Atlanta offers small-town East Texas living
The East Texas community of Atlanta may have a big city name, but it offers a small-town vibe in the heart of Cass County. “We ain’t got much of anything, but we do have a little downtown district with the museum and little shops and cafés,” says Realtor Renee McCoart of Superior Realty, an Atlanta local with nearly 20 years experience. “People move here from all over, and they say they just like the feel of the town when they drive through it.”
This community may have been settled in the 1870s by transplants from Georgia, but it celebrates local roots. The former train depot is now a history museum, with a diorama of the railway and displays honoring Bessie Coleman, who was born here and became the world’s first licensed African American female pilot.
A mix of classic single-family home styles
Single-family ranch-style homes are common, along with Craftsmans and New Traditionals. “We also have some streets near downtown with some older, well-maintained, historic homes. But nothing too large. And there’s a lot of pride of ownership here. It’s a clean, neat little town,” McCoart says. Prices start around $40,000 and rise to about $800,000. Custom-built homes on acreage properties can sell for more than $1 million, while land typically ranges from $5,000 to about $530,000.
Highly rated Atlanta Independent School District
The Atlanta Independent School District, which earns a B-plus from Niche, serves about 1,900 students across four schools: Atlanta Primary, Atlanta Elementary, Atlanta Middle and Atlanta High. The high school offers career and technical education courses in subjects such as animal sciences, education, culinary arts and welding, as well as a dual enrollment program in partnership with Texarkana College.
State and Atlanta city parks offer outdoor recreation
Caddo Lake State Park, Daingerfield State Park and Atlanta State Park are all under 40 miles away. Caddo Lake, on the border of Texas and Louisiana, is the largest naturally formed lake in Texas and has the largest cypress forest in the world. “Everything’s bigger in Texas, you know,” McCoart says. All three state parks have boating, fishing and swimming access, as well as miles of hiking trails. Atlanta City Park and Atlanta Sportsplex, on the north side of the city, have more outdoor recreational amenities, from an amphitheater and a playground to athletic fields.
Shopping, dining and entertainment in historic downtown Atlanta
Atlanta’s historic downtown has businesses like Newkirk Feed Store and Roark Auto Parts, as well as clothing and gift boutiques like Jana’s Mercantile and Rabbit Hole. McCoart says area favorites include Uncle Juan’s, sports-themed Rabbit Patch and Caffe’ Crema. “[That’s] where everybody goes to use the internet and chill,” she says of the small coffee shop on Main Street. Plaza on Main is an open-air stage between storefronts across the street, where karaoke and other musical events are held.
Main Street gets a holiday makeover every December for the annual Atlanta Area Christmas Parade and Hometown Christmas events. Other annual events include the Atlanta Local Maker’s Market, a big vendor fair, and Summerfest, an Independence Day extravaganza and fireworks show. U.S. Route 59 is lined with chain restaurants and big box retailers, like McDonald’s, Starbucks, Walmart Supercenter and Tractor Supply.
Quick commuting north to Texarkana
“We don’t have taxi service or Ubers, nothing like that around here. What we have are highways, because this is rural Texas,” McCoart says, referring to U.S. Route 59 and State Roads 43 and 77. Route 59 connects southwest to Linden and north toward Texarkana, about 25 miles away. Commuting to major regional employers in the Texarkana area, including Christus St. Michael Hospital and manufacturers like Red River Army Depot and Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, usually takes under 30 minutes. The hospital’s Atlanta campus, also a big employer, is on the south side of town. TRAX is an on-demand transit service available in Cass County and several nearby counties; residents can reserve rides on the Ark-Tex Council of Governments website.
