September 14th, 2021 … Summer of Fun continues! Good bye Texas, Hello Arkansas!

We woke early to enjoy our coffee outside. It was really early, because the sun was not even up yet. But, the wildlife was active. There was a mother deer and her fawn on the beach. It was too dark to capture a perfect picture, this one will have to do.

The mother deer is behind the second tree from the left and the fawn is on the far right.

         

A pair of Great Blue Heron were in and out of the water, here they are drying their feathers!

The blue jays came back out as it got a little lighter.

Being military, every time we go by something military we pay a bit more attention. We say a Texas National Guard Site along Hwy 271, north of Paris. Camp Maxey began as a World War II training camp. Today, Camp Maxey is a Texas Army National Guard training facility. The camp sits on the banks of the Pat Mayse Lake. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built the lake for flood control in 1967 and now operates the lake as a recreation area. The US Army used the camp, named in honor of Confederate General and later US Senator Samuel Bell Maxey, from 1942 to 1945 to train infantry soldiers heading to fight in Europe during World War II. The 36,682-acre camp included a mock German village with buildings named Gestapo or Himmler, among others, and decorated with Nazi Swastikas.

In an era before electronic targets, camp designers used an ingenious arrangement of ropes and pulleys to pop silhouette targets up in windows and doorways to add authenticity and realism to the village training area. The camp’s obstacle course used challenging barbed wire barriers and small dynamite charges to simulate artillery explosions. The camp had varied terrain perfect for infantry maneuvers. In total, the camp had a capacity to train about 45,000 soldiers. Additionally, the camp served as one of the thirty-three internment camps for German prisoners of war captured in North Africa. Back then, the camp provided some 10,000 civilian jobs to area residents. Women's groups in Paris created the “Maxey Command” committee to host dances for the soldiers and the citizens of Paris graciously organized many recreational activities to support the troops and the war effort. The Texas Army National Guard has operated the site since the mid-1940s. In 2008, the citizens of Paris again rose to support their troops when the Guard announced it would train soldiers heading for the war in Iraq at the camp.

We came into Blossom Texas, however the original name of the community was Blossom Prairie. Davy Crockett is said to have entered Texas near present Blossom. William Patton, Crockett’s nephew crossed the Red River into Blossom Prairie in November of 1836 and a three year-old who later became Texas Ranger Ben Dragoo came to Blossom Prairie with his family in 1838. By 1873, The roadbed for the Texas & Pacific Railroad was graded, but no track materialized. For three years there was a gap between Texarkana and Brookston. Freight was transported by wagon, to bridge the gap - passing through Blossom. Later, a passenger and freight depot was built on Front Street. Blossom Prairie Academy was established in 1884 at this time the town’s population was around 1,000. The town of Blossom Prairie was incorporated on January 8, 1886 and the name was shortened to the present Blossom two years later. Lamar College was founded in 1889. Blossom was once famous for its mineral water and wells were said to have numbered one hundred. The only one remaining today is in Blossom’s City Park.

'Taking the Waters in Texas' a book on springs, includes Bell’s Mineral Wells, Blossom Wells and Beauchamp Wells as three different names in the Blossom vicinity. Hotels opened to house the patrons “taking the waters.” A portion of the former Burke Hotel is now a residence. Cotton growers could have their cotton ginned and baled at one of the two Blossom gins. There were also two brick manufacturers. A hardware store is one of two remaining buildings in town made of Blossom Brick. By 1903, Blossom had one bank, two in 1910, and a third in 1919. Blossom still has mineral water in the City Park although the hotels, bathhouse and brickyards are now gone. Blossom’s population dipped down to about 650 people at one point during the Great Depression. Today many Blossomites commute to Paris and the population is now about 1,500.

Detroit Texas downtown looks like it did back in the wild wild west! Detroit is on the Missouri Pacific Railroad and US Highway 82. It developed around the proposed route of the Texas and Pacific Railway in the early 1870s. When the railroad was completed in 1876 the post office at nearby Starkesville was moved to the new town, which was named Bennett.

In 1887 J. M. Stephens, the local railway agent, renamed the town Detroit for his former home in Michigan. Because of its location on the railroad the town soon became an important trading center and shipping point for area farmers. By 1884 the population had reached 200, and local institutions included two steam mills, two cotton gins, a church, and a district school.

By 1890 the population had reached 750, and the town had a weekly newspaper, the New Era, published by SB Norwood. Two years later two hotels and a bank were in operation, and the population of Detroit was estimated at 900. By 1910 it had reached 1,500. During the years following 1910 the population of Detroit declined steadily, reaching a low of 425 by 1960. Then the town began to grow again, with population ranging between 700 and 800.

      

Settlement began around 1835 and according to one legend, the town was named by none other than Alamo defender Davy Crockett. It was supposedly Crockett’s suggestion that the nameless town be named for the American Revolution’s General Baron de Kalb. DeKalb College was founded in 1839 and prospective residents were screened by the landowners who donated the school land. DeKalb was the first seat of Bowie County by 1841 although growth was slow until it became a stop on the Texas and Pacific Railroad in 1876. It wasn’t until 1890 that the town had a population of 500. This figure doubled to over 1,000 by 1930. It remained primarily an agricultural economy – bolstered by the Red River Army Depot.

When the railroad was being constructed four miles north of Boston in the summer of 1876, it was clear to many businessmen in Boston (now Old Boston) that their town would suffer a serious decline as a consequence of its distance from the line. At a mass meeting JH Smelser, a local resident and surveyor for the railroad, was selected to meet with railroad officials to secure the location of a depot at a point on the line nearest to Boston. The negotiations were successful, and in September 1876 lots were laid out and put up for sale on 100 acres that the railroad had purchased. Because most of those engaged in the project were from Boston, the new town was named New Boston. A post office was established in 1877 with LC DeMorse as postmaster. The town grew rapidly. By 1884 it had 400 residents, two churches, a school, several mills and gins, and a newspaper, the New Boston Herald, edited by WW West. A furniture factory and another newspaper, the Bowie County Populist, were added in the 1890s.

During World War II the Lone Star Army Ammunition Plant and the Red River Army Depot were constructed just southeast of New Boston. The two massive military installations were probably responsible for the town's rapid growth in the 1940s. The population grew from 1,111 in 1940 to 2,688 in 1950. In 1980 it reached 4,628. Although a large paper mill and a few smaller factories provided some industrial base for the town, in 1987 New Boston depended heavily on the two military installations for its continued prosperity. On March 4, 1986, a new county courthouse was dedicated in New Boston, but Boston remained the official county seat. The old Bowie County Courthouse, constructed in Boston in 1889 and one of the handsomest in Northeast Texas, was abandoned after construction of the new building. On the night of August 13, 1987, the old courthouse was burned by an arsonist.

In New Boston, we found this old church that has been reinvented as a music hall. Music Country USA boasts that it features some of the very best talent in the 4 states area since 1985! It offers a smoke and alcohol free, family friendly venue. Some of the biggest names in Country Music (past and present), have also graced their stage...like ,Gene Watson, David Houston, Aaron Watson, Del Reeves, Johnny Rodriguez, T Graham Brown and the list goes on! They have our regular shows, featuring The Music Country USA Band, plus lots of local talent, on the 4th Saturday night of each month.

Originally, Red River Army Depot (RRAD) was intended only as an ammunition storage depot. However, no sooner had the first trainloads of ammunition begun to arrive, than the demands of World War II caused top defense planners to take another look at the new installation. A good labor market, excellent transportation facilities, and the installation's nearness to the great southwestern training areas and southern ports were reason enough to expand the depot mission to include general supply storage and tank repair facilities. RRAD has survived several rounds of 'downsizing' but continues to be a major employer in the area. The depot is host to 16 tenant organizations, with the largest being the Defense Logistics Agency Distribution Depot.

The depot’s mission is to conduct ground combat and tactical systems sustainment maintenance operations and related support services worldwide for US and Allied Forces and friendly nations in support of the Warfighter. The depot's vast industrial complex has the capacity and capability to repair, rebuild and overhaul combat systems and tactical vehicles. The Secretary of the Army has designated RRAD as a Center of Industrial and Technical Excellence for Rubber Products, Bradley Fighting Vehicle System, Multiple Launch Rocket System, Small Emplacement Excavator and Tactical Wheeled Vehicles. Our Rubber Products Division is the only facility of its kind in the Department of Defense, providing sophisticated, state-of-the-art track shoe and road wheel manufacturing and rebuild. RRAD technical resources include the capability to design, fabricate and manufacture a wide variety of items, from specialty parts to unique prototype weapon systems and vehicles. For over seven decades, RRAD has proven that we have what it takes to support critical missions in direct support of the Warfighter.

Driving into Hooks, we found some “train art.” The town grew up around Warren Hooks's plantation in the late 1830s. Rail service began in 1876. A post office opened in 1884 with James Smith as postmaster. By 1890 the town had three churches, a school, two sawmills, a hotel, and 250 residents. Later a bank and a weekly newspaper were added. Shortly before the United States entered World War II, two large military installations, the Red River Army Depot and the Lone Star Army Ammunition Plant, were constructed just south of the town, spurring growth dramatically. By 1940 the population was reported as 800, and by 1950 it had risen to 2,319, where it remained stable. In 1980 Hooks had a population of 2,507. Most of the labor force was employed at the two military installations. In 1990 the population was 2,684. In 2000 the town had 111 businesses and 2,973 inhabitants.

Texarkana was named for its location on the state line between Bowie County, Texas, and Miller County, Arkansas, only a short distance above the Louisiana boundary. The three parts of its name honor the three states. There is some debate about the actual origins of the name, which was in use some time before the town's founding. According to one tradition, the name was derived from a steamboat known as the Texarkana, which plied the water of the Red River as early as 1860. Others claim that a man named Swindle, who ran a general store in Red Land, Bossier Parish, Louisiana, manufactured a drink called "Texarkana Bitters." Yet another story claims that when the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railroad was building its line through the area, Col. Gus Knobel, who made the survey, coined the name and erected a large sign at the site. The strategic position of Texarkana is the keynote to its history and development. Texarkana has remained a gateway to the Southwest. In 1876 Texarkana, Texas, was granted a charter under an act of the state legislature.

State Line Avenue, the town's main street, was laid out exactly along the dividing line between the two states. Initially the town had only a single post office, on the Arkansas side of the town. Those living on the Texas side requested a post office of their own. Postal officials granted the request, and a post office, known as Texarkana, Texas, operated from 1886 to 1892, when it was closed. For some time after that the post office was known as Texarkana, Arkansas, until Congressman John Morris Sheppard secured a postal order changing the name officially to Texarkana, Arkansas-Texas. While commercially one city, Texarkana consists of two separate municipalities, aldermanic in form, with two mayors and two sets of councilmen and city officials. There is a cooperative arrangement for the joint operation of fire department, food and dairy inspection, sewage disposal, environmental sanitation, and supervised recreational programs. The Federal Building has the distinction of being the only building of its kind situated in two states.

Magnolia Arkansas was founded in 1853. At the time of its incorporation in 1858 the city had a population of about 1950. The city grew slowly as an agricultural and regional cotton market until the discovery of oil just east of the city in March, 1938, with the Barnett #1 drilled by the Kerr-Lynn Company. The Magnolia Oil Field was an important discovery, not just for the city but for the nation, as it was the largest producing field during the early years of World War II, helping to fuel the American war effort. It is also home to Southern Arkansas University, the World's Largest Charcoal Grill and the World Championship Steak Cookoff, part of the Magnolia Blossom Festival.

Southern Arkansas Universities main playing field at the Mulerider Softball Complex as Dawson Athletic Complex. The naming of Dawson Field comes after members of the Dawson Family generously donated the lights at both fields within the complex in honor of their late father, Bill Dawson Sr., as well as their late sister, Melissa Dawson. The field dedication also represents completion of the $1.3 million Mulerider Softball Complex facility project. The connection between the Dawson Family, Southern Arkansas University and the town of Magnolia began with the late Bill Dawson Sr. as he spent part of his 33-year coaching/school administration career in Magnolia, while his sons Charlie and Bill Jr. (Billy) both played baseball and garnered NAIA All-America honors in their time at SAU.

There was a huge Tuscan Style Mansion outside of Magnolia on US 82. I could not find out anything about the home or the owner, but it was an awesome looking home! Too big for us … you have to clean all those rooms!

We arrived at Crossett Harbor RV Park, it looks to be an old State Park or a COE campground. It has paved sites, mostly back in with concrete picnic tables, water and electric. No matter how it was built, we are glad that we found it. 

$17 a night and we were guided to our site by the park manager. He checked the electric boxes for wasps and registered us right on the site. There are some “longer term” residents there, but they were all friendly! We got TV stations and enjoyed sitting out for the afternoon!

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