East Texas / Piney Woods
Gregg County, Texas
A porch-side guide to the county: the stories that give it a shape, practical local checks, and a few things worth knowing before they surprise you. Every note points to its source.
17 stories · 16 practical · 3 good to know
The practical part
Gregg County offices and deadlines
Appraisal district & tax office →
The Comptroller's official directory for Gregg County: who sets your value and who sends the bill.
Homestead exemption →
File Form 50-114 with the appraisal district. It is free. The regular deadline is April 30, and late filing is allowed for up to two years.
Protest your appraisal →
The usual deadline is May 15, or 30 days after your notice arrives, whichever is later.
Estimate a tax bill →
Model a bill from local rates, the homestead exemption, and the appraisal cap.
Start here
A little of what makes this place itself
Longview · Walking trail
Boorman Trail follows Grace Creek through Longview
Boorman Trail gives Longview a three-mile creek-corridor walk with quarter-mile pavement markers and emergency location signs.
Kilgore · Trail system
Creekside Trail follows Bighead Creek through Kilgore
Creekside Trail gives Kilgore more than 3.5 miles of paths beside Bighead Creek, with trailheads from Stone Road to Leach Street.
Longview · City park
Lear Park is Longview's big field-and-trail park
Lear Park on H. G. Mosley Parkway puts ballfields, a walking trail, a fishing pier, a playground, and a splash pad in one Longview park.
Practical Kilgore Puts Zoning, Permits, and Site Clues in One Development Path Kilgore's development office ties together zoning, building review, public works, fire review, maps, and permit checklists. Practical South Longview Has a Targeted Homebuilding Incentive Longview's South Longview Incentive Program points new owner-occupied single-family homebuilding toward a specific part of town. Good to know Kilgore Is Strict About Mobile and Manufactured Homes Inside Kilgore city limits, manufactured homes fit limited situations, and mobile homes are not allowed.
All 36 local notes
The full county shelf is mixed so stories and useful checks travel together. Use the filters when you need one kind.
Showing all 36 notes.
- Stories & local character Outdoors Boorman Trail follows Grace Creek through Longview Boorman Trail gives Longview a three-mile creek-corridor walk with quarter-mile pavement markers and emergency location signs. Longview
- Practical Home & Property Kilgore Puts Zoning, Permits, and Site Clues in One Development Path Kilgore's development office ties together zoning, building review, public works, fire review, maps, and permit checklists. Kilgore
- Stories & local character Outdoors Creekside Trail follows Bighead Creek through Kilgore Creekside Trail gives Kilgore more than 3.5 miles of paths beside Bighead Creek, with trailheads from Stone Road to Leach Street. Kilgore
- Practical Home & Property South Longview Has a Targeted Homebuilding Incentive Longview's South Longview Incentive Program points new owner-occupied single-family homebuilding toward a specific part of town. Longview
- Good to know Home & Property Kilgore Is Strict About Mobile and Manufactured Homes Inside Kilgore city limits, manufactured homes fit limited situations, and mobile homes are not allowed. Kilgore
- Stories & local character Outdoors Lear Park is Longview's big field-and-trail park Lear Park on H. G. Mosley Parkway puts ballfields, a walking trail, a fishing pier, a playground, and a splash pad in one Longview park. Longview
- Practical Outdoors Deer hunting rules for Gregg County Gregg County falls in the North Zone for white-tailed deer, with specific antler restrictions and bag limits set by Texas Parks and Wildlife.
- Stories & local character Outdoors The Longview Arboretum brings a garden walk to Cotton Street The Longview Arboretum and Nature Center sits on 26 acres between the convention complex and a Grace Creek tributary. Longview
- Practical Outdoors The Annual Public Hunting Permit opens land across Texas Texas residents can buy an Annual Public Hunting Permit from TPWD to access over a million acres of public hunting land statewide.
- Good to know Outdoors The Sabine River runs through Gregg County The Sabine River flows northwest to southeast through Gregg County and is a key water feature shaping both the landscape and flood risk.
- Stories & local character Outdoors Walk Kilgore's World's Richest Acre under the derricks On North Commerce Street in Kilgore, the World's Richest Acre turns the East Texas oil boom into a street-level landmark. Kilgore
- Practical Money & Taxes Extra property tax breaks for seniors and veterans in Gregg County Seniors 65 and older, disabled persons, and disabled veterans may qualify for extra property tax reductions in Gregg County beyond the standard homestead exemption.
- Stories & local character History & Culture Downtown Longview Still Works From the Original 100 Acres Longview's Main Street district keeps the city's early downtown blocks active with museums, the library, local businesses, and weekend events. Longview
- Practical Rules & Licenses Getting a marriage license in Gregg County The County Clerk issues marriage licenses from the second floor of the Longview courthouse, and the two things that trip couples up are the appointment and the 72-hour wait between buying the license and saying 'I do.'
- Good to know Home & Property Flooding is a real risk in parts of Gregg County Parts of Gregg County, including areas in and around Longview, Kilgore, and Gladewater, lie in FEMA-mapped flood hazard areas.
- Stories & local character History & Culture Gladewater Went From Railroad Stop to Oil Boom to Antique Streets Gladewater's city history runs through an 1873 railroad stop, a 1931 oil strike, Lake Gladewater, and a downtown antique-shop identity. Gladewater
- Practical Rules & Licenses If your Gregg County business stores chemicals, you may owe a Tier II report A facility holding hazardous chemicals above the state thresholds has to file a Tier II inventory every year by March 1, and in Gregg County a copy goes to the local emergency planners, not just the state.
- Stories & local character History & Culture Kilgore's Cultural District Links Downtown and the College Kilgore's Cultural District pulls historic downtown, Kilgore College, museums, landmarks, food, shopping, and performance spaces into one close cluster. Kilgore
- Practical Money & Taxes Lower your tax bill with a homestead exemption If your home in Gregg County is your primary residence, you can apply for a homestead exemption that cuts your taxable value.
- Stories & local character Outdoors Cherokee Lake offers fishing in Gregg County Cherokee Lake in Gregg County is a documented fishing destination tracked by Texas Parks and Wildlife, with largemouth bass among the recorded species.
- Practical Cars & Driving No emissions test required to register your car in Gregg County Gregg County is not one of Texas's emissions-testing counties, and as of January 1, 2025, Texas no longer requires a safety inspection for non-commercial vehicles either, so most Gregg County drivers need no inspection at all to register.
- Stories & local character Home & Property Old Longview Buildings Can Need Landmark Review Longview has local landmarks and historic overlay areas where old-building work may need city review before it starts. Longview
- Practical Cars & Driving Register your boat at the Gregg County tax office Gregg County residents can register boats and personal watercraft at the county Tax Assessor-Collector office in Longview.
- Stories & local character History & Culture Railroads built Longview — and Gregg County Longview was founded in 1870 as a railroad town, and the arrival of multiple rail lines shaped the early economy of Gregg County.
- Practical Home & Property Rural Gregg County Septic Starts With the Health Department For a home outside sewer service, Gregg County points owners toward an on-site sewage facility application, site evaluation, checklist, and permitting process.
- Stories & local character History & Culture Indigenous peoples lived in Gregg County before Anglo settlement The area that is now Gregg County was home to Caddo peoples and later Cherokee immigrants before Anglo settlers arrived in the 1840s.
- Practical Rules & Licenses When you can burn brush in unincorporated Gregg County Before you burn brush outside Gregg County city limits, check the Fire Marshal page or call 903-234-3144. The answer can change with local orders and dry weather.
- Stories & local character History & Culture Industry came to Gregg County after World War II After World War II, major industrial employers, including LeTourneau and Texas Eastman, set up in Gregg County and built an economy beyond oil.
- Practical Money & Taxes You can protest your property value in Gregg County If you think the Gregg County Appraisal District overvalued your property, you have the right to protest, and a deadline to do it.
- Stories & local character History & Culture The East Texas Oil Field transformed Gregg County The discovery of the East Texas Oil Field in 1931 turned Gregg County from a quiet farming area into one of the most active oil regions in U.S. history.
- Practical Rules & Licenses How to reach Gregg County's game warden Gregg County has a TPWD game warden who enforces hunting, fishing, and boating laws in the county.
- Stories & local character History & Culture How Gregg County got its name Gregg County was created in 1873 and named after John B. Gregg, a Confederate general killed during the Civil War.
- Practical Money & Taxes Who values your property for taxes in Gregg County The Gregg County Appraisal District (GCAD) sets the value of every taxable property in the county each year.
- Stories & local character Rules & Licenses Oil and gas wells in Gregg County are regulated by the Railroad Commission The Texas Railroad Commission regulates all oil and gas activity in Gregg County, a county with a long history of petroleum production.
- Practical Money & Taxes Gregg County has many taxing units — your bill depends on where you live Your property tax bill in Gregg County is the sum of rates from every taxing unit whose boundary includes your address.
- Stories & local character History & Culture Gregg County has several cities beyond Longview Gregg County includes Longview (the county seat) plus several other incorporated cities, each with its own government, services, and school district.
Nearby counties