Marshall, Texas

Marshall
City
Clockwise: Old Courthouse, Starr Home, Hotel Marshall, ETBU, Depot, Wiley, Ginnocho, First United Methodist
Location in the state of Texas
Coordinates: 32°33′N 94°22′W / 32.550°N 94.367°W / 32.550; -94.367
Country	United States
State	Texas
County	Harrison
Founded	1841
Government
• Type	Council-Manager
• Mayor	Amy Ware[1]
• City Manager	Terrell Smith
Area [2]
• City	29.66 sq mi (76.81 km2)
• Land	29.59 sq mi (76.65 km2)
• Water	0.06 sq mi (0.17 km2)
Elevation	413 ft (126 m)
Population  (2020)
• City	23,392
• Density	771.47/sq mi (297.86/km2)
• Metro	65,631
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP codes	75670-75672
Area code	903
FIPS code	48-46776[3]
GNIS feature ID	1340990[4]
Website	www.marshalltexas.net

Marshall is a city in the U.S. state of Texas.^[5] It is the county seat of Harrison County and a cultural and educational center of the Ark-La-Tex region. At the 2020 U.S. census, the population of Marshall was 23,392;^[6] The population of the Greater Marshall area, comprising all of Harrison County, was 65,631 in 2010,^[7] and 66,726 in 2018.^[8]

Marshall and Harrison County were important political and production areas of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. This area of Texas was developed for cotton plantations. Planters brought slaves with them from other regions or bought them in the domestic slave trade. The county had the highest number of slaves in the state, and East Texas had a higher proportion of slaves than other regions of the state. The wealth of the county and city depended on slave labor and the cotton market.^[9]

The late 19th century until the mid-20th century, Marshall developed as a large railroad center of the Texas and Pacific Railway. Following World War II, activists in the city's substantial African-American population worked to create social change through the Civil Rights Movement, with considerable support from the historically black colleges and universities in the area.

The city is known for holding one of the largest light festivals in the United States, the "Wonderland of Lights".^[10][11][12] It identifies as the self-proclaimed "Pottery Capital of the World", for its sizable pottery industry.^[13][14] Marshall is referred to by various nicknames: the "Cultural Capital of East Texas",^[15] the "Gateway of Texas", the "Athens of Texas",^[16] the "City of Seven Flags",^[17][18] and "Center Stage", a branding slogan adopted by the Marshall Convention and Visitors Bureau.