The city of Gary, population 305, is located in Panola County.  It lies in the heart of Deep East Texas on FM 999.  Carthage is the closest town to Gary and is the home of Panola College which supports its area school districts in education.

    The main industry of this area is the timber industry.  Other workers leave Gary to travel to distant areas where manufacturing jobs are available.

    Lake Murvaul is an area tourist attraction, a place for many fishermen to while away the hours and catch some pretty big fish.  The Boy Scout camp at Camp Pirtle on Lake Murvaul brings many boy scouts into the area.

    Gary is not a big place by no means but it holds many attractions, another being the Daniel Springs Encampment which is lively during the summer months.  There are 5 churches for the community to attend worship services.

    The award winning Loblolly magazine has helped make this small town famous, along with it's founder, Lincoln King, who retired May of 2001 after teaching at Gary ISD for 30 years.  The Loblolly was established in 1973 and has taught the students communication and other skills.