Gregg County

Part of the Longview, Texas metropolitan area and the Longview–Marshall, Texas combined statistical area. Discovery of oil near Kilgore in October 1930 was the beginning of an oil boom that attracted workers to the county and expanded the population by more than 500% by 1940, according to the census.

• County — Gregg County • State — Texas • Founded — 1873 • Named For — Gen. John Gregg • Seat Wl — Longview • Largest City Wl — Longview • Area Total Sq Mi — 276 • Area Land Sq Mi — 273 • Area Water Sq Mi — 2.5 • Area Water Percent — 0.9 • Population As Of — 2020 • Population Total — 124239 • Pop Est As Of — 2025 • Population Est — 126095 • Population Density Sq Mi — auto • Time Zone — Central • District — 1st

This area was among early sections settled by United States immigrants before Texas became an independent republic, and after 1845, a state of the United States. It was an area developed as cotton plantations dependent on slave labor of African Americans. Lumbering of the pine forests was also pursued, especially in the early years of clearing the land for cultivation. Gregg County was organized in 1873 after the American Civil War from portions of existing counties. When the Texas State Legislature convened in January 1873, Democratic representative B. W. Brown of Upshur County introduced a bill to create a new county from parts of Harrison, Rusk, and Upshur Counties. He was likely trying to break up the black majority that dominated county politics in Harrison County. Under Brown's proposal, the county was to be named Roanoke, and Longview was to be the county seat. The proposed name was later changed to honor Texas leader and Confederate General John Gregg, and the county seat was determined by popular election. Harrison and Rusk Counties resisted efforts to have portions of their territory assigned to Gregg County. When Gregg County was created, it first consisted of about 143 sqmi taken from Upshur County, and the Sabine River was its southern boundary. In April 1874, about 141 sqmi south of the Sabine River in Rusk County was added to Gregg County. The third portion, of about 145 sqmi to be taken from Harrison County, was never realized. Many of its voters continued to elect Republicans to county offices. By 1919, the county population was 16,700, of whom 8,160, or 48%, were Black. Most were sharecroppers or tenant farmers raising cotton as a commodity crop. Members of the Negro Business League set up a cooperative store in Longview to compete with White merchants and offer African-American residents more choices for purchases. Beginning July 10, the town had a short-lived Longview Race Riot, in which one Black man was killed, and several Black-owned homes and properties were burned. It was quelled when the sheriff asked for Texas National Guard and other law enforcement. They established a curfew and military occupation. Agricultural work declined during the Great Depression of the 1930s, and many African Americans continued to leave in the Great Migration north to find other work. In October 1930, oil was discovered near Joinerville, between Henderson, Texas (Rusk County) and Kilgore (mostly in southwest Gregg County). And shortly after, oil was discovered within Gregg County, near Pine Tree/East Mountain (Lathrop No 1). Suddenly, the county economy was booming, and the East Texas Oil Field attracted so many workers that county population increased by more than 500% by 1940. Growth stabilized, but oil has continued to be important. County demographics changed as other workers were attracted to the area. In the early 21st century, slightly less than 20% of the population is African American.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 276 sqmi, of which 2.5 sqmi (0.9%) are covered by water.

• Interstate 20 • U.S. Highway 80 • U.S. Highway 259 • U.S. Highway 271 • State Highway 31 • State Highway 42 • State Highway 135 • State Highway 149 • State Highway 300 • State Highway 322 • Loop 281 • Loop 485 • Spur 63 • Spur 502

• Upshur County (north) • Harrison County (east) • Rusk County (south) • Smith County (west)

• Clarksville City (small part in Upshur County) • East Mountain (mostly in Upshur County) • Easton (partly in Rusk County) • Gladewater (partly in Upshur County) • Kilgore (small part in Rusk County) • Lakeport • Longview (small part in Harrison County) • Warren City (small part in Upshur County) • White Oak

• Lake Cherokee • Liberty City

• Danville • Elderville • Fredonia • Gladewater Park • Judson • Seven Pines • Shiloh • Teneryville

• Greggton - annexed to Longview in the 1950s • Spring Hill - annexed to Longview on October 7, 1983

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 124,239. The median age was 37.5 years; 24.3% of residents were under the age of 18 and 17.0% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 93.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 89.8 males age 18 and over. The racial makeup of the county was 58.8% White, 20.3% Black or African American, 0.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 9.4% from some other race, and 9.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 19.3% of the population. 86.5% of residents lived in urban areas, while 13.5% lived in rural areas. There were 48,130 households in the county, of which 32.5% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 44.3% were married-couple households, 18.5% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 31.3% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. There were 53,212 housing units, of which 9.6% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 58.9% were owner-occupied and 41.1% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.9% and the rental vacancy rate was 10.4%.

According to the 2000 census, 111,379 people, 42,687 households, and 29,667 families were residing in the county. The population density was 406 PD/sqmi in 2000; the 46,349 housing units averaged 169 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the county was 72.89% White, 19.86% African American, 0.52% Native American, 0.68% Asian, 4.57% from other races, and 1.49% from two or more races; about 9.14% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race. In 2000, median income for a household in the county was $35,006, and for a family was $42,617. Males had a median income of $33,186 versus $21,432 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,449. About 12.00% of families and 15.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.50% of those under age 18 and 11.40% of those age 65 or over.

By 2020, its median household income was $52,027 with a mean income of $73,022.

These school districts serve Gregg County: • Gladewater ISD (partly in Smith, Upshur Counties) • Kilgore ISD (partly in Rusk County) • Longview ISD • Pine Tree ISD • Sabine ISD • Spring Hill ISD • White Oak ISD Areas in Gladewater, Kilgore, Longview, Pine Tree, Sabine, Spring Hill, and White Oak ISDs (in other words, all of the school districts covering sections of the county) are in the Kilgore Junior College zone.

Gregg County is part of the Tyler/Longview/Jacksonville DMA. Local media outlets are: KLTV, KTRE-TV, KYTX-TV, KFXK-TV, KCEB-TV, and KETK-TV. The Longview News-Journal is the primary newspaper in the county, published in Longview. Coverage of the area can also be found in the Tyler Morning Telegraph, based in Tyler, in Smith County. The Gladewater Mirror has been published since 1949, first as a daily newspaper and then as a weekly newspaper.

*

• Illustration — The annex building is attached to the Gregg County Courthouse. • Illustration — The Gregg County Historical Museum is located in the historic district of Longview. • Illustration — Monument to the Confederate soldier at the Gregg County Courthouse in Longview, completed by Frank Teich, 1911

Republican Before the complete disfranchisement of rural freedmen, Gregg County's black freedmen allowed it to vote for William McKinley twice, and for several other Republicans during the Third Party System. Gregg subsequently became a classic "Solid South" Democratic county between 1904 and 1948, but has since become solidly Republican at a Presidential level, although the presence of a sizeable black population has permitted the Democrats to gain a quarter of the countywide total at virtually every election. Nonetheless, Gregg was one of only 16 Texas counties to vote for Barry Goldwater in his 1964 definitive loss, and the last Democrat to carry the county was Harry S. Truman in 1948. Gregg County is located within District 7 of the Texas House of Representatives. Gregg County is located within District 1 of the Texas Senate.