Alba is a town in Wood County, Texas, with a small portion extending into adjacent Rains County, located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 69 and Farm to Market Road 17. The town recorded a population of 473 at the 2020 census and lies about ten miles west of Quitman, the Wood County seat. Alba sits just south of Lake Fork, one of the most celebrated bass fisheries in Texas. Lake Fork was designed as a premier bass fishing lake and today holds records for a large share of the top largemouth bass caught in Texas. This makes Alba a natural gateway for anglers and lake visitors, and fishing-related tourism is woven into the local economy. The town itself remains small and quiet, with a compact residential core and the surrounding East Texas countryside stretching away from the highway. The area's history is rooted in agriculture and the timber and farming economy of East Texas, and the community has extended across the Wood County line into Rains County over time. Public education is provided by the Alba-Golden Independent School District, which serves students from the town and the surrounding rural area and is a central institution in community life. Today Alba functions as a small, lake-oriented community whose identity is closely tied to Lake Fork and the outdoor recreation it attracts. The town offers a quiet, rural lifestyle while remaining within reach of Quitman, Mineola, and the larger cities of East Texas. For residents and visitors alike, Alba is defined by its position at the edge of one of Texas's premier fishing destinations.