When LeTourneau bought the Longview, TX (Longview) factory in 1945, he also bought 10,000 acres of surrounding farm and swampland, including a decommissioned Army hospital, Harmon General Hospital. The United States Army (Army) built the hospital in 1942. The hospital was active for three years, only to be deactivated in 1945. When LeTourneau bought the hospital, he bid $870,000, the fair market value at the time. After some political maneuvering in Washington, DC, the land and buildings were sold to the LeTourneau Foundation for the sum of $1, with one major caveat. The Army wanted the foundation to create the LeTourneau Technical Institute of Texas on the old hospital property and give admissions priority to prior service members.
The Army understood the value of this $1 gift. They had an additional clause inserted into the sale contract. If a national emergency were to come about, the Army had ten years to reclaim the property for their use. None of the barracks or buildings were demolished within that timeframe—the steam plant, laundry, bakery, swimming pool, gymnasium, theater, tennis courts, outdoor handball court, chapel, library, warehouses, nor was the rail spur was removed.
Once the 10-year clause had passed, most of the buildings were slowly demolished from the original 1942 Harmon General Hospital site. One of the last remaining buildings was put to good use. In 1998, LeTourneau Historian Dale Hardy (Hardy) approached LeTourneau University about reclaiming the wood from an original Army barracks building. The University had publicized its intent to demolish it. After some discussion, they agreed to let Hardy remove the lumber from the old building to build his home. At the time, Hardy still worked across the street at LeTourneau’s factory, previously employed as a Carpenter.
After 8 months of removing the locally milled pine, oak, and poplar lumber, LeTourneau University asked if he could further expedite his work. A close friend of Hardy’s, Gordon Pickard, who also worked at the factory, helped him with the demolition process. They reclaimed enough lumber to build Hardy a new home, a room addition, and some leftover materials.
One major building remains on the old Harmon General Hospital grounds. Originally, the chapel was linked by walkways from each of the barracks’ buildings. The walkway was demolished between 1960 and 1963. The chapel still remains to this day and is one of the only original buildings remaining.
