[6] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.2 square miles (11 km2), all land.

[7] The commission purchased a 60-acre tract of Daniel Monroe's headright on the Little River in 1846 and named the new community Cameron after Ewen Cameron, a Scottish highlander prominent in the Texas Revolution and a member of the Mier Expedition during the war with Mexico.

In the late 1840s and early 1850s, several attempts were made to navigate the Little River to give Cameron easier access to trade routes.

McCown Sr. persuaded Captain Basil M. Hatfield to bring his steamboat Washington through the upper Brazos up to the Little River.

The steamboat and the merchandise it brought caused great excitement among the locals, and a two-day celebration was held when the boat tied up 2.5 miles east of Cameron.

[7] Despite this, however, navigation of the river was impractical on a regular basis, and places such as Port Sullivan and Nashville developed into Milam County's dominant business centers during the 1850s and 1860s.

[9] The San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway arrived in 1890, giving the town another boost.

Cameron residents received much-needed job opportunities in the 1950s when the Aluminum Company of America built a plant southwest of Rockdale.

Southern Pacific, which had taken over the Texas and New Orleans, abandoned its track from Cameron north to Rosebud.

Since 2010, the annual Burning Flipside festival has been held at the nearby Apache Pastures campground, drawing tourists to the area.

On February 23, 2021, a collision between a flatbed tractor-trailer and a BNSF railroad train on Farm to Market Road 2095 near Cameron caused a derailment.

[10][11] Since Oct of 2021, the City of Cameron and the Downtown Square have been experiencing a renaissance as the community has started to renovate the historic buildings and add numerous businesses.

In addition to the Historic Courthouse, The Milam County Museum and Railroad Museum, the downtown square now hosts Shirley Mae's renowned bakery, Cameron Coffee Co, ZX Texas Boutique and Wine Bar, General Mercantile Antique, The Venue at Railfan, The Shop on Houston, Central Avenue Bistro, Ginno's Italian, The Bling Box Boutique, 44 Farms and many more businesses.

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters.