This Small North Texas Town Is Quietly Becoming the State’s Next Big Thing

I roll my eyes at the phrase “next big thing.” It gets slapped on every suburb with a new Target. But every so often a town earns it, the numbers back it up, and the old brick square is somehow still standing in the middle of it all.

That town is Celina, about an hour north of downtown Dallas in Collin County. It is the fastest growing city in America right now, and its downtown still smells like smoked brisket and pie on a Friday night.

Below, I will walk you through the history, the square, the food, the festivals, and the football, so you can see it before the rest of the country catches on.

The Numbers Nobody Saw Coming

In the 2020 census, Celina counted 16,739 people. By July 2025 the Census Bureau put it at 64,427. That is a jump of 24.6 percent in a single year, and the fastest growth rate of any U.S. city with more than 20,000 residents.

The town has nearly quadrupled since 2020. It added more than 12,700 new neighbors between the summer of 2024 and the summer of 2025 alone. Eight of the fifteen fastest growing cities in the country are in Texas, and Celina sits at the top of that list.

Mayor Ryan Tubbs, who moved up from Allen with his wife in 2017, told the Texas Tribune the town “attracts a lot of like-minded young families that want to be in new communities.” I believe him. Drive the new streets and you see strollers, bikes, and moving trucks everywhere.

What I love is that the city planned for it. Celina became the first Gigabit City in Texas, with a 2017 ordinance that wired roughly 9,300 homes for fiber internet, and Governor Abbott recognized the milestone in May 2022.

It has also earned Scenic City certification from Scenic Texas for how it handles trees, signs, and streetscapes. Growth this fast usually looks messy. Here it mostly looks planted.

A Town That Moved Itself a Mile

Here is my favorite Celina fact, and it is the reason the town calls itself Rollertown. In 1902, the St. Louis, San Francisco and Texas Railway laid its tracks about a mile north of where the settlement stood.

The merchants did not sulk. They put the buildings on rollers and hauled the whole town to the tracks. The move wrapped up in February 1902.

The original settlement dates to 1876, when farmers came for the rich blackland soil. In 1879 the first postmaster, John T. Mulkey, named the place after his hometown of Celina, Tennessee. A Methodist church went up in 1880 and doubled as the first schoolhouse.

Celina incorporated in 1907 with Will Newsom as its first mayor. Then, in 1910, a businessman named J. Fred Smith laid out the downtown square and swapped the wooden storefronts for brick. The first round of buildings took about ten months.

Those brick fronts are what you stroll past today. By 1937 the square had a movie theater, an ice cream factory, cotton gins, and even an opera house. During World War II it served as the area’s scrap iron collection point.

The city marks its 150th birthday in 2026, and Celina 150 has put together a historical walking tour of the landmarks. It is a lovely way to spend an hour.

The Square Still Runs the Show

The Historic Downtown Square is the whole reason to go. About half of the original 1910s buildings still stand, and the town has protected them since it was named an official Main Street City by the Texas Historical Commission and the National Trust in 1996.

That designation still holds. Downtown Celina earned Main Street America accreditation again in 2025, which puts it in the top tier of a network of more than 1,200 downtowns nationwide.

The Texas Downtown Association also handed the restored Huddleston Building an award for best new construction in a city under 50,000. Old bones, new life, and it looks the part.

What that looks like on the ground is a square with wide sidewalks, string lights, planters, and a stage that hosts everything from movie nights to crawfish boils. Downtown manager Melinda Bartram and her team keep the calendar full, with more than 25 city events a year.

Pro tip: park once and walk. The square is compact, and Founders Station Park sits one block away at 132 N. Louisiana Drive, with a playground, a gazebo, tennis and basketball courts, and horseshoe pits if you brought your own shoes.

Chicken Fried Steak, Brisket and a Slice of Coconut Cream

Lucy’s on the Square is where I would start. It sits in a restored brick building more than 100 years old at 127 N. Ohio Street, decorated with railroad signs, wagon wheels, and cowboy hats.

The chicken fried steak comes under a blanket of cream gravy. The coconut cream and chocolate pies are made in house, and I would order a slice before the entree arrives, just to be safe.

A block over at 224 W. Pecan Street, Tender Smokehouse turns out handmade Texas pit barbecue and carries a 4.7 rating on Tripadvisor. It closes Sunday and Monday, so plan your brisket run for the back half of the week.

Toasted Walnut Table and Market tucks in behind the Annie Jack shop, and it is the square’s brunch darling. One Tripadvisor reviewer wrote that “the food and service stole the show,” which matches every account I have read.

Summer Moon Coffee, the Austin-born roaster, has a storefront on the square for your morning latte. Papa Gallo’s Mexican Grill covers tacos, enchiladas, and burritos for lunch and dinner every day.

In late spring and summer, keep an eye out for Hairy Gorilla Snowballs, a shaved-ice stand whose hours change with the weather. My rule for any Texas square is simple: pie first, then decide about dinner.

Boots, Dresses and an 18-Hole Putting Course

The shops are the other half of the square’s charm. Willow House Boutique carries women’s clothing, accessories, and gifts with a modern Texas look. Annie Jack fills its rooms with home decor, apparel, and the kind of candles you buy two of.

Terramania mixes clothing, decor, and gifts you will not find at a mall. Hey Sugar Candy Store is the stop for kids and anyone who still has a sweet tooth.

Cherry’s Antiquibles handles the antique furniture and collectibles, and Buff City Soap makes its bars right there in the shop. Most of these close Sunday and some close Monday, so a Tuesday through Saturday trip is the safe bet.

Then there is Little Wooden Penguin at 212 N. Oklahoma Drive, which I can only describe as a backyard for the whole town. It has an 18-hole putting course, rotating food trucks, craft drinks, live music, and workshops, and it welcomes both kids and dogs.

Check its social pages before you go, because the food trucks change. Half the fun is not knowing whether it is taco night or burger night.

Friday Nights and Crawfish Mountains

The Friday Night Market is Celina’s signature. On the first Friday of every month from March through November, the square fills with local vendors, food, and live music from 6 to 9 p.m. It is free, and it is the best way to feel the town’s pulse.

Then there is Celina Cajun Fest, billed as North Texas’ biggest crawfish boil. The 14th annual edition landed on Saturday, May 9, 2026, from 2 to 9 p.m., with the Eli Young Band headlining and William Clark Green, Honey Island Swamp Band, and Bayou Roux on the bill.

Admission to the square was free, and crawfish came in 2.5-pound platters with corn and potatoes. There were live gator shows too, which is not a sentence I expected to write about Collin County.

The rest of the year keeps pace. Splash and Blast brings fireworks and summer fun, and Beware of the Square takes over Halloween.

Christmas on the Square turns the brick storefronts into a holiday movie set, and Music Night on the Square runs a free live music series through the warm months.

Did you know? Celina’s square was designed in 1910 with the City Beautiful movement in mind, which is why it still works so well as a gathering spot more than a century later. Some ideas age beautifully.

Friday Night Lights, Celina Style

You cannot write about this town without the Bobcats. Celina High School football has won nine state championships: 1974, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2007, and 2024. That is tied for third most among 11-man programs in Texas.

The first came in 1974 under Coach G.A. Moore. The newest came in December 2024, when Celina beat Kilgore 55 to 21 for the Class 4A Division I title.

If you are in town on a fall Friday, follow the crowd. The whole square empties toward the stadium, and you will understand the place better in one quarter than in a week of reading.

Parks, Ponds and Prairie Skies

Old Celina Park at 12670 FM 428 is the big one. It has sports fields, a catch and release fishing pond, a covered pavilion, walking and biking trails, and a shaded playground.

There is also a farm-themed splash pad with ground sprays for the little ones. Dogs are welcome on a leash, and there are plenty of benches in the shade.

The city covers a little over 48 square miles across Collin and Denton counties, and much of it is still open blackland prairie. I think the sunsets out there are the most underrated thing about North Texas. Big sky, gold light, and a water tower on the horizon.

For a rainy afternoon, the Celina Area Heritage Association Museum at 211 W. Pecan Street keeps the town’s artifacts in a handful of small rooms. It is packed with fragile treasures, so hold little hands.

Know Before You Go

Celina sits along Preston Road, which is State Highway 289, with the historic square just west of it. The Dallas North Tollway extension is pushing north toward the city, which is a big part of why the growth curve looks the way it does.

Timing matters. Many of the shops and restaurants on the square close Sunday and Monday, so Tuesday through Saturday is the sweet spot. A first Friday from March to November lets you pair the market with dinner.

Bring cash for vendors, a stroller if you need one, and room in the trunk for whatever Annie Jack talks you into.

Tip: the Celina 150 walking tour is available as an interactive online map, so you can follow the story of Rollertown right from your phone as you stroll the square.

How to Get There

Where: Historic Downtown Square, Celina, TX 75009 (centered on N. Ohio Street and W. Pecan Street, one block west of Preston Road / SH 289). Lucy’s on the Square is at 127 N. Ohio St., Tender Smokehouse at 224 W. Pecan St., and Old Celina Park at 12670 FM 428.

From Dallas, take the Dallas North Tollway north to its current end, then continue north on Preston Road into Celina. The square is about an hour from downtown Dallas and roughly 20 minutes north of Frisco.

Go Before Everyone Else Does

The secret is technically out. The census numbers made sure of that. But growth on a map and the feeling of standing on a 1910 brick square with a slice of coconut cream pie are two very different things, and the second one is still wide open.

So pick a first Friday, point the car north on Preston Road, and go meet Rollertown. Eat the pie, buy the boots, catch the band, and tell everyone you knew about Celina before it was a big deal. You will be telling the truth.

Featured image: Panther City Air via Downtown Celina