The Longview and Sabine Valley Railway Company was chartered on January 4, 1877, to connect Longview with Sabine Pass. On April 11, 1878, the company opened a narrow-gauge line extending from Longview to Camden in Harrison County, a distance of eleven miles. After the track was built, the company received 180,830 acres of public land. The capital was $220,000. The principal place of business was Longview. On the first board of directors were George D. Harrison, Brad Barnes, Eli Barnes, Samuel Cundiff, C. C. Hanks, T. S. S. Young, and J. H. McCanley, all of Longview. Timber products constituted more than 90 percent of the line's freight in 1880. On January 15, 1883, the company was sold to the Galveston, Sabine and St. Louis Railway Company. On January 15, 1886, the Galveston, Sabine and St. Louis went into receivership. While in receivership the line was converted to standard gauge. On June 21, 1888, it was sold to the Texas, Sabine Valley and Northwestern Railway Company. These combinations resulted in a line that reached from Longview to Carthage in Panola County and eventually became part of the Santa Fe system.