Economic History

Business & Agriculture

The economy of this northeast Texas area has continued to grow at a steady pace, with more emphasis towards industry. The average annual agricultural income for the Texas section was between $12 million and $13 million by 1970. Crops raised included cotton, corn, rice, soybeans, pecans, and truck crops; livestock and poultry accounted for 75% of the farm income.

Industries in the area included the manufacture and marketing of lumber products, sewer tile, rockwool, sand and gravel, mobile homes and accessories, municipal hardware supplies, tires, railroad tank cars, and paper products. Also of great importance to the economy of the entire area is a federal correctional unit there. Retail trade, like the industrial growth, continued to increase steadily.

The city of Texarkana is the transportation, commercial, and industrial center for this Texas-Arkansas area, as well as the hub for portions of Oklahoma and Louisiana; it is also the educational, cultural, and medical center of the metropolitan area.