Athens City Hall is located at 508 East Tyler Street, Athens, TX 75751.
Phone: 903‑675‑5131.
Neighborhoods
Athens has declared itself as the Black-Eyed Pea Capital of the World. Originally a settlement known as Alfred, Athens was established in 1850 and incorporated in 1899. It was named for Athens, Greece by Mrs. Dull Averiette who had high hopes for the town to become the cultural center of the county.
Athens as described in 1940 [1]
Present-day activities are best expressed in the masthead of the Athens Weekly Review, which reads, "Noted for Peaches, Pears, Potatoes, Peanuts, Pigs, Pottery and Poultry." The town sits among hills.
In early days, it was customary for authorities here to chain all prisoners convicted or awaiting trial to a huge oak that until recently stood at the northeast corner of the courthouse yard. There they remained until their sentences had terminated or other disposition was made of them, serving meanwhile as an object lesson to the community.
Cynthia Ann Parker, captured in childhood by the Indians, lived in Athens following her recapture. Lonely, yearning for the wild life of her years on the plains, mourning for her Indian husband and sons, she lived on until the death of the one child who was with her. With the passing of Prairie Flower, Cynthia Ann failed rapidly, died and was buried in the old Fosterville Cemetery. Later her son, Quanah Parker, war chief of the Comanches, removed the remains of his white mother, reinterred them in Oklahoma, and erected a monument over her grave.