By P.A. Geddie
It’s no wonder why the TV series “The Story of Art in America” (Prime Video) chose Corsicana for one of their Texas features in Season 3 airing in 2024. The Corsicana show was also the pilot episode shared in a recent worldwide premiere during the International Chelsea Film Festival.
The city’s Arts & Entertainment District is in downtown Corsicana. Hosting theater, music, movies, and other shows are three venues, including The Palace Theatre, a restored 1921 vaudeville house. Galleries and studios showcase the works of local and visiting artists and offer education and performances in dance, theater, improvisation, and creative writing.
Corsicana celebrated its 175th birthday this year and its history is ever-present walking through the downtown heart of the city. The classic features of its original brick streets blend in with the modern attractions of neighborhood restaurants, entertainment, antique shopping, and loft apartment living.
More than 30 shops offer unique gifts, retro items, furniture, antiques and home decor, clothing, fabrics, jewelry, and vintage finds.
A perfect combination of rich history and modern amenities, Corsicana offers plenty of fun and adventure. Annual events include an airshow featuring vintage World War II-era planes and celebrations for small-town Americana and the town’s designation as the birthplace of Texas oil.
Surrounded by large lakes and 15 beautiful city parks, recreational events are amply available year around. Must-see attractions in Corsicana include Pearce Museum, Cadet Memorial, Pioneer Village, and Petroleum Park. A visit is not complete without tasting the world-famous fruitcake at Collin Street Bakery.
Collin Street Bakery now has several branches around Texas, but it all began in Corsicana in 1896. Their famous fruitcakes and other goodies are sold in brick and mortar shops and shipped to almost two hundred countries, especially during the holiday season.
Making the bakery even more famous is the story of a crime spree that occurred when its comptroller laundered a shocking 17 million dollars from the company. Over the course of eight years, he and his wife squandered the millions on Rolex watches, vacations, and a hoard of other lavish luxuries. The documentary Fruitcake Fraud covers the story.
After the dust settled from the embezzlement, the determined bakery management team stabilized the company financially, turned the corner through new strategies, and even use the small-town scandal today to let people know the value of their world-famous fruitcakes.
About the same time the fruitcake recipe was first taking shape in the late 1800s, something else was about to surface. Corsicana is the Birthplace of Texas Oil Industry. The Corsicana oil field was the first commercial one developed in Texas, pre-dating the discovery of the famous Lucas gusher at Spindletop in 1901. A Corsicana drilling crew, with their equipment freighted to the gulf coast site, drilled the Lucas gusher.
Founders of the oil industry titans soon to come — including Magnolia Petroleum (Mobil Oil), Humble Oil (Exxon), Texaco, and Gulf Oil — found their start in the Texas oil industry in Corsicana in the 1890s. Visitors can learn more about the area’s oil industry history in Petroleum Park.
Corsicana was given its name by Jose Antonio Navarro, who fought for Texas independence. He named the town after Corsica, the island where his father was born. Navarro is the namesake of the county, where Corsicana reigns as county seat. The county got a lot of national attention in recent years because of the hit Netflix docuseries Cheer, which follows the top-tier Navarro College cheerleading squad.
Famous sons and daughters of Corsicana include singer-songwriter legends Lefty Frizzell and Billy Joe Shaver.
For many in the Corsicana area, the accomplishments of G.W. Jackson hold special meaning. He was the author of several books and known state wide for pioneering for education for those of African descent. He established the Corsicana school system for those students and served as the high school principal for 45 years. Built in the 1920s, the G.W. Jackson High School educated many students for decades. It was burned down by arson in the 1970s. The G.W. Jackson Legacy Park is on his old homestead where there is also a bronze statue in his honor.
Navarro County is home to more than 150 historical markers and Corsicana’s downtown is a Nationally Registered Historic District with more than 120 contributing buildings. A majority of the city’s current buildings and homes were built following the oil boom of the 1920s and 30s. A tour guide of the Carriage District focuses on the surviving structures built between 1846 and 1900. Several of the homes have historic landmark plaques.
The town where Wolf Brand Chili began and the famous Collin Street Bakery continues today, has an inspiring arts district, great dining choices, plenty of things to do in and around town, and a history that keeps picking up steam.
Learn more on www.visitcorsicana.com.