This area was among early sections settled by United States immigrants before Texas became an independent republic, and after 1845, a state of the United States. It was an area developed as cotton
plantations dependent on
slave labor of African Americans. Lumbering of the pine forests was also pursued, especially in the early years of clearing the land for cultivation. Gregg County was organized in 1873 after the
American Civil War from portions of existing counties. When the Texas State Legislature convened in January 1873, Democratic representative B. W. Brown of
Upshur County introduced a bill to create a new county from parts of
Harrison,
Rusk, and Upshur Counties. He was likely trying to break up the black majority that dominated county politics in Harrison County. Under Brown's proposal, the county was to be named Roanoke, and Longview was to be the county seat. The proposed name was later changed to honor Texas leader and
Confederate General John Gregg, and the county seat was determined by popular election. Harrison and Rusk Counties resisted efforts to have portions of their territory assigned to Gregg County. When Gregg County was created, it first consisted of about taken from Upshur County, and the
Sabine River was its southern boundary. In April 1874, about south of the Sabine River in Rusk County was added to Gregg County. The third portion, of about to be taken from Harrison County, was never realized. Many of its voters continued to elect Republicans to county offices. By 1919, the county population was 16,700, of whom 8,160, or 48%, were Black. Most were sharecroppers or tenant farmers raising cotton as a commodity crop. Members of the Negro Business League set up a cooperative store in Longview to compete with White merchants and offer African-American residents more choices for purchases. Beginning July 10, the town had a short-lived
Longview Race Riot, in which one Black man was killed, and several Black-owned homes and properties were burned. It was quelled when the sheriff asked for
Texas National Guard and other law enforcement. They established a curfew and military occupation. Agricultural work declined during the
Great Depression of the 1930s, and many African Americans continued to leave in the
Great Migration north to find other work. In October 1930, oil was discovered near Joinerville, between
Henderson, Texas (Rusk County) and Kilgore (mostly in southwest Gregg County). And shortly after, oil was discovered within Gregg County, near Pine Tree/East Mountain (Lathrop No 1). Suddenly, the county economy was booming, and the
East Texas Oil Field attracted so many workers that county population increased by more than 500% by 1940. Growth stabilized, but oil has continued to be important. County demographics changed as other workers were attracted to the area. In the early 21st century, slightly less than 20% of the population is African American. ==Geography==