Gregg

Formed January 1, 1873 (161^st county)

Gregg County (124,234), Longview (81,640)

The Art Deco courthouse was built in 1932 and is located on a square, three blocks south of United States Highway 80, at 101 East Methvin.  Whaley, Methrin, Center, and Fredonia streets form the square.  Voelcker and Dixon designed this new modern tan brick and marble building.  A Courts and Records Building was added in 1958 and an Annex was added in 1982.  The county was organized on January 1, 1873 and all three courthouses (1879, 1897, and 1932) have been in Longview.  The county was cut from Rusk County as the 161^st county.  Gregg County was named for General John Gregg, an officer in the Confederate Army.  The county seat is a geographical term applied by a group of surveyors siting the city. 

Gregg County government consists of a sheriff, a County Judge, and 4 Commissioners.  Three District Court Judges and Three County Court Judges serve Gregg County.  The county is located in the East Texas pine area just east of Tyler, Texas and west of Shreveport, Louisiana.  The Sabine River crosses the county from west to east.  The county center is 5 miles West of Longview nearer White Oak.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Upshur, Harrison, Rusk, and Smith counties. 

The area of the county is 274 square miles.  It is 248 out of 254 in the state.  It ranks 37 out of 254 in population in the state.  It has a density of 453.4 persons per square mile making it 16 out of 254 in the state.  Gregg County has 81.8% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 20 transits from Harrison County, east, to Smith County, west.  United States Highway 80 enters from the east, Harrison County, and exits to the northwest, Upshur County.  United States Highway 259 crosses north to south, Upshur County to Rusk County.  United States Highway 271 cuts the extreme northwest corner from Upshur County into Smith County.  Three sides of the county are straight with the northern border being a 45-degree line from southwest to northeast.  Longview is on the eastern edge with part of the city extending into Harrison County.  Longview is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 65.7% of the county population.  This county is in the Longview Metropolitan Statistical Area.