[5] The city is at the junction of U.S. Route 87 and Texas State Highway 86, about 2 miles (3 km) east of Interstate 27.

In 1887, a post office was established in James A. Parrish's dugout on Middle Tule Draw, 9 miles (14 km) west of what is now the site of Tulia.

Evidently, the name Tule, after the nearby creek, had been selected for this post office, but at some point a clerk's error changed the name to Tulia.

By 1900, Tulia was prospering as a stopping point for freight-wagon traffic en route to the railheads of Colorado City and Amarillo.

In the mid-1980s, local industrial plants manufactured products such as clothing and farm implements, and four large cattle-feeding enterprises were nearby.

[6] In July 1999, the town of Tulia gained national attention due to its involvement in the controversial war on drugs.

Undercover Officer Tom Coleman conducted a sting operation that led to forty-seven[a] citizens accused of dealing cocaine, equating to ten to twenty percent of the African American population being incarcerated.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.5 square miles (9.1 km2), all land.

[22] The Tulia 47 drug sting events were to feature in a film directed by John Singleton and starring Billy Bob Thornton and Halle Berry.