Gun Barrel City lies on the eastern shore of Cedar Creek Reservoir 50 miles southeast of
Dallas and 20 miles northwest of
Athens in
Henderson County.
The community developed after construction of the reservoir in the mid-1960s and grew rapidly. Sixty residents were reported there in 1970 and 3,526 by the early 1990s.
It is reached by US 175 out of Dallas, to Hwy 198.
On two different occasions the city has received second place in the Governor's Community Achievement Awards.