Want to see what was on the menu at the Grim Hotel decades ago? Or who Texarkana’s very first overnight visitors were more than a century ago?

That’s the nature of discoveries on display at the Museum of Regional History with its new exhibit “Main Treasures: A Celebration of Downtown,” which runs through August.

The display of some of the oldest and rarest items from downtown Texarkana recall the days when downtown was truly the center of town.

On display are some items from the museum’s permanent collection and some on loan from people renovating downtown and finding bits and pieces of the past.

“We took items out of our collection that have been donated over several years and some of these actually date back to when the museum was founded. The thing they have in common is they were all found in the buildings in the downtown area as they were being restored or renovated. A lot of these are recent additions,” said Jamie Simmons, Texarkana Museums System curator.

Some things look like curiosities, she said, but knowing the story behind them gives insight into what life was like in Texarkana’s earlier times.

In one exhibit case, for example, is an old sewer pipe made of wood with a metal insert.

However, this history isn’t just behind a display case. Some old downtown buildings still bear tin tiles, which at one time were popular for ceilings.

“One thing that a lot of people don’t realize when they walk into these old buildings is a lot of the elements they see are original, like the hexagonal tiles you’ll see in the entrance of these buildings,” said Simmons.

Some of the electrical equipment from Dr. Beverly Rowe’s building in the 200 block of East Broad is on display. Its significance, said Simmons, is that it was one of the first buildings to incorporate electricity in town.

Some of the treasures come from the plentiful downtown hotels, which were important for a young and growing Texarkana. An 1887 guest register from the Huckins House hotel lists early visitors and pioneers.

“A lot of these hotels were actually established by the railroad,” Simmons said.

It makes sense, then, how the McCartney Hotel faces the downtown train station. That’s also true of the Downtown Post Office.

An aerial photograph from 1927 gives a look at the Post Office, the recently built Grim Hotel and many other spots.

“A lot of our historic buildings are shown that are still standing, like the Rialto behind the Grim ...,” Simmons said.

Looking at a menu circa 1944 from the Grim Hotel, Simmons points out a salmon plate for a ridiculously low price (by today’s standards), coffee for a nickel and barbecued fresh pork with hot sauce for a dollar. But for the time, the food was pricey.

“And they had a whole staff of chefs on hand, so the chefs went out, selected the meat, prepared everything fresh daily, so this was a gourmet-style restaurant within the hotel,” said Simmons.

The menus are dated, and Simmons thinks they were changed at least once a week. Coffee shop receipts, room keys, kitchen requisition forms and other items give a glimpse of the day-to-day, hustle-and-bustle life of the Grim.

“We also ... have a large scrapbook that was donated by the last manager that pretty much covers the entire history of this hotel up to 1991 when the last occupant (a barbershop, left),” said Simmons.

Elsewhere in the exhibit are one of the very first radio receivers in Texarkana (circa 1925), an early teletype machine, various kinds of business equipment, an early cash register, an in-house printing press, architectural pieces and even tourist souvenirs.

“There is much beauty in our downtown that has been forgotten, but now is being remembered. The exhibit makes that very apparent,” said Ina McDowell, executive director of TMS, “The once bustling part of Texarkana has had renewed energy with the recent interest in revitalizing our downtown community.”



(Museum of Regional History, 219 N. State Line Ave. Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Admission: $5 for adults, $3.50 for children. Info: 903-793-4831.)