Civics
In January 1873, Upshur County Representative B.W. Brown, a Methodist lay preacher, introduced a bill in the Texas Legislature to make Longview the seat of a new county formed from parts of Upshur, Rusk, and Harrison counties. Gregg County, named for slain Confederate General John Gregg, was created, although it initially consisted of only 143 square miles taken from Upshur County. In April 1874, an additional 141 square miles south of the Sabine River were taken from Rusk County and added to Gregg. Longview was chosen over Awalt, also known as Willow Springs, as county seat. The Texas & Pacific later donated an entire city block as the courthouse square, then platted a new town at Awalt, which remained undeveloped until it became Greggton in 1929.
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Longview, Texas · United States
