David Sutton Meredith, Jr.
Longview, Gregg County, Texas
Marker Inscription
David Sutton Meredith, Jr. was born in Longview on July 22, 1902. After graduating from the University of tTxas, he began practicing law in Longview in 1926. That same year, he was elected county judge of Gregg County. He served one term and then served as county attorney from 1928 to 1932. After practicing law in the private sector, Meredith was appointed special district judge of Gregg County in 1935 where he prosecuted hot oil production violations. He volunteered for the military during WWII and served again in 1952-1954. He worked as Texas Assistant Attorney General from 1955-1957 before returning to a private legal practice. He died on January 21, 1958.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Born in Longview in 1902, David Sutton Meredith, Jr. graduated from the University of Texas and returned home to practice law, winning election as Gregg County judge the same year, 1926. As a special district judge in the 1930s he prosecuted "hot oil" violators who illegally overproduced from the East Texas field. He volunteered for military service in World War II and served again in the early 1950s before rising to Texas Assistant Attorney General.
Why it matters
Meredith's career spans the lawless "hot oil" era of the East Texas boom and two eras of wartime service, reflecting how local officials policed both crime and the nation's energy.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · David Sutton Meredith, Jr.
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Robert Gilmour LeTourneau
Longview, TX
A largely self-educated native of Vermont, Robert G. LeTourneau built his first plant in 1921 and went on to invent components that became standard in construction equipment worldwide. During World War II his company built roughly seventy percent of the earthmoving machinery used by U.S. forces, and afterward he moved to Longview, opened a plant, and founded the technical institute that became LeTourneau University. He poured much of his fortune into a worldwide Christian missionary foundation and became one of Longview's most influential civic leaders.
Big Inch Pipeline
Longview, TX
When German U-boats began sinking American oil tankers off the East Coast in early 1942, the nation's fuel lifeline was suddenly in peril—most East Coast crude came by sea from Texas fields. In response the government built the Big Inch, a twenty-four-inch pipeline running 1,476 miles from Longview to Illinois and on to eastern refineries, the largest ever attempted. At its wartime peak it moved over 300,000 barrels a day, keeping oil flowing safely to the Allied war effort.
Turner Home
Longview, TX
Built in 1874, just two years after Longview was founded, this East Texas home reflected the ambitions of a new railroad-era town, with a fireplace in every room and a stairway of carved walnut. Its builder, J.C. Turner Sr., was a skilled horseman and thoroughbred owner who is credited as the first East Texan to import Jersey cattle. The old well and dairy house nearby speak to the working farm life that surrounded the fine house.
Longview Train Depot
Longview, TX
Longview owes its existence to the railroad: in 1870 O. H. Methvin deeded 150 acres to the Southern Pacific, and by 1871 the town had become the line's western terminus, soon a junction where the International & Great Northern crossed. The Texas and Pacific replaced an 1874 station with the Colonial Revival depot completed in 1940, whose passengers reached the platform through a tunnel and whose walls bore stylized quoins, keystones, and grey stone trim. Once boasting three depots, Longview retains only this one — the last survivor of the railway network that created the town.