LeTourneau University occupies the grounds of Harmon General Hospital, a World War II Army hospital that the earthmoving inventor R. G. LeTourneau and his wife Evelyn bought in 1946 to start a technical school for returning veterans. This walk begins with the markers for the hospital and the founder, visits the free museum of his machines and missions, and passes the library and performance hall. It ends at the one wartime building still standing, the hospital chapel.
LeTourneau University had an unusual start. In 1942 the Army built Harmon General Hospital on this Longview site, putting up hundreds of buildings to treat wounded soldiers. After the war, earthmoving pioneer R. G. LeTourneau and Evelyn LeTourneau acquired the grounds. In 1946 they turned it into a technical school for returning veterans.
The free R. G. LeTourneau Museum explores the founder's life, his roughly 300 inventions, and his mission work in Africa and South America. Big earthmoving machines on display outdoors show the equipment that made him famous and supplied much of the U.S. military's earthmoving fleet in World War II.
The campus highlights how far the school has come. Speer Chapel opened in 1943 as the hospital's ecumenical chapel and is the only wartime structure left. By comparison, the S. E. Belcher Jr. Chapel and Performance Center, finished in 2007, seats more than 2,000 people. The visit will interest families, veterans, machinery fans and anyone curious about World War II's effect on East Texas.
The tour begins in Longview. Open Texas Roam to follow the full route stop by stop, with directions and audio narration as you go.
It is a self-guided walking tour: 6 stops, about 0.8 miles, ~40 min. Go at your own pace; the app keeps your place.
In Longview, Texas. The exact starting point, the full stop list and turn-by-turn directions are in the TexasRoam app.
Download TexasRoam for iPhone or iPad from the App Store. The tour is included with TexasRoam+. It is not available on the web map.
Go on a weekday in daylight, and call the library ahead to confirm the museum's hours before you set out.
Texas Roam guides you turn by turn through Longview with maps, audio narration and check-ins as you go — plus all 6 stops on this tour and every guided tour, hiking trail and historical marker across Texas. Get it on the App Store.
