Terrell is located in Kaufman County just east of Dallas toward Tyler along US 80 and Hwys 34 and 205.
Terrell is part of the Dallas, Texas metro area. First settlers in the area came in 1848. The town came to life around 1873 when the railroad was brought through.
The town economy in the 1980s was based primarily on agricultural businesses and on manufacturing plants producing machine parts, clothing, and plastic goods. In 1990 the population of Terrell was 12,490.