Everything Ashdown is known for
Songs written about the waterways and highways that run near Ashdown.
Richmond, Arkansas, isn't a place that shouts from the rooftops, but it holds its history close. The land, slightly elevated above the waters of Millwood Lake, whispers of cotton fields and hard work. The arrival of the railroad in the late 1800s changed everything, but the echoes of that boom still linger in the quiet streets. Life here moves at a different pace, a reminder of a time before the world sped up.
Richmond, Arkansas, took root in the late 19th century, riding the rails to a modest prosperity. Established around 1880, likely named for a leading local family, the town's fate was quickly tied to King Cotton. The arrival of the railroad spurred growth, transforming the landscape into fields of white. Even now, agriculture, particularly cotton and livestock, define the area. Life in Richmond unfolded at a deliberate pace, a rhythm set by the seasons and the land. The slight rise in elevation, a mere 266 feet, offered a subtle distinction from the sprawling waters of nearby Millwood Lake. The 20th century brought both boom and bust. The Great Depression hit hard, crippling the cotton market and plunging families into hardship. Yet, resilience took root alongside the cotton. Local lore whispers of a hidden treasure, a cache of Civil War gold buried somewhere in the surrounding hills, a symbol of past conflict and enduring hope. Later, the echoes of nearby Ashdown High School's roaring Friday night football games, multiple state championships, provided a shared point of pride. Though the Dallas Cowboys, several hours west, won Super Bowl XXX in 1996, against Pittsburgh, Richmond remained focused on its own quiet corner of the world. Today, Richmond offers a glimpse into a slower, simpler time, a testament to the enduring power of place.
Richmond, Arkansas, a small town nestled slightly above the waters of Millwood Lake, carries a name that whispers of ambition, even if the exact origin is shrouded in the mists of time. Established around 1880, the town likely took its moniker from a prominent settler, a figure whose name has faded but whose influence was significant enough to christen the burgeoning community. "Richmond" evokes images of rich lands and prosperous futures, a hope perhaps shared by those who saw the potential in the area's fertile soil. The arrival of the railroad further fueled this optimism, connecting Richmond to wider markets and bolstering its agricultural economy, particularly its cotton production. Though the promise of prosperity faced harsh realities during the Great Depression, when the cotton-dependent economy suffered immensely, Richmond persevered. The name, however, seems to hold a certain irony considering the hardships. Even now, the town retains a slow-paced atmosphere, reminiscent of a bygone era. Local tales of buried Civil War gold add another layer of intrigue, hinting at a hidden wealth that might one day surface to truly make Richmond live up to its name.
Near here for 1,000 years, 800-1800 A.D., lived civilized Caddoes, who thought they were the sole survivors of a prehistoric flood and ancestors of all Indians. Their ceremonial mounds stood high above Red River. They had a significant role in exchanges between Puebloan Indians and the Mound-Builders in the east. They domesticated food plants such as corn, squash and beans and manufactured fine pottery. Because of pressure from Euro-American settlers, they left this area, and descendants are found in Oklahoma. Their village site is now under state protection. (1981) Incise in base: Marker sponsored by the Hoblitzelle Foundation
Entered Texas at this point. The 1813 road from St. Louis brought in great numbers of pioneers: Stephen F. Austin, his settlers, Sam Houston, James Bowie, David Crockett and others who died in the Texas Revolution. From here pointed southwest. Crossed the Sulphur at Epperson ferry, going south to Nacogdoches, linking "Southwest Trail" with the King's Highway to Mexico. Surveyed by Nicholas Trammel (born in Nashville, Tenn., 1780; died, LaGrange, Texas, 1852), one of a family of U. S. surveyors and scouts. Mapped many trails, but only this one bears his name. (1965)
Were explorers and traders for about a century. Claimed coastal Texas early as 1685 when La Salle established his Fort Saint Louis colony. Another Fort Saint Louis, among Nassonite Indians, a few miles northwest of this marker, was founded in 1719 by a French captain, Benard de La Harpe, who came up the Red River. This fort was a center for trade with the Cadodacho (Caddoes) of northeast Texas and the Wichita, Tawakoni, Tonkawa and other tribes of North Texas. Over 250,000 French and Caddo Indian artifacts have been found near here-- including two millstones used in a flour mill near the fort. Although Spain claimed Texas earlier and during the time of La Harpe, this did not discourage the French; they traded as far south as the mouth of the Trinity until Louisiana was ceded to Spain in 1762. The chief French influence in east Texas was the Cavalier Saint Denis (1676-1744), who controlled Red River area of Louisiana, frequently coming into Texas. At first he prospected for silver and gold, as Spain had done. Later he found trading with the Indians was very profitable. The French had no policy against trading guns to Indians; partly for that reason they were more popular than the Spainards. (1966)
Red Lick is a small town located off Farm Road 2148 about seven miles west of Texarkana in northeastern Bowie County. The community began in the 1860s and was named by residents who observed that a nearby red clay hill served as a salt lick for area deer. By the late 1800s social life centered around the Red Lick Methodist Episcopal Church, South, founded in 1885. The Bob Bonner family donated land for the wooden structure that also functioned as a lodge hall and school. Eventually a cemetery was located on an adjacent tract to the north. Church records in the early 1890s listed seventy names, and in 1906 church trustees included members of the Hargis, Earnest, Edwards, Medley, and White families. In 1909 a fire destroyed the church, but the congregation constructed another two-story building on that site. That structure suffered heavy damage in June 1935 when a tornado hit the community. Red Lick maintained its country school throughout the decades just prior to and after World War II . Farm Road 2148 was built through the area in the 1950s. In 1968 the church name was changed to Red Lick United Methodist Church. No population figures were available for Red Lick throughout most of the twentieth century until 1990, when the village had an estimated 448 residents. The Methodist church received a historical marker in 1992. Residents, concerned over the encroachment of nearby Texarkana, voted to incorporate Red Lick in 1997, and in 2000 the town had a mayor and council and a volunteer fire department. The population was 853.
Henry Ross Perot, a groundbreaking information technology businessman, philanthropist, and two-time presidential candidate, was born on June 27, 1930, in Texarkana, Texas. His parents, Gabriel Ross Perot, Sr., and Lulu May (Ray) Perot, originally named him Henry Ray, but he changed his middle name to Ross in honor of his brother, Gabriel Ross, who died as a young child. Thereafter he went by Ross Perot, though journalists often included his first initial in media reports, much to his chagrin. Hard-working and ambitious, Perot caught the entrepreneurial bug from his father, a cotton broker and horse trader. During his adolescence, Perot hawked garden seeds and delivered daily newspapers to neighbors. He was active in the Boy Scouts and at age thirteen achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. Throughout his life he credited the Boy Scouts for its influence on his values of hard work and leadership. He achieved good grades at Texarkana’s Texas High School, not through intellectual brilliance but rather diligence and elbow grease. Perot then spent two years at Texarkana Junior College before Senator W. Lee “Pappy” O’Daniel granted his appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy. Perot’s leadership qualities blossomed at Annapolis. He held numerous elected positions, including serving as class president during his junior and senior years. He also chaired the Honor Committee, credited with developing an honor system, at the Naval Academy. Perot met Margot Birmingham during his final year in Annapolis, and the couple eventually married on September 15, 1956, and went on to have five children. After graduating from Annapolis in 1953, Perot matriculated into the U. S. Navy where he was first assigned to the destroyer USS Sigourney during the latter days of the Korean War. He later served as an assistant navigator aboard the aircraft carrier USS Leyte . A chance encounter aboard the Leyte with an International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) executive changed Perot’s life. The businessman encouraged Perot to apply for a job at IBM, further convincing Perot that his future lay in the private sector rather than the military ranks. Subsequently, Perot declined to re-enlist when his service ended in 1957. After mustering out of the U. S. Navy, Perot accepted a job offer from Dallas-based IBM—the first step of his business career. He quickly made a name for himself as a top-notch salesman and once completed his yearly sales quota within three weeks. Equipped with an energetic mind and thirst for innovation, Perot urged IBM to enter the nascent computer software industry to complement to the company’s robust hardware unit. The IBM leadership, content with their business model, rejected his advice. Perot grew frustrated with the company’s slow-moving bureaucracy and struck out on his own, founding Electronic Data Systems (EDS), with an initial investment of $1,000, in 1962. Perot built EDS to handle software and technical logistics for companies with large data needs, a strategy which seemed far ahead of the competition. EDS made millions processing data for major businesses such as insurance carrier Blue Cross and Blue Shield . When his company went public in 1968, shares skyrocketed from $16 a share to $162 and made him one of the wealthiest men in America overnight. In 1984 Perot sold EDS to General Motors for a staggering $2.5 billion and assumed a position on the company board. His cantankerous personality and criticism of General Motors management, however, irked board members, who bought out his shares in 1986. In 1988 Perot launched a new Plano-based corporation, Perot Systems, with his son Ross Perot, Jr., and brought over disgruntled EDS executives to compete with his former company. Perot Systems failed to reach the dizzying heights of EDS. Perot eventually stepped down as chairman in 2000, and the company was purchased by Dell Computer Corporation in 2009. Perot’s fabulous wealth and renowned business acumen opened doors to philanthropy as
In the spring of nineteen forty-six, Texarkana had a problem it couldn't name. Eight people were attacked over ten weeks — always on weekends, always at night, always in lovers' lanes or quiet roads on the dark edges of town. Five died. The attacker left no fingerprints, no usable witnesses, and no weapon. The Texas Rangers worked the case. The Federal Bureau of Investigation worked the case. A su…
75 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.
Ashdown, Arkansas, owes its existence to the iron horse. Carved from the Red River plains in the late 19th century, its establishment as a town directly correlates with the expansion of the railroad. Named for a…
Ever wonder what it was like when railroads ruled transportation? This little depot in Wilton is a real survivor from that era. Built around 1893, this is the only train station still standing that was built by the…
Richmond, Arkansas, isn't a place that shouts from the rooftops, but it holds its history close. The land, slightly elevated above the waters of Millwood Lake, whispers of cotton fields and hard work. The arrival of the…
Red Lick is a small town located off Farm Road 2148 about seven miles west of Texarkana in northeastern Bowie County. The community began in the 1860s and was named by residents who observed that a nearby red clay hill…
Near here for 1,000 years, 800-1800 A.D., lived civilized Caddoes, who thought they were the sole survivors of a prehistoric flood and ancestors of all Indians. Their ceremonial mounds stood high above Red River. They…
Entered Texas at this point. The 1813 road from St. Louis brought in great numbers of pioneers: Stephen F. Austin, his settlers, Sam Houston, James Bowie, David Crockett and others who died in the Texas Revolution. From…
Were explorers and traders for about a century. Claimed coastal Texas early as 1685 when La Salle established his Fort Saint Louis colony. Another Fort Saint Louis, among Nassonite Indians, a few miles northwest of this…
You're driving past Texarkana, and we're heading back to 1831. Collin McKinney and his family were holding informal worship services at McKinney's Landing, defying Mexican law that demanded allegiance to the Catholic…
Pleasant Grove High School (Texarkana, TX): Most recent: 35-21 over Wimberley · 2019 4A Division 2 final.
Pleasant Grove (Texarkana), TX placed on the Texas high school baseball PLAYOFF HITS leaderboard for the 2026 postseason: Hunter Rose (17 hits, #8 in TX).
Pleasant Grove (Texarkana) put 4 players on the statewide leaderboards of the 2026 Texas high school baseball playoffs. Hunter Rose had the fewest hits allowed per inning in the state, 17 hits (8th in the state), 13 RBI…
You're driving past the site of the Red Lick Methodist Church. Founded around 1885, services have been held here since the 1890s on land donated by the Bob Bonner family. Early services were held in a shared building,…
Henry Ross Perot, a groundbreaking information technology businessman, philanthropist, and two-time presidential candidate, was born on June 27, 1930, in Texarkana, Texas. His parents, Gabriel Ross Perot, Sr., and Lulu…
You're driving through Texarkana, Texas, the birthplace of Dorothea Towles Church. She started out studying medicine, but after her mother passed, she moved to Los Angeles and found her calling in modeling. She was the…
You're driving through East Texas, not far from Nash, where Everette Lee DeGolyer made history in the oil fields. In 1922, he instigated the very first geophysical survey of an oilfield in the United States, right here…
You're driving through Texarkana, Texas, the birthplace of James Paul Grigson, Jr., a man controversially known as 'Dr. Death.' Grigson was a forensic psychiatrist who testified in over 150 capital murder cases, often…
Right here in Texarkana, you're driving past the former stomping grounds of Eliza E. Peterson. Born in 1874, she became a national leader in the temperance movement and a suffragist. As president of the Texas Woman's…
You're driving through Texarkana, a town that gave baseball fans one of the game's all-time sluggers: Eddie Mathews. Born right here in nineteen thirty-one, Mathews grew up to be a star for the Milwaukee Braves. In…
You're driving through Texarkana, and right here is where a German immigrant named Julius Weiss gave the King of Ragtime, Scott Joplin, his very first formal music lessons. Born in Saxony around 1840, Weiss arrived in…
You're driving through Texarkana, a city that became the heart of the gospel music world. Right here, in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1926</say-as>, Jesse Randall Baxter, known as 'Pap,' teamed up with V. O.…
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You're driving through Texarkana, and right here is a place with a story. In 1930, Dr. Garling Uriah Jamison, a prominent African-American physician, opened the Jamison Building. It was the first building in the region…
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You're driving through Cass County, and right here is where Munz City used to be. It was founded in the early 1900s by the Munzheimer brothers, who envisioned a bustling railroad hub. They built the Northeast Texas…
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You're driving through what was once Marion County, where Horace Worth Vaughan was born back in 1867. Vaughan became a lawyer and a politician, rising through the ranks in Texarkana. He was a fierce advocate for…
You're driving through Texarkana, a town that sits right on the Texas-Arkansas border. This is where Lucile Sanderson was born in 1890. She grew up here, studied music in Virginia and D.C., and eventually married Morris…
You're driving through Texarkana, a town that claims to be the birthplace of Jasper Taylor, a pioneering jazz percussionist born in 1894. Taylor left Texas in 1912 to join a Wild West Show, and by 1913, he was playing…
You're driving through Texarkana, a city that owes its existence to ambitious railroad dreams. The Texarkana and Fort Smith Railway, originally chartered in 1885, was meant to connect this city to the Red River, and…
You're driving through Bowie County, Texas, perhaps near Texarkana, where Augustus Calhoun Allen made his home after the Civil War. But before that, Allen was a Confederate officer, a captain in the Nineteenth Texas…
You're driving through Bowie County, possibly near Texarkana, where William Lee Estes built a remarkable career. After earning his law degree from the University of Texas in 1894, Estes returned to Texarkana and quickly…
You're driving through Nash, Texas, a town born from the railroads. Back in the 1870s, this spot was just a junction where a branch line from Marshall met the main Texas and Pacific line. Folks called it…
You're driving through Texarkana, a city that owes much of its modern educational landscape to Henry W. Stilwell. Born near Lone Oak in 1886, Stilwell dedicated his life to shaping Texas schools. After years teaching…
You're driving through Bowie County, heading towards Texarkana, and right here is a place that saw a lot of political action. William Harrison Tilson was a lawyer, a Confederate soldier, and a key figure in state…
You're driving near Texarkana, heading toward Wright Patman Lake. This massive body of water, originally called the Texarkana Reservoir, was born from a massive engineering effort. Construction on the dam began way back…
You're driving through Texarkana, Texas, the birthplace of Lammar Wright, a jazz trumpeter whose searing solos helped define the sound of early jazz. Born in 1905 or 1907, Wright joined Bennie Moten's band in Kansas…
Hooks, Texas, might seem like just another quiet spot in Bowie County, but it's got a story to tell, and more than a few interesting characters have walked these streets. You can feel it in the air – a kind of…
Foreman, Arkansas, owes its existence to the railroad, a lifeline that carved its way across the flat landscape, establishing the town in 1899 and naming it for a railroad foreman. At 351 feet above sea level, the land…
You're cruising through Nash, a town with a name that changed as much as its population. It started around 1873 as 'T. C. Junction,' right where the Texas & Pacific Railroad cut across the landscape. By 1884, the post…
Nash, Texas, might seem like a quiet spot on the map, but it's a place with its own story etched into the landscape. This is Red River country, a little higher than the plains around it, where the land feeds into the…
The most important American composer you can hum but probably can't name grew up right here. Scott Joplin was born near Texarkana around 1868, the son of a formerly enslaved laborer and a freeborn woman who cleaned…
You're driving through Bowie County, near the town of Hooks, which owes its name to a prominent planter family. Robert Warren Hooks, born in Alabama in 1836, moved with his family to this area around 1848. His father…
You're driving west of Texarkana, and right here is Hooks, Texas. This community started way back in the late 1830s, growing up around the plantation of Warren Hooks. For decades, it was a quiet spot, gaining a post…
You're driving through Hooks, Texas, a town named after a man who became one of Northeast Texas's largest landowners. Warren Hooks arrived from Alabama in the late 1840s, eventually owning over 13,000 acres and a…
Texarkana's story is etched into its very name, a confluence of Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana. Founded in the 1870s, its location near the Red River, though slightly elevated at 390 feet, made it a natural crossroads.…
In the spring of nineteen forty-six, Texarkana had a problem it couldn't name. Eight people were attacked over ten weeks — always on weekends, always at night, always in lovers' lanes or quiet roads on the dark edges of…
Wake Village is a place where the ordinary can quickly become extraordinary. Drive around, and you might think it’s just another quiet Texas town. But those of us who live here know there's more to the story.
You're driving through Hooks, Texas, a town that owes its name to Warren Hooks, who established a supply center here on his plantation way back in 1848. For decades, farming was the name of the game, with cotton and…
You're driving through Texarkana, a city born from the railroad back in 1873. Just two years later, this Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery was established when Colonel R.W. Rodgers donated land. His own daughter, Agnes,…
You're driving through Texarkana, the birthplace of a true American music legend: Scott Joplin. Born right here in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1868</say-as>, Joplin would become known as the "King of Ragtime…
You're driving through Texarkana, a city born from a railroad and a crossroads. Back in December <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1873</say-as>, the Texas & Pacific railroad platted this townsite, holding a big…
You're driving past the home of Howell W. Runnels, built around 1874. Runnels himself arrived in Texas way back in 1842 and served in the Legislature in the late 1850s. But the real story here is his wife, Martha. She…
Lockesburg sits nestled in Sevier County, Arkansas, a place whose story is deeply intertwined with the timber industry and the changing fortunes of the American South. The area's history stretches back to the early 19th…
You're driving past the Ellis House in Texarkana, built in 1893 for local realtor Gaither Booker Ellis and his wife Mary. Local builder Charles R. Korn designed and constructed this two-story Victorian home. Notice the…
For ten weeks in the spring of 1946, a hooded man crept up on couples parked on the outskirts of Texarkana and shot them. The attacks always came on weekends, always after dark, always on the Texas side of the state…
Scott Joplin grew up in Texarkana, a city split down the middle by the Arkansas-Texas state line. His father played violin, his mother sang and played banjo, and by his early teens, Joplin was playing piano in churches,…
Texarkana sits on land that feels ancient, even if the town itself is relatively young. The rolling hills, a gentle reminder of the Ouachita Mountains to the north, slope southward toward the Red River floodplain. It's…
You're driving past a building that's literally split down the middle, and not just by design. This United States Post Office and Courthouse straddles the state line between Texas and Arkansas. Imagine the paperwork!…
You're driving past the Ace of Clubs House in Texarkana, a home unlike any other you'll see on the road. Built in 1884 by J. H. Draughan, its design is inspired by a deck of cards. Three octagonal rooms, like the leaves…
You're driving past the World War I Memorial in Texarkana. This monument honors the men from both Bowie County, Texas, and Miller County, Arkansas, who gave their lives in the Great War between 1917 and 1918. It was…
You're driving past Pleasant Hill Missionary Baptist Church, a community anchor serving Black residents north of New Boston since February of <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1872</say-as>. Founded by Reverend…
You're driving through Texarkana, and right here is the site of St. James Episcopal Church. Local Episcopalians gathered in a hotel back in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1876</say-as> to get this congregation…
You're cruising through Texarkana, and just ahead, you'll see a building that's a real architectural echo of New York City. It's the Old Rialto Building, erected in 1902 by George Fouke, a true pioneer businessman who…
You're driving past the Whitaker House, built before 1891 by Benjamin F. Whitaker. He wasn't just a homeowner; Whitaker was a Texas State Senator and a key player in the lumber and railroad industries, even helping…
You're driving past the Jamison Building in Texarkana, a landmark that opened its doors in 1930. This wasn't just any building; it was the first black business and professional office building in the city. Designed by…
You're driving past the Offenhauser Building in Texarkana, a true pioneer of commerce. Built around 1879, it was the very first brick structure in town, housing the First National Bank. Upstairs, the Kelsey &…
You're driving past the historic Saenger Theatre in Texarkana! Opened on November 18, 1924, this grand building was designed by Emil Weil as a regional hub for culture and entertainment. It hosted everything from live…
Pause for a moment and imagine this quiet cemetery filled with the somber sounds of a nation at war. In 1862, Confederate troops stationed here in Rondo were struck by a devastating measles epidemic as the Union Army…
Stand on the state line as you admire this historic train station, a testament to the golden age of rail travel in America. Texarkana Union Station was built in 1928, right at the Arkansas-Texas border. The state line…
You're driving through New Boston, Texas, where a giant of early Texas history once called home. Richard Ellis, a Virginian by birth, was already a seasoned jurist and statesman when he arrived in Texas in 1825. But his…
You're driving past New Boston, Texas, where Harvey C. Sanders lived out his final years. Sanders was a Kentuckian who fought for the Confederacy in some of its bloodiest battles, including Shiloh and Chickamauga. After…
You're driving through Texarkana, passing the former home of Dr. A. H. A. Jones and his wife, Ruby. Ruby, a Texarkana native, designed this unique bungalow in 1938, using African American craftsmen to build it. Notice…
You're driving past Old Harrison Chapel Cemetery, a resting place founded way back in 1840 by Texas pioneers Charles Moores and his wife, Mary Harrison. Their chapel, named for her parents, was an all-faiths spot where…
Winthrop, Arkansas, owes its existence to the railroads that crisscrossed the southwest corner of the state in the late 19th century. Before it was named for a railroad official in 1880 and incorporated a decade later,…