Celina

History

Although Celina was not established until 1876, settlers came into the area at a much earlier date. In October 1879, a settlement formed south of its current location. A Methodist church was built in 1880, and it doubled as a schoolhouse for a short time. Celina's first postmaster John T. Mulkey renamed the town after his hometown – Celina, Tennessee. By 1884, Celina had a gristmill, cotton gin, school, several general stores, and a drug store that has been opened in “Old Celina.” In 1902, news had reached Celina that the St. Louis, San Francisco, and Texas Railway would be constructed and extended to reach the area. Shortly thereafter, the merchants of the town made the decision to move the entire town closer to the railway. When the time came to move, the businesses and houses were loaded onto rollers and moved north to be closer to the railway. The town coined itself “Rollertown.” The move was completed in February 1902. In 1910, Celina resident J. Fred Smith (who later became the first mayor of University Park in Dallas) had the business section rebuilt from a row of frame buildings facing the railroad tracks to uniform brick buildings around a square. By July 1911, Smith's effort had paid off as several new buildings were ready for use and gravel streets were constructed, which gave Celina the appearance of a wide-awake, growing little city. Businesses began to relocate from their wooden structures into the new brick buildings, and many of the wooden structures moved into a residential section and transformed into homes. This was a pivotal moment in Celina's character as it marked the shift towards the brick features that define the Downtown Square today. Celina Pike, the first road in the county built exclusively for automobiles, opened in Celina in 1915. At…

Geography

Celina is located in Collin County and Denton County. Celina is centered mostly on State Highway 289 with its downtown located west of the state highway. The Dallas North Tollway will be located to the west of the city. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Koppen Climate Classification System, Celina has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated “Cfa” on climate maps.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,284
• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,541
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,326
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,284
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  3,265
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  2,850
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  2,804
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,228

Most recent

• M 3.1 — 2024-05-01
  7 km SSW of Mansfield, Texas
• M 3.2 — 2024-05-01
  7 km S of Mansfield, Texas
• M 2.51 — 2022-07-20
  9 km WSW of Lebanon, Oklahoma
• M 2.53 — 2021-12-20
  14 km ENE of Leon, Oklahoma
• M 2.51 — 2020-06-11
  14 km NE of Leon, Oklahoma
• M 2.55 — 2020-01-06
  13 km NE of Leon, Oklahoma