Texarkana, Texas

City of Texarkana
City
Water tower in Texarkana, Texas
Nickname:  "The Texas Side" "Tk"
Motto:  Twice as Nice
Location of Texarkana, Texas
Country	United States
State	Texas
County	Bowie
Government
• Mayor	Stephen A. Mayo
Area
• Total	25.7 sq mi (66.6 km2)
• Land	25.6 sq mi (66.4 km2)
• Water	0.1 sq mi (0.3 km2)
Elevation	299 ft (91 m)
Population  (2000)
• Total	38,086
• Density	1,357.3/sq mi (524.1/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP codes	75500-75599
Area code	903
FIPS code	48-72368Template:GR
GNIS feature ID	1369752Template:GR
Website	www.txkusa.org

Texarkana is a city in Bowie County, Texas, United States. It effectively functions as one half of a city which crosses a state line — the other half, the city of Texarkana, Arkansas, lies on the other side of State Line Avenue. The population of the city is 34,782 at the 2000 census.

The city, along with its Arkansas counterpart forms the core of the Texarkana, Texas–Texarkana, Arkansas Metropolitan Statistical Area, encompassing all of Bowie County, Texas and Miller County, Arkansas.

History

History of Texarkana As legend has it, it was a day in 1542 when Hernando DeSoto ordered a mutinous follower hanged from an oak tree near an artesian spring in the Territory of the Grand Caddoes. Little did he know that less than a half-hour march to the South was the site of a city which, 400 years later, would boast 60,000 in population, would lie squarely in two states, would be named for three states, would be the focal point of four, and would be the crossroads of the entire Southwest.

Even before the coming of the white man, the territory around what is now Texarkana was traversed by the Great Southwest Trail which, for hundreds of years, had been the main trunk line of travel between the Indian villages of the Mississippi Valley and of the West and Southwest. On the lands around Texarkana, the Caddo Indians, peaceful and sedentary, tilled their rich fields of maize, beans, pumpkins and melons and maintained six villages on the banks of the Red River.

Congenial relations with other tribes and with white men were rules of the Grand Caddoes. For example, they were hosts to the worn survivors of the ill-fated LaSalle Expedition in 1687 and, in 1691, greeted with friendship the military party under the Spanish general, Teran. By 1719, the French had infiltrated the Territory and set up a fort and trading post. Thus, in ensuing years of that century, the Caddoes migrated slowly westward. Yet still today, reminders of the Caddoes' occupation and culture can be found within a 30 mile radius of Texarkana.

As early as 1840, rudiments of a permanent settlement in the old Caddo Territory began to take form and, shortly thereafter, the stamp of official approval was awarded in the form of a post office. Location of this institution was at Lost Prairie, some 15 miles east of the present site of Texarkana.

Railroads were quick to see the possibilities of this vast new territory and, in the late 1850's, the builders of the Cairo and Fulton Railroad were pushing their railhead steadily across Arkansas. By 1874, they had crossed Red River and were at the Texas state line. Between February 16 and March 19, 1874, trains ran between the Texas state boundary and Red River, where passengers and freight were ferried across to Fulton, to continue by rail to their destinations. The Red River Bridge was opened on March 20, 1874, and from that date, trains have run directly from Texarkana to St. Louis.

Keen rivalry was the vogue among railroad builders in the 1870's. Among the pioneer railroads was the Texas and Pacific which stretched its steel ribbons across the vastness of the State of Texas to the Arkansas line. It was only logical that the point at which two railroads converged would be ideal for a city. Consequently, the Texas and Pacific Railroad sold the first town lots on December 8, 1873. The first lot, bought by a J.W. Davis, is the present-day location of Hotel McCartney, directly opposite Union Station.

Although many have contended for the honor, it is not known officially who gave Texarkana its name. One popular version credits a Colonel Gus Knobel who, surveying the Iron Mountain Railroad right-of-way from Little Rock to this section, came to the state line, marked the name "TEX-ARK-ANA" on a board and nailed it to a tree with the statement, "This is the name of a town which is to be built here." It was believed at the time that the Louisiana boundary was just a few miles to the south (actually it is thirty miles), and Colonel Knobel, in selecting the city's name, derived it from TEXas, ARKansas, and LouisiANA.

New counties are always created from other lands lying within the same state. Most have interesting origins. But it is doubtful that any can meet that of Miller County, probably the only county in the United States which, once created was "abolished" and made a part of a "more patriotic" county. Years later Miller County was re-established. In 1820, in honor of James Miller, a New Hampshire native who was Arkansas' first governor, Miller County was formed with a large degree of uncertainty as to the location of the line dividing the county and the Mexican boundary. Consequently, settlers felt that Arkansas levied and collected taxes on land which eventually might be held by Mexico. Moreover, many who resented the oppression of Texans by the Mexicans were openly declaring allegiance to the Texans. This led to general unrest, and after the Texas Republic was created, it grew worse. So, in 1838, Governor James Conway proposed that the "easiest and most effective remedy is the abolition of Miller County to an area which is more patriotic." From that year until 1874, it was a part of Lafayette County. Its re-establishment sprung only from the sale of town lots in Texarkana in 1873. Efforts of the young town to be incorporated were not realized until October 17, 1880, nearly seven years after Texarkana, Texas (June 12, 1874) was formed. December 8, 1873, is generally recognized by both cities as the date of organization.

Ask any school boy who Jim Bowie was and he will tell you he invented the Bowie Knife, a lethal weapon whose prototype has been copied, in varying forms. Not many, however, will identify Bowie as the Texas hero for whom Bowie County, which was formed in 1840 and in which lays the western half of Texarkana, is named. Bowie made his first knife at what is now Washington, Arkansas. In Texarkana today, there is a large sculpture of James Bowie gripping a rifle and Bowie knife which stands as a memorial to the vision and spirit that conceived and nurtured this great city.

Geography

Texarkana, Texas, is located at the junction of Interstate 30 and US highways 59, 67, 71, and 82 in extreme northeast Texas on the Texas-Arkansas border, at 33°26′14″N 94°4′3″W (33.437170, -94.067394).Template:GR It is in the Central time zone.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 25.7 square miles (66.6 km²), of which, 25.6 square miles (66.4 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.3 km²) of it (0.39%) is water.

Climate

• The warmest month is July.
• The highest recorded temperature was 117°F (47°C) in 1936.
• On average, the coolest month is January.
• The lowest recorded temperature was -6°F (-21°C) in 1989.
• The most precipitation on average occurs in November.

Texarkana, Texas
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     3.9     53 31     3.8     58 34     4.5     67 42     4.2     75 50     5     82 60     4.8     89 68     3.6     93 72     2.4     93 71     3.8     86 64     4.6     77 52     5.7     64 41     5     55 33 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches Source: Weather.com / NWS
Metric conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     99     12 −1     97     14 1     113     19 6     107     24 10     126     28 16     122     32 20     92     34 22     61     34 22     96     30 18     117     25 11     145     18 5     126     13 1 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 34,782 people, 13,569 households, and 8,941 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,357.3 people per square mile (524.0/km²). There were 15,105 housing units at an average density of 589.4/sq mi (227.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 59.18% White, 37.05% African American, 0.34% Native American, 0.73% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 1.43% from other races and 1.22% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.91% of the population.

There were 13,569 households out of which 31.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.5% were married couples living together, 19.3% have a female householder with no husband present and 34.1% were non-families. 29.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the city the population was spread out with 26.0% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 89.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $29,727, and the median income for a family was $38,505. Males had a median income of $34,155 versus $21,143 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,815. About 19.4% of families and 24.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 34.8% of those under age 18 and 13.2% of those age 65 or over.

Government and infrastructure

State representation

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) operates the Texarkana District Parole Office in Texarkana.

The Texas Sixth Court of Appeals is located in the Bi-State Justice Building.

Federal representation

The United States Postal Service operates the Texarkana Post Office in Texarkana, Texas. In addition it operates the Downtown Texarkana Post Office in Texarkana, Arkansas.

Federal Correctional Institution, Texarkana is a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility in unincorporated Bowie County, near Texarkana, Texas.

Transportation

Texarkana Regional Airport is located in Texarkana, Arkansas and serves general aviation and American Eagle service to DFW International Airport.

Texarkana Union Station is located in Downtown Texarkana along the state line with daily Amtrak service west to Dallas and east to Chicago via Little Rock.

Interstate 30 passes through Texarkana on the north. Loop 151 on the west of the city forms part of the Texarkana Loop, which itself forms a three-quarter loop around the west, south and east of the twin cities with I-30 completing the loop on the north. Texarkana is currently under construction a new interstate corridor Interstate 49 which will connect it to Shreveport

Education

Much of Texarkana, Texas, is under the jurisdiction of the Texarkana Independent School District, but also the Liberty-Eylau Independent and Pleasant Grove Independent School Districts. Texarkana is also home to Texarkana College, a local community college, as well as a branch of Texas A&M: Texas A&M University–Texarkana.

Notable residents

• Miller Barber, golfer
• J. B. Bobo, a magician
• Willie Buchanon, American football player
• David Crowder, musician
• Marian Hill, Rhodes scholar
• LaMichael James, American football player for the Oregon Ducks
• Brandon Jones, (NFL American football player for the San Francisco 49ers)
• Scott Joplin, musician and composer
• Joshua Logan, film and stage director
• Ryan Mallett, football player for the University Of Arkansas.
• Eddie Mathews, baseball player
• Craig Monroe, baseball player
• Ross Perot, businessman and politician
• Charles B. Pierce, movie producer
• Molly C. Quinn, actress
• James Theodore Richmond, writer and conservationist
• Bill Rogers, golfer
• Michael Jarboe Sheehan, Archbishop of Santa Fe
• Marshall Terrill, best-selling author on Steve McQueen, Pete Maravich and Elvis Presley
• Jeremiah Trotter, American football player
• Nathan Vasher, American football player for the San Diego Chargers
• Otis Williams, musician, founding member of The Temptations
• Drew Stubbs, Baseball player for the Cincinnati Reds
• Jesse Belvin, singer, pianist and songwriter popular in the 1950s
• Selena Perez (1971 - 1995) Famous Latin singer
• Jeff Keith, former lead singer of rock band, Tesla

Dame Marjorie Morris Scardino, Pulitzer Prize winning publisher and CEO of Pearson

External links

• City portal
• Texarkana Chamber of Commerce
• City of Texarkana, USA
• Handbook of Texas Online: Texarkana, Texas
• Texarkana Business Reviews
• Texarkana Gazette