Postcard Past: Early Snapshots of Texarkana

The Main Street Texarkana in Black and White postcard exhibit is traveling throughout the Texarkana community this year. It is currently on display at the Wadley Regional Hospital lobby, in downtown Texarkana. After that, it will travel to Texas A & M University. A few highlights from the collection:

In the early 1900s, elephants paraded down Broad Street, triumphantly announcing the arrival of a circus. The photograph features many of Texarkana’s well-known early 20^th century businesses, such as the Palace Bar, Erber Jewelers, and the Boyd Drug Store.

Downtown Texarkana owes its duality or “split personality” to the Texas & Pacific and the Cairo & Fulton railroads, which sold town lots in Texas and Arkansas, respectively, in the early 1870s. Still today, Texarkana is literally two different towns in two separate counties in two states. After the city’s founding in 1874, its citizens came from countries all over the world, including Italy, Ireland, England, Russia and Eastern Europe. The area was especially appealing for its rich timberland and the railroad industry.

The city of Texarkana became very modern when Western Union Telegraph Company opened its office on 114 E. Broad Street, in 1910. This early photograph shows that the company had a staff of as many as 13 people, six of whom delivered telegrams by bicycle. The sole female in the photograph worked as a stenographer, one of the new career options open to women at the time.

The Jefferson Coffee Shop, a popular spot in the 1930s, had a unique Mediterranean-influenced exterior, featuring a turret and a low-angle roofline, accented with corbelled brickwork and tiles. Entering the arched front doorway, one stepped into a beautiful interior of medallion-patterned floor tiles, a long counter lined with stools, and café tables dotted with fresh bouquets of flowers. Next to the front register was a display case of premium choice cigars.