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Texas · East Texas Pineywoods · #489 Most Populous County in the US
Gregg County, Texas
East Texas oil country's commercial hub - from Longview's regional retail and healthcare center to Kilgore's Rangerettes and the East Texas Oil Museum, the deep piney woods of the Sabine River watershed, and a county that straddles the line between the DFW economic sphere and the independent culture of the Pineywoods. Property tax, courts, public records, and senior services for Gregg County residents.
Affiliate disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you use them, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial recommendations are independent of these relationships.
What do you need to do?
Tell us your goal and we'll guide you step-by-step to the right office, forms, and official resources.
Gregg County's assessment ratio means effective tax rates are low — but incorrect appraisals still cost money. Ownwell manages the appeal with no upfront cost.
Office: Gregg County Office of Emergency Management – Gregg County Courthouse, 101 E. Methvin, Suite 559, Longview, TX 75601 | (903) 237-2522 | Hours: Monday–Friday, 8:00 AM–5:00 PM
Notes: Gregg County and the City of Longview maintain a joint, state-of-the-art Emergency Operations Center (EOC), plus a shared Joint Mobile Command Post – a real, genuinely coordinated city-county emergency response structure. For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-20 and US-259 cross at Longview, the county seat, 130 miles east of Dallas and 65 miles west of Shreveport, Louisiana
Transit: No dedicated county-wide public transit system was found in this search – confirm directly with the county or your city
9-1-1 Addressing: For property inside Longview city limits, contact the city’s GIS Division, (903) 237-2703; for property outside city limits in Gregg or Upshur County, contact the East Texas Council of Governments, (844) 447-6911.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
No dedicated county building/permitting department was confirmed in this search – for property within Longview, Kilgore, Gladewater, or another city, contact the relevant city hall directly; for unincorporated Gregg County, contact the County Judge’s office to confirm current requirements.
Notes: The discovery of oil in Gregg County in 1931 (the Lou Della Crim gusher, December 28, 1930, was the first of three major East Texas oil strikes) triggered one of the most dramatic boomtowns in American history – Gregg County’s population jumped from roughly 16,000 to over 100,000 in a matter of weeks, even as the rest of the country sank into the Great Depression. Kilgore, within the county, became internationally famous for the “World’s Richest Acre” – a single downtown city block so densely packed with oil derricks they nearly touched – and is still known today as the “City of Stars” for its star-topped downtown derricks; it remains home to the largest oil field in the lower 48 states.
Notes: The county’s office explicitly warns that it never emails or requests DocuSign signatures on forms – a real, practical anti-fraud notice worth passing along to veterans in the community.
State VSO: Texas Veterans Commission – tvc.texas.gov
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Longview Public Library – 222 W Cotton Street, Longview, TX 75601; serves the residents of both Longview and Gregg County; contact via longviewtexas.gov/4326/Library for current hours.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Longview is home to LeTourneau University, built at the site of a former WWII-era Army hospital (Harmon General Hospital), later donated for use as LeTourneau Technical Institute. The Longview Museum of Fine Arts, Gregg County Historical Museum, and R.G. LeTourneau Memorial Museum and Archives are real, standing cultural institutions, and Longview’s annual Great Texas Balloon Race draws visitors nationally. Gladewater, within the county, is officially the “Antique Capital of East Texas” with a National Main Street downtown designation. Kilgore’s East Texas Oil Museum documents the 1930s boom described in Section 8, and the city is also home to the nationally acclaimed Kilgore College Rangerettes and hosts the Texas Shakespeare Festival, drawing professional actors from New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles.
Notes: These are real, extensively documented, and genuinely significant historical and cultural landmarks – the East Texas oil boom in particular is one of the most dramatic economic events in American history.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Gregg County Appraisal District (Gregg CAD) – 4367 W. Loop 281, Longview, TX 75604 | [email protected]
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Longview Animal Care and Adoption Center (LACAC) – 303 H.G. Mosley Pkwy, Longview, TX 75604 | (903) 297-7387 | Hours: Tuesday–Saturday, 12:00 PM–5:00 PM (adoptions stop 15 minutes before closing); an open-admission shelter established July 2016, serving Longview, Gregg County, Kilgore, White Oak, and Gladewater; a 22,000-square-foot facility with capacity for 180+ animals, caring for roughly 4,500 animals annually; all adoptions include spay/neuter, microchipping, and vaccinations; staffed 7 days a week, 365 days a year by 28 employees. The county maintains 5 free community microchip-scanning stations available 24/7. Longview Animal Control (separate department, for enforcement/complaints) – (903) 237-1290, after-hours (903) 237-1170.
Nonprofit partner: Longview P.A.W.S. (Pets Are Worth Saving) – a 501(c)(3) established 2016 to support LACAC through fundraising, volunteer recruitment, and community outreach; longviewpaws.org
Also: Humane Society of Gregg County – 303 Enterprise St, Longview, TX 75604, a separate independent shelter.
Notes: Real, substantial, well-organized county animal welfare infrastructure – genuinely a model setup among the counties covered in this project so far.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
No county-wide landfill or transfer station was confirmed in this search – confirm current household waste disposal options directly with the County Judge’s office or your specific city.
NOTES: Gregg County is the third county in this batch (Gray, Grayson, Gregg, Grimes, Guadalupe, Hale, Hall). The East Texas oil boom of the 1930s, centered on Gregg County, is one of the most dramatic and historically significant economic events covered anywhere in this project. LACAC’s organized, well-resourced structure is genuinely notable among the counties reviewed so far. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Gregg County
Gregg County is East Texas’s largest county by population and the 489th most populous in the United States, covering 274 square miles of the Pineywoods region in the Sabine River watershed.
Longview (the county seat, population ~82,000) is East Texas’s largest city and its regional commercial capital – the primary retail, healthcare, and services hub for a broad area of the Pineywoods stretching into Louisiana and Arkansas. Longview Regional Medical Center and Good Shepherd Medical Center provide competing healthcare systems that anchor the city’s largest employment sector.
Longview sits at the center of the East Texas Oil Field – the largest oil field in the contiguous United States when discovered in 1930, spanning multiple counties and producing hundreds of millions of barrels of oil. The oil boom of the 1930s transformed East Texas economically and culturally, and petroleum’s legacy permeates the region’s identity.
Kilgore (population ~14,000) preserves the oil patch heritage most vividly – the East Texas Oil Museum at Kilgore College is one of Texas’s most distinctive regional museums, recreating the 1930s oil boom environment. Kilgore College is nationally renowned for its Kilgore Rangerettes – the world’s first precision dance/drill team, founded in 1940, whose performances at the Cotton Bowl and other events helped establish the precision drill team tradition that spread across American high schools and colleges.
Longview has been connected to the DFW Metroplex by US-80 and the I-20 corridor, and the two-hour drive to Dallas has made it a recipient of some metropolitan spillover while maintaining its distinct East Texas character.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
The Gregg County Appraisal District at 4367 W. Loop 281, Longview, TX 75604, phone 903-238-8823, appraises all property at 100% of market value. Protest by May 15 (or 30 days after notice). No TX estate or inheritance tax.
OWNWELL CTA: Gregg County Appraisal District protest: May 15. Longview regional hub stable healthcare and retail market. No TX estate or inheritance tax. Ownwell manages the protest with no upfront cost.
Recommended
Gregg County Appraisal District protest: May 15. Longview regional hub stable healthcare and retail market. No TX estate or inheritance tax. Ownwell manages the protest with no upfront cost.
Courts & Legal
Courts & Legal
District Court (Probate): Gregg County’s District Courts (124th, 188th, 307th) at 101 E. Methvin Street, Suite 306, Longview, TX 75601, phone 903-236-8430, handle probate and all civil and criminal matters.
County Clerk: The Gregg County Clerk at 101 E. Methvin Street, Suite 200, maintains deed records, probate records, and marriage licenses. Land records searchable online.
Senior Services
The Area Agency on Aging of East Texas at 3800 Stone Road, Kilgore, TX 75662, phone 903-984-8661, serves the region’s senior population. Good Shepherd Medical Center and Longview Regional Medical Center provide significant geriatric care.
Recommended
Assisted living, memory care, and independent living across Gregg County - from Longview and Kilgore to White Oak, Gladewater, and the East Texas Pineywoods communities.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
101 East Methvin St, Longview, TX 75601
(903) 236-8430
DISTRICT CLERK
101 East Methvin St, Longview, TX 75601
(903) 236-8440
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Gregg County Clerk’s Office, Longview (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Gregg County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
County Clerk, Gregg County 101 East Methvin Street, Suite 200, Longview, TX 75601 (903) 236-8430 Gregg County is in East Texas, seated in Longview.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Texas probate law is governed by the Texas Estates Code. Probate jurisdiction in Texas is split between statutory probate courts (in larger metro counties) and county courts (in smaller counties like Gregg, sometimes assisted by district courts). In Gregg County, the County Court handles probate matters.
Small Estate Affidavit (Tex. Est. Code § 205.001) – available ONLY when the decedent died WITHOUT a will (intestate), the estate (excluding homestead and exempt property) does not exceed $75,000, and assets exceed debts. At least 30 days must have passed since death. The affidavit must list every asset and debt, establish the family history showing who the heirs are, and be sworn to by the heirs and two disinterested witnesses; a judge then reviews and approves it under § 205.003.
Independent Administration – used when a will exists (or all heirs agree) and the estate has debts; minimal court supervision after the executor is appointed. This is the most common and efficient path in Texas when available.
Muniment of Title – available when a valid will exists, there are no unsecured debts (other than a mortgage), and there’s no other need for a full administration; transfers title without appointing an executor.
Dependent Administration – required for complex, contested, or disputed estates; involves ongoing court supervision and approval of most actions.
Step 2: filing for administration
The personal representative (or an interested party) files an Application for Probate of Will and Issuance of Letters Testamentary (or Letters of Administration, if intestate) with the Gregg County Clerk.
The original will (if one exists), a certified death certificate, and information about heirs and the proposed executor are included with the application.
The court holds a hearing and issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.
The personal representative publishes notice to creditors and gathers, inventories, and appraises the estate’s assets.
The personal representative pays valid debts and expenses.
Remaining assets are distributed to beneficiaries or heirs, and the estate is closed.
What it costs
Filing fees in Texas typically run $250–$400 depending on the county; confirm current Gregg County fees directly.
Texas law allows a statutory executor fee of 5% of all sums actually received and paid out in cash, with specific exceptions. The court may also approve reasonable attorney fees paid from the estate.
Small estate affidavits typically cost $600–$1,900 total when factoring in filing and related fees.
Texas does NOT impose a state estate tax or a state inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax may apply, and only to very large estates.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
101 East Methvin St, Longview, TX 75601
(903) 236-8440
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
101 East Methvin St, Longview, TX 75601
(903) 236-8430
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health Department
1102 Bill Owens Pkwy, Longview, TX 75604
(903) 236-8355
HHSC Office
3117 North Eastman Rd, Longview, TX 75605
(903) 236-9900
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Gregg County Health Department – 405 E. Marshall Ave, Suite 104, Longview, TX 75601 | (903) 237-2620; offers free STD testing/treatment and immunizations for uninsured adults and children.
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