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Paris has been described by noted commentator Paul Harvey as a city . . where tomorrow fell in love with yesterday and, side by side, they lived happily ever after. Others have described Paris, Texas as an American people with a French name in a Spanish land which began in a area with a strong economic base, diversified industry, and a thriving population. Settlements first sprang up in the Paris area in 1824. Soon after, in 1836, the city of Paris was founded.
City founder George Wright allowed the fledgling community to be named for Paris, France by Thomas Poteet, one of his employees. Five years later the area now known as Lamar Co. was created and named for Mirabeau Buoaparte Lamar, President of the Republic of Texas. The Central National Road of the Republic was carved through the county in 1844; we know it now as FM 195.
Catastrophe has played a major part in the building of Paris. Twice, in 1877 and in 1916, the city was nearly destroyed by raging fires. Rebuilding took place immediately, and many reconstructed grand homes remain as reminders of an earlier more stately Texas.
Through the years, Paris, the county seat, has been a cattle town, a railhead, farming center, and a military center. Today the community stands strong with a good blend of agriculture and diversified industry, and as the trade and medical center of Northeast Texas and Southeast Oklahoma.
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