John Tyson Smith

Duane's take

The way the marker tells it, here's the story of John Tyson Smith. Born on October 29, 1846, John Tyson Smith came into this world in Alabama. And he was still a boy, just nine years old, when his family packed up and moved to Upshur County, Texas, in 1855.

Texas had a way of drawing people in, and the Smiths were no exception. He grew up, and when the Civil War came, he served as a Confederate veteran. Then, around 1872, he found his way to Longview, and that's where the story really takes hold.

Longview suited him. He settled in and got to work. He served as city tax assessor.

He served as justice of the peace, not just once but for two terms. And then the people of Gregg County did something that tells you everything you need to know about how they regarded this man. They elected him county judge.

Five times. Five terms, from 1888 to 1898. You don't get handed five terms as county judge by accident.

Now, a lesser man might have called that a career and sat back. Not John Tyson Smith. He turned his energy toward downtown real estate development, and for over a decade, from 1902 to 1915, he ran the Smith Upstairs Opera House.

Think about that name for a second. The Smith Upstairs Opera House. Right there in Longview, Texas, a man who'd crossed the South as a boy and served his county for decades was now running a place where people came to be entertained, to be moved, to gather together.

He married twice, and he had six children who lived to adulthood. On May 15, 1916, John Tyson Smith's story closed. But a man who serves his community that long, who builds that much, who gives a town an opera house and ten years on the bench, well.

He leaves a mark that outlasts him by quite a while.

What the marker says

(Oct. 29, 1846 - May 15, 1916) In 1855 Alabama-born John Tyson Smith moved with his parents to Upshur County, Texas. A Confederate veteran, he settled in Longview about 1872. He served as city tax assessor and was justice of the peace for two terms. He was elected to five terms as Gregg County judge, 1888-1898. Actively involved in downtown real estate development, he ran the Smith Upstairs Opera House, 1902-1915. Married twice, smith had six children who lived to adulthood.