216 Upshur County

216 of 254 Upshur County Courthouse, Gilmer, Texas. County Population: 39,309

Upshur County, Texas

"Upshur County is in northeastern Texas. Gilmer, the seat of government, is near the center of the county, twenty-three miles northwest of Longview. The county was named for Abel Parker Upshur, the secretary of state under President John Tyler. Upshur County encompasses 587 square miles of land that slopes gradually from northwest to southeast, with altitudes that range from 225 to 685 feet above sea level. It is in the Piney Woods vegetation region and is covered by grasslands; loblolly, shortleaf, longleaf, and slash pines; and hardwoods such as oak, hickory, and maple.
"By 1839, when the Cherokees were expelled from Texas, the area that is now Upshur County was at the intersection of two early immigration routes: the Cherokee Trace and the Jefferson-Dallas Road, which ran across the northern portion of the area.
"The area that is now Upshur County was originally part of Nacogdoches County and later was incorporated into Harrison County. On April 27, 1846, after Texas was admitted to the Union, the first legislature of the state of Texas established Upshur County; at that time the county included the area of present Camp County and part of modern Gregg County. On May 1, 1848, the county's voters chose the location for Gilmer, the county seat, and in August the sale of blocks and lots in the new town began."
Mary Laschinger Kirby, "UPSHUR COUNTY," Handbook of Texas Online

I visited Upshur County and photographed the courthouse in Gilmer on Saturday, June 7, 2014.

The Round VIII grant recipients were announced on April 30, 2014 by the Texas Historical Commission at its quarterly meeting. Upshur County: $113,513.50 grant award for replacement of the roofing at the building’s upper level and foundation waterproofing to address long-standing water infiltration problems.