It is one of the first questions anyone asks: why is a town in East Texas called Gun Barrel City? The answer is refreshingly literal. The name comes from a road — and the town has spent decades happily leaning into everything that name suggests.
A road "straight as a gun barrel"
The name comes from Gun Barrel Lane, now designated State Highway 198. Locals described this stretch of road as running "straight as a gun barrel" for about two miles between two highways. In a region of winding country roads, a long, dead-straight run stood out enough to earn a nickname — and when the community incorporated in 1969, that nickname became the name of the whole town.
It is a fitting origin. There is nothing pretentious about naming your city after the plain, obvious feature of the road that runs through it. That same directness runs through the identity of the city to this day.
"We Shoot Straight With You"
The city's slogan is "We Shoot Straight With You." On the surface, it is a pun on the gun-barrel name. But it carries a second meaning that residents take seriously: a promise of plain, honest dealing. In a lake community built on tourism, retail, and hospitality — where a lot of business is done with weekend visitors — a reputation for shooting straight is worth having.
Named for a road that ran "straight as a gun barrel," the town turned a geographic quirk into a civic motto: We Shoot Straight With You.
The emblem: a rifle and crossed pistols
Gun Barrel City's official emblem features a rifle with two crossed antique pistols — imagery that makes the name unmistakable and gives the town a bold, memorable visual identity. It is the kind of emblem that looks at home on a water tower, a city seal, or a souvenir T-shirt.
From Yosemite Sam to the modern emblem
The town's visual identity has evolved. An earlier mascot was the cartoon character Yosemite Sam — the pistol-waving, hot-tempered Looney Tunes gunslinger — which fit the town's playful, straight-shooting reputation. That mascot was later replaced by the current rifle-and-crossed-pistols emblem, giving Gun Barrel City an identity it fully owns rather than one borrowed from a cartoon.
The legend: Prohibition, backwoods, and Bonnie and Clyde
No name this evocative escapes a good legend, and Gun Barrel City has one. Local folklore links the area's backwoods reputation to the Prohibition era of the 1920s and 1930s, when this remote corner of East Texas was said to be a place where people minded their own business. Some versions of the story even claim that outlaws such as Bonnie and Clyde passed through the area.
Folklore, not fact
These Prohibition-era and outlaw stories are local legend, not established historical fact. They are fun to tell and they fit the town's colorful image, but the documented origin of the name is the "straight as a gun barrel" road — not any gunfight or bootlegger. Enjoy the legend for what it is.
Why the name works
Plenty of towns would be self-conscious about a name like Gun Barrel City. This one made it a brand. The straight road gave it the name, the slogan gave it a personality, and the emblem gave it a look. Together they make a town of about 6,190 people instantly memorable to anyone who drives through, shops the strip on State Highway 334, or spends a weekend on Cedar Creek Lake. In marketing terms, the name does a lot of work for free — and the town knows it.
The name is also inseparable from the town's history. To understand how the community came together in the first place, read the full History of Gun Barrel City, and see the Facts & Statistics for the numbers behind the name.
Frequently asked questions
Why is it called Gun Barrel City?
The name comes from Gun Barrel Lane — now State Highway 198 — a stretch of road that locals said ran "straight as a gun barrel" for about two miles between two highways. When the community incorporated in 1969, it took the name Gun Barrel City.
What is Gun Barrel City's slogan?
The city's slogan is "We Shoot Straight With You," a play on the gun-barrel name that also signals a reputation for plain, honest dealing.
What is on the Gun Barrel City emblem?
The official emblem features a rifle with two crossed antique pistols. An earlier mascot was the cartoon character Yosemite Sam, which was later replaced.
Is Gun Barrel City connected to Bonnie and Clyde?
Only through local legend. Folklore ties the area's backwoods reputation to the Prohibition era of the 1920s and 1930s and even claims outlaws such as Bonnie and Clyde passed through. These stories are local folklore, not established historical fact.
The whole story
From the Old Bethel Community to a nationally famous teenage mayor — read how Gun Barrel City came to be.
Read the History About the City