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Tyler

RESOURCES

Our team is proud of the knowledge and expertise we provide for our customers. If you have a question that isn’t addressed here, please contact us – we will find the answer for you!

Disclaimer: The resources contained on the Central Title Company website are intended for informational purposes only and are not intended to offer advice (legal, financial, or otherwise) about specific situations or issues. Final numbers may vary based on credit, endorsements, and other factors specific to individual files. For assistance, please contact us.

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Marshall Location

History

While the exact date of Harrison County Abstract Company’s founding is unknown, its earliest prepared file is dated March 20, 1920. Marshall Title Abstractor Chris DeWoody says, “We’re possibly a little bit older than that…All I can say for sure is we do not appear in the 1914 city directory, so were were established sometime between 1914 and 1920.”

 

Over the past 100 years, the company has operated out of several different buildings and under several different names:

• 1924: 107 1/2 W. Austin St.
• 1932: 1-2-3 Citizens State Bank building
• 1939: 4 Conway building
• 1946: the Mahon Building
• 1959: Harrison County Abstract Company purchased The Burton Abstract Company
• 1978: Harrison County Abstract Company was purchased by Lawyer’s Title Agency and moved to 301 E. Austin St.
• Operated under two names simultaneously for several years: Harrison County Abstract Company for abstracts of title and Lawyer’s Title Agency of Marshall for title insurance issuance
• 1984: Lawyer’s Title Agency was purchased by Royce Brown, renamed First Southwest Title, and moved to our present location of 200 W. Bowie St.

 

In 1999, First Southwest Title joined the Central Title family and became our Marshall branch.

Kilgore Location - Fee Office

History

In the 1990s, Central Title added another convenient closing location with a fee office in Kilgore.

Longview Location

History

Central Abstract & Title Company was formed in 1931 by Paul B. Scott, Jas A. Hankerson, and EP Harding. Over its decades of operations, Central Title has passed through several owners, each group building the reputation for experience, expertise, and excellence that Central Title enjoys today, as well as expanding Central Title’s operations throughout East Texas.

 

Today, Central Title owns and operates the only sovereign title plants in Gregg, Smith, Harrison, Upshur, and Rusk counties and has 6 office locations: Longview, Tyler, Marshall, Gilmer, Hallsville, and Kilgore.

 

• Marshall: In 1999, Central Title purchased First Southwest Title in Marshall and then acquired Central Title’s second sovereignty title plant with the purchase of Professional Land Title Services in 2000
• Gilmer: Upshur County Abstract (established in 1912) was added to the Central Title family in 2002; in 2004, Central Title purchased Upshur County Index, adding a third sovereignty title plant to our resources
• Tyler: In 2008, Smith County Title (established in 1923) joined the Central Title family, along with another sovereignty title plant
• Hallsville: In 2013, Central Title opened a Hallsville location, offering an additional closing option for our customers
• Kilgore: In the 1990s, Central Title added another convenient closing location with a fee office in Kilgore

 

We are so grateful to our customers for over a century of business and look forward to continuing to grow and serve East Texas for the next 100 years.

Hallsville Location

History

Open since 2013, our expert closing team in Hallsville offers an additional closing location option for our customers.

Tyler Location

History

The Tyler office of Central Title Company began as Smith County Abstract Company in April of 1923.

The sovereignty plant was built from its sister company, Boren Abstract, to supply the ever-increasing demand for abstracts of title on properties in the area of the East Texas Oil Field. The abstracts of title were typed on manual typewriters using onion skin paper. The typists for the three abstract companies lined the hallways of the courthouse for all the years of the oil boom and earned $0.05 per legal page, single-spaced, in triplicate with no errors.

Smith County Abstract began the issuance of title insurance some time in the early 1950s while most customers still preferred a good abstract of title combined with a title opinion from a trusted real estate attorney.

In Smith County, title insurance became more popular with the local lenders when they realized that a title policy took much less file storage room than bulky abstracts. By the early 1970s, title insurance was the more requested form of title evidence, although abstracts were still being used for the customers that had acquired them with their real property. Developers still requested abstracts for their new subdivisions, and oil companies were still used them for title evidence.

By the mid 1980s, abstracts had been replaced by the title insurance policy, which is the basis of our business today.
Smith County Abstract had its only office in downtown Tyler from 1923 until 1999. In the mid 1980s, Smith County Abstract Company was the first abstract company in town to set up a closing office. Formerly, all closings took place at an attorney’s office or with a lender.

In the late 1980s, Smith County Abstract became Smith County Title and built a new office in South Tyler, combining its title and closing operations. The company continued to grow as an integral part of the real estate business in Smith County.

In 2008, Smith County Title joined Central Title Company and became the Smith County branch of its five-county network, better able to supply the title needs of its customers.

Gilmer Location

History

Upshur County Abstract (established in 1912) was added to the Central Title family in 2002; in 2004, Central Title purchased Upshur County Index, adding a third sovereignty title plant to our resources