1954 Map of Texarkana

About this map

The border-straddling city of Texarkana is revealed in meticulous detail during the mid-1950s, showing the complex intersection of the Texas-Arkansas state line. This era captures the city as a major multi-state rail hub, where the tracks of the Kansas City Southern, Texas and Pacific, St Louis Southwestern, and Missouri Pacific converge. The urban landscape is dense with community infrastructure, from the St Louis Southwestern Railway Hospital to segregated education centers like Dunbar High Sch and Booker T Washington High Sch. Beyond the central grid, the map details the burgeoning suburbs of Nash and Wake Village, as well as the outlying Federal Correctional Institution. The presence of numerous neighborhood churches such as New Zion Ch and Hickory St Ch provides a granular look at the social geography of the twin cities during this postwar period.