Is Troy, TX in Bell County?

Yes. Troy is a city in northern Bell County, Texas, on Interstate 35 between Temple and Waco. The Troy ISD boundary also takes in a small part of neighboring Falls County, but the city itself is in Bell County. The ZIP code is 76579.

What school district is Troy, TX in?

Troy is in Troy Independent School District. The district has four campuses in town: Edna Bigham Mays Elementary (Pre-K to 2), Troy Elementary (3 to 5), Raymond Mays Middle School (6 to 8) and Troy High School (9 to 12). The mascot is the Trojans.

How far is Troy from Temple and Waco?

By Interstate 35, Troy's Main Street exit (308) is about 8 miles north of central Temple and about 26 miles south of downtown Waco. The Loop 363 exit on the north side of Temple is about 5 miles from Troy.

How far is Troy, TX from Austin?

Troy is about 74 miles north of the State Capitol in downtown Austin by Interstate 35. The route runs south through Temple, Belton, Salado, Georgetown and Round Rock. Drive time depends heavily on I-35 traffic in Williamson and Travis counties.

What is Troy, Texas known for?

Troy is known as a small I-35 town between Temple and Waco with its own school district, Troy ISD, and the Troy Trojans. It began in 1882 as a Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad station town that replaced Old Troy, an earlier stage stop two miles north on Big Elm Creek.

Which I-35 exits serve Troy, TX?

Two exits serve Troy. Exit 306 is FM 1237, which runs toward Pendleton. Exit 308 is FM 935, which is Troy's Main Street and continues east to Belfalls. Exit 311, Big Elm Road, is the next exit to the north.

Who provides water and electricity in Troy, TX?

Inside the city limits, the City of Troy provides water, sewer and garbage billing. Outside the city, rural suppliers such as Elm Creek WSC and Little Elm Valley WSC serve parts of the area. Ask which electric company serves the address. On Oncor lines you choose a retail electric provider. Atmos Energy is the gas company.

What lake is closest to Troy, TX?

Belton Lake is the closest large lake. It is a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reservoir on the Leon River, impounded in 1954. Corps parks on the upper lake along State Highway 36 include Cedar Ridge, White Flint, Winkler, Leona, Iron Bridge and Owl Creek.

Troy, TX Homes and Schools Guide | Bruce Burgess, Champion Realty

Troy at a glance

Troy sits on Interstate 35 in northern Bell County, between Temple and Waco. The city describes itself as a bedroom community on the I-35 corridor. Most of what people need day to day is here or a short drive south: city hall and the post office on Main Street, four Troy ISD campuses, a city park and a community center.

Main Street is also FM 935, which leaves I-35 at exit 308 and runs east to Belfalls. FM 1237 leaves the interstate at exit 306 on the south side of town and runs toward Pendleton. Farm and ranch land starts quickly once you are off the frontage roads.

A short history

The first Troy was about two miles north, on Big Elm Creek. Settlers arrived in the 1850s, and the Elm Creek post office opened in 1854. The place was a stage stop on the line from Waco to Belton to Austin. In 1876 the post office and the community took the name Troy.

When the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad built through in the early 1880s, the station went in two miles south. Most people moved to the tracks. For a while there was an Old Troy and a New Troy. By 1884 the new town had a post office, two churches, a gin and mill, and a hotel. Old Troy faded out, though its cemetery remained.

Troy shipped cotton, livestock and other farm products for decades and incorporated in 1960. Its Main Street was drawn and recorded for the Historic American Buildings Survey as survey TX-3533, an eight-sheet set of drawings now held at the Library of Congress.

Homes and housing in Troy

Housing in Troy comes in three broad types. The oldest houses are on the streets around Main Street and the railroad, in the part of town laid out after 1882. Newer subdivisions have been built on the edges of town near I-35. Outside the city limits the choices are mostly houses on acreage and farm or ranch tracts.

New construction is active. The Village at Elm Creek, on University Avenue, is one community with new homes going up. In the country, expect a mix of older farmhouses, manufactured homes and custom homes on larger lots, many with a water supply corporation meter and a septic system instead of city service.

Neighborhoods and subdivisions

Old town Troy is the grid around Main Street, east of the interstate, with city hall at 201 East Main and Trojan Park a couple of blocks away on East Austin Street. The school campuses sit along West Main Street, East Austin Street and North Waco Road, so much of town is close to at least one of them.

The Village at Elm Creek is a current new-home community on University Avenue. Beyond the city, people tend to describe where they live by the road or the old community: Pendleton to the southwest on FM 1237, Belfalls to the east where FM 935 meets FM 438, and Old Troy and Big Elm Road to the north.

Schools

Troy is served by Troy Independent School District, which runs four campuses in town. The mascot is the Trojans. The district covers a wide rural area of northern Bell County and a small part of Falls County, including Pendleton, Belfalls and Oenaville.

District lines do not follow city limits here. The City of Temple lists Troy ISD as one of four school districts that serve addresses inside Temple, so a home with a Temple address on the north side can be in Troy ISD. Always confirm the district for a specific address with the district office before you rely on it. For college, Temple College is in Temple and the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor is in Belton.

Edna Bigham Mays Elementary School: Pre-K to grade 2, Troy ISD, 725 W. Main Street
Troy Elementary School: Grades 3 to 5, Troy ISD, 808 E. Austin Street
Raymond Mays Middle School: Grades 6 to 8, Troy ISD, 915 W. Main Street
Troy High School: Grades 9 to 12, Troy ISD, 205 N. Waco Road

Parks, lakes and the outdoors

In town, Trojan Park on East Austin Street is the city park. The city added a splash pad there in 2016. The Troy Community Center is a city building that can be rented for parties, family gatherings and meetings.

The nearest big water is Belton Lake, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reservoir on the Leon River that was impounded in 1954. The Corps parks on the upper lake along State Highway 36 are the closest to Troy. The lake is known for hybrid striped bass, along with largemouth bass, white bass and catfish.

Trojan Park: City park at 110 East Austin Street with a splash pad
Troy Community Center: City-owned hall available to rent through city hall
Cedar Ridge Park, Belton Lake: Corps of Engineers park off State Highway 36 with camping and a two-lane boat ramp; fee
White Flint Park, Belton Lake: Corps park off State Highway 36 with camping and a two-lane boat ramp; fee
Winkler Park, Belton Lake: Corps park on the upper lake; hand launch from the shoreline
Leona, Iron Bridge and Owl Creek parks: Corps boat ramps on the upper lake, no fee

Things to do, shopping and dining

An old storefront with a Troy General Store sign — The Troy General Store building on Main Street. Photo: Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0.

Troy is a small town, and most shopping, restaurants and medical care are in Temple. In town, Main Street has the post office, city hall and a row of old storefronts. The Troy Farmers' Market sets up at 201 East Main Street on the first Saturday of the month from April through August.

Annual events

The city credits two local groups, Project Troy and the Troy Area Chamber of Commerce, with the Troy Annual BBQ Cook-Off and the Troy Fun Fest. Dates change from year to year, so check the city calendar. The farmers' market runs monthly in spring and summer.

Troy Farmers' Market: First Saturday of the month, April through August, 201 East Main Street
Troy Annual BBQ Cook-Off: Named by the city as a yearly community event; check the city calendar for the date
Troy Fun Fest: Named by the city as a yearly community event; check the city calendar for the date

Employers and the local economy

Troy started as a cotton and livestock shipping point, and farming and ranching still surround it. Today most people who live here drive to work. The city points to the Temple medical and industrial base as the main draw: Baylor Scott and White, McLane, the Walmart distribution center and other plants and warehouses. Baylor Scott and White Medical Center in Temple is at I-35 exit 299, about 11 miles south of Troy's Main Street exit. In town, Troy ISD and the City of Troy are public employers, and there are businesses at both I-35 exits.

Getting around

Interstate 35 is the road for nearly every trip. Troy has two exits: 306 for FM 1237 and Pendleton, and 308 for FM 935 and Main Street. Big Elm Road is exit 311 to the north. Going south, Berger Road is exit 305 and Loop 363, the H. K. Dodgen Loop around Temple, is exit 304, about 5 miles from Main Street.

By I-35, Troy is about 8 miles from central Temple, about 15 miles from Belton, about 26 miles from downtown Waco and about 74 miles from the State Capitol in Austin. For Killeen and Fort Hood, take I-35 south to Interstate 14 at Belton, about 17 miles from Troy, and head west.

Utilities and practical details

Troy City Hall. Photo: Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0.

Inside the city, the City of Troy bills water, sewer, garbage and a drainage fee on one statement, and trash is picked up by Frontier Waste Solutions. Natural gas is Atmos Energy. The city lists Grande Communications for cable and AT&T for phone. Ask which electric company serves the address. Where the lines are Oncor's you choose your own retail electric provider. City hall is at 201 East Main Street, 254-938-2505.

Outside the city, water usually comes from a rural water supply corporation or a private well. Elm Creek WSC serves the Old Troy Road and West Big Elm Road area, and Little Elm Valley WSC serves customers north of FM 935. Sewer outside the city is normally a septic system. Troy has its own police department and a volunteer fire department. The nearest hospitals are in Temple.

Buying and selling in Troy

Bruce Burgess is a Temple native who has held a Texas real estate license since 1991 and has owned Champion Realty, in Belton, since 2007. These are the things he would have you check in Troy.

Before you buy

School district lines do not follow city limits: Troy ISD reaches into part of the City of Temple and into Falls County, so confirm the district for the exact address.
Find out who supplies the water before you make an offer: the City of Troy inside the limits, or Elm Creek WSC, Little Elm Valley WSC, another rural supplier or a private well outside them.
Outside the city sewer area, plan on a septic system and ask for its permit and service records.
Eastern Bell County is blackland prairie with dark clay soil, so have the foundation looked at closely on any house, old or new.
Big Elm Creek and its branches run through the country north and east of town, so check the FEMA flood map for any tract near a creek.

Before you sell

Have the school district, water supplier and sewer or septic details in writing up front, because buyers moving here from Temple or Austin will ask about all three.
If the home is on acreage, gather the survey, well or water supply corporation records and septic records before you list.
State the school district and the nearest I-35 exit number plainly in the listing, since Troy ISD and the short drive to Temple are the two location facts that set a Troy address apart.

Get my home value Ask Bruce about Troy