Alba (/ˈælbə/ AL-bə) is a town located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 69 and Farm To Market Road 17 on the western edge of Wood County, Texas, United States, south of Lake Fork and approximately ten miles west of Quitman.

[4] A gunsmith named Joseph Simpkins was likely the first to settle the area, arriving here with his family from Missouri around 1843.

[5] By 1882, a townsite had been laid out and a number of merchants were opened in the area to serve the influx of railroad-tie cutters; population was 50 by 1884 and 300 by 1896.

[5] A lignite coal deposit was discovered near Alba around 1900 and in 1902 and 1903, the Texas Short Line Railway was constructed to ship coal from Alba and nearby Hoyt to Grand Saline in Van Zandt County.

[citation needed] Unlike other coal mines in the state, those at Alba were forced to use convict labor, because Alba was a sundown town that banned African Americans and Hispanics from living or working there.

[6][7][8] By 1990, the boundaries of Alba had expanded in to nearby Rains County, and the city had a population of 489, which dropped to 430 in 2000.

[5] In 2008, the town received national attention following the Caffey family murders.

[9] According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.1 square miles (2.9 km2), all land.