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| Texarkana | |
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Texarkana was founded in 1873 on the junction of two railroads. The name is a portmanteau of TEXas, ARKansas, and nearby LouisiANA. One tradition tells of a Red River steamboat named The Texarkana, circa 1860. Another story mentions a storekeeper named Swindle in Red Land, Louisiana who concocted a drink called "Texarkana Bitters". A third account states that Col. Gus Knobel, a railroad surveyor, coined the name.[4] Local lore suggests that, before Texas' annexation by the US, lawlessness ruled in the area that at times was claimed by various nations.
In 1876, Texarkana, Texas, was granted a charter under an act of the Texas legislature, and a Texarkana, Texas, post office operated from 1886 to 1892. Later, Congressman John Morris Sheppard (D-TX) secured a postal order officially changing the name to "Texarkana, Arkansas-Texas".[4]
[edit] Tags:State,Arkansas,Texas,Portmanteau,Louisiana,John Morris Sheppard,D,Lore,Grant, | |
| Texarkana metropolitan area | |
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The Texarkana metropolitan area was first defined in 1960.[5] Then known as the Texarkana, TX–Texarkana, AR Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area, it consisted of Bowie County, Texas and Miller County, Arkansas. In 1963, the area was renamed the Texarkana, TX–AR Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area,[6] only to return to its original name in 1971.[7]
Little River County, Arkansas was added to the SMSA in 1973.[8] In 1983, the official name was shortened to the Texarkana, TX–Texarkana, AR Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is still in use.[9] That same year, Little River County was removed from the MSA. The two-county MSA had a population of 137,486 in 2000.
Some of the city’s most notable historical buildings are the Post Office, the Ace of Clubs House, The Perot, and the Regional Museum. One of the most famous houses in Texarkana is The Aces of Clubs House, shaped like a club on a playing card and supposedly inspired by a winning poker hand.
The Texarkana Symphony Orchestra was established in 2005, providing the community with several professional concerts of classical music every year. In 2007, the Texarkana Youth Symphony Orchestra was established, presenting spring and winter concerts.
[edit] Tags:Bowie County, Texas,Miller County, Arkansas,1960,Little River County, Arkansas,The Perot,Miller County,Bowie County, | |
| Demographics | |
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As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 137,486 people, 72,695 households, and 55,524 families residing within the MSA. The racial makeup of the MSA was 53.49% White, 43.28% African American, 0.60% Native American, 0.41% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.94% from other races, and 1.24% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.57% of the population.
The median income for a household in the MSA was $31,976, and the median income for a family was $38,887. Males had a median income of $32,482versus $21,408 for females. The per capita income for the MSA was $16,901.
[edit] Tags:Census,White,African American,Native American,Asian,Pacific Islander,Other Races,Hispanic,Latino,Per Capita Income, | |
| Economy | |
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Texarkana's top employers
2010 comprehensive annual financial report[10]
Employer
Local employees
Red River Army Depot & Tenants
7200
Christus St. Michael Health System
1883
Cooper Tire & Rubber
1700
Domtar
1300
Texarkana (TX) Independent School District
1100
Walmart
967
International Paper
960
Texarkana (AR) School District
835
Wadley Regional Medical Center
778
Southern Refrigerated Transport
750
According to Forbes, Texarkana is predicted to increase 28.57% in GMP by 2012 making Texarkana the second fastest growing small metro area in the country. Texarkana is a regional hub for cities in southwest Arkansas, northeast Texas, northwest Louisiana, and southeast Oklahoma.
On May 23, 2011, the city of Texarkana, Texas, broke grounds to open a new convention center. The 20,000-square-foot (1,900 m2) Texarkana Convention Center will serve as a venue for weddings, non-profit events, and community celebrations with its 12,000-square-foot (1,100 m2) ballroom. It can accommodate 1,000 guests for a seated dinner, and it can be divided into multiple rooms for events of various sizes. The 5,000-square-foot (460 m2) outdoor patio area will provide additional space for large events. The adjoining Hilton Garden Inn will have approximately 150 rooms and a full service restaurant offering room service.[citation needed]
The City of Texarkana, Arkansas, wants to get wet and wild with $13 million and construct a waterpark. When completed it will cover 10 acres. A feasibility study for the park, to draw tourists and provide recreation for local residents, should be completed by the end of the year and financing decisions made in 2009. This waterpark will be seen as a catalyst for development including recreatioal, dining and hotel opportunities. People would be attracted from a five state region. Funding possibilities include private development and a bond covered through taxes. The city is gathering information from park designers and developers. The study is looking at the demand of a waterpark, the size of the service area, estimated gate admissions and annual revenue, optimal location and expense of construction, operation and maintenance. Financing could be decided late next year. The park would be a low water use facility and would have enough land to triple the parks size over the next 20 years. It would be located near the planned convention center. Crossroads Business Park near I-30 is being considered as a possible location. The park would be advertised in Shreveport, Little Rock and Dallas.
Read more: http://www.city-data.com/forum/arkansas/953126-texarkana-may-get-water-park-little.html#ixzz1faLIsxAT
Coming to Texarkana will be the new four year campus of Texas A&M University-Texarkana and Southern Arkansas University Tech-Texarkana.
[edit] Tags:Country,Dallas,Little Rock, | |
| Geography | |
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Texarkana's Federal Building/Post Office is located in the median between northbound and southbound traffic on State Line Avenue.[11]
For demographic information, see Texarkana, Arkansas and Texarkana, Texas.
Texarkana consists of two separate municipal designations:
Texarkana, Arkansas, the county seat of Miller County, Arkansas
Texarkana, Texas, located in Bowie County, Texas
The boulevard State Line Avenue follows the Texas-Arkansas state line throughout much of Texarkana. The two "sides" of Texarkana are separate only from a political standpoint. Thousands of locals actually live in one state and work in the other.
Owing to its divided political nature, Texarkana has two mayors and two sets of city officials; however, the two sides share a federal building, courthouse, jail, post office, labor office, chamber of commerce, water utility, and several other offices.[4]
[edit] Tags:State Line Avenue, | |
| Transportation | |
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Texarkana is on Interstate 30, located close to halfway between Dallas, Texas, and Little Rock, Arkansas. Other major routes in Texarkana include:
U.S. Route 59
U.S. Route 67
U.S. Route 71
U.S. Route 82
The Loop (consisting of US 59, as well as Texas State Highway Loop 151 and Arkansas Highway 245)
As of October 2010, multiple highway projects are in progress to expand area highways and relieve strain on the Richmond Rd. and Summerhill Rd. exits. Continuous access roads, expanded bridges, and a new I-30/US 59 interchange are under construction. I-49 is being extended from Shreveport, with a future extension planned to Kansas City in the US 71 corridor.
[edit] Tags:Interstate 30,U.s. Route 59,U.s. Route 67,U.s. Route 71,U.s. Route 82, | |
| Local lore | |
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Owing perhaps to its nature as a divided city and its remoteness from large urban areas, Texarkana has long been known as a hotbed for ghost stories, mysteries, and other colorful local lore. However, most of them are untrue.
[edit] Tags:Ghost Stories,Mysteries, | |
| The Phantom Killer | |
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Main article: The Phantom Killer
In 1946, Texarkana was the site of one of America's first widely-publicized serial murders, in which five people were killed and several others injured by an unknown assailant. Dubbed the "Texarkana Moonlight Murders" by news media, the violence focused on couples occupying popular "make-out" spots in and around the town, such as back roads and "lovers' lanes". The only description of the killer was that he carried a handgun and wore a mask. The case was never solved and the spree ended with no suspects arrested.
A man by the name of Yuell Lee Swinney, who was 29 at the time, was arrested but released. He was later released from prison in 1974 after serving 28 years for the theft of a car and other crimes, but he was never convicted of any murders. He had been implicated by his wife who claimed she was present when he had committed the murders, yet her accounts of the incidents varied over several tellings. Swinney himself denied having any involvement—a denial he maintained until his death in 1993 at age 76 in a prison hospital (where he had been held for counterfeiting and other crimes). Many believe nevertheless that he was the murderer, including several of his prison inmates who claimed Swinney had confessed to them[citation needed]. His sister, Mildred Swinney-Sones, also believed he had committed the murders.[citation needed].
These events inspired the film The Town That Dreaded Sundown, released in 1977, written and directed by Charles B. Pierce, and starring Ben Johnson, Dawn Wells, and Pierce himself. Some of the facts of the original case were fictionalized or altered for the film, including victims' names.
In recent years, most area police and sheriffs' records of the case were discovered by investigative journalists to be mysteriously missing. No active files of the cases are currently being maintained by area law-enforcement agencies. Some locals believe that the Phantom Killer died long ago; some claim that he was a member of the local upper class aristocracy, which collaborated to keep his identity quiet to avoid scandal. Local lore maintains that he was more a supernatural force than a human being, and that he will return one day to resume his bloody deeds[citation needed]. Technically the case is still open, though as of 2006[update] it is considered cold. If the killer is still alive, considering when the crimes took place, he would likely have been born circa 1928 at the latest, which means he would be in his eighties today[update].
[edit] Tags:Serial Murders,Yuell Lee Swinney,Mildred Swinney-sones,The Town That Dreaded Sundown,Charles B. Pierce,Ben Johnson,Dawn Wells,Upper Class,List,Crime, | |
| Fouke Monster | |
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The swampy terrain of Boggy Creek, near Fouke, Arkansas, a small Miller County town southeast of Texarkana, is the reputed home of an anthropoid cryptid similar in appearance and behavior to the Pacific Northwest's Bigfoot and Sasquatch, and to the Skunk Ape of Florida legend. A film dramatizing these stories, entitled The Legend of Boggy Creek, was released in 1972. Two sequels, Return to Boggy Creek (1977) and The Barbaric Beast of Boggy Creek, Part II (1985) (AKA Boggy Creek II: And the Legend Continues; the "official" sequel made by the original film's director, Charles B. Pierce) followed with very little commercial success (although The Barbaric Beast of Boggy Creek, Part II was featured in the tenth season of Mystery Science Theater 3000). Locals commonly refer to this creature as the "Fouke Monster" and a number of persons have reported seeing the creature in various locations in and around Fouke. Most of the reported sightings have occurred during the hours of darkness, which has contributed to the lack of adequate descriptions of the creature itself.
[edit] Tags:Boggy Creek,Fouke, Arkansas,Cryptid,Pacific Northwest,Bigfoot,Sasquatch,Skunk Ape,Florida,The Legend Of Boggy Creek,Mystery Science Theater 3000, | |
| Notable people from Texarkana | |
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See also: Category:People from Texarkana
Lindsey Rayl, (actress/singer/songwriter)
Charlie Oakes, (Philanthropist)
Scott Joplin, (childhood home)
Joshua Logan, Broadway & Film director, writer, & lyricist. Co-wrote South Pacific
Conlon Nancarrow, composer
Pilotdrift, Indie band
Otis Williams, Singer from The Temptations
Jeff Keith, Lead Vocals for Tesla
Charles B Pierce, Movie Director and Producer
Corinne Griffith, Silent-Film Star
Molly Quinn, Actress
Rod Smith, Denver Broncos-wide receiver
Nathan Vasher, Chicago Bears-defensive back
Eric Warfield, Kansas City Chiefs
Ike Forte, former University of Arkansas Running Back
Brandon Jones, San Francisco 49ers-wide receiver
Ryan Mallett, University of Arkansas quarterback
Tra Carson, University of Oregon running back
LaMichael James, University of Oregon running back
Eddie Matthews, Hall of Fame Major League Baseball player
Craig Monroe, Minnesota Twins-outfielder
Edwin Hooper, Rice University linebacker
Bob Moose, Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher
Will Middlebrooks, A member of the Boston Red Sox organization
Drew Stubbs, Cincinnati Reds center fielder
Parnelli Jones, race car driver
Mike Huckabee, former governor of Arkansas
Bill Rogers, golfer, winner of 1981 British Open
Miller Barber, professional golfer
Dan Blocker, Television/Movie Star - most notable on Bonanza, born in nearby Dekalb, Texas
Jeremiah Trotter, American football player
Ross Perot, Politician and Entrepreneur
Pocket Full of Rocks, Christian Rock band
David Crowder, Christian Contemporary musician
Dustin Moseley, Pitcher for the San Diego Padres
Byron Nelson, legendary golfer and former club pro at Texarkana Country Club
[edit] Tags:Lindsey Rayl,Charlie Oakes,Scott Joplin,Joshua Logan,South Pacific,Conlon Nancarrow,Pilotdrift,Otis Williams,The Temptations,Jeff Keith,Tesla,Charles B Pierce,Corinne Griffith,Molly Quinn,Rod Smith,Denver Broncos,Wide Receiver,Nathan Vasher,Chicago Bears,Defensive Back,Eric Warfield,Kansas City Chiefs,Ike Forte,University Of Arkansas,Running Back,Brandon Jones,San Francisco 49ers,Ryan Mallett,Quarterback,Tra Carson,University Of Oregon,Lamichael James,Eddie Matthews,Hall Of Fame,Major League Baseball,Craig Monroe,Minnesota Twins,Outfielder,Edwin Hooper,Rice University,Bob Moose,Pittsburgh Pirates,Pitcher,Will Middlebrooks,Boston Red Sox,Drew Stubbs,Cincinnati Reds,Center Fielder,Parnelli Jones,Mike Huckabee,Bill Rogers,Golfer,British Open,Miller Barber,Professional Golfer,Dan Blocker, | |
| References | |
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^ a b "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
^ "2010 United States Census Results" (Interactive Map). 2010 Census data by state, including population change. United States Census Bureau, Population Division. 2010. http://2010.census.gov/2010census/data/index.php. Retrieved November 6, 2011.
^ a b c [ttp://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/TT/hdt2.html The Handbook of Texas Online]. Texas State Historical Association, University of North Texas. ttp://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/TT/hdt2.html.
^ "Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas (SMSAs) and Components" (TXT). Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas defined by Office of Management and Budget, November 1960. United States Census Bureau, Population Division. 2000-10-25. http://www.census.gov/population/www/metroareas/lists/historical/60mfips.txt. Retrieved 2009-02-13.
^ "Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas (SMSAs) and Components, 1963" (TXT). Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas defined by Office of Management and Budget, October 18, 1963. United States Census Bureau, Population Division. 2000-10-25. http://www.census.gov/population/www/metroareas/lists/historical/63mfips.txt. Retrieved 2009-02-13.
^ "Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas (SMSAs) and Components, 1971" (TXT). Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas defined by Office of Management and Budget, February 23, 1971. United States Census Bureau, Population Division. 2000-10-16. http://www.census.gov/population/www/metroareas/lists/historical/73mfips.txt. Retrieved 2009-02-13.
^ "Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas (SMSAs) and Components, 1973" (TXT). Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas defined by Office of Management and Budget, April 27, 1973. United States Census Bureau, Population Division. 2000-05-01. http://www.census.gov/population/www/metroareas/lists/historical/73mfips.txt. Retrieved 2009-02-13.
^ "About Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas". United States Census Bureau, Population Division. http://www.census.gov/population/www/metroareas/aboutmetro.html. Retrieved 2008-09-20.
^ "Economic Development, Major Employers". Texarkana Chamber of Commerce. 2010. http://www.texarkana.org/Economic_Development/Major_Employers.aspx. Retrieved November 6, 2011.
^ Google Maps, Texarkana.
Metropolitan statistical areas and metropolitan divisions defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, December 2003 [1]
Texarkana, Texas fact sheet from the U.S. Census Bureau
Texarkana, Arkansas fact sheet from the U.S. Census Bureau
Texarkana Chamber of Commerce 2006-2007 Community Profile (in PDF format)
John Goforth. Record Producer, Guitarist, Composer, Owner of Covered Bridge Records, Third Millennium Artists. Producer of the Stateline Music Fetival.
[edit] Tags:United States,2010 Census, | |
| External links | |
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Texarkana
TxkUSA.org, official web site for Texarkana, USA
Texarkana Conventions and Visitors Bureau
Texarkana Symphony Orchestra
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