LINDALE, Texas — Lindale is known for its ties to Miranda Lambert, and it's growing by leaps and bounds. Leslie Cain, owner of Leslie Cain Realty, set up shop in the city around 13 years ago.
"The thing that's great about Lindale that we've always said is that it is a big, small town. And so it has all the benefits of being bigger," Cain said.
Ask people in Lindale and they'll say the recipe for success is a top-rated public school system, and easy access to restaurants and stores - with some small town love mixed in.
"We would drive around, the neighbors [are] talking to each other in the yards, people waving at you as you drove by," Cain added.
Lindale is booming and blooming. The city saw a 25 percent population growth from 2010 to 2020, and a 30 percent increase in property sales from 2019 to 2021. Businesses are moving to be part of the growth as well. In 2007, Lindale had 250 businesses registered with the Chamber of Commerce. Fast forward to 2022, and the chamber just hit 700 total members - with over 100 of those members joining in the last year alone.
Despite the growth, the chamber's approach has stayed the same. "We know their names, we know their businesses, and we know their needs," said Shelbie Glover, president and CEO of the Lindale Chamber of Commerce.
A big part of the city's success has been tight partnerships between city leaders and organizations. "All working together in partnership to make this just a place that not only you drive through, if you're driving [Highway] 69 and [Interstate] 20, but also a place you want to raise your family," Glover added.
It's also the investments in the city's infrastructure, keeping people from needing to drive to Tyler or Longview. CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances broke ground on a new 24-hour ER facility. Lindale is proof that a city can grow, while keeping its identity and personality.
"My son is about to go off to an out of state college, and we noticed when we go there, we keep kind of walking up and talking to people and just being really friendly - because that's what we're used to," Leslie Cain said.
Lindale is a Bloomtown in East Texas, balancing small-town living with lots of growth.
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