Biohazard Cleanup Near Downtown Terrell Terrell, TX

Terrell was founded in 1873, when Kaufman County entrepreneurs C. C. Nash and John G. Moore deeded land to the Texas and Pacific Railway to bring a depot to the site; the city celebrated its 150th anniversary in February 2023.

The city is named for Robert A. Terrell, a pioneer settler, surveyor of the Republic of Texas, and friend of Sam Houston who settled in the area in 1847.

Terrell was incorporated in 1875 and boomed quickly - by the mid-1880s it had about 3,000 residents, two banks, three flour mills, three cotton gins, three weekly newspapers, and nine churches.

Terrell had 17,465 residents in the 2020 census, and the Census Bureau estimated its population at 23,921 in 2025.

Terrell has about 5,900 households, about 58.7% of its homes are owner-occupied, and its households average 3.38 people - larger than the U.S. norm.

Terrell is home to Terrell State Hospital, a state psychiatric inpatient hospital with 316 beds.

Southwestern Christian College, a historically Black college affiliated with the Churches of Christ, moved to Terrell from Fort Worth in 1950 onto the former campus of Texas Military College.

The Robert A. Terrell home on the Southwestern Christian College campus is a rare round house - one of only about 20 left in the United States.

During World War II, more than 2,000 British Royal Air Force cadets trained at Terrell's No. 1 British Flying Training School, and the city still hosts a museum honoring them.

Trinity Valley Community College also operates a campus in Terrell.