Things to Do in Kilgore, Texas

Kilgore's signature sight is its skyline of oil derricks. Scattered through downtown and the city are 60 steel derrick replicas, each topped with a lighted star — a striking tribute to the more than 1,000 wooden derricks that crowded Kilgore at the height of the 1930s boom. At night, lit up against the sky, they're the reason Kilgore calls itself the City of Stars.

The centerpiece is the World's Richest Acre, the small downtown block that once held dozens of densely packed, gushing wells — the most concentrated cluster of oil derricks on Earth. A cluster of derricks and markers commemorate the site today. It's a genuinely unique, only-in-Kilgore piece of Americana, and it's free to walk and photograph.

To understand what those derricks mean, visit the East Texas Oil Museum on the Kilgore College campus — one of the best museums of its kind in the state. It vividly recreates the 1930s oil boom, with a walk-through 'boomtown' of period storefronts, a simulated elevator descent into the earth, antique equipment, and immersive exhibits that capture the chaos and excitement of the era when Kilgore exploded.

It's engaging for all ages and the definitive place to learn the story of the East Texas Oil Field that built the town. For anyone curious about how oil shaped Texas, it's a must-see.

Kilgore is the home of the legendary Kilgore College Rangerettes, and the Rangerette Showcase and Museum on campus celebrates the world's first precision dance-drill team with uniforms, photos, films, and memorabilia spanning their storied history. It's a fun stop, especially for fans of the team and Texas tradition.

Kilgore's cultural offerings go further. Each summer, Kilgore College hosts the Texas Shakespeare Festival, a professional repertory theater company performing Shakespeare and other works — a surprising and excellent draw for a town this size. The city also hosts the Reel East Texas Film Festival and a popular Kilgore Oktoberfest, giving the City of Stars a lively events calendar.

Kilgore's historic downtown, with its early-20th-century Main Street architecture and the derricks woven through it, is a pleasant place to walk, shop, and eat — and home to some genuinely famous barbecue. The Kilgore Trails System offers 3.5 miles of paths for walking, running, and cycling with access to wooded areas, a nice option for getting outside in town.

Kilgore's location makes it easy to combine with other East Texas stops. Longview, just ten miles north, and its museums and Great Texas Balloon Race are close by, and Henderson's oil heritage and the region's lakes are a short drive away. Between the derricks, the oil museum, the Rangerettes, and the theater, Kilgore is one of the most rewarding small-town visits in East Texas.