Inventory of the county archives of Texas : Gregg County, no. 92 Page: 7
179 p. : map, plans ; 27 cm.View a full description of this book.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
7Historical
Sketch (First entry, p. 57).
As the countryside gradually'came to be dotted with farms and small
villages, the settlers beganNto attend to the subject of schools and
churches for their families. The first school in what is now Gregg
County was established at the Killingsworth place about 1850. It was
located between Judson and Spring Hill. Shortly afterward, a school was
erected in the Pine Tree settlement. This building, still standing, is
the oldest in the county. Other early schools' were located at Danville
and Peatown. Peatown soon came to be noted for its schools and lodges,
and as a, trading center. During the fifties, the Looney school was established
near present Ore City, and, though it was later moved to Gilmer,
it continued to be one of the leading schools of the region for many
years.18
The first church of which we have record was established in the Pine
Tree community in 1858.19 Most religious services must have been held in
private homes or in school buildings, for no records of other early
churches in the neighborhood have been found. In 1871 the Methodists
built a church in Longview, and in 1873 the Baptists followed their example.
20
As new settlers came they naturally followed the well-marked
trails, which gradually became important
roads through the region.' The
old Cherokee Trace became a military route from South Texas to Fort Towson
on the Red River; Trammel's Trace and the old Caddo Trail also became
important roads, as did the Jonesboro Road, established in 1838. 21
In 1860, on the eve of the Civil War, present Gregg County was still
largely an agricultural region. Though there were many more settlers
than there had been when Sanchez wrote, and though farms and tiny settlements
were sprinkled liberally over the countryside, the neighborhood
had changed little since he described it in 1828. After picturing the
country as being a continuous forest, with only seven houses between the
present sites of Longview and Gladowater, and the same number between
Gilmer and the Sabine, an old settler continues as follows:
You could scarcely ride a half dozen miles without disturbing
a bunch of deer or turkeys. A vast forest with here and
there a little farm. Except Gilmer, there was not a place between
Quitman and Marshall that deserved the appellation of
village.22
18. Hopkins, "History of Longview"; Walter E. fones, "Hist6ry of'County
Schools Related," Longview (Tex.) Daily News, Sept. 29, 1930, hereinafter
cited as Jones, "History of County Schools."
19. Jones, "History of County Schools."
20. Clipping from Longview (Tox.) Daily News, Aug. 23, 1931, in Gregg
County Scrapbook (red folder), the Archives Room, The University of
Texas' Library, Austin.
21. Jones, "History."
22. T. J. Allison, Longview and Gregg County from 1850-1930 ((manuscript
in Gregg County Scrapbdok (red folder), the Archives Room, The University
of Texas Library, Austin)).
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This book can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Book.
Historical Records Survey. Texas. Inventory of the county archives of Texas : Gregg County, no. 92, book, August 1940; San Antonio, Tex.. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth25249/m1/14/: accessed May 5, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.