Gilmer

Gilmer, Texas (population 4,799), the Upshur County Seat, is 35 miles NE of Tyler. When the Great Depression was being felt elsewhere, oil was discovered near Gilmer in 1931. The boom paid for the new Courthouse in 1937. After WWII, with the new availability of cars, Gilmer's workforce was able to drive to jobs in Longview, Tyler and Marshall. This brought in cash at first, but then workers started seeing things to spend their money on in Longview, Tyler and Marshall. (info. from TexasEscapes.com)

Thank you to 1000Words for pointing out that Gilmer is the hometown of Johnny Mathis. Who'd have thunk it?? Perhaps memories of Gilmer propelled him to stardom?

Upshur County Courthouse (c. 1933, Modern style)

Plaque for The Looney School, (located 4 blocks north)




C.S.A. Leather Factories building

"On this site during the Civil War, a shoe factory converted leather into footgear for the Confederate Army. A harness factory nearby made bridles and saddles and also leather lines and breechings that hitched horses and mules to gun carriages, wagons and ambulances, to move armies through campaigns and battles. Leather was obtained from a local tanyard that treated over 2,000 hides a year. East Texas plants furnished the South 900 sets of harness and 300 saddles monthly during the war."