For decades before it became a museum, the Ace of Clubs House downtown operated as a private home, and this included servants quarters situated upstairs in the carriage house.
That area, never before opened to the public, will be reworked to make an exhibit, said Zoe Nakashian, who oversees curatorial and collections duties at the Ace of Clubs. Situated above the main carriage house room, the quarters were built circa 1920 for a married couple who worked at the home as a cook and chauffeur, she said.
The Texarkana Museums System aims to restore the space to appear as it may have looked while servants lived there. The servants there at the Ace of Clubs were African-Americans, and restoring the space allows the TMS a chance to present this important aspect of the home's history. Without the servants' work, the household would not have been able to exist as it did, Nakashian said.
To that end, the TMS is looking for anyone who used to work at the Ace of Clubs as a servant or for people whose family worked there. The idea is to interview them and learn more about life at the Ace of Clubs. The TMS is also looking for items, such as photographs, that would help the non-profit organization interpret this experience for the exhibit, which is tentatively scheduled to open next month.
Stories related to the space help bring it to life, after all. The Ace of Clubs was a home for a century, from the 1880s to the 1980s.
"It gives it more of a personal feel if you have those stories," Nakashian said, adding, "Ideally we're going to open in February." It's one of a number of restoration projects the TMS has undertaken at the historic home.
Said Velvet Cool, the TMS board president, in a statement, "We look forward to taking the seemingly simple day-to-day duties of household servants and demonstrating the ripple effects those roles had on family, business associates and our community's overall growth."
Built in 1885, the Ace of Clubs House possesses a unique history and an unusual architecture, with its octagonal rooms. This exhibit is being funded initially by the Arkansas Community Foundation, Texarkana Main Street, Texas Historical Commission and Main Street America. Donations are accepted, too.
To share information about servants who worked and lived there, or to find out more information about the exhibit project, contact the TMS at 903-793-4831 or [email protected].
Guided tours are available Tuesday through Sunday at the Ace of Clubs House. The home also hosts events on the third Saturday of each month.