Longview

Longview, Texas

Longview, Texas

Historic District of the City of Longview, the seat of Gregg County, Texas. Photograph by Billy Hathorn.
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Promotion: Nearby Map of Harrison County
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Promotion: Nearby Map of Gregg County

Longview, the county seat of Gregg County, is on Interstate Highway 20 and U.S. highways 80 and 259, about 125 miles east of Dallas in eastern Gregg and western Harrison counties. In the early 1990s it was the largest city in Gregg County. Its current boundaries include three leagues of land granted to Anglo-Americans late in 1835. There was no significant settlement of the area, however, until the 1840s and 1850s. What became Longview consisted of mostly hilly land in the southeast corner of Upshur County, devoted more to small farms than to large plantations. Before the Civil War there were, within what are now the Longview city limits, two rural communities with United States post offices: Earpville in the east and Pine Tree in the west. A Methodist congregation at Earpville, dating back to 1846, later became the present First United Methodist Church of Longview. Today's Pine Tree Cumberland Presbyterian Church was chartered in 1847.

The town of Longview itself was founded in the early 1870s, when the Southern Pacific Railroad (later the Texas and Pacific) extended its track from Marshall in Harrison County westward into Gregg County. The railroad bypassed Earpville and laid out a new town a mile to the west on land purchased from Ossamus Hitch Methvin, Sr. Railroad management called the new settlement Longview, reportedly because of the impressive view from Methvin's house, which was on what is now Center Street. A post office was established in January 1871 before regular rail service to the town began. Due to financial problems the Southern Pacific delayed further track construction for two years, and Longview became the western terminus of the railroad. Wagons from throughout East Texas journeyed to the town, which quickly developed as an important regional trading center. A commercial district, composed of hastily built wood-frame buildings, sprang up around the terminal.

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Eugene W. McWhorter | © TSHA

Handbook of Texas Logo

Adapted from the official Handbook of Texas, a state encyclopedia developed by Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). It is an authoritative source of trusted historical records.

Belongs to

Longview is part of or belongs to the following places:

Currently Exists

Yes

Place type

Longview is classified as a Town

Associated Names

  • (Awalt)
  • (Earpville)
  • (Greggton)
  • (Pine Tree)
  • (Willow Springs)

Location

Latitude: 32.51801900
Longitude: -94.76209200

Has Post Office

Yes

Is Incorporated

Yes

Population Count, 2021 View more »

81,762

Place Type Population (Year/Source) Currently Exists
College or University Yes

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