Join the Texarkana Museums System on June 5 for “The Talking Dead: Sacred Heart Cemetery,” a guided tour through time with living history performances. This evening tour starts at 8:00 p.m. Tickets are $15 each or $10 for TMS Members. Tickets must be purchased in advance. The cemetery is located at the corner of Spruce and West 14th Streets in Historic Downtown Texarkana, USA. For directions, parking, or other information, call 903-793-4831 or email Ahern@TexarkanaMuseums.org.
The tour is part of the Texarkana Museums System’s ongoing living history program, developed to bring a more personal perspecitve on history.
“Living History performers allow tour guests to develop a different understanding of our local history,” says TMS Curator, Jamie Simmons. “Hearing a costumed actor speak about past events as though they have just lived them adds a dimension that’s lacking when one is just reading facts on a card. It brings history alive.”
The June 5 tour will take guests through Texarkana’s earliests years at one of the city’s oldest cemeteries, Sacred Heart. This cemetery is one of a handful of graveyards in Bowie County which achieved Historic Texas Cemetery status. The earliest grave dates to 1875 and is the final resting place of Agnes Rodgers, daughter of R. W. Rodgers, who donated the land to Sacred Heart Catholic Church in 1876 for use as the church’s designated cemetery.
Among those buried there are some of the city’s founders. It is a Who’s Who of early Texarkana settlers, most of whom were immigrants to the United States, demonstrating the rich cultural diversity found in Texarkana.
“Texarkana was a melting pot of people from all over the world,” added Simmons. “All of these new citizens brought their own cultural and religious customs here to Texarkana, adding another dimension to our cultural heritage.”
Tickets must be purchased in advance! Cost is $15 each or $10 for TMS Members. Tickets are on sale now at TexarkanaMuseums.org/events. There will be no parking inside the cemetery during the tour, so guests are asked to park nearby on Spruce Street and walk to the front gate. Please call for directions to the closest parking. For more information, please call 903-793-4831.
The Texarkana Museums System operates the P. J. Ahern Home, Museum of Regional History, Ace of Clubs House, and Discovery Place Interactive Museum in the heart of Historic Downtown Texarkana, USA. TMS offers weekly special events, programs, exhibits, and tours every weekend. For information about upcoming events, please visit us on FaceBook or call us at 903-793-4831.
