Our next stop takes us back to Longview’s earliest days at the Longview Train Depot, located at 905 Pacific Ave, and the place that quite literally put the city on the map. In 1870, pioneer O. H. Methvin deeded 150 acres to the Southern Pacific Railroad and invited the company to build a station here. A year later, in 1871, the rail line reached Longview, making it the western terminus. With the arrival of the trains came goods, passengers, and the identity of the town itself, as the “long view” from Methvin’s hilltop became the name of a growing community. The original uptown depot stood in a different location from where you are today.
The current depot was completed in 1940 by the Texas and Pacific Railway Company, replacing earlier wooden stations from the 1870s. Built in the Colonial Revival style, the brick structure features symmetrical windows, stone trim, and decorative corner detailing typical of the era. For decades, it served as a hub of activity, with soldiers departing for war, families welcoming loved ones home, and business travelers heading to cities like Dallas and Shreveport. Passengers once reached the platforms through an underground tunnel that many longtime residents still remember.
Today, this is the only remaining train depot in Longview, a fitting tribute to a city born of the rails. Amtrak trains still stop here, keeping the tradition of rail travel alive and connecting the present to Longview’s railroad past.