The City of Emory is located at the intersection of US Highway 69 and Texas Highway19, and situated between two popular bodies of water, Lake Fork to the east and Lake Tawakoni to the west.
It is the county seat of Rains County, the 4th smallest county in Texas. Besides Emory, cities in the county include East Tawakoni and Point.
Both the city and county are named after Emory Rains who was a legislator from the area.
Emory is centrally located between Dallas and Tyler, and just 20 miles from the world famous Canton First Monday Trade Days. It is rooted between two major interstates, Interstate 20 and Interstate 30, making it easily accessible to East Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana.
Other popular venues for visitors and residents include Heritage Park, Sandy Creek Park at 400 W. North Street, Rubye McKeown City Park and the Rains County Public Library on Doris Briggs Parkway.
Emory Website Resources |
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Population |
In 2020, Emory had a population of 1,251. |
Area Code |
903 and 430 |
Zip Code |
75440 |
Rains County courthouse at 167 Quitman Street in the City of Emory in Upper East Texas
Lake Tawakoni
Lake Tawakoni, also known as the Iron Bridge Dam and Reservoir Project, was the first major project built by the Sabine River Authority of Texas. Lake Tawakoni has a surface area of about 36,700 acres. The dam is located about 10 miles northeast of Wills Point, and the reservoir lies within parts of Hunt, Rains, and Van Zandt Counties. The project's primary purpose is one of water conservation and supply. The reservoir as-built storage capacity at conservation pool elevation of 437.5 mean sea level . The South Fork, Cowleech Fork, and Caddo Forks that all formed the Sabine River headwaters are now submerged under the lake and the lake now serves as the headwaters of the Sabine River. Nearby is the Lake Tawakoni State Park which offers fishing, boating, camping, hiking, birding and other outdoor activities. |
Lake Fork
At 27,264 acres and 315 miles of shoreline, Lake Fork was designed to be a premier bass fishing lake and currently holds records for 34 out of the Top 50 largemouth bass caught in Texas. This popular lake located on the Sabine River in Hopkins, Rains and Wood Counties, 5 miles northwest of Quitman, and north of Mineola. It was impounded in 1980, and today reaches a depth of 70 feet. Largemouth bass is the most popular sportfish in this reservoir. A combination of restrictive harvest regulations, stocking of Florida strain largemouth, and abundant habitat has contributed to Lake Fork's development as one of the country's premier trophy bass lakes. |
While visiting the Emory and Rains County area, you may want to take other interesting day trips in several directions: