Texarkana, Texas

Texarkana is a small 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.

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, at °N, °W (33.437170, -94.067394). 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 (66.6 km²), of which, 25.6 square miles (66.4 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.3 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 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, the top employers in the city are:

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.

The structure of the management and coordination of city services is:

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 the brand new 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.

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

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. In addition it operates the Downtown Texarkana Post Office in Texarkana, Arkansas.

Federal Correctional Institution, Texarkana is a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility in unincorporated Bowie County, near Texarkana, Texas.

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.

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

 * Aysel Teymurzadeh Famous singer-performer
 * Marcelo Saenz Famous translator
 * Parnelli Jones. Race car driver
 * Lindsey Rayl. actress, singer
 * Miller Barber, golfer
 * J. B. Bobo, a magician
 * Willie Buchanon, American football player
 * David Crowder, musician
 * LaMichael James, American football player for the Oregon Ducks
 * Brandon Jones, (NFL American football player for the San Francisco 49ers)
 * Scott Joplin, musician and composer
 * Lance Kennedy, philanthropist, political activist, voice actor
 * Joshua Logan, film and stage director
 * Ryan Mallett, NFL football player for the New England Patriots
 * Eddie Mathews, baseball player
 * Nicholas McDowell, amateur indie filmmaker
 * 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 on Steve McQueen, Pete Maravich and Elvis Presley
 * Jeremiah Trotter, American football player
 * Nathan Vasher, American football player for the San Diego Chargers
 * Otis Williams, musician, founding member of The Temptations
 * Drew Stubbs, Baseball player for the Cincinnati Reds
 * Jesse Belvin, singer, pianist and songwriter popular in the 1950s
 * Selena Perez (1971–1995) Famous Latin singer
 * Jeff Keith, lead singer of rock band, Tesla
 * Dame Marjorie Morris Scardino, Pulitzer Prize winning publisher and CEO of Pearson
 * Slade Heathcott, New York Yankees 2009 first round draft choice