Texarkana Twilight Tours Offer Different Perspective on History
Texarkana, TX – Join the Texarkana Museums System on June 4 beginning at 7:00 p.m. for a guided walking tour of Rose Hill Cemetery. This tour includes living history performances at select grave sites as well as a discussion about historic burial customs and tombstone symbolism. Tickets are $15 each or $10 for TMS members. Tickets must be purchased in advance. This is a wheelchair-friendly tour. There is no parking in the cemetery. For more information or directions call 903-793-4831 or Email Ahern@TexarkanaMuseums.org. Tickets must be purchased in advance and are available now at TexarkanaMuseums.org/Events.
Texarkana’s most historic cemeteries date back to the town’s founding in the 1870s. Rose Hill Cemetery, was one of the first graveyards established for use by Texarkana’s early citizens and is the final resting place of some of the area’s pioneer families.
“Walking through this cemetery is like walking through our town’s history,” says TMS Curator, Jamie Simmons. “Their stories tell us how Texarkana came to be and why our community developed the way it did.”
The tour will include an overview of historic burial practices and how those practices continue today along with a discussion of tombstone designs. Most of the older graves are marked with elaborately carved stones that incorporate symbols common to 19th century burials.
“The Victorians loved symbolism,” says Simmons. “When you look at these tombstones you will see all sorts of things carved into the stone aside from a name and date. Doves, flowers, books, angels, any number of things. All of these things have a meaning and tell you something very specific about the person buried there.|”
This is a walking tour so participants are encouraged to wear comfortable clothes and to dress for the weather. The tour route is wheelchair friendly. There is no parking in the cemetery. Tickets available at TexarkanaMuseums.org/Events.
The Texarkana Museums System hosts Texarkana Twilight Tours every first Saturday of the month at a local historic site. For more information about this or future events, please contact TMS at 903-793-4831 or email Ahern@TexarkanaMuseums.org.