Jos. Schlitz Brewing Company 1966-1983
Stroh Brewing Company 1983-1994

Longview, the county seat of Gregg County, is about 125 miles east of Dallas. Its current boundaries include three leagues of land granted to Anglo-Americans late in 1835. There was no significant settlement of the area, however, until the 1840s and 1850s. The town of Longview itself was founded in the early 1870s, when the Southern Pacific Railroad extended its track from Harrison County westward into Gregg County. The railroad laid out a town on land purchased from Ossamus Hitch Methvin, Sr. Railroad management called the new settlement Longview, reportedly because of the impressive view from Methvin's house, which was on what is now Center Street. Due to financial problems the Southern Pacific delayed further track construction for two years, and Longview became the western terminus of the railroad, and quickly developed as an important regional trading center. A commercial district, composed of hastily built wood-frame buildings, sprang up around the terminal. On May 17, 1871, Longview incorporated. In its first years Longview was a rough railroad town; violence was common, and nearly half of the town's businesses were said to have been saloons. The town's population grew steadily during the last years of the 1800s. By 1910 it had reached 5,155. In 1966 a Schlitz brewery and an associated container factory were built in Longview; the beer plant later became the Stroh Brewery, the largest in Texas, producing 4 million barrels annually.