History
John Tyson Smith
(Oct. 29, 1846 - May 15, 1916) In 1855 Alabama-born John Tyson Smith moved with his parents to Upshur County, Texas. A Confederate veteran, he settled in Longview about 1872. He served as city tax assessor and was justice of the peace for two terms. He was elected to five terms as Gregg County judge, 1888-1898.
Civic & Local
Johnny Cace's Seafood and Steak House
This east Texas landmark established by John 'Johnny' Cace, Jr. has served the area since 1949. Johnny was the son of a Yugoslav immigrant who grew up on the island village of Prvic Luka and spent his childhood fishing and boating in the Adriatic Sea. John Cace, Sr. arrived in Buras, Louisiana in 1915 where there was a community of Yugoslav fishermen and oystermen.
History
Judge J. N. Campbell Home
Built 1872. Owned since 1885 by Judge J. N. Campbell and family. Kept open house for Texas judiciary, clery and young people. Negro string band played for dances. The judge's brother, Governor Thomas M. Campbell, was a frequent visitor. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1965
History
Kilgore
"Oil City of the World" Founded 1872 with coming of the I.G.N. Railroad. Named for site donor, a Confederate colonel, Constantine B. Kilgore, State Senator and U. S. Congressman. Geographical center of huge East Texas oil field. World's greatest concentration of steel derricks. Petroleum production, service, supply, processing hub. Commercial, industrial, farm, education and medical center.
Architecture
Kilgore College Administration Building
In response to the East Texas oil field boom, yet in the midst of the Great Depression, Kilgore residents voted to support the establishment of a junior college in 1935. Classes were held in the high school until this building was completed in 1936 with financial aid from the Public Works Administration.
History
Kilgore Colored and C. B. Dansby Schools
Formal education of Kilgore's African American youth is recorded as early as 1873 through Kilgore Baptist Church. On August 27, 1906, Kilgore residents voted to incorporate the Kilgore Independent School District (KISD), which included segregated African American schools. On this site in 1935, the KISD constructed a new brick building for African American students.
History
Kilgore High School
Public education in Kilgore traces its history to classes held in private homes and the establishment of private institutions, most notably the Alexander Institute. Operated by Isaac Alexander, the school moved to Kilgore in 1873. It continued to serve the children of the town until 1894, when it was relocated to Jacksonville. It was later renamed Lon Morris College.
History
Kilgore National Bank Building
Led in the town's economic development following the 1930s oil boom. Prosperity in the midst of the Great Depression influenced the board of directors to build this structure in 1937. Designed by Henderson architect James L. Downing, who used art moderne and art deco styling to project progress, it housed the bank until the 1970s. It now serves as a reminder of Kilgore's early business history.
History
Kilgore Public Library
Kilgore's first public library opened in 1933 under the direction of two local women's clubs. With funding from the Federal Public Works Administration, support from the city, and labor from the Works Progress Administration, this structure was completed in 1939.
History
Liberty City
Historic rural community in oil-rich Gregg County. Settled before Civil War. Has also been known as Sabine, Mount Moriah, McCrary's Chapel, Goforth and Hog Eye (for an early settler with an "eye" for hogs). Present name adopted in early days of famous East Texas oil boom. Area served by Sabine School district, established 1893; an example of excellent schools in county.
History
Longview
Named for "long view" from Rock Hill when surveyors laid off townsite in 1870. Incorporated June 24, 1871. Became county seat of Gregg County; also railroad, agricultural and lumber center. Its history includes an 1894 bank robbery-- the last raid of the notorious "Dalton Gang". Early home of Governors Thomas M. Campbell and James S. Hogg.
Architecture
Longview Community Center
Soon after organizing in 1934 Longview's federation of Women's Clubs began raising funds for a community center. The Federation produced matching funds for an appropriation of the Gregg County commissioners court to build this structure in 1940. It houses an auditorium, foyer, kitchen, two dining rooms, and a drawing room.
History
Longview Junction
This community originated in the 1870s with the junction of the Texas & Pacific and International & Great Northern Railroad tracks. Churches, residences, hotels, restaurants, businesses, boardinghouses, and school developed in the area to accommodate workers and travelers.
Architecture
Longview Municipal Building and Central Fire Station
Longview Municipal Building and Central Fire Station The city of Longview was incorporated in 1871, and there is evidence of a volunteer fire department as early as 1887. A new city hall complex with fire station was constructed in 1905, but the 1930s East Texas oil boom and subsequent population explosion in Longview made the offices too small.
History
Lou Della Crim Home
This bungalow style residence was constructed in 1920 for Lou Della (Thompson) Crim (b. 1868), on the former site of the Hearne Hotel. The farm she owned at Laird Hill (4 mi. S) was part of an oil exploration project headed by her son Malcolm, later the first Kilgore mayor, and local financier Ed Bateman. Her property gained national attention on Dec.
History
Martin Hays
(1883-1958) Respected Longview citizen. Married Clara Harris, daughter of Gregg County pioneer family. Active in civic affairs, first elected to public office, 1910, as city marshall and district clerk. County sheriff 1924-1932. Seldom carried a gun-- enforced law in a soft-spoken manner. Was among first Texas sheriffs to organize junior deputies.
History
Mt. Pleasant Cemetery
At the close of the Civil War, local African Americans, newly freed from slavery, formed the Mt. Pleasant Colored Methodist Episcopal Church. The Rev. M.F. Jamison served as the first pastor for the group, which was part of the East Texas Annual Conference. Members built a brush arbor and peace camp in this area and were led by the Rev.
History
New Providence Cemetery
This cemetery was associated with the New Providence Missionary Baptist Church, which was founded in the 1880s. The first documented burial was of W. E. Newton in 1896. In 1903 the church was damaged by a windstorm, struck by lightning and later burned to the ground. Without a church building, the congregation disbanded.
History
Northcutt House
This residence was constructed in 1902 by the Rev. W. B. Allen for Dr. William Davis Northcutt (1861-1931). A prominent Longview physician and mayor of the city for four terms, Dr. Northcutt played a vital role in the development of the area through his active civic leadership. The Queen Anne style of his home features an elaborate two-level wraparound veranda and fishscale shingling. After Dr.
History
O. H. Methvin
(March 10, 1815 - February 9, 1882) Georgia native O. H. Methvin came to Texas about 1848 with his wife Margaret and his father, Richard R. Methvin. They settled on land in Upshur County which would later become a part of Gregg County. In 1870 Methvin gave 100 acres of land to the Southern Pacific Railroad to found the city of Longview.
History
O. H. Methvin, Sr., Founder of Longview
About 1848, O. H. Methvin (1815-1882) and his father Richard came to Texas from Georgia. O. H. Methvin bought about 1,200 acres in East Texas, including this site, which was his cornfield. He built a home on nearby Rock Hill for his wife Margaret and their children. In 1870 Methvin deeded 100 acres of his land to the Southern Pacific Railroad.
History
Old Fredonia Townsite
The community of Fredonia was founded by Haden Edwards, a land grantee who contracted in 1825 with the Mexican government to establish 800 families of settlers in East Texas. A later misunderstanding with Mexico caused him to organize the famous Fredonian Rebellion and flee to the U.S. in 1827 in failure. The town of Fredonia prospered, though, as an important ferry crossing and river port.
History
Oliver H. Pegues
(November 27, 1847 - March 30, 1937) Descendant of a Huguenot family who migrated to america in 1736, Oliver H. Pegues came to Texas with his parents from his native Mississippi in 1850. He moved to Longview in 1871 and became the town's first postmaster, Jan. 27, 1871. Pegues served as Gregg County Treasurer, 1875-1900. A merchant and banker, he was an early leader of the First Baptist Church.
History
Preachers Hill
Known to its residents as Preachers Hill and named when Bethel Temple Church was founded in 1920, this African American neighborhood was established near Longview's original townsite in the 1880s. Ella Jacob Cotton Loyd (1870-1957) came to Texas with planters William Cunyus and the Prothro family and settled in Longview.
History
Red Oak Missionary Baptist Church
In 1875, a group of freed African Americans founded a church south of the Longview townsite. Sallie Rollins donated land for Red Oak Grove Baptist Church, and Rev. Rube Wright was the first pastor. The original site was near current Eastman Road and Interstate 20, adjacent to Swanzcey Cemetery. In 1926-27, the church moved to its current site on land bought from the Jacobs and Rollins families.
Elsewhere in Texas
Hear it from the road
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