TEXARKANA -- The Scott Joplin map project is now available for people who want a guided tour of the highlights of the area featuring the Arkansan known as the "King of Ragtime," officials with the Main Street Texarkana organization said at a recent meeting.
Joplin, who was born in Texas, spent his formative years in Texarkana, according to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas.
His ragtime piano compositions include "Maple Leaf Rag," which sold more than a million copies, and "The Entertainer," which was used in the 1973 film "The Sting," according to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas.
Joplin's opera "Treemonisha" -- set in the plantation area of Rondo, north of Texarkana, in Miller County -- tells the story of the adopted daughter of former slaves and the conflicts in Black American culture at the end of the 19th century, according to the Library of Congress.
The guided tour is narrated by Steve Mitchell of radio station KTXK 91.5 FM in Texarkana. It can be obtained at the Chamber of Commerce or Texarkana Museums System office.
Main Street Texarkana projects that have been completed or that are coming to the fore include:
• The last two downtown planters, which will soon be in position on West Broad Street.
• Mission Texarkana, which has completed building repainting and shrubbery work, funded by Main Street-Texarkana and the Patterson-Troike Foundation. The project was completed in the past couple of weeks.
• Main Street Texarkana T-shirts are available at the Chamber of Commerce for $10 apiece. This is last year's design. The design for the new year is still being prepared.