Longview is the forty-fifth largest city in the state of Texas. The city is mostly located in Gregg County, of which it is the county seat; a small part of Longview extends into the western part of neighboring Harrison County. Longview is located in East Texas, where Interstate 20 and U.S. Highways 80 and 259 converge just north of the Sabine River. According to the 2010 U.S. census, the city had a population of 80,455. The estimated population in 2017 was 81,522. Longview is the principal city of the Longview metropolitan statistical area, comprising Gregg, Upshur, and Rusk counties. The population of the metropolitan area as of 2017 census estimates is 217,481.

Longview was established in the 1870s and became a railroad route in East Texas; the city was also the first incorporated town in Gregg County. Today, Longview is considered a major hub city for the region, as is the nearby city of Tyler. In 2014, Forbes magazine ranked Longview as the sixth fastest-growing small city in the United States.

Longview was founded in the 1870s by Ossamus Hitch Methvin, Sr. In 1870, Methvin sold 100 acres to the Southern Pacific Railroad for one dollar to persuade them to build their line in the direction of land he owned. Later that year, he sold another 100 acres for $500 in gold. He hoped the coming of the railroad would increase the value of the rest of his land. Methvin coined the name of the town when he stated, “What a long view!” from his home. In June 1871, Longview was incorporated as the first town in Gregg County.

In 1884 the elite Mobberly Hotel opened for business servicing the railroad travelers and served as the center of social gatherings for Longview. The hotel featured cherry wood furniture with carved bed posters, marble top wash stands, linen table cloths, electric crystal chandeliers and a fireplace in every room. Mobberly was located in the junction part of town near the train depot. The hotel was destroyed by fire on June 13, 1965.

In July 1919, a reporter for The Chicago Defender was in Longview looking into the mysterious death of a black man named Lemuel Walters. An armed white mob attacked a home where the reporter, S.L. Jones, was staying and attempted to batter their way in. A gunfight began between the attackers and the men in the house. Eventually, Jones made a getaway. The white men then began to burn buildings in the black section of the town.

In 1942, construction began on the Big Inch pipeline in Longview. From 1943 to 1945, the pipeline transported over 261,000,000 barrels of crude oil to the East Coast. At the time of construction, Big Inch and its smaller twin, Little Inch, comprised the longest petroleum pipeline ever built in the world. Both were integral in supplying the United States war effort in World War II.

After World War II Longview’s population grew from 24,502 to 40,050 in 1960, its growth fueled by migration from rural Gregg County and the annexation of Greggton and Spring Hill.

Climate
Winters are mild. Average snowfall is less than 2 inches, with usually one or two ice storms each winter. Normal highs are from the 50s–60s. Lows range from the 30s to the 40s. In Longview, the temperature rarely dips below 20 °F and occasionally can get as warm as 80 °F during the winter months. The spring season brings storms as a transition from winter to summer. Temperatures range from the 60s to 80s for the high, and the 40s to the 60s for the low. The average date of the last frost is April 4. Severe thunderstorms are common during this season as cold fronts pass through the area. This is the wettest time of year.

Summers are hot and humid. Temperatures slowly climb from the 90s to over 100 going into the dog days of summer; lows are in the 70s. This is the driest and sunniest time of year. The heat index can climb to around 110 °F.

Fall is marked by the first cold front that knocks the 100-degree temperatures down into the 90s. Foliage begins to change in late October. Temperatures cool down and dew points drop.