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Texarkana (Texas-Arkansas) is a divided city in the southern United States with a combined population of 61,230, as of the 2000 United States Census. The name "Texarkana" is a portmanteau, as the city is named for its occupancy of two U.S. states, Texas and Arkansas, as well as its reasonable proximity to Louisiana (The point formed by the intersection of the three states' borders is actually 25 miles to the south).
History
While the meaning of the name is clear, the actual origin is uncertain, and the name is believed to have been used prior to Texarkana's founding. 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 surveyer coined the nameThe Handbook of Texas Online, Texarkana, TX. Texas State Historical Association, University of Texas..
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. Some time after that, congressman John Morris Sheppard secured a postal order officially changing the name to "Texarkana, Arkansas-Texas".
On July 13, 1942, a mob dragged black Texan Willie Vinson from a hospital bed and hanged him after he was identified by a white woman as the man who had victimized her; the governor, however, took no action on the matter, reasoning that "even a white man would have been lynched for this crime." The Handbook of Texas Online, "World War II". Texas State Historical Association, University of Texas.
Geography
Texarkana consists of two separate municipal designations:
- Texarkana, Arkansas, the county seat of Miller County, Arkansas
- Texarkana, Texas, located in Bowie County, Texas
Due to its divided political nature, Texarkana has two mayors and two sets of city officials; however, it shares a federal building, courthouse, jail, post office, labor office, chamber of commerce, water utility, and several other offices.
Roads
Texarkana is the midpoint of 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 State Highway 245)
Local lore
Due 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.
The Phantom Killer
In 1946, Texarkana was the site of one of America's first widely-publicized serial murders, in which 5 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 backroads and "lovers' lanes". The only description of the killer was that he wore a plain pillowcase over his head, with eyeholes cut out. The case was never solved and the spree ended with no suspects arrested.
A man by the name of Youell Swinney, who was 29 at the time, was arrested and charged with the murders shortly after they occurred. He was later released from prison in 1974 after serving 28 years for the murders, when a judge acknowledged his appeal that he had not received a fair trial. He had been implicated by his wife who claimed she was present when he committed the murders, yet her various accounts varied each time she told them. Swinney himself denied having any involvement, which he maintained until his death in 1993 at age 76. Still, many believe he was the murderer, including several of his prison inmates who claimed Swinney had confessed to them. 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 sherriff's records of the case were discovered by investigative journalists to be mysteriously missing. No active files on the case 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 in order to avoid scandal. Others say that he was more a supernatural force than a human being (e.g. Jack the Ripper), and that he will return again some day to resume his bloody deeds. Technically, the case is still open, though as of 2006 it is considered cold.
Swamp monster
The swampy terrain of Boggy Creek, near Fouke, Arkansas, a small Miller County town southeast of Texarkana, is the reputed home of an anthropoid monster 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 1973 with little commercial success, as is demonstrated in the Mystery Science Theater 3000 mockery of the films.Notes
External links
Texarkana | Divided cities | Bowie County, Texas | Miller County, Arkansas | Geographic portmanteaus
"Texarkana"