible and<br />

personalized programs, incorporating the<br />

community as a classroom, and reflecting on the<br />

idea of education as a lifelong process…a<br />

“university without walls.”<br />

Dr. Moss planned for the center, with space<br />

leased from <strong>Texarkana</strong> Community College, to<br />

incorporate community involvement. An<br />

institution with this two-fold mission of<br />

innovation and close community cooperation<br />

would be “truly unique,” Dr. Moss believed. It<br />

would be a school “fundamentally different from<br />

traditional colleges.”<br />

Finally, in the summer of 1972, the school<br />

welcomed its first enrollment of students at the<br />

104 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


ETSU-T Center and classes began with an<br />

enrollment of 315 students on August 28, 1972.<br />

The first faculty consisted of twelve<br />

instructors assisted by six part-time instructors.<br />

They were young professors who would not<br />

mind being flexible, agreeable to working<br />

together often in interdisciplinary approaches<br />

and comfortable working without typical<br />

facilities. “They officed out of the trunks of their<br />

cars” was the typical description of a faculty<br />

member’s location and job task.<br />

For the next twenty years, ETSU-T welcomed<br />

a steady progression of outstanding students<br />

and faculty to the school. By 1993, the<br />

university received authorization from the Texas<br />

Legislature through HB1666 to issue degrees at<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>, rather than through Commerce. In<br />

1994, after twenty-three years as president, Dr.<br />

Moss announced his retirement and Dr. Stephen<br />

R. Hensley was named as his successor. In the<br />

fall of 1996 the university became part of The<br />

Texas A&M University System and a new<br />

Academic Building was completed in 1999<br />

to provide additional classroom space and<br />

faculty offices. In 2003, the Texas Legislature<br />

authorized A&M-<strong>Texarkana</strong> to downward<br />

expand and enroll freshman and sophomore<br />

students upon completion of classroom facilities<br />

at a new campus.<br />

Over the past decade, A&M-<strong>Texarkana</strong> has<br />

experienced a renewed and exciting series of<br />

expansions and generous donations. In 2004<br />

the <strong>Texarkana</strong>, Texas, City Council passed and<br />

approved ordinances to donate 300 acres of<br />

land for a new campus at Bringle Lake; the city<br />

of <strong>Texarkana</strong>, Texas, gave a Gift of Real Property<br />

for the new campus; and an additional seventyfive<br />

acres for development of the new campus<br />

was donated by Truman and Anita Arnold. In<br />

2006 construction began on the Science &<br />

Technology Building and, in 2008, construction<br />

will begin on the Multi-Purpose Library and<br />

Central Plant.<br />

For more information about Texas A&M<br />

University-<strong>Texarkana</strong>, visit www.tamut.edu.<br />

❖<br />

Above: Dr. Moss receiving the<br />

Legislative Resolution at his<br />

retirement from John Armstrong of<br />

Bonham, Texas, ETSU board chair.<br />

Below: An early graduation ceremony<br />

on December 20, 1991, at East Texas<br />

State University-<strong>Texarkana</strong>. Dr. Moss<br />

is introducing the speaker, Senator<br />

Bill Ratliff.<br />

Sharing the Heritage ✦ 105


❖<br />

TEXARKANA<br />

AUTO BODY<br />

WORKS, INC.<br />

Right: The first location of <strong>Texarkana</strong><br />

Auto Body Works, 1945.<br />

Below: Mack Thomas, Sr., in the<br />

original bake oven, 1945.<br />

In 1945, Mack Thomas, Sr., began working<br />

as an employee at <strong>Texarkana</strong> Auto Body Works,<br />

Inc. At the time, the shop was located on Spruce<br />

Street and was housed in a four-thousandsquare-foot<br />

building. Owners Ed Levy and two<br />

other businessmen eventually sold the business<br />

to Mack Thomas, Sr., over a period of the next<br />

few years, and he owned and operated the<br />

business until his retirement in 1977.<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> Auto Body Works, Inc., was<br />

initially an automotive paint shop, but over<br />

time has evolved into a collision repair facility<br />

because customers desired the same quality in<br />

repairs on their vehicles as was offered by<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> Auto Body Works, Inc.’s custommatched<br />

paint jobs. With the growth of the<br />

106 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


usiness, the shop’s size grew to a total of<br />

eighty-six hundred square feet.<br />

After Thomas, Sr.’s retirement, his two sons<br />

ran the business until 1981, when Mack<br />

Thomas, Jr., became owner of the business. His<br />

wife Sharon, daughter Jennifer, and son Jared<br />

Thomas, are also employed at the shop, making<br />

it a true family affair for three generations.<br />

Business has been growing at such a steady<br />

rate that 1991 brought the purchase of a new<br />

shop located at 3535 New Boston Road. The<br />

newer facility houses 28,000 square feet and<br />

23 employees.<br />

For more information about <strong>Texarkana</strong><br />

Auto Body Works, Inc., please visit them at<br />

www.texarkanaautobodyworks.com.<br />

❖<br />

Top: The current location of<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> Auto Body Works.<br />

Middle: Painter Terry Walls prepares<br />

a vehicle to be painted.<br />

Bottom: Owner Mack Thomas, Jr.<br />

Sharing the Heritage ✦ 107


TEXARKANA<br />

INDEPENDENT<br />

SCHOOL<br />

DISTRICT<br />

❖<br />

Right: The new Texas High School<br />

Math & Science Center opened in<br />

January 2007 featuring 72,000<br />

square feet of science/traditional<br />

classrooms, engineering/computer labs<br />

and complete with state-of-the-art<br />

technology. The impressive front<br />

entrance tower now serves as an icon<br />

for the school while the evening’s glow<br />

of the tower symbolizes to the<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> community the TISD<br />

legacy of excellence in education.<br />

Below: TISD received an American<br />

School Board Journal Magna Award<br />

in 2006 for their partnership with<br />

Texas A&M University–<strong>Texarkana</strong> in<br />

the establishment of a Professional<br />

Development School (PDS) at<br />

Westlawn Elementary. The PDS<br />

program provides a rich learning<br />

environment for all students with<br />

a clinical teacher preparation<br />

program and a research center<br />

focused on best practices in teaching<br />

and teacher preparation.<br />

The proud history and rich traditions of<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> Independent School District (TISD)<br />

began with the first graduating class of Texas<br />

High School in 1889. In a report to the Board of<br />

Education in 1919, the TISD Superintendent of<br />

Schools echoed a philosophy that is as<br />

appropriate now as it was then.<br />

“Whatever the community is to be in the next<br />

decade, the school must make it. The <strong>Texarkana</strong><br />

of today must determine what the <strong>Texarkana</strong> of<br />

tomorrow is to be by declaring what kind of<br />

school it will have. A broadly conceived system<br />

of education is a good investment for any<br />

community, no matter what it costs, and for<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> the investment in good schools will<br />

pay a hundredfold.”<br />

Over a century later, TISD continues its<br />

legacy of excellence in education with strong<br />

leadership and high student achievement,<br />

which showcases the ever present Tiger Pride.<br />

Currently featuring eleven campuses, TISD<br />

provides a quality education for prekindergarten<br />

through twelfth grade, as well as<br />

career and technology and special education<br />

opportunities for pre-school and school-age<br />

children. Additionally, the District operates<br />

Tiger Learning Centers that provide childcare<br />

services for children ages three and up.<br />

TISD’s philosophy expresses a desire for<br />

students to achieve intellectual, social, physical,<br />

economic and occupational competence<br />

through their learning activities. The District<br />

strives to provide a variety of educational<br />

opportunities and involvement to the student,<br />

allowing for the development of a well-rounded<br />

educational experience.<br />

At TISD, “we believe that our strength lies in<br />

the cultural and socioeconomic diversity of our<br />

students.” Through strategic planning and a<br />

commitment to excellence, we have captured<br />

the enthusiasm and support of the community<br />

and the attention of the state. Serving 6,448<br />

students, TISD faces the challenge of providing<br />

quality services and facilities to meet the needs<br />

108 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


❖<br />

Left: Leading TISD into the future, the<br />

2008 Board of Trustees continues their<br />

commitment to the <strong>Texarkana</strong><br />

community by dedicating their efforts<br />

to ensuring that the students of TISD<br />

are given every opportunity. Pictured<br />

left to right are: Bryan DePriest,<br />

Jerry Chapman, Wanda Boyette, Scott<br />

Bruner, Jo McMullen, Dr. James<br />

Grant and Greg Pulido.<br />

arising from continuous growth. A long-term<br />

plan is in place to provide a strategic framework<br />

for facility development, property expansion,<br />

and financial management.<br />

“"We believe in a personalized education<br />

that maximizes the potential for each student.”<br />

The District is actively involved in the<br />

collection, synthesis and interpretation of<br />

data, which assists in improving student<br />

performance and allows for the development of<br />

new and innovative curricular and<br />

extracurricular opportunities that focus on<br />

the individual talents and interests of each<br />

student. By engaging students in real-world<br />

experiences to promote real-world success,<br />

the District optimizes learning experiences for<br />

every child.<br />

“We believe that community trust and<br />

support are critical to the success of our<br />

district.” The community has played an integral<br />

role in the development of additional<br />

opportunities. To maximize those opportunities,<br />

the District has become the leader in<br />

collaborative efforts with area school districts,<br />

colleges, universities, and local governments.<br />

This collaboration has resulted in the addition<br />

of academies with postsecondary institutions. It<br />

also has facilitated the development of a K-16<br />

plan for math and engineering education.<br />

“We believe that a competent, committed,<br />

and caring staff is essential to a quality<br />

education for all children.” A quality education<br />

includes excellence in teaching and exposure to<br />

technology, essential materials, and a variety of<br />

learning experiences. The TISD staff has been<br />

the driving force in student achievement. With<br />

sound financial management, the District has<br />

been successful in its effort to recognize the<br />

extraordinary contributions of staff members by<br />

providing them with state-of-the-art facilities<br />

and resources, which guarantee that all students<br />

will be exposed to a quality environment that<br />

ensures learning.<br />

While respecting the traditions of the past<br />

and of the community, <strong>Texarkana</strong> Independent<br />

School District looks to the future and<br />

integrates a global perspective of education.<br />

The result is a district with strong student and<br />

community confidence in the quality of its<br />

schools and with state and national recognition<br />

for its success.<br />

Below: TISD received national<br />

attention for their efforts behind and<br />

reasons for the establishment of a<br />

STEM-based public elementary<br />

school. History was made in<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>, when the U.S. House of<br />

Representatives Committee on Science<br />

and Technology held a Field Hearing<br />

at Morriss Elementary in order to<br />

further examine STEM education<br />

before high school. Chairman Bart<br />

Gordon, Ranking Member Ralph Hall<br />

and Congressman Mike Ross listened<br />

to local and national witnesses testify<br />

on the importance of shaping our<br />

future Science, Technology,<br />

Engineering and Math leaders of<br />

tomorrow and how Morriss<br />

Elementary could serve as a model for<br />

the nation.<br />

Sharing the Heritage ✦ 109


COMMERCIAL<br />

NATIONAL<br />

BANK<br />

❖<br />

Right: Commercial National Bank<br />

opening at 224 East Fourth Street,<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>, Arkansas, in 1966.<br />

Below: (From left to right) George W.<br />

Peck, Jr., Julia Peck Mobley, George<br />

W. Peck, and Betty Burton Peck.<br />

Proudly serving as <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s<br />

only locally owned and operated<br />

bank, Commercial National<br />

Bank’s (CNB) historic legacy<br />

began early in 1964 with the first<br />

meeting of its shareholders to<br />

determine how to best serve the<br />

banking and economic needs of<br />

the city and its surrounding<br />

communities in Miller County,<br />

Arkansas and Bowie County,<br />

Texas. Originally opening for<br />

business in a small leased, red<br />

brick building on the corner of<br />

Fourth and Walnut Streets on<br />

February 5, 1964, the bank<br />

had grown to $843,989.07 in<br />

deposits by April. Less than two<br />

years later, in December 1965,<br />

the Bank would report over $3 million in deposits.<br />

By 1969, they would become the repository of<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>’s largest bank deposit when locally<br />

owned Howard Gibco Corporation went public<br />

and sold some $4 million in shares.<br />

The bank’s first Board of Directors included<br />

visionary community leaders George W. Peck,<br />

Vincent Foster, P.D. Burton, Boyce Lanier, Jr.,<br />

John Massey, Dr. Walter Barnes, Lewie P. Henry,<br />

Bun Hutchinson, Frank King, Jr., Robert Lowe,<br />

and Eric Wade.<br />

The board’s first chairman, George W. Peck,<br />

was also elected president of the bank in 1965<br />

and served in the position until 1977. He<br />

remained as chairman until his death in 1990.<br />

Ray Starkey, who had been the bank’s vice<br />

president since 1966, served as president from<br />

1977 to 1995, when he was elected vicechairman<br />

of the board. Today, Dennis Huffman,<br />

who began his career at the bank in 1993, serves<br />

as president.<br />

Julia Peck Mobley began her distinguished<br />

career in the 1960s at the State of Arkansas<br />

Securities Divisions in Little Rock. She was<br />

elected to the Board of Directors at CNB in<br />

1977. Joining the management team of CNB in<br />

1983, she assumed her current role as Chairman<br />

of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of the<br />

company in 1989. Continuing the family<br />

tradition, her daughter Helen Mobley joined the<br />

board in 2004.<br />

With current assets at over $186 million,<br />

CNB remains today a strong community<br />

bank dedicated to serving its customers<br />

and small businesses with the best in leading<br />

edge technological products and services.<br />

CNB began electronic check processing in<br />

1997 and was the first in <strong>Texarkana</strong> to offer<br />

on-line banking, mobile banking, and<br />

merchant capture.<br />

The first branch location of CNB was opened<br />

in 1968 on North State Line Avenue. As the<br />

bank continued to grow, a branch was opened<br />

on East Ninth Street in 1973 and in Fouke,<br />

Arkansas, in 1974. The bank opened a fourth<br />

branch location at the corner of Jefferson and<br />

Arkansas Boulevard in 1997.<br />

110 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


In 1995, CNB’s home office was moved<br />

to a temporary location at 5512 Summerhill<br />

Road in <strong>Texarkana</strong>, Texas, and remained<br />

there until 1996, when the legality of the<br />

move of the office from Arkansas to Texas<br />

was questioned by the state of Texas.<br />

After the Texas law on out-of-state branches<br />

was repealed, the full service operation<br />

resumed and the groundbreaking ceremony for<br />

a new bank facility was held at 5515<br />

Summerhill Road.<br />

Today, Commercial National Bank celebrates<br />

nearly a half century of outstanding service to<br />

the communities it serves and remains a strong<br />

supporter of charitable activities including<br />

Arkansas Children’s Hospital, The Nature<br />

Conservancy, Susan G. Komen Race for the<br />

Cure, Bulldog 100 benefiting <strong>Texarkana</strong><br />

College, Relay for Life benefiting the Temple<br />

Memorial Rehabilitation Center, and <strong>Texarkana</strong><br />

Senior Open Golf Tournament to benefit<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> First Tee.<br />

❖<br />

Above: Downtown branch at 224 East<br />

Fourth in <strong>Texarkana</strong>, Arkansas.<br />

Below: Summerhill branch at<br />

5515 Summerhill Road in<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>, Texas.<br />

Sharing the Heritage ✦ 111


FIRST TAPE &<br />

LABEL<br />

❖<br />

Above: The old milk house.<br />

Below: Bob’s Grocery and Market.<br />

First Tape & Label produces a wide variety of<br />

pressure sensitive labels for a broad range of<br />

industries including tire, packaging, automotive<br />

and more. The company produces its own label<br />

stock, which allows supply to its customers of a<br />

one-of-a-kind product adapted for their<br />

individual needs.<br />

David Haak owns First Tape & Label with his<br />

wife, Debbie. David is a fourth-generation<br />

Texarkanian. His paternal great-grandparents,<br />

along with their children, emigrated to the U.S.<br />

from Germany in the 1870s. After his greatgrandfather’s<br />

death, his great-grandmother<br />

moved the family to <strong>Texarkana</strong> where David’s<br />

grandfather and father were raised. In the late<br />

1800s, David’s paternal grandmother also<br />

emigrated from Germany, alone at the age of<br />

eighteen. She came to <strong>Texarkana</strong> for<br />

employment and, brought together by their<br />

similar backgrounds, met and married David’s<br />

paternal grandfather in <strong>Texarkana</strong>.<br />

Debbie Reese Haak moved to <strong>Texarkana</strong> as a<br />

child and graduated from AHS. She married<br />

David in 1969 and their only child, Jennifer,<br />

was born in 1973. Debbie worked as an<br />

elementary school teacher and later as an<br />

elementary school counselor in the <strong>Texarkana</strong><br />

Arkansas School District for over twenty years<br />

before retiring.<br />

With a desire to own their own business,<br />

David and Debbie bought a very small gum tape<br />

printing business in August 1980. The existing<br />

business consisted of one small, old four inch<br />

press and very few customers. After realizing<br />

people were no longer using gum tape, David<br />

adapted the business to produce pressure<br />

sensitive labels.<br />

During the first few years the company was<br />

located in a friend’s old three-hundred-square-<br />

112 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


foot milk house. To make ends meet, David<br />

had to work nights as a printer and taught<br />

school for the <strong>Texarkana</strong> Arkansas School<br />

District during the day. He began producing<br />

labels for the chicken industry and then tire<br />

labels for a local tire plant. During this time,<br />

David was the only employee.<br />

In 1986 the growing business moved into the<br />

nine-hundred-square-foot building, which was<br />

formerly David’s father’s store known as Bob’s<br />

Grocery on East Ninth. In less than a year, the<br />

business was again moved to a twenty-fivehundred-square-foot<br />

building on County<br />

Avenue. It was at this location that David hired<br />

his first full-time employee.<br />

In 1996, David and Debbie’s daughter, Jennifer<br />

Chesshir, began working in the family business. In<br />

2004, needing someone with experience in sales,<br />

David hired his son-in-law, Michael Chesshir.<br />

Jennifer and Michael have three children, twin<br />

girls, Mica and Reese, and son, Haak.<br />

In 1990, First Tape & Label moved to its<br />

current location at 1810 L.E. Gilliland Drive. The<br />

10,000 square foot facility seemed enormous at<br />

the time. However, growth has made it necessary<br />

for David to build several additions. Finished in<br />

2007, the last addition set the square footage total<br />

at sixty-four thousand square feet. Currently,<br />

First Tape & Label employs twenty-two people<br />

and operates two hot melt coaters and eleven<br />

flexographic presses, with the capability of<br />

printing eighteen inches wide.<br />

With a long history of involvement in the<br />

community, David has been active as the<br />

2008 Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce<br />

and commissioner on Arkansas Economic<br />

Development Commission. He is a former<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> City Board Member and threeterm<br />

Arkansas State Representative. Debbie<br />

has served on numerous community and<br />

charitable boards and currently serves as<br />

commissioner on the Arkansas State Parks,<br />

Recreation, and Tourism Commission and is<br />

a member on the board of the Wadley<br />

Health System. David and Debbie are also longtime,<br />

active members of Beach Street First<br />

Baptist Church.<br />

For more information about First Tape &<br />

Label, please visit www.firsttapeandlabel.com.<br />

❖<br />

The Haak Family.<br />

Sharing the Heritage ✦ 113


LIBERTY-EYLAU<br />

INDEPENDENT<br />

SCHOOL<br />

DISTRICT<br />

❖<br />

Above: Rader Dome, named in honor<br />

of former Superintendent Don Rader,<br />

was completed in 2003.<br />

Below: Liberty-Eylau Independent<br />

School District is home to the 1999<br />

Division 1 AAA State Football<br />

Champions, the 2006 State Baseball<br />

Champions, and the 2006 Division 1<br />

AAA State Football Champions.<br />

It was through the visionary leadership of<br />

C. K. Bender, the superintendent of Liberty<br />

Schools, and H. E. Markham, the<br />

superintendent of Eylau Schools that talks first<br />

began regarding a new partnership among their<br />

schools in 1933. That vision was ultimately<br />

realized in 1955 when Liberty-Eylau School<br />

District was officially founded.<br />

Students attending Liberty-Eylau that first<br />

year chose the school colors, maroon and white;<br />

the school mascot, the Leopard; a student council<br />

was formed and a band program began. Athletics<br />

were limited to basketball, baseball, and track for<br />

boys and volleyball for girls. There were twentythree<br />

graduating seniors in the first class.<br />

Bender served as superintendent of the newly<br />

formed district until his retirement in July of<br />

1968. G. C. Jackson was the first high school<br />

principal. Grades first through twelfth attended<br />

the campus on Buchanan Road until the new<br />

high school, located on Leopard Drive was<br />

completed in 1958, which housed grades nine<br />

through twelve.<br />

<strong>Historic</strong>ally, each community has its own<br />

unique legacy. The first Liberty School was<br />

organized around 1886 by P. F. McCormick and<br />

others. The school house was a crude frame<br />

building and the equipment was not plentiful. A<br />

spring about 200 yards east of the school house<br />

supplied the drinking water. In 1902 the school<br />

was moved to the Shreveport Highway<br />

(Highway 59).<br />

In 1915, when Carmichael Hill, Liberty and<br />

the Bearden Schools voted to consolidate, a<br />

brick building with six rooms and a small<br />

auditorium were built. The pupils were<br />

transported to the new school by wagons.<br />

In 1928 two more classrooms were added,<br />

the auditorium was expanded, and a stage and<br />

dressing rooms were built. The school was<br />

standardized in 1930 and during the 1934-35<br />

school year it applied for and secured a<br />

classification as a two year high school.<br />

In 1941, Buchanan School was consolidated<br />

with Liberty and new brick classrooms and<br />

cafeteria buildings were added. After<br />

consolidation in 1955, the district included two<br />

campuses—grades first through twelfth at<br />

Liberty and grades first through eighth at Eylau.<br />

Liberty was renamed Liberty-Eylau<br />

Intermediate Campus in 1969 when the district<br />

integrated with the Grandview and Macedonia<br />

schools and grades forth through sixth were<br />

housed on that campus. In 1972 the Liberty-<br />

Eylau Rural High School District voted to<br />

become an independent school district.<br />

A handful of children arrived at the<br />

Methodist Church in Eylau to attend the first<br />

day of school in 1886. The surrounding country<br />

114 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


was sparsely settled and there were only two<br />

houses between Eylau and <strong>Texarkana</strong>.<br />

Within a year the small school was moved<br />

north into Eylau. The new building and<br />

furniture were crude and drinking water was<br />

obtained from the nearby branch until the<br />

following year when a well was dug. The next<br />

school building was a one-room building<br />

erected by the patrons of the community and<br />

was used as a combination school and church.<br />

In 1889 a new building came equipped with<br />

modern desks and a teacher’s desk and chair. In<br />

1917 the school had outgrown the building and<br />

a new school with three classrooms, a library,<br />

and a store room was erected.<br />

The changing of the route of Highway 47 and<br />

the growth of the community created a desire to<br />

move the school building to the highway. In 1929<br />

a modern brick building housing five classrooms,<br />

an office, a library, and a large auditorium was<br />

built on a beautiful eleven acre tract of land. In<br />

1931, Moores District consolidated with Eylau’s<br />

high school program. In 1935 the two districts<br />

voted for a complete consolidation.<br />

In March 1938 the brick school burned<br />

and students attended classes in the Christian<br />

and Methodist churches. A stone school on<br />

Highway 59 was completed in 1939 just in time<br />

for graduation ceremonies to be held on the<br />

front steps.<br />

Today the Liberty-Eylau Independent School<br />

District covers 76.4 miles and has six campuses,<br />

serving students from Early Childhood through<br />

twelfth grade. It remains a school and<br />

community dedicated to student achievement.<br />

Graduates are prepared to meet their full<br />

potential, instilled with a lifetime desire to learn,<br />

and are confident in their ability to succeed.<br />

Liberty-Eylau educators work as a team of fair,<br />

respectful, and nurturing leaders; together, they<br />

create a supportive learning environment that<br />

inspires students to achieve their best.<br />

For more information, please visit the<br />

District online at www.leisd.net.<br />

❖<br />

Above: Eylau School.<br />

Below: Liberty School.<br />

Sharing the Heritage ✦ 115


CAPITAL ONE<br />

History is about so much more than<br />

timelines and great events; it is about people,<br />

pioneers who ventured across America in search<br />

of something more. For the Fuller and Grimm<br />

families that history planted itself in the rich<br />

east Texas soil over a century ago.<br />

Great grandfather William Rhoads Grimm<br />

grew up in the small, southeastern Pennsylvania<br />

town of Boyertown and came into the banking<br />

business in New York City. He was a man of<br />

reputation from a family of some assets and<br />

ultimately found his way into the Texas banking<br />

business in the late 1800s.<br />

Grimm had an adventurous spirit and<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>, Texas, proved to be the perfect place<br />

in which to settle and raise a family. It was also<br />

during this pre-Depression period in America<br />

that larger city banks were reaching out to<br />

sponsor local branch banks in these areas.<br />

Investors came together to help gain the capital<br />

needed for these local banks and Grimm joined<br />

several others as shareholders to support<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>’s local banking ventures and establish<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> National Bank.<br />

Though he died in the mid-1920s, Grimm’s<br />

legacy would remain as his family continued to<br />

serve the community and work in the growing<br />

economy of the area. It was a time of expansion<br />

in the banking business and the railroad began<br />

bringing more and more investors and<br />

companies to the expanding city.<br />

Since that time, the Fullers have had a long<br />

association with the bank in a variety of<br />

capacities. Other shareholders and the<br />

community embraced the Grimms and the<br />

Fullers and had confidence in the families to<br />

lead one of the key financial institutions in<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>.<br />

The bank held steady throughout the Great<br />

Depression and the war. Grimm’s grandson,<br />

William Grimm “W. G.” Fuller, graduated from<br />

Harvard University in the late 1930s. Upon<br />

returning to <strong>Texarkana</strong>, he married Harriet<br />

Haydon and began his career in the family<br />

banking business.<br />

Ultimately, W. G. became president of the<br />

bank in 1954 after his father, Dr. Theron Earl “T.<br />

116 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


E.” Fuller, a local ear, nose, and throat doctor<br />

passed away. Dr. Fuller served on the board of the<br />

bank, was a respected businessman and remained<br />

active in numerous community efforts<br />

throughout his life. He originally migrated from<br />

the eastern United States and lived in the<br />

Clarksville, Texas, area, and owned a popular<br />

local general store in New Boston, Texas.<br />

W.G. and Harriett Fuller and their two sons,<br />

Haydon and Robert, worked in every capacity at<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> National Bank (TNB). Haydon joined<br />

the group in 1968 and Robert joined in 1972.<br />

Haydon graduated from Southern Methodist<br />

University (SMU) and worked in a variety<br />

of positions at the bank as a general loan<br />

officer, cashier, and vice president. Robert came<br />

to work in 1972 after working for Republic<br />

National Bank in Dallas, where he had taken a<br />

position upon graduating from Southern<br />

Methodist University.<br />

As Robert came into the banking business,<br />

the industry was just beginning to “wake up”<br />

and TNB wanted to establish branch banking.<br />

The state of Texas would not allow it at the time,<br />

so the only other way to create such a vital<br />

service in the surrounding communities was to<br />

charter a new bank, a unique idea at the time.<br />

Robert left Republic and came to work at the<br />

new charter, Twin City Bank in north <strong>Texarkana</strong>,<br />

where he worked there until the law was<br />

changed and TNB could finally own the branch<br />

bank. Robert later became president of TNB and<br />

remained in that position until 1997.<br />

Sharing the Heritage ✦ 117


PLEASANT<br />

GROVE<br />

INDEPENDENT<br />

SCHOOL<br />

DISTRICT<br />

❖<br />

Above: An early Pleasant<br />

Grove School.<br />

Below: Pleasant Grove High School.<br />

Children in the Pleasant Grove area have been<br />

served by local schools for over one hundred<br />

years. Since 1877, when the first school in the<br />

Pleasant Grove area was established, the schools<br />

have grown and changed to meet the needs of<br />

the students and community.<br />

The area that now comprises the Pleasant<br />

Grove ISD formerly included several smaller<br />

districts. In 1916 the Baker District and the<br />

Morris District made Bowie County history<br />

when they united and became the Pleasant<br />

Grove Consolidated School District. The district<br />

was renamed the Pleasant Grove Independent<br />

School District in September 1978.<br />

Located in a rural area, Pleasant Grove<br />

operated only an elementary school for many<br />

years. As the city of <strong>Texarkana</strong> grew to the north<br />

to include the Pleasant Grove area, patrons and<br />

school officials began to consider the feasibility<br />

of establishing a secondary school in the district.<br />

A comprehensive study in 1976 called for the<br />

addition of a secondary school program. Later in<br />

the year, a $1,800,000 bond issue was passed,<br />

and Pleasant Grove Junior High School opened<br />

in August 1977 to serve students in grades<br />

seven through nine. The facility was enlarged in<br />

1980 to include a classroom annex for sixth<br />

grade students and an industrial arts complex.<br />

The growing population of the area, the<br />

increasing enrollment in the schools, and the<br />

continued interest in providing for the<br />

educational needs of all students in the PGISD<br />

prompted the Board of Trustees to appoint a<br />

twenty-member parent advisory committee in<br />

1982. This committee, after a thorough study,<br />

recommended the establishment of a high<br />

school program in the PGISD and the<br />

restructuring of the campuses. Studies<br />

completed in 1980 and 198l, by different<br />

groups, also called for the establishment of a<br />

high school in Pleasant Grove.<br />

In February 1983 a $5,595,000-bond issue to<br />

expand the educational program through grade<br />

twelve and reorganize the existing campuses was<br />

overwhelmingly approved by the voters. Tenth<br />

grade students were educated in the district in<br />

1983-84, and more classrooms were added to<br />

the elementary campus. The annex on the<br />

secondary campus was enlarged during the<br />

summer of l984 to provide needed classrooms<br />

for eleventh grade students. In 1985-86, all<br />

grades from pre-kindergarten through twelve<br />

were provided in the district, and the first class<br />

of seniors graduated in 1986. The new high<br />

school building was opened in 1986.<br />

Following recommendations from two<br />

different Parent Advisory Committees, patrons<br />

of PGISD approved a $5.95 million bond issue<br />

in March 1994 for additions and improvements<br />

on all three campuses. In December 1995<br />

additional classrooms were opened to students<br />

on both the middle school and high school<br />

campuses. A new practice gym was opened at<br />

the high school campus. Significant changes<br />

took place at the elementary campus where a<br />

major new classroom wing was completed in<br />

the spring of 1996.<br />

In October 2000 a $7-million bond issue was<br />

passed following study and recommendations by<br />

a committee of patrons. Air conditioned<br />

gymnasiums on the middle school and<br />

elementary school campuses, an additional<br />

middle school gym, a performing arts center for<br />

the high school campus, a new classroom wing for<br />

118 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


the high school campus, reopening of existing<br />

classrooms on the middle school campus, and a<br />

central services building were the result.<br />

In May 2007 a $29.5 million bond issue was<br />

passed following study and recommendations<br />

by a committee of patrons. Planning of these<br />

facility improvements is currently underway.<br />

Included are a new intermediate school campus<br />

to be located on the North Kings Highway<br />

acreage to serve grades three through five, as<br />

well as improvements and renovations for the<br />

existing elementary, middle, and high school<br />

campuses. Along with renovation of the existing<br />

facility to provide science/engineering labs,<br />

expanded journalism, and additional classroom<br />

areas, the high school will add a competition<br />

gym with adjoining weight room, multipurpose<br />

facility, and football/soccer stadium. Along with<br />

renovation of the existing middle school facility<br />

to provide expanded library space, lockers, and<br />

new finishes, a rehearsal hall will be added to<br />

the campus. The elementary school will receive<br />

renovations and new finishes. These facility<br />

improvements are scheduled to be completed by<br />

the 2009-2010 school year.<br />

In August 2007 the board of trustees<br />

acquired twenty-five acres of additional<br />

property for future growth and expansion of<br />

district facilities. The acreage is located on<br />

Scott Wright Road adjacent to the Texas<br />

A&M University-<strong>Texarkana</strong> campus, which is<br />

under construction.<br />

No longer primarily a rural area, the<br />

fifty-five square mile district now includes<br />

much of northern <strong>Texarkana</strong>. The city has<br />

grown to include portions of Pleasant Grove<br />

ISD, and the district is pleased to be a part of<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>, USA. From a one-room school in<br />

1877 to the campuses of today, Pleasant Grove<br />

ISD has grown and changed. At each step along<br />

the way, students, faculty, and staff have<br />

demonstrated outstanding accomplishments<br />

and successes.<br />

Pleasant Grove ISD and each of the campuses<br />

are accredited by the Southern Association of<br />

Colleges and Schools and the Texas Education<br />

Agency. Additionally, the district has earned the<br />

highest financial rating in the School Financial<br />

Integrity Rating System of Texas.<br />

❖<br />

Above: Pleasant Grove Middle School.<br />

Below: Pleasant Grove<br />

Elementary School.<br />

Sharing the Heritage ✦ 119


MILLER-BOWIE<br />

SUPPLY<br />

❖<br />

Above: Miller-Bowie Supply is located<br />

at 1007 West Third Street in<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>, Texas. c. 2008.<br />

Below: Miller-Bowie Supply 512<br />

Broad Street <strong>Texarkana</strong>, Arkansas.<br />

Miller-Bowie Supply at 1007 West Third<br />

Street began operation in November 1950. Prior<br />

to that time, a group of farmers gathered<br />

together and envisioned their own farm<br />

store. This would be a place to buy their<br />

supplies at dependable prices and be assured of<br />

dependable service.<br />

The group agreed to form their own farm<br />

cooperative and so they set out to raise enough<br />

money to open their doors. About one hundred<br />

farmers bought shares in their cooperative<br />

approximating $10,000. They called this<br />

preferred stock and paid six percent interest<br />

annually upon the investments.<br />

A board of directors was then elected. This<br />

board consisted of seven agricultural producers<br />

from within the membership. After the Coop<br />

received their charter in 1950, the doors were<br />

opened. They named the Cooperative Miller-<br />

Bowie County Farmers Association. The first<br />

manager was twenty-one year old G. W. Hogins.<br />

The main inventory items were characterized as<br />

feed, seed, fertilizer and general farm supplies.<br />

There were eleven other farm stores in<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> and they did not welcome the newly<br />

formed Cooperative. In fact, some even<br />

discussed it in some very cruel words. The first<br />

location was in the old Central Schoolhouse on<br />

Sixth and Spruce. The school building had<br />

various classrooms and the different rooms are<br />

where they segregated the various inventories.<br />

Tradition says that they loaded out some things<br />

through the school room windows.<br />

After a very short period of time, the business<br />

moved to a larger warehouse in the 500 block<br />

of <strong>Texarkana</strong>, Arkansas. The first eleven years<br />

were very rocky with six different manager<br />

changes and difficulty earning a profit. In 1961<br />

the Association moved back to the Texas side<br />

at its present location of 1007 West Third Street.<br />

In 1972 a new modern building of<br />

ten thousand square feet was added to the<br />

existing store and warehouse. Along the way, a<br />

small feed mill was put in place to custom<br />

mix feed for the livestock producers. The<br />

new building also allowed an opportunity to<br />

expand into a complete line of various farm<br />

supplies such as cattle vaccines, tack for horses,<br />

lawn and garden products as well as general<br />

tools and hardware that farmers use in their<br />

daily operation.<br />

In 1982 a grain elevator was purchased from<br />

Pillsbury Company. The association began<br />

buying grain such as wheat, soybeans and corn<br />

that the local farmers produced. The elevator is<br />

located at 801 Willis Street.<br />

Many changes in agriculture created the<br />

need to improve and stay abreast of the<br />

farmers’ needs. One was the beginning of<br />

using fertilizer in bulk and having it applied to<br />

the fields by spreader trucks. Because of this,<br />

120 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


the association purchased a farmer’s fertilizer<br />

location. This was the old Cotton Belt Round<br />

House before it was turned into the bulk<br />

fertilizer facility by Harold Trammel about 1950.<br />

Even though the business is located on a rail<br />

spur, they still run semi-trucks with hopper<br />

bottom trailers, tankers and vans, to get quick<br />

service from major feed mills and river ports.<br />

They do this for quick service for their<br />

members. Currently these trucks travel in excess<br />

of five hundred thousand miles annually.<br />

Many other additions were made as needed<br />

and the employment grew from three to over<br />

forty current employees. Sales also increased<br />

from $200,000 to $23 million annually.<br />

Throughout its history, the members have spent<br />

over a half-billion dollars through their<br />

association. In 1998 the association changed its<br />

name to Miller-Bowie Supply.<br />

Today Miller-Bowie Supply continues to be a<br />

source of supply for the farmers and ranchers of<br />

the four states area. As we will soon celebrate<br />

our sixtieth anniversary, we take pride in still<br />

being locally owned and located downtown<br />

with a mission of service to a changing<br />

agriculture. The members of the Board of<br />

Directors as of this publication are President<br />

Charlie Starks, Vice President Bill Goza,<br />

Secretary/Treasurer Arthur Lumbley, Dan York,<br />

Danny Pickering, Shep Gage and Greg Helms.<br />

The manager, Joe Bruick, is currently in his<br />

forty-seventh year as manager.<br />

❖<br />

Above: Miller-Bowie Supply feed mill,<br />

c. 2008.<br />

Below: Miller-Bowie Supply elevator,<br />

c. 2008.<br />

Sharing the Heritage ✦ 121


CHRISTUS<br />

ST. MICHAEL<br />

HEALTH SYSTEM<br />

❖<br />

Above: CHRISTUS St. Michael Health<br />

System, serving the <strong>Texarkana</strong> region<br />

since 1916.<br />

Below: Sister Damian Murphy breaks<br />

ground for CHRISTUS St. Michael<br />

Outpatient Imaging Center.<br />

It was a late summer evening when Phillip<br />

Brooks found his way into the boiler room of a<br />

building in <strong>Texarkana</strong>. As a transient, he had no<br />

job, no money, and no ties to the community.<br />

What he did have was a fever of 106 degrees.<br />

Brooks was dying when the Sisters of Charity of<br />

the Incarnate Word found him in the boiler<br />

room of the new fifty-bed Michael Meagher<br />

Memorial Hospital on its official opening day,<br />

September 14, 1916.<br />

Brooks personified the hospital’s original<br />

intent, “to serve those who are ill, regardless of<br />

race, religion, or economic status,” as requested<br />

by Catholic Irishman and Civil Engineer<br />

Michael Meagher, the hospital’s namesake.<br />

Found murdered in 1909, Meagher left his<br />

estate of $75,000 for the establishment of a<br />

hospital in <strong>Texarkana</strong> to meet the healthcare<br />

needs of the region. His will required the new<br />

hospital have little regard for the size of a<br />

patient’s pocketbook and view each person as a<br />

child of God.<br />

The will’s trustees asked the Sisters of Charity,<br />

known for their frugal ways and mission of<br />

Christian concern, to operate Michael Meagher<br />

Memorial Hospital. Originally staffed by 10<br />

physicians, 1 dentist, 6 Sisters of Charity and 10<br />

nurses, Michael Meagher Memorial Hospital<br />

remained in its first home until 1948.<br />

Always visionary, the Sisters oversaw the<br />

construction of a new, 127-bed “St. Michael<br />

Hospital” in 1948 despite the economic<br />

hardships of World War II.<br />

The Sisters’ prudence and dedication led to<br />

the development of the present-day, 129-acre<br />

campus of CHRISTUS St. Michael Health<br />

System along I-30.<br />

Today, the hospital is part of CHRISTUS<br />

Health, a Catholic, faith-based, not-for-profit<br />

health system formed in February 1999, when<br />

the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word in<br />

Houston and San Antonio combined their<br />

healthcare ministries to better serve the<br />

communities where they are located.<br />

The CHRISTUS legacy dates back to 1866<br />

when three Sisters from France responded to a<br />

passionate plea from the Bishop Claude Dubuis,<br />

second bishop of Galveston, “Our Lord Jesus<br />

Christ, suffering in the persons of a multitude of<br />

sick and infirm of every kind, seeks relief at<br />

your hands.” The Sisters left their homeland to<br />

establish their first hospital in Galveston in<br />

1867 and expanded their ministry to <strong>Texarkana</strong><br />

in 1916.<br />

As a healthcare ministry committed to<br />

“extending the healing ministry of Jesus Christ,”<br />

CHRISTUS St. Michael delivers high quality<br />

care accessible to all. Additionally, in 2007,<br />

CHRISTUS St. Michael provided more than<br />

$26 million in charity care, grants, and<br />

community services.<br />

For nearly a century the Sisters of Charity<br />

have partnered with physicians, associates,<br />

volunteers and the community for continued<br />

growth and service to the people of the<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> region.<br />

CHRISTUS St. Michael includes a 312-bed<br />

acute care hospital, 40-bed CHRISTUS St.<br />

Michael Rehabilitation Hospital, CHRISTUS St.<br />

Michael Outpatient Imaging Center, the Cancer<br />

Center at CHRISTUS St. Michael, CHRISTUS St.<br />

122 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


Michael Outpatient Rehabilitation Center, and<br />

CHRISTUS St. Michael Health & Fitness Center.<br />

With a focus on service excellence through<br />

clinical quality, as well as patient, employee<br />

(Associates), and physician satisfaction,<br />

CHRISTUS St. Michael strives to deliver cuttingedge<br />

technology and medical services to the<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> region. CHRISTUS St. Michael was<br />

the first to utilize Low Dose Rate (LDR)<br />

Brachytherapy (seed implant therapy) for<br />

prostate cancer treatment; the first to<br />

accommodate shift workers with day-time sleep<br />

studies at CHRISTUS St. Michael Sleep Center;<br />

the first to premier digital mammography, open<br />

air MRI, and 64-slice CT imaging at CHRISTUS<br />

St. Michael Outpatient Imaging Center.<br />

Additionally, kyphoplasty, an advanced form of<br />

neck and back neurosurgery, is available.<br />

Focusing on the region’s growing healthcare<br />

needs, service expansions include a special care<br />

nursery supported by a neonatologist,<br />

continuing development of a Stroke Center of<br />

Excellence, hyperbaric services at CHRISTUS St.<br />

Michael Wound Care Center, and the Varian<br />

Medical Systems Trilogy TM for treating cancer<br />

and neurological lesions with image-guided<br />

radiotherapy (IGRT) and image-guided<br />

radiosurgery (IGRS) in the Cancer Center at<br />

CHRISTUS St. Michael.<br />

❖<br />

Top, left: Sister Mary McCluskey,<br />

Sister Damian Murphy, and Sister<br />

Miriam Miller, Sisters of Charity of<br />

the Incarnate Word at CHRISTUS St.<br />

Michael.<br />

Top, right: Michael Meagher<br />

Memorial Hospital, 1916.<br />

Below: The 127-bed St. Michael<br />

Hospital, 1948.<br />

Sharing the Heritage ✦ 123


COOPER TIRE<br />

& RUBBER<br />

COMPANY<br />

❖<br />

Above: The dedication of Cooper Tire<br />

& Rubber’s <strong>Texarkana</strong> plant, 1964.<br />

Below: The platform at the dedication<br />

of Cooper Tire & Rubber’s <strong>Texarkana</strong><br />

plant in 1964. Shown are (from left to<br />

right) President Wayne Brewer of<br />

Cooper Tire; Arkansas Congressman<br />

Oren Harris; Chairman of the Board<br />

of Cooper Tire Ken Frost; Mayor of<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> Searcy Atkinson; and<br />

Public Relations of Cooper Tire<br />

Tenison Guyer.<br />

Cooper Tire & Rubber Company is a global<br />

competitor in the replacement tire industry, with<br />

manufacturing facilities on three continents,<br />

sales and distribution networks around the<br />

world and products that meet and exceed the<br />

demands of the world’s most dynamic markets.<br />

Cooper has maintained a competitive<br />

position among tire manufacturers in this<br />

country. It stands now as one of only two U.S.<br />

owned tire manufacturers. Cooper Tire &<br />

Rubber Company is the fourth largest tire<br />

manufacturer in North America and the ninth<br />

largest in the world, shipping tires to more than<br />

110 countries and employing nearly 14,000<br />

people worldwide.<br />

Cooper provides a full line of tires to meet<br />

the needs of virtually all consumers from<br />

everyday motorists to the most demanding<br />

high-performance, off-road and motorsport<br />

enthusiasts. The Findlay, Ohio-based company<br />

concentrates on the replacement tire market.<br />

The company produces tires for automobiles,<br />

trucks and motorcycles. Proprietary brands<br />

include Cooper, Mastercraft, Avon, Dean,<br />

Starfire, Mickey Thompson, Dick Cepek,<br />

Chengshan, and Austone.<br />

The company’s history dates back to 1914,<br />

when brothers-in-law John F. Schaefer and<br />

Claude E. Hart purchased M and M<br />

Manufacturing Company in Akron, producing<br />

tire patches, tire cement and tire repair kits. A<br />

year later, Schaefer and Hart purchased the<br />

Giant Tire & Rubber Company of Akron, a<br />

tire rebuilding business, and two years later<br />

moved the business to Findlay, Ohio. In 1918 a<br />

fire destroyed the main building of the<br />

plant; that same year a new plant was<br />

constructed at the present site in Findlay and in<br />

1920 the company was named Cooper<br />

Corporation. In 1930 the name was changed to<br />

Master Tire & Rubber Company. In 1946 the<br />

company changed its name one last time to<br />

Cooper Tire & Rubber Company. One of its<br />

founders, I. J. Cooper, coined the phrase the<br />

124 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


company lives by to this day, “A square deal at a<br />

fair price.”<br />

In the early 1960, Cooper Tire decided to<br />

expand its tire operations beyond Findlay. They<br />

built a new plant in <strong>Texarkana</strong>, Arkansas.<br />

Operations began in 1964 with the focus<br />

primarily on bias tire production. In the mid<br />

1980s the plant converted completely to radial<br />

tire construction with the majority of products<br />

offered in light truck and speed rated tires. The<br />

citizens of the <strong>Texarkana</strong> area have enjoyed<br />

many expansions of the <strong>Texarkana</strong> plant to<br />

its current size of 2.2 million square feet<br />

or about forty-seven acres under roof.<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> has given to the <strong>Texarkana</strong> plant by<br />

providing incentives for its construction and<br />

expansions and providing a fertile labor market<br />

from which the plant has grown its employment<br />

from the early days of just over 200 to nearly<br />

2,000 now and generating over $80 million in<br />

annual payroll. <strong>Texarkana</strong> has received from<br />

Cooper as well, as the Cooper Foundation has<br />

donated hundreds of thousands of dollars over<br />

the past forty years to good causes and<br />

community needs.<br />

Joining the Findlay and <strong>Texarkana</strong> plants are<br />

sister plants Tupelo, Mississippi (1984) and<br />

Albany, Georgia (1991) and Avon Tyres Limited,<br />

in Melksham, England (1997). In 2005, Cooper<br />

Tire announced an agreement to obtain fifty-one<br />

percent ownership in China’s third largest tire<br />

manufacturer, Cooper Chengshan (Shandong)<br />

Passenger Tire Company Ltd. and Cooper<br />

Chengshan (Shandong) Truck Tire Company<br />

Ltd. Cooper Tire has sixty-six manufacturing,<br />

sales, distribution, technical and design facilities<br />

within the family of companies located around<br />

the world and throughout the United States.<br />

But the company is hardly resting on past<br />

success. Cooper continues to improve plant<br />

efficiencies while capitalizing on its strong<br />

customer service and dealer relationships in<br />

North America; expanding its distribution<br />

network in Europe; and marketing Cooper Tires<br />

as a top brand in China. New products are<br />

driving increased sales and creating additional<br />

opportunity and growth potential. Continued<br />

change is inevitable for Cooper. One thing that<br />

will not change, however, is the company’s focus<br />

on delighting customers and increasing<br />

shareholder value.<br />

❖<br />

Above: An aerial view of Cooper Tire<br />

& Rubber Company, 1964.<br />

Below: An aerial view of Cooper Tire<br />

& Rubber Company, 2008.<br />

Sharing the Heritage ✦ 125


❖<br />

ASHDOWN<br />

MILL/DOMTAR<br />

INDUSTRIES,<br />

INC.<br />

Above: The mill as it looked in 1966.<br />

Below: The mill in 2008.<br />

The rich history of the Ashdown Mill began in<br />

1965 when Nekoosa-Edwards Paper Company<br />

decided to build a new mill in southwest<br />

Arkansas. The combination of a newly<br />

constructed reservoir, which could supply<br />

adequate water to a new mill, the great<br />

abundance of nearby wood, and the enthusiasm<br />

of the community’s residents, enticed Nekoosa to<br />

build a pulp and paper mill in Ashdown.<br />

Construction on the new mill began in 1967<br />

on a twenty-five-hundred-acre site and impacted<br />

the town immediately. When construction began,<br />

Ashdown’s population was thirty-five hundred<br />

and the income per capita of the area’s residents<br />

was one of the lowest in the state of Arkansas.<br />

The influx of workers helping to create the new<br />

neighbor in the community caused the population<br />

to quickly grow to six thousand people. The<br />

mill officially opened on July 17, 1968.<br />

Great Northern Paper Company and<br />

Nekoosa-Edwards Paper Company merged to<br />

create Great Northern Nekoosa Corporation in<br />

1970 and several areas of the mill experienced<br />

growth with new systems and equipment to<br />

improve their daily operations.<br />

In 1973 the company made the announcement<br />

of an expansion and the addition of a second<br />

paper machine. After its completion, the<br />

total paper mill capacity grew from 100,000<br />

tons to 225,000 tons per year.<br />

Another expansion began in 1977 with the<br />

construction of the “Challenger,” the mill’s third<br />

paper machine, a new pulp mill, and a recovery<br />

boiler and turbine generator for the power<br />

plant. Soon after, the mill began to be recognized<br />

for its production capability.<br />

On July 15, 1986, the company converted and<br />

shipped 337.65 tons on a nine-pocket Will sheeter,<br />

a world cut-size paper production record. Two<br />

years later, in July 1988, the “Challenger” established<br />

a world paper production record of 2.46<br />

tons of shipped product per inch of winder trim.<br />

In 1988 construction began on the mill’s<br />

tallest structure, a $90 million recovery boiler<br />

that aided the mill’s effort to protect the<br />

environment and added 90,000 tons of pulp<br />

production capacity annually.<br />

The largest expansion in the mill’s history—<br />

more than $500 million—began in mid-1989. In<br />

the midst of that project, which featured the<br />

world’s largest paper machine, known as the<br />

“Ashdown Express,” the mill officially became a<br />

part of Georgia-Pacific Corporation in 1990.<br />

Upon completion of the project, the mill<br />

became the largest fine paper complex in the<br />

world. The Ashdown Express shined early on<br />

when it set a world speed record just forty-five<br />

days after start-up. It also set a world tonnage<br />

record in 1993.<br />

Many employees were on the mill site to<br />

bring in the new millennium. A sense of anxiety<br />

took a back seat to excitement when the clock<br />

struck 12 a.m. with no major issues with<br />

computers or systems.<br />

On August 4, 2001, Domtar Industries Inc.<br />

purchased the facility. Throughout the new<br />

millennium, the historic mill has continued to<br />

see much improvement with various capital<br />

project initiatives.<br />

On a groundbreaking day in 1966, the only<br />

thing on the current mill site was a small sign<br />

that read, “Nekoosa Edwards Paper Company.”<br />

Today, the Ashdown Mill is one of the largest<br />

business and commercial printing paper mills in<br />

the world.<br />

Though no one knows what the next<br />

chapters of the Ashdown Mill story will tell, one<br />

thing is certain, Ashdown Mill employees made<br />

the difference in 1968, and they will continue to<br />

make the difference in the years to come.<br />

126 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


OFFENHAUSER<br />

& CO.<br />

When it comes to community involvement<br />

and insurance, Fred Offenhauser set an example<br />

in 1882 that the company stills upholds today.<br />

Offenhauser & Co. has been a leader in<br />

community service and insurance for 125 years,<br />

growing with <strong>Texarkana</strong> from a railroad town to<br />

a vibrant, growing community.<br />

From the brick building that now houses the<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> Museum of Regional History,<br />

Offenhauser helped in 1905 to start the<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> Board of Trade (Chamber of<br />

Commerce) as well as the Community Chest<br />

(United Way) in 1925. During World War II, an<br />

Offenhauser officer was loaned to the Chamber<br />

to lead lobbying efforts in Washington for what<br />

became Red River Army Depot & Lone Star<br />

Army Ammunition Plant, at one time employing<br />

twenty thousand residents.<br />

Offenhauser officers took a leadership role in<br />

expanding the Community Hospital into<br />

Wadley Regional Medical Center in the 1950s.<br />

They contributed their building to help<br />

establish the <strong>Texarkana</strong> Museums in 1971 and<br />

celebrated Offenhauser’s centennial by donating<br />

5,000 dogwood seedlings to the community.<br />

Along the way, Offenhauser produced five<br />

Chamber of Commerce Chairmen, eight United<br />

Way chairs, and seven C.E. Palmer Award<br />

winners. Today, they are leading the way again,<br />

providing leadership to create a world-class<br />

math and engineering initiative through<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> ISD and Texas A&M University-<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> while expanding TAMU-T’s offerings<br />

to a four year program.<br />

“We do all we can so we can all grow<br />

together, making <strong>Texarkana</strong> a better place to<br />

live,” states Don Morriss, president.<br />

Offenhauser & Co. is your Trusted Choice<br />

Insurance Leader for Fortune 500 corporations,<br />

small business, and families, fulfilling insurance<br />

and risk management needs with the highest<br />

standards of professional counsel, reliable service,<br />

and competitive prices. With their knowledge,<br />

integrity and dedication, you will get the same<br />

extraordinary service they give to our community.<br />

For additional information on Offenhauser &<br />

Co., please visit www.fwoins.com.<br />

Sharing the Heritage ✦ 127


TEXARKANA<br />

PUBLIC LIBRARY<br />

❖<br />

Above: The first library opened in the<br />

house at Seventh and State Line, the<br />

Henry Harper home.<br />

Below: On January 28, 1980,<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> Public Library opened<br />

its doors.<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>’s first library was originally<br />

established as a reading room in 1918 by the<br />

Young Women’s Christian Association from<br />

member donations. Four years later, in her high<br />

school valedictorian commencement address,<br />

Josephine Wright Post addressed the issue of<br />

“Why <strong>Texarkana</strong> Needs a Public Library.”<br />

On November 10, 1924, a public meeting<br />

organized by Mrs. N. E. (Nanny) Foreman and<br />

F. E. Pharr resulted in the formation of the<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> Public Library Association. The<br />

Association opened the first public library on<br />

December 1, 1925, in a two-story house on<br />

State Line Avenue at Seventh Street in<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>, Arkansas. It was the former home of<br />

Mayor Robert L. Trigg, purchased from Henry<br />

and Fannie Harper. Vivian Smith was named<br />

librarian and funding came from the sale of<br />

memberships, gifts, and the Community Chest<br />

until 1951.<br />

In 1950 the city of <strong>Texarkana</strong>, Texas, donated<br />

a section of James Bowie City Park on State Line<br />

Avenue for a larger library. Texas residents<br />

approved a bond issue of $80,000 for a new<br />

building. In a spirit of cooperation and<br />

recognizing the contributions of the Library to the<br />

city, the Arkansas Legislature passed legislation<br />

allowing Arkansas tax funds to be used in another<br />

state for the benefit of Arkansas residents.<br />

A new, red brick, Georgian style library<br />

building was opened to the public in January of<br />

1952, with Georgia Parks serving as the<br />

librarian. Each of the two cities agreed to<br />

contribute funds for the library’s operation and,<br />

in 1969, increased their appropriations to the<br />

library, eliminating a membership fee and<br />

creating public library services for the residents<br />

of the cities.<br />

In 1977 an Economic Development<br />

Administration Grant provided the funding for<br />

today’s expansive library building at 600 West<br />

Third Street, which opened to the public in<br />

January of 1980 with Anne Capshaw serving as<br />

head librarian. In 2006 under the direction of<br />

Alice Coleman, the library renovated its facility<br />

with $1 million from a successful <strong>Texarkana</strong>,<br />

Texas City Bond Election.<br />

Nearly a century later, the <strong>Texarkana</strong> Public<br />

Library continues to provide a wealth of<br />

resources to the community. For more<br />

information, individuals can visit the library<br />

online at www.txar-publib.org.<br />

128 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


In 2007 the law firm of Dunn, Nutter &<br />

Morgan, L.L.P., moved to new offices at 3601<br />

Richmond Road, <strong>Texarkana</strong>, Texas, after<br />

decades in downtown <strong>Texarkana</strong> in the State<br />

First National Bank, more recently Regions<br />

Bank building. This move represents our firm<br />

commitment to the future of <strong>Texarkana</strong> and our<br />

desire to continue ethical and high quality<br />

services to our clients. Each of our lawyers is<br />

licensed to practice and appear in courts in<br />

Arkansas and Texas, and, for one of our<br />

attorneys, also Oklahoma.<br />

Willis B. Smith, Sr., and Ben Carter founded<br />

the original firm in 1926. As the successor,<br />

Dunn, Nutter & Morgan, is the oldest<br />

continuously practicing law firm in <strong>Texarkana</strong>.<br />

During our more than eighty-two years, the firm<br />

names have included: Smith & Sanderson;<br />

Smith, Sanderson, Stroud & McClerkin; Smith,<br />

Stroud, McClerkin, Conway & Dunn; and<br />

Smith, Stroud, McClerkin, Dunn & Nutter.<br />

Earlier firms included members who served<br />

as state legislators, judges, a State Supreme<br />

Court and Court of Appeals Justice, a U.S.<br />

Attorney, and an Oil and Gas Commissioner. In<br />

addition, past and present firm members have<br />

been active in local, state, and national bar<br />

associations, including serving as presidents and<br />

officers for the <strong>Texarkana</strong> Bar Association,<br />

American Board of Trial Advocates, and the<br />

Arkansas Bar Association. Firm members have<br />

served and continue to contribute to the<br />

community by serving as volunteers and board<br />

members in many nonprofit and community<br />

development groups.<br />

Dunn, Nutter & Morgan, L.L.P. has had the<br />

privilege of serving individual clients who have<br />

referred their children and grandchildren to the<br />

firm for legal services. Business clients,<br />

including major corporations and small<br />

businesses, continue to seek our services in the<br />

areas of banking, real estate, oil and gas,<br />

utilities, water, and insurance. The firm’s clients<br />

continue to seek its legal services because of<br />

demonstrated ability and commitment to<br />

excellence and quality regardless of whether the<br />

services involve millions of dollars, or<br />

individual or consumer services.<br />

Of equal importance is the belief of the firm’s<br />

clients in its honest, ethical, and professional<br />

efforts in its relationships with them and with<br />

the courts, other attorneys, and the clients they<br />

serve. At its new location the firm will continue<br />

to serve its clients in trials, oil and gas law,<br />

criminal defense, wills and trusts, estates,<br />

medical, consumer protection, insurance law,<br />

employment, and personal injury.<br />

We believe in and support <strong>Texarkana</strong> and its<br />

future. It has a rich and honored past as is so<br />

well preserved and promoted by the <strong>Texarkana</strong><br />

Museum of Regional History. We at Dunn,<br />

Nutter & Morgan, L.L.P., believe that the<br />

members of our law firm will continue to be<br />

positive contributors to the future success of<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>, both in the legal profession and in<br />

community service.<br />

DUNN, NUTTER<br />

& MORGAN,<br />

L.L.P.<br />

❖<br />

Below: Front Row (from left to right):<br />

Winford L. Dunn, Jr., Charles A.<br />

Morgan, and R. Gary Nutter. Back<br />

row (from left to right): Mark R.<br />

Adams, James L. Cook, Charles E.<br />

Friday, Lisa Mills Wilkins, James W.<br />

Smith, and M. Wade Kimmel.<br />

Sharing the Heritage ✦ 129


TOTAL<br />

HEALTHCARE OF<br />

ARK-LA-TEX<br />

Founded by Dr. Stacy and Mendy Warner, Total<br />

Healthcare of Ark-La-Tex has been serving the<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> community with quality chiropractic<br />

care in a Christ-centered environment since its<br />

opening in March of 1998.<br />

Total Healthcare is a full service chiropractic<br />

office offering the most technologically<br />

advanced chiropractic services available. The<br />

practice welcomes every patient and provides<br />

outstanding care to those involved in auto<br />

accidents, workers compensation injuries, cash<br />

cases, and major medical issues.<br />

A graduate of Leadership <strong>Texarkana</strong><br />

and member of the United Way and the<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> Museum System, Dr. Warner<br />

also serves as a designated doctor for<br />

the Texas Workers Compensation Commission.<br />

He is joined at Total Healthcare by<br />

chiropractic assistants Karmen Tye and<br />

Rebecca Baker.<br />

Total Healthcare of Ark-La-Tex is honored to<br />

have served the <strong>Texarkana</strong> area for over a<br />

decade and celebrates its success with the<br />

annual “Patient Appreciation Day,” in which<br />

patients are asked to bring two canned goods or<br />

$2 in exchange for a chiropractic adjustment.<br />

All proceeds and/or canned goods are donated<br />

to Harvest <strong>Texarkana</strong>.<br />

❖<br />

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

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

130 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


Atchley, Russell, Waldrop & Hlavinka, L.L.P.,<br />

is one of the oldest law firms in the ArkLaTex.<br />

The firm's history and the personal histories of<br />

the lawyers who have comprised the firm over<br />

the decades are rich and varied.<br />

When attorney Otto Atchley invited fellow<br />

attorney Norman Russell to join him in a<br />

partnership effective January 1, 1955, little did<br />

they know that their decision would form a law<br />

practice that would continue to grow and<br />

prosper into the twenty-first century.<br />

Within eighteen months of Atchley and<br />

Russell forming their partnership, they hired the<br />

firm’s first associate, Howard Waldrop, to<br />

handle the ever-increasing workload.<br />

With the growth of the city, the firm quickly<br />

developed the need for other experienced trial<br />

counsel. Judge Bun Hutchinson joined the firm<br />

in 1957, and the name of the firm was changed<br />

to Atchley, Russell & Hutchinson. Charles<br />

Hlavinka joined the firm in the fall of 1959 to<br />

handle finance, real estate, business<br />

transactions, and federal taxation. Victor<br />

Hlavinka joined the firm in 1960 and quickly<br />

developed his own trial practice. In 1962 the<br />

firm’s name was changed to Atchley, Russell,<br />

Hutchinson & Waldrop. Stephen Oden joined<br />

the firm in 1965; Steve left the firm in 1977 to<br />

serve as a Justice on the <strong>Texarkana</strong> Court of<br />

Appeals and returned to the firm a year later.<br />

Additional attorneys joined the firm over the<br />

next two decades as still others came and went:<br />

Dennis Chambers, 1979; Alan Harrel, 1981;<br />

Josh Morriss, III, 1983 (who withdrew in 2002<br />

to serve as Chief Justice of the <strong>Texarkana</strong> Court<br />

of Appeals); Louise Tausch, 1986; Jeffery Lewis,<br />

1990; Brandon Cogburn, 2002; Jo Thomason,<br />

2002; and Nick C. Newton, 2005. Included<br />

among notable departures from the firm are<br />

those of Atchley (who took “of counsel” status in<br />

1969), Bun Hutchinson (who withdrew in 1973<br />

to become Judge of the Fifth District Court),<br />

Charles Bleil (who later ascended to the same<br />

bench before moving to the <strong>Texarkana</strong> Court of<br />

Appeals and then being named Federal<br />

Magistrate for the Northern District of Texas),<br />

Norman Russell who remained with the firm<br />

until his death in 1996, and Howard Waldrop<br />

who died at the helm of the firm in 2005.<br />

The firm’s physical location over the years<br />

reflects the growth of both the firm and the city.<br />

Originally located in the <strong>Texarkana</strong> National<br />

Bank building, the firm moved to new offices at<br />

315 Main Street in 1956. When the Main Street<br />

building reached maximum capacity, new offices<br />

were built at the corner of Eighth and Spruce<br />

Streets. The firm outgrew the Spruce Street<br />

building and temporarily established a satellite<br />

office on Texas Boulevard. To house all attorneys<br />

and staff under one roof, the firm embarked<br />

upon a new building plan, moving in 1989 to<br />

what was once a sparsely populated area on<br />

Moores Lane in the Galleria Oaks addition—the<br />

firm’s current location at 1710 Moores Lane.<br />

Today, the firm provides a wide range of legal<br />

services throughout Texas and Arkansas.<br />

The major portion of the firm’s practice<br />

includes defense of tort and contract claims,<br />

environmental and asbestos litigation, defense<br />

of healthcare and other professional malpractice<br />

litigation, employment discrimination and<br />

human resources consultation, civil appeals,<br />

defense of local governmental entities and<br />

municipalities, school and education law,<br />

banking and corporate matters, taxation and tax<br />

planning, probate and estate matters, and<br />

commercial and business litigation.<br />

The Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review<br />

Ratings rate the firm “AV”, an objective<br />

indicator that the firm has the highest ethical<br />

standards and professional ability.<br />

Visit Atchley, Russell, Waldrop & Hlavinka,<br />

L.L.P. at www.arwhlaw.com.<br />

❖<br />

ATCHLEY,<br />

RUSSELL,<br />

WALDROP &<br />

HLAVINKA,<br />

L.L.P.<br />

Front row (from left to right): Alan<br />

Harrel, Victor Hlavinka, Charles<br />

Hlavinka, and Dennis Chambers.<br />

Back row (from left to right): Nick<br />

Newton, Brandon Cogburn, Jo<br />

Thomason, Louise Tausch, and Jeffery<br />

Lewis. Not pictured: Steve Oden.<br />

Sharing the Heritage ✦ 131


❖<br />

SOUTHWEST<br />

ARKANSAS<br />

ELECTRIC<br />

COOPERATIVE<br />

REA<br />

Above: Electricity is born in<br />

rural <strong>Texarkana</strong>.<br />

Below: Southwest Arkansas Electric<br />

Cooperative REA headquarters<br />

in <strong>Texarkana</strong>.<br />

The historic Southwest Arkansas Electric<br />

Cooperative Corporation REA is a memberowned<br />

electric utility. Its mission is to provide<br />

first class electric service to the membership at a<br />

valued price, and to provide other services that<br />

add value to the organization.<br />

President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the<br />

Rural Electrification Administration with an<br />

executive order signed in May 1935. In March<br />

1937, W. T. Murphy, Jr., of Bradley, Arkansas,<br />

called together prominent farmers and businessmen<br />

of Lafayette, Miller, Columbia, Hempstead,<br />

and Howard Counties, and with the assistance<br />

of county agents Phil Anderson and John Measel,<br />

organized what is now known as the Southwest<br />

Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation.<br />

On August 18, 1937, Murphy received a<br />

telegram from Senator Hattie W. Caraway<br />

announcing a partial allotment of $150,000 to<br />

build 672 miles of electric lines to serve 2,098 farm<br />

families in Miller and Lafayette Counties. On<br />

August 31, 1937, a meeting was held in Little Rock,<br />

Arkansas and the cooperative was incorporated<br />

with those incorporators being W. E. Williams, Jim<br />

Keith, W. T. Murphy, Jr., Frank Hill, and J. C. Gary.<br />

Since that time, the Cooperative has expanded to<br />

include Sevier, Little River and Polk Counties in<br />

Arkansas, parts of Bowie and Cass Counties in<br />

Texas and McCurtain County in Oklahoma.<br />

Perhaps the most memorable sentiment<br />

regarding Southwest Arkansas Electric<br />

Cooperative and others like it from across the<br />

nation was expressed by a farmer giving witness<br />

in a small rural church in the early 1940s:<br />

“Brothers and sisters, I want to tell you this. The<br />

greatest thing on earth is to have the love of God<br />

in your heart, and the next greatest thing is to<br />

have electricity in your house.”<br />

Southwest Arkansas Electric Cooperative<br />

has become one of the leading electric<br />

cooperatives in the nation. Advanced metering<br />

infrastructure, supervisory control, and data<br />

acquisition, a sophisticated member information<br />

database and broadband communications with<br />

its district offices and substations, propels the<br />

Cooperative forward into the “high tech” twentyfirst<br />

century.<br />

Southwest Arkansas Electric Cooperative<br />

REA headquarters are located at 2904 East<br />

Ninth Street in <strong>Texarkana</strong> with district offices in<br />

Bradley, DeQueen, and Nashville, Arkansas. For<br />

more information, please visit www.swrea.com.<br />

132 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


Long regarded as “a bona fide <strong>Texarkana</strong><br />

institution,” Bryce’s Cafeteria has been serving<br />

customers its trademark home-style cooking<br />

since Bryce K. Lawrence first opened his historic<br />

cafeteria in the old YWCA cafeteria at 215 Pine<br />

Street in downtown <strong>Texarkana</strong> on February 17,<br />

1931. The name was chosen because Bryce was<br />

concerned about the family’s last name being<br />

tarnished if the fledgling business failed. He<br />

borrowed the main cooks and salad maker from<br />

his former employer and was open seven days a<br />

week. Regarding those early days, Bryce once<br />

remarked, “We take in more money in ten<br />

minutes now than we did all day back then.”<br />

Though the Great Depression held the nation<br />

in its grip, the business quickly became a<br />

centerpiece in <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s downtown community<br />

and lines often formed around the block in<br />

anticipation of the Lawrence family’s outstanding<br />

fare, which included delicious entrees, soups,<br />

vegetables, breads and desserts.<br />

The restaurant remained at its original<br />

location until 1989, when construction began<br />

on a new building at 2021 Mall Drive. History<br />

records that the original site included an<br />

upstairs dining room with a “wonderful view of<br />

State Line Avenue and Pine Street,” while a long<br />

buffet line filled with a variety of foods<br />

tantalized lunch and dinner crowds for decades.<br />

Bryce and his wife Dorothy were joined in<br />

the business by their two sons, Bryce, Jr., and<br />

Richard, who would later become the owners of<br />

the cafeteria. As one journalist wrote, “The<br />

family’s contributions to our fair city have been<br />

constant and remarkable.”<br />

Today, Richard and his brother Bryce co-own<br />

the cafeteria and are proud to “do everything the<br />

old-fashioned way.” The famous cafeteria is<br />

marked by its classic Southern food with a<br />

healthy flavor and many of the dishes are still<br />

prepared from recipes as old as the store. Its<br />

prime location between Dallas and Little Rock<br />

and its many loyal employees who “know how<br />

to treat customers well” has ensured Bryce’s<br />

Cafeteria nearly a century of successful service<br />

and good cooking.<br />

Bryce’s Cafeteria has also reached legendary<br />

fame through features on the Food Network, and<br />

in the columns of New Yorker Magazine, Southern<br />

Living Magazine, and the Chicago Tribune.<br />

At the passing of Bryce Lawrence, Sr., in<br />

1992, Paul Greenberg of the Arkansas Democrat<br />

Gazette wrote in tribute, “Mister Bryce [kept in<br />

mind] certain principles…the quality of the<br />

product, personal service, the quality of the<br />

product, personal responsibility, the quality of<br />

the product…Bryce Lawrence’s idea worked.<br />

Mainly because he and his family did.”<br />

BRYCE’S<br />

CAFETERIA,<br />

INC.<br />

Sharing the Heritage ✦ 133


MILLER, JAMES,<br />

MILLER &<br />

HORNSBY,<br />

L.L.P.<br />

The law firm of Miller, James, Miller &<br />

Hornsby, L.L.P., was founded by L. E. Keeney<br />

and Edward Miller in 1966. Both were born and<br />

grew up in <strong>Texarkana</strong>. Keeney was the first<br />

attorney in the <strong>Texarkana</strong> area to limit his<br />

practice and specialize in tax law. Miller served<br />

in the United States Navy as a JAG officer before<br />

returning to the city and joining Keeney in the<br />

practice of tax and related law. Together they<br />

opened a law office located at 1012 Olive Street<br />

in January 1966.<br />

With the growth of the law practice, the<br />

firm expanded to provide comprehensive<br />

representation in the fields of estate planning,<br />

probate, real estate, family law, criminal law,<br />

medical defense litigation, personal injury,<br />

business law and appellate law in both state and<br />

federal courts in Texas and Arkansas.<br />

In 2003 the firm found the need to relocate<br />

and chose to build at 1725 Galleria Oaks Drive.<br />

As the city has grown to the north and west, the<br />

new location in the I-30 corridor continues to<br />

accommodate the needs of its clients.<br />

Throughout the years, the firm and its<br />

partners have remained dedicated to involvement<br />

in the community. Partners in the<br />

firm have gone on to serve as judges of the<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> Court of Appeals, state district<br />

judges, district attorney, county judge, city<br />

councilmen, and mayor pro tem of <strong>Texarkana</strong>,<br />

Texas. Partners have also served on the boards<br />

of many civic organizations. The firm has<br />

continually emphasized promoting the<br />

area’s visual and performing arts, including<br />

the <strong>Texarkana</strong> Symphony Orchestra, the<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> Regional Chorale, the <strong>Texarkana</strong><br />

Regional Arts & Humanities Council<br />

(TRAHC), and the <strong>Texarkana</strong> Repertory<br />

Company, Inc. (Tex*Rep).<br />

Miller, James, Miller & Hornsby, L.L.P., is<br />

committed to improving the quality of life in the<br />

Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas area and to<br />

delivering a quality work-product which meets<br />

the legal needs of its clients<br />

134 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


By the turn of the twentieth century, the<br />

timber and railroad businesses of East Texas<br />

were welcoming people and prosperity to the<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> area. The population had grown to<br />

almost twenty thousand and the need for a city<br />

hospital was being voiced by many.<br />

To meet that need, Drs. S.A. Collom, George<br />

C. Abell, Thomas F. Kittrell, and R.H.T. Mann<br />

opened <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s first hospital, Pine Street<br />

Sanitarium, the forerunner of Wadley Regional<br />

Medical Center, in 1900. These men of great<br />

vision might never have realized the impact that<br />

a small fifteen bed hospital started in a<br />

residential home would have on the city of<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> and the four-states area throughout<br />

the next century.<br />

In 1905 the hospital incorporated and<br />

was renamed the <strong>Texarkana</strong> Sanitarium and<br />

Training School for Nurses. The hospital grew<br />

during its first eighteen years to a position of<br />

recognized eminence, being one of the finest<br />

institutions of its kind in the South. It grew and<br />

prospered as more physicians were added to the<br />

staff, and by 1920, the hospital had grown to 50<br />

beds with 50 physicians, admitting 3,000<br />

patients annually, and was officially called the<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> Hospital.<br />

As a new era of technology and population<br />

exploded in <strong>Texarkana</strong>, the Board of Trustees of<br />

the Hospital met in 1952 to discuss building a<br />

new 100-bed structure. J. K.Wadley, whose<br />

generous contributions to the building of the<br />

new hospital would result in its being named for<br />

him, made a far-reaching observation about the<br />

hospital, “The Lord favored us in these<br />

determinations…this hospital was built for the<br />

community…by the community…and should<br />

be community operated.”<br />

On January 10, 1959, the doors of the<br />

beautiful Wadley Hospital opened with a 200-<br />

bed capacity instead of the 100-bed capacity<br />

originally planned.<br />

With the completion of the hospital’s first<br />

expansion in 1971, Wadley entered the final<br />

decades of the twentieth century prepared to<br />

meet the ever-changing needs of its patients and<br />

the communities which it faithfully serves.<br />

The name of the hospital was officially<br />

changed to Wadley Regional Medical Center in<br />

1982 and was the only medical facility in the<br />

area to provide innovative newborn care,<br />

earning the hospital the title, “The Birth Place of<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong>,” in 1989.<br />

Today, Wadley Regional Medical Center<br />

continues its historic, unwavering foundation of<br />

providing the best patient care possible, a<br />

community hospital based upon community<br />

needs. Wadley has received numerous national<br />

awards and recognitions with some of the most<br />

recent being certification by The Joint<br />

Commission as a Primary Stroke Center;<br />

certification by BlueCross BlueShield of Texas as<br />

a Blue Distinction Center for Bariatric Surgery;<br />

designation as a Bariatric Center of Excellence<br />

by the American Society for Bariatric Surgery;<br />

two Excellence awards from HealthGrades for<br />

Joint Replacement and Vascular Surgery. Wadley<br />

has also brought many “firsts” to the area<br />

including the first intensive care unit,<br />

pacemaker, open heart surgery, nuclear<br />

medicine, and a number of breast health<br />

technologies. With the help of the Wadley<br />

Foundation, Wadley will soon be bringing<br />

another first to <strong>Texarkana</strong> with the addition of<br />

technology that will allow for breast MRIs.<br />

Over a century of community care has<br />

proven that the blend of patient-focused care,<br />

the latest technologies available, the best in<br />

medical expertise from competent, caring<br />

physicians and staff means the patient will<br />

always come first and foremost at Wadley<br />

Regional Medical Center.<br />

WADLEY<br />

HEALTH SYSTEM<br />

❖<br />

Wadley Regional Medical Center is<br />

located at 1000 Pine in <strong>Texarkana</strong>,<br />

Texas and at www.wadleyhealth.com.<br />

Sharing the Heritage ✦ 135


TEXARKANA<br />

COLLEGE<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> College (TC) was established in<br />

1927 as a branch of the <strong>Texarkana</strong> Independent<br />

School District in <strong>Texarkana</strong>, Texas. Discussions<br />

and research for the new college began as early<br />

as 1925 when Dr. Henry Stillwell, then<br />

president of the <strong>Texarkana</strong> Texas School board,<br />

presented plans to open a college in conjunction<br />

with the city’s public school system. Later, in<br />

January of 1926, the <strong>Texarkana</strong>, Texas,<br />

city council formally endorsed plans for the<br />

junior college.<br />

Founding board members included Clyde C.<br />

Bounds, Elmer L. Lincoln, Dr. Theron Earl<br />

Fuller, Mildred Fewell, George D. Garrett,<br />

Edward L. Berry, Henry Prator, George W.<br />

Middleton, G.W. Nicholls and Dr. Eli M. Watts,<br />

and the first announcement for the college<br />

appeared in the local paper, the <strong>Texarkana</strong><br />

Gazette, in March 1926. The main building was<br />

to be located near the bi-state city’s downtown<br />

area and would include a gymnasium that could<br />

seat five hundred people.<br />

In 1926 the school board set conditions for<br />

admissions—tuition for attending the college<br />

was $150 per year with an additional $50 due<br />

from students living outside the <strong>Texarkana</strong><br />

Independent School District. Dr. Stilwell<br />

remained president of TC and Superintendent<br />

of <strong>Texarkana</strong> Texas schools until the 1950s.<br />

Other noteworthy individuals instrumental in<br />

TC’s development include Dean W. P Akin and<br />

Businessman Truman Arnold. Past students<br />

include businessman and politician H. Ross<br />

Perot and businessman Truman Arnold.<br />

The school moved to its present location<br />

at 2500 North Robison Road in 1951 after<br />

a bond issue successfully passed in 1948 and<br />

the school purchased twenty acres to build a<br />

new campus.<br />

One of the oldest programs at <strong>Texarkana</strong><br />

College is the school of nursing. The William<br />

Buchanan School of Nursing was established in<br />

1956 as the result of the efforts of Josh Morriss,<br />

Sr., Chairman of the Board of Directors at<br />

Wadley Hospital. The “Health Occupations<br />

Division” now includes an associate degree<br />

nursing program (RN), a licensed vocational<br />

nursing program (LVN), EMS training programs,<br />

and other specialized programs of study.<br />

With the rising cost of college tuition across<br />

the country, the <strong>Texarkana</strong> College Board of<br />

Trustees and college president, Frank Coleman,<br />

knew it was important to keep education<br />

options accessible to working class families<br />

who fell between the cracks of the financial<br />

aid system.<br />

In the spring of 2003, TC announced a<br />

unique scholarship opportunity for recent high<br />

school graduates known as The Rising Star<br />

Scholarship, which is unique as there are no<br />

geographic boundaries. Any high school<br />

graduate from anywhere in the world can<br />

qualify if they meet criteria.<br />

In the fall of 2008, TC recorded a total<br />

combined enrollment of about 4,500 students<br />

and offers over 30 associate degree programs<br />

and 25 technical certificate programs.<br />

136 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


❖<br />

These two young ladies from<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> were eager to experience<br />

life on the Texas frontier in the 1880s.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Sharing the Heritage ✦ 137


SPONSORS<br />

Ashdown Mill/Domtar Industries, Inc.........................................................................................................................................126<br />

Atchley, Russell, Waldrop & Hlavinka, L.L.P. ..............................................................................................................................131<br />

Bryce’s Cafeteria, Inc...................................................................................................................................................................133<br />

Capital One................................................................................................................................................................................116<br />

CHRISTUS St. Michael Health System ........................................................................................................................................122<br />

City of <strong>Texarkana</strong>, Texas.............................................................................................................................................................100<br />

Commercial National Bank.........................................................................................................................................................110<br />

Cooper Tire & Rubber Company................................................................................................................................................124<br />

Dr. Mitchell Young Family............................................................................................................................................................90<br />

Dunn, Nutter & Morgan, L.L.P. ..................................................................................................................................................129<br />

First Tape & Label......................................................................................................................................................................112<br />

Kemp Bros. Body Shop, Inc..........................................................................................................................................................97<br />

LaCrosse Hotel .............................................................................................................................................................................86<br />

Liberty-Eylau Independent School District .................................................................................................................................114<br />

Miller, James, Miller & Hornsby, L.L.P. .......................................................................................................................................134<br />

Miller-Bowie Supply ...................................................................................................................................................................120<br />

Offenhauser & Co. .....................................................................................................................................................................127<br />

Patriot Truck & Trailer .................................................................................................................................................................82<br />

Pleasant Grove Independent School District ...............................................................................................................................118<br />

Shady Pines RV Center, Inc. .......................................................................................................................................................102<br />

Southwest Arkansas Electric Cooperate REA...............................................................................................................................132<br />

Texas A&M University-<strong>Texarkana</strong>...............................................................................................................................................104<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> Auto Body Works, Inc................................................................................................................................................106<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> Arkansas School District ..............................................................................................................................................98<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> College ......................................................................................................................................................................136<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> Independent School District.......................................................................................................................................108<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> Museums System .........................................................................................................................................................93<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> Public Library............................................................................................................................................................128<br />

Total Healthcare of Ark-La-Tex ...................................................................................................................................................130<br />

University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Area Health Education Center-Southwest .................................................................94<br />

Wadley Health System................................................................................................................................................................135<br />

138 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


❖<br />

The contents of <strong>Texarkana</strong>’s early<br />

timber buildings added fuel to the<br />

raging fires of the late 1800s.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Sharing the Heritage ✦ 139


❖<br />

The earliest photograph of a<br />

<strong>Texarkana</strong> church building in the<br />

downtown area. This building was<br />

made entirely of timber.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

140 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


ABOUT THE AUTHOR<br />

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

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

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

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

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

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

that her adopted town, <strong>Texarkana</strong>, could benefit through her research and writing skills to record the unique aspects<br />

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

more than one-hundred newspaper articles on <strong>Texarkana</strong> that have made that have made this town’s unique<br />

history accessible.<br />

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

grown children and seven granddaughters.<br />

About the Author ✦ 141


❖<br />

Hotel Grim was named after William<br />

Rhoads Grim when it opened in 1925.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

142 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


❖<br />

Farm produce from Ghio’s Vineyards<br />

and Witterstaetter’s Market Garden<br />

was abundant.<br />

COURTESY OF THE TEXARKANA MUSEUMS SYSTEM.<br />

Sharing the Heritage ✦ 143


For more information about the following publications or about publishing your own book, please call<br />

<strong>Historic</strong>al Publishing Network at 800-749-9790 or visit www.lammertinc.com.<br />

Black Gold: The Story of Texas Oil & Gas<br />

Garland: A Contemporary History<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Abilene: An Illustrated History<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Albuquerque: An Illustrated History<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Amarillo: An Illustrated History<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Anchorage: An Illustrated History<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Austin: An Illustrated History<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Baldwin County: A Bicentennial History<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Baton Rouge: An Illustrated History<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Beaufort County: An Illustrated History<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Beaumont: An Illustrated History<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Bexar County: An Illustrated History<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Birmingham: An Illustrated History<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Brazoria County: An Illustrated History<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Charlotte:<br />

An Illustrated History of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Cheyenne: A History of the Magic City<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Comal County: An Illustrated History<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Corpus Christi: An Illustrated History<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> DeKalb County: An Illustrated History<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Denton County: An Illustrated History<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Edmond: An Illustrated History<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> El Paso: An Illustrated History<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Erie County: An Illustrated History<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Fairbanks: An Illustrated History<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Gainesville & Hall County: An Illustrated History<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Gregg County: An Illustrated History<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Hampton Roads: Where America Began<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Hancock County: An Illustrated History<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Henry County: An Illustrated History<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Houston: An Illustrated History<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Illinois: An Illustrated History<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Kern County:<br />

An Illustrated History of Bakersfield and Kern County<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Lafayette:<br />

An Illustrated History of Lafayette & Lafayette Parish<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Laredo:<br />

An Illustrated History of Laredo & Webb County<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Lee County: The Story of Fort Myers & Lee County<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Louisiana: An Illustrated History<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Midland: An Illustrated History<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Montgomery County:<br />

An Illustrated History of Montgomery County, Texas<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Ocala: The Story of Ocala & Marion County<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Oklahoma: An Illustrated History<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Oklahoma County: An Illustrated History<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Omaha:<br />

An Illustrated History of Omaha and Douglas County<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Ouachita Parish: An Illustrated History<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Paris and Lamar County: An Illustrated History<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Pasadena: An Illustrated History<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Passaic County: An Illustrated History<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Pennsylvania An Illustrated History<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Philadelphia: An Illustrated History<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Prescott:<br />

An Illustrated History of Prescott & Yavapai County<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Richardson: An Illustrated History<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Rio Grande Valley: An Illustrated History<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Scottsdale: A Life from the Land<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Shelby County: An Illustrated History<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Shreveport-Bossier:<br />

An Illustrated History of Shreveport & Bossier City<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> South Carolina: An Illustrated History<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Smith County: An Illustrated History<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Temple: An Illustrated History<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Texas: An Illustrated History<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Victoria: An Illustrated History<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Tulsa: An Illustrated History<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Williamson County: An Illustrated History<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> Wilmington & The Lower Cape Fear:<br />

An Illustrated History<br />

<strong>Historic</strong> York County: An Illustrated History<br />

Iron, Wood & Water: An Illustrated History of Lake Oswego<br />

Miami’s <strong>Historic</strong> Neighborhoods: A History of Community<br />

Old Orange County Courthouse: A Centennial History<br />

Plano: An Illustrated Chronicle<br />

The New Frontier:<br />

A Contemporary History of Fort Worth & Tarrant County<br />

The San Gabriel Valley: A 21st Century Portrait<br />

The Spirit of Collin County<br />

Water, Rails & Oil: <strong>Historic</strong> Mid & South Jefferson County<br />

144 ✦ HISTORIC TEXARKANA


ISBN 9781935377016

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