Alba  was first known as Simpkins Prairie.  Joseph Simpkins and his family first came to what is now Alba in 1843.  The laying off of town lots was in 1881.  Alba was incorporated July 21, 1908.  The growth of Alba started with the railroad being completed in 1881.  In the late 1890"s coal was discovered in the Alba area.  There were as many as seven coal mines operating at one time.  The mines employed about 650 men.  Alba was a booming town during this time, with 25 business houses, 2 hotels, 2 theaters, 2 banks, 5 doctors, several dentists, 2 drugstores, a newspaper and several other businesses.  Alba had several cotton gins, and after Dallas, had the largest cotton market in the area. 

With the coming of the depression and the closing of the banks, Alba began to decline.  The last blow was the closing of the mines in 1940.  Alba had hopes for a recovery in the late 1940's and early 1950's when oil was discovered in and around Alba.  The oil turned out to be of very poor quality, a big disappointment.  About that time, the railroads closed.  Alba now has several businesses that employ a number of people, but most people commute to other towns to work.

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