Longview Texas, Gregg County seat. (original) (raw)
Longview street scene
TE photo, 2002
Longview & Marshall: A Metropolitan Sunday Drive ›
by Bob Bowman
Excerpted from "THE EAST TEXAS SUNDAY DRIVE BOOK"
Begin at in downtown Longview with the excellent Gregg County Historical Museum at the corner of Fredonia and Bank streets. The museum's exhibits illustrate the development of Gregg County from the days of the Caddo Indians and will prepare you for the rest of your Sunday Drive.
Longview itself was carved out of the pine forests in l870 when railroad engineers surveyed a 50-acre tract deeded to the Southern Pacific Railroad by O.H. Methvin. From the crest of Capps Hill, the surveyors, looking into the distance to the south, remarked what a "long view" there was from the hill. Longview was made the county seat of newly-created Gregg County in l871.
Leaving the museum, you'll want to spend some time walking the streets of downtown Longview, where many of the city's oldest buildings are being preserved as the result of a strong historical movement in the community.
Be sure to see the historical marker to the last raid of the Dalton Gang at 200 North Fredonia. Here, at the First National Bank, a bloody gunfight resulted in three deaths when the Dalton Gang robbed the bank. The robbery resulted in the ultimate capture of the gang, ending its reign of crime and violence.
The Gregg County Courthouse is also in downtown Longview. Here is a statue to General John Gregg, a general in the Confederate Army.
Other Longview places of interest include:
- The Campbell Honeymoon Home, located at 521 North Second Street. This was the home of Texas Governor Thomas Mitchell Campbell when he married Fannie Bruner while working as a clerk in the Gregg County courthouse in l878.
- The Stagecoach Stop Museum at 322 Teague, one of the few remaining homes from Earpville, the forerunner of Longview. The building dates from the early l860s.
- The Brown-Birdsong home at 104 West Whaley Street. This Victorian home was built in l879 by an early settler, B.W. Brown, a Methodist lay minister. Brown helped create Gregg County.
- (Post Office Mural - The post office has a 1942 "WPA" mural: Texas Farm Scene by Thomas Stell. - Editor.) From Longview, head east on U.S. 80. You'll pass through Hallsville while traveling a scenic route characterized by meadows, ranches, and turn-of-the-century buildings ...
[See Longview & Marshall: A Metropolitan Sunday Drive]
Longview, Texas
Landmarks / Attractions
The Gregg County Historical Museum:
Located in the handsome and historic Everett Building at 214 North Fredonia Street. This was originally the Citizens National Bank. Many exhibits deal with the everyday life of early residents, and many showcase the various industries that molded the economy of the region. Included are artifacts from an 1894 bank robbery involving the Dalton Gang. 10:00 to 4:00 Tuesday through Saturday. Closed on Sunday, Monday, and major holidays. Admission is 2.00foradults,2.00 for adults, 2.00foradults,1.00 for students and senior citizens (65 and older).
The Gregg County Historical Museum
The Everett Building in Longview
TE photo, 2002
More Texas Museums
Everett Building historical marker
TE photo
Photo courtesy Maryanne Gobble, December 2010
Photo courtesy Maryann Gobble
Speer Chapel
Formerly Harmon General Hospital Chapel
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark
Photo courtesy Maryann Gobble, December 2010
Pine Tree Cumberland Presbyterian Church
1850 Pine Tree Rd. (FM 1845)
Photo courtesy Gerald Massey, June 2011
The K of P Lodge in Longview
TE photo, 2002
More Texas Lodges
The K of P Lodge in Longview
TE photo, 2002
A cast iron building in Longview
TE photo, 2002
Cast iron building detail
TE photo 2002
Union Iron and Foundry Co. St. Louis
Cast iron building detail
TE photo 2002
See Texas Architecture
Municipal Building
TE photo 2002
Longview Event
One of Longview's most popular events is the mid-July Great Balloon Race.
First Grade 1944 Photo courtesy Jesse Suttles
Longview Tourist Information
The Longview Convention & Visitor's Bureau
410 N. Center Street. 903-753-3281.
http://www.longviewtx.com/
Book Hotel Here › Longview Hotels
Longview, Texas Forum
- About Longview
When I was five years old, my family moved to Longview from Houston. My dad took a job as an engineer with R.G. LeTourneau, designing offshore drilling platforms. We moved into a pink house on Idylwood Drive and lived there until I was ten. The things that still come to mind about that time in Longview was in the summer, the streets, which were an oil/tar base were plowed up with huge tractor like vehicles. The smell of the tar was pervasive for weeks after they did that. As a young boy, I went barefoot in the summer and walking on the streets in Longview caused the bottoms of my feet to become black, like the tarred streets.... more
- Mike Campbell, Hong Kong, December 01, 2006
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