Kilgore

Kilgore, Texas

Kilgore is a city in Gregg and Rusk Counties, East Texas, known for its dramatic oil boom history.

Quick facts:

• Population: around 13,000–14,000
• Location: about 35 miles east of Tyler, along US Highway 259, close to Longview
• History: exploded almost overnight in 1930 after the discovery of the East Texas Oil Field — at its peak, Kilgore had so many densely packed derricks downtown that the area became known as the "World's Richest Acre"
• Economy: oil and gas remain culturally and economically significant, though the local economy today is more diversified with education, retail, and healthcare
• Education: home to Kilgore College, a well-regarded two-year college known for its Rangerettes precision dance team, a Texas institution since the 1940s
  
  

Character: Kilgore blends small East Texas town life with a strong sense of its boomtown identity — oil derrick replicas still stand downtown as a nod to its history, and the East Texas Oil Museum leans into that heritage. It has a slightly more industrial, working-town feel compared to some of its neighbors, while Kilgore College gives it a youthful college-town energy layered on top.