The area of Smith County where Lindale sits was inhabited long before the town was founded in 1871.

The area also was home to Cherokee Indians, who were forced out when the Republic of Texas was founded in 1836.

After the Civil War, Richard B. Hubbard, a former officer in the Confederate Army and owner of a large plantation on what is today a gated community called Hideaway Lake, began searching for a more convenient way to ship the produce grown on his land.

Hubbard convinced railroad officials to lay track between nearby Tyler and Mineola.

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 6,059 people, 2,169 households, and 1,688 families residing in the city.