Kilgore, Texas

**Kilgore**, officially the **City of Kilgore** is a city in Gregg and Rusk counties in Texas, United States. It sits where Interstate 20 and US 259 meet. Most of the city is in Gregg County. The rest is in Rusk County. The city had 13,376 people in 2020.

## History

Kilgore started in 1872. That year, the International–Great Northern Railroad built a train line between Palestine and Longview. The railroad skipped a small town called New Danville. Instead, it built a new town on land sold by a man named Constantine Buckley Kilgore. The city is named after him.

A post office opened in 1873. Because the train helped farmers sell crops, people moved to Kilgore. By 1885, 250 people lived there. The town had two cotton cleaning machines, a church, and a school (only for white children). The school district started in 1910. By 1914, Kilgore had two banks and 700 people. By 1929, about 1,000 people lived there.

But hard times came. Cotton prices fell. Then the Great Depression started. Businesses closed. By 1930, only 500 people lived in Kilgore. It looked like the town might die.

Everything changed on October 3, 1930. A man named Columbus M. "Dad" Joiner found oil near Henderson. This started the big East Texas Oil Field. Kilgore changed from a quiet town to a busy boomtown. By 1936, over 12,000 people lived there. The city was full of oil derricks.

At the height of the oil boom, there were over 1,100 oil wells inside the city. The town grew too fast. There was not enough water, roads, or police. So Kilgore became an official city in 1931. Many workers came to find jobs. Sometimes the police needed help from the Texas Rangers to keep order. By the mid-1930s, big oil companies bought out small ones. The boom ended around 1940. But oil is still important to the city. The number of people stayed around 10,000 in the 1950s.

In the 1940s, Kilgore had over 1,000 oil derricks. One small area was called "The world's richest acre." Today, 60 steel derricks stand in the city with stars on top. That is why Kilgore is called the "City of Stars."

## Geography

Kilgore is in southern Gregg County. Part of it goes into Rusk County. U.S. Route 259 goes around the east side of the city. It goes 11 miles (18 km) northeast to Longview and 17 miles (27 km) south to Henderson. The city goes 3 miles (4.8 km) north to Interstate 20. I-20 goes east 69 miles (111 km) to Shreveport, Louisiana and west 119 miles (192 km) to Dallas.

Kilgore has a total area of 18.65 square miles (48.3 km²). Most of it is land. Water covers only 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²).

The city is in the Piney Woods area south of the Sabine River.

## Demographics

|Race|Number|Percentage|
| --- | --- | --- |
|White|7,762|58.03%|
|Black or African American|1,857|13.88%|
|Native American or Alaska Native|34|0.25%|
|Asian|111|0.83%|
|Pacific Islander|5|0.04%|
|Other Race|32|0.24%|
|Two or more races|577|4.31%|
|Hispanic or Latino|2,998|22.41%|
|**Total**|**13,376**||
In 2020, 13,376 people lived in Kilgore. There were 5,060 households and 3,476 families.

In 2000, 11,301 people lived in Kilgore. There were 4,403 households. The number of people per square mile was 734.3. The city was 78.22% White, 12.34% African American, 0.41% Native American, 0.68% Asian, and 6.95% other races. 11.11% were Hispanic or Latino.

Of the households, 30.2% had children under 18. Half were married couples. 12.6% were women living alone. About 27.6% were single-person households. The average family had 3.03 people.

The city had 24.6% under age 18, 12.5% aged 18–24, 26.2% aged 25–44, 20.3% aged 45–64, and 16.5% 65 or older. The middle age was 36 years.

The middle income for a family was $61,765. About 9.7% of families and 15.1% of all people were poor.

## Economy

In 2023, Kilgore had 309 local businesses. New factories and businesses invested $117 million in the city.

A company called Orgill has a big warehouse in Kilgore. It sells tools and home supplies.

#### Kilgore College Rangerettes

Kilgore is home to the **Kilgore College Rangerettes**. They are the world's first precision dance team. They started in 1940. Their founder was Gussie Nell Davis. The Rangerettes are famous for their high kicks and neat lines. They wear red, white, and blue clothes with white boots.

The Rangerettes perform all over the world. They are in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City every year. They have also danced at the Cotton Bowl and for the Dallas Cowboys. There is a museum about them at Kilgore College.

#### Texas Shakespeare Festival

Since 1986, Kilgore has the **Texas Shakespeare Festival**. Every summer, actors perform plays. Usually, two are by Shakespeare. The others are different plays. The festival is at Kilgore College.

#### East Texas Pipe Organ Festival

Every November, Kilgore has the **East Texas Pipe Organ Festival**. It celebrates a man named Roy Perry (1906–1978). He built pipe organs. Perry lived in Kilgore. He helped make big organs for churches. The festival has music shows and tours.

### Museums and historical places

- **East Texas Oil Museum**: This museum is at Kilgore College. It shows what Kilgore looked like during the 1930s oil boom. Visitors can walk through a model town called "Boomtown, USA." It has displays about oil workers and how the town changed.
- **Rangerette Showcase and Museum**: Also at the college. It tells the story of the Rangerettes. It has old uniforms, photos, and videos.

- **Kilgore Public Library**: Built between 1933 and 1939. It has a special style of building.

### Festivals and events

- **Kilgore Oktoberfest**: A yearly festival with German food, music, and dancing.
- **Reel East Texas Film Festival**: A film festival showing movies by independent filmmakers.

- **Great Texas Balloon Race**: Hot-air balloons fly over East Texas. Kilgore helps with this event near Longview.

### Indigenous community

The **Mount Tabor Indian Community** is in Kilgore. They are descendants of Cherokee and other tribes. They work to keep their culture alive.

### Food

Kilgore has Southern food and Tex-Mex. Mexican food became popular during the oil boom. Texas barbecue is also common.

## Sports

R.E. St. John Memorial Stadium is a sports field. Kilgore College and Kilgore schools use it for football.

Driller Park is for the Kilgore Drillers baseball team. Kilgore High School also uses it.

### Baseball teams

- Kilgore Drillers (1947 to 1950)
- Kilgore Gushers
- Kilgore Rangers (1937 to 1938)
- Kilgore Braves
- East Texas Pump Jacks (2009 to 2016)

### Kilgore College teams

- Kilgore College Rangers Football and Kilgore College Rangers Basketball.

## Park and recreation

Kilgore has a trail system for walking, running, and biking. It is 3.5 miles (5.6 km) long. It goes through woods.

### Local government

The city government had $17.4 million in money coming in and $19.4 million in spending in a recent year.

### State government

In the Texas Senate, Kilgore is represented by Bryan Hughes (Republican). In the Texas House of Representatives, it is represented by David Simpson (Republican) and Travis Clardy (Republican).

### Federal government

Kilgore is in Texas's 1st congressional district. The U.S. representative is Nathaniel Moran (Republican). The U.S. senators from Texas are John Cornyn and Ted Cruz (both Republicans).

### Public schools

Most of Kilgore is in the Kilgore Independent School District. A small part is in the Sabine Independent School District.

### Higher education

Kilgore College is in the city. It is home to the Rangers sports teams and the Rangerettes dance team.

### Newspapers

The _Kilgore News Herald_ is a newspaper. It comes out twice a week.

### Radio

|Frequency|Call letters|Type|Format|
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|88.7|KZLO|Radio station|Christian music|
|96.1|KKTX-FM|Radio station|Classic rock|
|105.3|K287AJ|Repeater station|Old hits|

#### Major highways

- Interstate 20 (I-20) to Dallas and Shreveport.
- Highway 259 (US 259) north-south road.
- State Highway 31 (TX 31)
- State Highway 42 (TX 42)
- State Highway 135 (TX 135)

#### Airports

- East Texas Regional Airport is 8 miles (13 km) east of Kilgore.
- Kilgore Airport (small airport)

#### Rail

- Union Pacific Railroad has trains through Kilgore.

There is a plan for a fast train (over 200 mph) from Dallas to Atlanta. It would go through Kilgore. Planning is in early stages.

#### Public transportation

GoBus is a bus service for Kilgore and nearby cities.

#### Cycling

Kilgore has a 3.5-mile (5.6 km) trail for walking and biking. It is called the Creekside Trail.

### Healthcare

Allegiance Specialty Hospital of Kilgore is a 60-bed hospital.

## Notable people

- Chase Hampton – MLB pitcher for the New York Yankees.
- Lane Johnson – NFL player; went to Kilgore College.
- Van Cliburn (1934–2013) – Famous piano player; grew up in Kilgore.
- Gussie Nell Davis (1906–1993) – Started the Rangerettes.
- Ally Venable (born 1999) – Blues singer and guitar player.

## Related pages

- List of museums in East Texas
- List of cities in Texas

## Other websites

- Texas State Historical Association page about Kilgore

## Infobox (settlement)

- **official name**: Kilgore, Texas
- **settlement type**: City
- **motto**: "The City of Stars"
- **nicknames**: Oil City of the World, The Dirty K, K-Town, Home of the Kilgore College Rangerettes, Rangerettes
- **image seal**: Seal of Kilgore.png
- **image blank emblem**: Kilgore wordmark.png
- **blank emblem type**: Wordmark
- **map caption**: Interactive map of Kilgore
- **pushpin map**: USA Texas#USA
- **pushpin label position**: right
- **pushpin map alt**: Map of the U.S.
- **pushpin map caption**: Location of Kilgore in the contiguous United States
- **pushpin relief**: 1
- **established title**: Established
- **established date**: 1872
- **subdivision type**: List of sovereign states, Country
- **subdivision name**: United States
- **subdivision type1**: U.S. state, State
- **subdivision name1**: Texas
- **subdivision type2**: List of regions of Texas, Region
- **subdivision name2**: East Texas
- **subdivision type3**: List of counties in Texas, Counties
- **subdivision name3**: Gregg County, Texas, Gregg, Rusk County, Texas, Rusk
- **government type**: Council-manager government, Council-Manager
- **leader title**: City Council
- **leader name**: Mayor R.E. Spradlin III
 Randy Renshaw
 Alan VanDoren
 Daniel Gantt
 Victor A. Boyd
- **leader title1**: City Manager
- **leader name1**: Rachel Rowe
- **unit pref**: Imperial
- **area total km2**: 48.29
- **area land km2**: 48.20
- **area water km2**: 0.09
- **area total sq mi**: 18.65
- **area land sq mi**: 18.61
- **area water sq mi**: 0.04
- **population as of**: 2020 United States Census, 2020
- **population total**: 13376
- **population density km2**: 308.12
- **population demonym**: Kilgoreites
- **demographics type2**: GDP (of Longview metropolitan area, Texas, MSA)
- **demographics2 title1**: Metro
- **demographics2 info1**: $20.259 billion (2022)
- **population density sq mi**: 798.02
- **timezone**: North American Central Time Zone, Central (CST)
- **utc offset**: -6
- **timezone dst**: CDT
- **utc offset dst**: -5
- **elevation ft**: 351
- **postal code type**: ZIP codes
- **postal code**: 75662-3
- **area code**: Area codes 903 and 430, 903, 430
- **blank name**: Federal Information Processing Standard, FIPS code
- **blank info**: 48-39124
- **blank1 name**: Geographic Names Information System, GNIS feature ID
- **blank1 info**: 2411541
- **blank2 name**: Airport
- **blank2 info**: East Texas Regional Airport
- **blank3 name**: Major highways
- **blank3 info**:
- **blank4 name**: Railways
- **blank4 info**:  Union Pacific Railroad