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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.

Texarkana is the headquarters of the theologically conservative American Baptist Association, whose Missionary Baptist churches are most numerous in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Mississippi.

Beech Street Baptist Church, Texarkana, Ark.-Tex. (postcard, 1909)

Beech Street Baptist Church, Texarkana, Ark-Tex (postcard, 1910-side view)

History

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. (information from (http://www.texarkana.org/Texarkana_USA/History_of_Texarkana.aspx))

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,^[3] at 33°26′14″N 94°4′3″W / 33.43722°N 94.0675°W / 33.43722; -94.0675 (33.437170, -94.067394).^[4] 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 (67 km²), of which, 25.6 square miles (66 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 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.

Demographics

As of the census^[1] 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 per square mile (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.

Economy

According to the City's 2009 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,^[5] the top employers in the city are:

Government

Local government

According to the city’s most recent Comprehensive Annual Financial Report Fund Financial Statements, the city’s various funds had $36.0 million in Revenues, $37.0 million in expenditures, $18.9 million in total assets, $3.5 million in total liabilities, and $7.2 million in investments.^[6]

The structure of the management and coordination of city services is:^[5]

Education

Public school districts

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.

Colleges and universities

Texarkana is also home to Texarkana College, a community college, as well as a new 4-year branch of Texas A&M: Texas A&M University–Texarkana.

State government

Though the city is historically Democratic, Texarkana is represented in the Texas Senate by Republican Kevin Eltife, District 1. A Republican, George Lavender, in House District 1, represents Texarkana in the Texas House of Representatives.

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) operates the Texarkana District Parole Office in Texarkana.^[7]

The Texas Sixth Court of Appeals is located in the Bi-State Justice Building.^[8]

Federal government

At the Federal level, the two U.S. Senators from Texas are Republicans John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison; Texarkana is part of Texas' US Congressional 4th District, which is currently represented by Republican Ralph M. Hall.

The United States Postal Service operates the Texarkana Post Office in Texarkana, Texas.^[9] In addition it operates the Downtown Texarkana Post Office in Texarkana, Arkansas.^[10]

Federal Correctional Institution, Texarkana is a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility in unincorporated Bowie County, near Texarkana, Texas.^[11][12]

Transportation

Texarkana Regional Airport is located in Texarkana, Arkansas and serves general aviation and American Eagle service to Dallas/Fort Worth 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. Texarkana Urban Transit District provides bus transportation to major areas of town starting at about 5:30 am and ending about 6:30pm Monday thru Saturday.

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

Notable natives and residents

• Lindsey Rayl Actress and singer/songwriter
• Aysel Teymurzadeh Famous singer-performer
• Parnelli Jones. Race car driver
• Ocielia Gibson, Miss Black USA 2011
• Miller Barber, golfer
• J. B. Bobo, a magician
• Willie Buchanon, American football player
• David Crowder, musician
• LaMichael James, American NCAA football player for the University of Oregon and San Francisco 49ers
• Brandon Jones NFL football player for the Baltimore Ravens
• Scott Joplin, musician and composer (founder of Ragtime)
• Joshua Logan, film and stage director
• Ryan Mallett, NFL football player for the New England Patriots
• Eddie Mathews, American Baseball player
• Dustin Moseley, American Baseball Player
• Craig Monroe, baseball player
• Mac Morgan, opera singer
• 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
• Jeremiah Trotter, NFL football player
• Nathan Vasher, NFL football player for the San Diego Chargers
• Frank D. White, governor of Arkansas from 1981 to 1983, was born in Texarkana, Texas.
• Otis Williams, musician, founding member of The Temptations
• Drew Stubbs, MLB baseball player for the Cincinnati Reds
• Jesse Belvin, singer, pianist and songwriter popular in the 1950s
• Kevin Luthringer, professional basketball player, national beer pong champion
• Lane Elliott, professional fisherman
• Jeff Keith, lead singer of rock band, Tesla
• Dame Marjorie Morris Scardino, Pulitzer Prize winning publisher and CEO of Pearson PLC
• Melanie Williams (Catt Dahman) Fiction writer

Trivia

• Brenda Lee's 1959 song Let's Jump The Broomstick references the city with the lyric 'Goin' to Alabama back from Texarkana, Goin' all around the world'.
• Texarkana is the subject and title of a 1991 song by R.E.M.. The track appears on the band's seventh studio album, Out of Time.
• The city is also referenced to in the song Cotton Fields by the American folk and blues musician Lead Belly and later recorded by several notable country rock artists including The Highwaymen, The Beach Boys and Credence Clearwater Revival.
• The song East Bound and Down by Jerry Reed which was the theme for Smokey and the Bandit references Texarkana, with the lyric 'The boys are thirsty in Atlanta and there's beer in Texarkana.'
• The song 24 Hours At A Time by The Marshall Tucker Band from the album Where We All Belong refers to a journey from Houston, Texas area to Texarkana.^[13]

References

External links

Texas portal

• City of Texarkana, Texas portal
• Texarkana Chamber of Commerce
• Handbook of Texas Online: Texarkana, Texas
• Texarkana Business Reviews
• Texarkana Gazette
• Texarkana Convention & Visitors Bureau

Municipalities and communities of Bowie County, Texas, United States County seat: Boston Cities DeKalb Hooks Leary Maud Nash New Boston Red Lick Redwater Texarkana Wake Village Unincorporated communities Boston Dalby Springs Hubbard Malta Simms Spring Hill

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