Historian talks about ways to preserve older towns
Cass County Genealogical Society members studied nearby neighbor Texarkana recently, thanks to historian and Texarkana community leader Dr. Beverly Rowe.
Her illustrated lecture described what happens to a town when its central city becomes empty.
“Texarkana was once a thriving hub,” Rowe began. “Nine railway companies brought passengers and freight into town daily. Some 70 trains arrived. Lumber, glass and pipe manufacturers did a booming business. Immigrants came to see if they wanted to settle here.”
This was through the 1960s, and then change happened.
“Railroad traffic declined, and Interstate Highway 30 replaced the train traffic. Businesses moved closer to I-30, abandoning old downtown to its ghosts,” Rowe said.
As years went by and properties were vacated, a decision was made to bulldoze many buildings in hopes new builders and businesses would arrive.
It was an unrewarded effort, Rowe said.
“You know how many of those empty spaces have been re-occupied by new buildings and business? Not one,” she said.
Rowe admitted it is not economically feasible today to maintain or bring an old building up to code. Costs can run into the tens of millions.
Then she gave several suggestions of other ways to preserve old towns, ideas that appealed to her as a historian and as one who has purchased property in the downtown area and personally lives there.
The suggestions also fit the work of genealogists.
“Here are ways to preserve old town,” she said.
1. Collect existing information and put it together in an accessible format.
2. Interview and preserve the memories of elderly citizens.
3. Create a visual display of what once was.
“What if we could collect information about each business person who contributed to our town’s legacy,” she continued. “That would be a way of preserving our unique downtown area.”
Rowe has accomplished a degree of this for Texarkana. She has created “All Aboard,” the Lindsey Railroad Museum and “Walk Back in Time!,” Texarkana’s Old Town Museum in the downtown area.
She has also written books and articles about the area. Recently, she was one of 30 in the nation to receive a national Daughters of the American Revolution historic preservation medal.
Her presence was an example of the work the Cass County Genealogical Society puts into its preservation efforts.
The society meets 6:30 p.m. on the second Tuesdays of the month at the Fellowship Hall of the First United Methodist Church in Queen City. Guest speakers make presentations on history topics and a light meal is served. The public is invited.