Texarkana has been known as the Twin Cities since the second part bumped up against the first part all those years ago.
They share a name-and a state line-but otherwise nothing much about them seem twin-like to me. They don't even share the same birth year.
The first lots were sold on the Texas side of town in 1873. Texarkana, Arkansas, was incorporated seven years later.
That was the beginning of our town's official status as twin cities. It has been part of our culture ever since.
At noon Wednesday, Main Street Texarkana celebrates this heritage and the "Twice as Nice" mantle we drape over our cities at the downtown courthouse and post office.
Twins, doppelgngers, duos, couples and pairs are invited to participate in a photo shoot to promote Texarkana.
The Texarkana Twins, a collegiate baseball team that plays here, is also a sponsor, as you might expect.
Several pro and semi-pro baseball teams here have worn the Twins moniker over the years-another tip of the hat to the two Texarkanas' close relationship.
Besides being one of the most photographed federal buildings in the country, the courthouse and post office, located at 500 N. State Line Ave., is home to Photo Island, Texarkana's most popular tourist stop. Here, visitors mug for photos made with one foot in Arkansas and the other in Texas. (Another nod to the connectivity that exists here.)
Locals have long passed on the temptation to follow suit. (The very idea is corny.) But Wednesday will be different. The town wants its people to pair up and dress alike and pose for photographs.
Tradition for this also exists. Sets of twins have shown up to be recognized at key time's in our cities' history.
In 1924, at the ground breaking of the Hotel Grim, two sets of twins were front and center. Loma and Frances Fouke represented the Arkansas side and Emma and Frances Berry represented the Texas side. They came dressed to the nines-as did most everybody who came out for this landmark happening.
Maybe its a quirky little coincidence that even as this event unfolds Wednesday at the Courthouse, the first steps of renewal are starting to unfold just down the street at the Grim-the first and most obvious of downtown's Twin Peaks.
It seems entirely fitting then, to suggest that at its grand reopening a year or so from now, twins should be part of the proceedings.
A year after the Grim broke ground, The Boxing Stevens twins were well known for their boxing exhibitions in Texarkana. They were 8 years old boys, weighed all of 60 pounds apiece and could punch your lights out. Apparently children putting gloves on and going at it in public was OK back then.
They were identical, by the way. A photo of them graces the 1994 pictorial history of Miller and Bowie counties called "Texarkana II, The Two County Collection."
In the years prior to the publication of "Texarkana II," another set of Texarkana twins, Ronny and Donny Sparks were leaving their mark on the rodeo circuit as bull fighters. Ronny won world championships in 1992 and 1993. Donny was runner-up in 1989, 1990 and 1992.
That's no bull.
Wednesday's event will feature a guest speaker and plenty of photo opportunities. The resulting photos will be used by Main Street Texarkana, a group that advocates for downtown development and historic preservation, for its promotions. It sounds like a fun activity for those who qualify and a watchable occasion for those who don't.
Now whether Texarkana is actually a "twin city" is up for debate. I've made the argument it is not. You can't even make the argument the towns are conjoined twins since they weren't joined in utero (or birthed at the same time) and they're not identical.
Still, there is nothing that separates our towns and plenty that ties them together.
If nothing else, they are intertwined and inseparable, two unique entities bound by a common name.
If not twinship, it sounds at least like kinship to me.
Maybe it's time for another family photo.
(For more information, call Main Street Texarkana at 903-792-7191. Ina McDowell is executive director.)