HISTORY HAPPENS...

by VELVET HALL COOL Board President of the Texarkana Museums System

History happens in ever-changing locations. From cities that are crumbling to cities that are forming. From countries immigrants flee to countries where immigrants take refuge. From taverns where revolutions begin to battlefields where revolutions are won. From homes we abandon to homes we build.

The most recent addition to the Texarkana Museums System is the P. J. Ahern Home, located at 403 Laurel Street in historic downtown Texarkana, Arkansas, directly across from the Miller County Courthouse. It was built in 1905 by Patrick Ahern, an Irish immigrant, and his wife, the former Mary D. Lansdale. Its significance to our community and the museums system is great. It not only serves as a backdrop and educational piece for our local history but also embodies the history of Irish American immigrants.

The first time I gave a tour of this home to a group of young students, I learned that fragments of history are being lost to the younger generation. Imagine my surprise encountering students who were unfamiliar with the Potato Famine or Great Hunger. In 1845, a simple and devastating mold in Ireland decimated potato crops and led to nationwide hunger. Our very own Rocky Mountains would face a similar crisis in 1874 when plagues of locusts wiped out millions of dollars’ worth of crops. Many in Ireland during this time set their sights on making better lives for themselves and their families, often envisioning a New World in which to start over. Roger

O’Dwyer was one such Irishman, departing Ireland in the 1870s and finding his way to Texarkana. Establishing a dry-goods store in our little city, he found great success and shared that success with one of his former classmates from Dungarven, Ireland: Mr. Patrick Joseph Ahern. He invited Mr. Ahern to join him in both the city and the business.

Selling all nature of high-end items from home goods to farm equipment, both the O’Dwyers and the Aherns prospered. They outfitted their own homes with furniture, cookware, doorknobs, and windows from their store. As their business grew, so too did their families. Patrick married Mary Lansdale from Washington, D. C., and they filled their home with love—love of family, love of church, love of gardening, and love of music.

Their love of family would create a strong generational basis for the Aherns’ house to remain a one-family home into the 2010s. Rooms filled with six children and later grandchildren, either as residents or summer visitors, this home is one of the longest-running single-familyowned homes in our community. Both the O’Dwyers and the Aherns also dabbled successfully in developing land for others to build and rent homes, contributing to the prosperity of our city, which this year celebrates the 150th anniversary of the first sale of city lots.

The Aherns built their home for their family within walking distance of their church, St. Edwards Catholic Church. They were strong parishioners who contributed to the development of their church. The Aherns donated a stained-glass window, while the O’Dwyers contributed a marble altar. Upon donating the Ahern home to the museums system, the family designated many items relating to their Catholic faith to remain prominently on display.

When not busy with family, church, business or community commitments, the family tended a flourishing garden. Today, one may notice that the home is slightly off-center in the lot. As Mr. Ahern had arranged for his wife’s sister and her family to take up residence in the lot directly south of their own, he afforded himself a little extra room in his own lot to plant a fig tree and rose bushes alongside an elaborate bird bath. The master of this home was the master of the garden—a trait not uncommon in men of the day, especially those with European backgrounds.

Mrs. Ahern and all of her children found joy in their love of music. Most notably, son John was an award-winning violinist, and daughter Ann was a piano teacher and the Music Director at St. Edwards.

We may often look in the windows of homes and think that the workings behind closed doors are private and distinctly individual to those who rise there in the morning and slumber there at night. But the homes we build say much about the world we are raised in, and their preservation can serve as a wonderful peek into the period during which we inhabit this Earth. Our homes are a microcosm of the larger historical context.

Born and raised in Texarkana, Velvet Hall Cool has strong ties to both Texas and Arkansas but will always consider herself a Class of ‘87 Razorback. She loves to share stories of her nine wonderful grandchildren. When it comes to listening, you can always perk up her ears with stories that speak to personal history and the lessons we learn during our lifelong journeys.