Historic Shelby County Courthouse in Center, Texas |
The City of Center is the county seat of Shelby County Texas, about 135 miles north of Beaumont. It is also 33 miles northeast of Nacogdoches, and 59 miles south of Marshall.
The city is situated at the crossroads of U.S. Highway 96 and Texas Highways 7 and 87. Its population is 5,221 residents according to the 2020 Federal Census.
Shelby County is on the eastern boundary of Texas, across the Sabine River from Desoto and Sabine parishes in Louisiana. The county is bounded on the south by San Augustine and Sabine counties, on the west by Rusk and Nacogdoches counties, and on the north by Panola County.
Shelby County was one of the original thirteen counties in Texas, organized by the Republic of Texas Congress in 1837. The county was named for Issac Shelby, an American military hero and Governor of Kentucky.
Center is named for its location at the geographic center of the county. Its post office was first opened in 1866.
The Center Zip Code is 75395, and its Area Code is 936. For more information, visit the official website of the City of Center.
The Center City Hall is located at 617 Tenaha Street, Center, TX, 75395-3552. Phone 936.598.2941.
Center, Texas City Park |
Shelby County is known as the "Gateway to the Texas Forest Country".
Center is located near Lake Pinkston and the massive Toledo Bend Reservoir, both offering camping and fishing amenities. The nearby Sabine National Forest offers numerous outdoor recreational options such as fishing, hunting, biking, and camping.
The county is a bird watcher's paradise and home to hundreds of species, populated by graceful water fowl and beautiful deep woods songbirds.
The historic Shelby County Courthouse, located downtown, is a 2-story Romanesque brick structure. The Shelby County Museum includes a variety of exhibits and artifacts about the area.
Popular local events include the What-A-Melon Festival in early July, and the East Texas Poultry Festival in October.
Toledo Bend Reservoir
Toledo Bend Reservoir lies along the Texas-Louisiana border east of the City of Center. This massive 185,000 acre lake is a project of the States of Texas and Louisiana, and has both recreational and power generation benefits. As the largest man-made lake in the south, Toledo Bend forms a portion of the boundary between the states of Texas and Louisiana. The lake extends 65 miles to the north to near Logansport, LA. Boating, fishing, skiing, camping, hiking, golfing and other recreational activities are popular around this lake. RV resorts, campgrounds, resorts, restaurants, marinas, and motels are all available along the 1,200 miles of shoreline of the reservoir. In 2015, Bassmaster Magazine selected Toledo Bend Reservoir as the top fishery in the United States. Toledo Bend ranked above 230 potential lakes after the magazine conducted research and personal interviews with anglers from around the U.S.
|
Sabine National ForestLocated in the pineywoods of east Texas, the 160,656-acre Sabine National Forest is the easternmost of the four national forests in Texas and forms part of the boundary between Texas and Louisiana. The forest is situated on the western slopes of the Sabine River watershed within Sabine, San Augustine, Shelby, Jasper, and Newton counties. |
While visiting the Center area, you may want to take other interesting day trips in several directions:
Welcome to Center Texas!