LONGVIEW (KYTX) - Today, after five years of fundraising and prep work, construction began to renovate one of Longview's earliest homes.
The Judge J.N. Campbell House, at 433 S. Center Street, was built in 1872 and is the city's only Victorian-style structure left standing. Today Marshall-based contractor Lonnie Oney House Moving removed a 1940s-era addition to the house and temporarily removed the structure's columns and porch.
While contractors repair the structure's foundation, the columns and porch will be repaired and reattached once the foundation work is completed, likely by late September, according to Preservation Longview President Lynette Goodson.
Preservation Longview has worked to preserve the 140-year-old home since purchasing the structure in February 2008. Through matching grants from the National Historic Trust and the City of Longview, along with donations from East Texans and other supporters. Architectural drawing and structural engineering for the home have been approved at municipal, state and national levels, Goodson said.
Campbell was among Gregg County's earliest judges. His brother, Thomas Campbell, was the second governor of Texas and owned a home at the corner of Methvin and Green streets. That structure has since been demolished.
LeTourneau University staff and students have aided in renovations of the Judge Campbell House, which will be used as a municipal and community meeting place for the City of Longview once work is complete. Goodson said a completion date is not yet known and will depend on future funding and donations.
"A lot of it depends on funding, because we depend on charitable donations," she said tonight.
Judge J.N. Campbell
