The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Texarkana

TEXARKANA,, Ark., and Tex., twin city, one in Bowie County, Tex., the other the county-seat of Miller County, Ark., on the Saint Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern, Kansas City Southern, or &ldquo;Port Arthur Route,&rdquo; Saint Louis Southwestern, or &ldquo;Cotton Belt Route,&rdquo; Texas and Pacific, Texarkana and Fort Smith and the Memphis, Dallas and Gulf railroads, about 180 miles southwest of Little Rock, the capital of Arkansas, and 28 miles north of the Louisiana boundary. The cities are separated by the boundary between Texas and Arkansas, but they are one commercially, industrially and in all except the city governments. The name indicates unity; the first syllable is from the first syllable in Texas, the second from the first syllable in Arkansas, the last two from the last two syllables in Louisiana. Both the cities were settled in 1873; became incorporated towns in 1880 and cities of the second class in 1887. Texarkana, Ark., became a city of the first class in 1904. The post office serves for both cities and is designated as &ldquo;Texarkana, Ark.-Tex.&rdquo; The cities are in an agricultural and lumbering region and are an important distributing centre for a large extent of country. The chief industrial establishments are railroads and railroad shops, employing about 1,500 persons, lumber works, 500 employees, and other manufacturing establishments are numerous. Two large creosoting plants are near the city. Cotton and cotton products, lumber, grain and livestock are shipped from Texarkana in large amounts. The principal public buildings are the Government building, the Miller County, Ark., courthouse and jail, the Y. M. C. A. building, Railroad Hospital (cost $200,000), sanatoriums and the churches and schools. The United States court for the Western District of Kansas and United States court for the Eastern District of Texas, each hold annually two regular terms in the city within the district.

There are 31 churches, representing 17 different denominations. In each city are a high school, grammar schools, kindergartens and parish schools. Saint Agnes Academy, in

Arkansas, was established in 1877; Saint Rose of Lima Academy is in Texas; Texarkana Industrial College opened in 1904. There are excellent banking facilities and good newspapers. The majority of the inhabitants are American born; about 650 foreign born and 4,200 of negro descent. Pop. (Ark.), (1890) 3,528; (1900) 4,914; (Tex.), (1890) 2,852; (1900) 5,256. Since 1900 the cities have grown considerably and the United States census of 1910 showed the population to be about 9,790; the 1918 estimate is 12,500.