Tatum is located south of the
Longview-
Marshall area at the junction of Hwys 43 and 149, on the
Panola County-
Rusk County line.
A marker was placed near Tatum in 1976 to commemorate Trammel's Trace, an early trade route, part of which forms the boundary between Rusk and Panola counties. By 1984 Tatum had a population of 1,339, and by 1988, 1,531, with sixteen businesses.
Tatum has been a farming, dairying, and lumbering center for most of its history. In 1990 it had an estimated 1,289 residents.
