My name is LaShanda Jones and I’m the lead retail associate at the Texarkana Downtown Finance Station. This is the only Post Office that straddles two states, Texas and Arkansas.
I started my USPS career in Dallas in 1998, but I’ve been at this location a little over nine years. I live on the Arkansas side.
Since I’ve been here, I’ve learned about the building that houses the Post Office and share that information with the 700 to 1,000 tourists who visit us each year.
People are amazed when I tell them that the state line goes right down the middle of the building, and that this building is the second-most photographed in the United States. The only other federal building that is photographed more than us is the U.S. Capitol.
The sign in front tells you where the point is between the two states. People want to straddle the state line. Sometimes they’ll turn on the GPS tracker on their phone and she’ll say “Now entering Texas” or “Now leaving Arkansas.”
They’re also amazed that we have two mayors, two police departments and two ZIP Codes. The physical address for the post office is Arkansas. But the Post Office Boxes have a Texarkana, TX, address.
There are several historical places in the area, and I give the tourists information about them as well as about the celebrities who were born here, such as Otis Williams from the Temptations and businessman Ross Perot.
My hand stamps have “Texas” and “Arkansas” on them, although they still have the Arkansas ZIP Code. I wish we had a special stamp because tourists always want a postmark. They want something that says they’ve been here.
Helping the tourists makes my day better. This is a special building, and I’m proud to say I work in the Post Office here.
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