Paris is a city in Lamar County, Texas, serving as the county seat in the northeast corner of East Texas, near the Red River and the Oklahoma border. Its population is roughly 25,000. The city sits about one hundred miles northeast of Dallas, functioning as the commercial and cultural hub for the surrounding rural county. Paris takes its name from the French capital, following a pattern among several American cities. That identity is expressed most visibly in the city's 65-foot replica of the Eiffel Tower, completed in 1993 and topped with a red cowboy hat, which stands as the community's best-known landmark. The downtown reflects a defining event in the city's history: a devastating fire in 1916 destroyed much of the business district, and Paris rebuilt around a formal plaza. The Culbertson Fountain, given to commemorate that rebuilding, anchors the plaza and remains the heart of downtown. History is also preserved at the Sam Bell Maxey House, an 1868 residence now operated as a state historic site, and in the city's Victorian-era and early-twentieth-century architecture. Paris Junior College, established in 1924, anchors higher education and contributes to the community's cultural life. Public schools are provided by several districts, including Paris, North Lamar, Chisum, and Prairiland. Paris' economy is built on regional trade, manufacturing, healthcare, and retail, serving a broad area of northeast Texas. The city offers an affordable, slower-paced alternative to the state's major metros, with a walkable historic core, established neighborhoods, and a strong sense of local identity rooted in its name, its fire-recovery story, and its East Texas setting.