City of Kilgore Archives

The City of Kilgore Archives is the municipal archives service of Kilgore, Texas, a city located on Interstate 20 about 120 miles east of Dallas in Gregg and Rusk counties. The archive functions as a public records repository and historical resource for the city, which was founded in 1872 when the International-Great Northern Railroad built a line between Longview and Palestine and platted a new town named for Constantine Buckley Kilgore. The archive is hosted on the city's official website through the CivicEngage platform, where an Archive Center provides access to municipal documents and records. As a municipal archives, it serves residents, researchers, and historians interested in the city's history, including its transformation from a declining rural community into a boomtown after the discovery of the East Texas oilfield in 1930. The archive is not a separate commercial entity but a department or service of the City of Kilgore municipal government. Its collections and online portal support transparency and historical preservation for the city and surrounding region.

The City of Kilgore Archives is the municipal archives of Kilgore, Texas. The city itself was founded in 1872 when the International-Great Northern Railroad built a line between Longview and Palestine. The railroad bypassed New Danville and platted a new town named for Constantine Buckley Kilgore, who sold the 174-acre town site to the railroad and urged businesses from New Danville to relocate. A post office opened in 1873, and by 1885 Kilgore had two steam gristmill-cotton gins, a church, and a district school, with an estimated population of 250. The Kilgore State Bank opened in 1906, and an independent school district was formed the same year. By 1914 the town had two banks, Baptist and Methodist churches, a newspaper, two cotton gins, several general stores, a drugstore, an ice cream parlor, a hotel, and a reported population of 700. The town reached a population of 1,000 in 1929, but the Great Depression and the decline of cotton brought a steep population decline; by mid-1930 the number of residents dropped below 500 and many businesses closed. The discovery of the surrounding East Texas oilfield in the fall of 1930 transformed Kilgore from a declining rural community into a boomtown. Within days thousands streamed into the town, erecting tents and shacks in every available vacant space. Honky-tonk bars sprouted up around the town, and schools and other public institutions were overwhelmed. The City of Kilgore Archives preserves and provides access to the municipal records and historical documents that chronicle this history. The archive is accessible online through the city's website, which uses the CivicEngage platform to host an Archive Center. The archive serves as a resource for residents, researchers, and historians interested in the city's development, government, and local history.

• 1930

  Discovery of the East Texas oilfield transforms Kilgore into a boomtown.

• 1906

  Kilgore State Bank opens and an independent school district is formed.

• 1873

  Post office opens in Kilgore.

• 1872

  City of Kilgore founded when the International-Great Northern Railroad plats a new town named for Constantine Buckley Kilgore.

Municipal public records and historical archive service

Product categories. Municipal records · Historical documents · Public archives

1. 1Archive Center • Kilgore, TX • CivicEngagecityofkilgore.com
2. 2About | Kilgore, TXcityofkilgore.com
3. 3City of Kilgore Archives - Wikidatawikidata.org