|
 Hemphill Posted by:  The Snowdog
N 31° 20.535 W 093° 50.968
15R E 419194 N 3467844
One of two Texas Historical Markers on the north side of the Sabine County Courthouse - in Hemphill, Texas.
Waymark Code: WM1BF77
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 02/01/2025
Views: 3
This is one of two Texas Historical Markers flanking the sidewalk that leads to the north (or front) entrance to the Sabine County Courthouse. On the left is Sabine County; on the right is Hemphill.
Marker Number: 15412
Marker Text:
In 1858, Sabine County organized the community of Hemphill, named for Texas Supreme Court Justice John Hemphill (1803-1862). An election determined that the county seat would be moved from Milam to this new settlement in the center of Sabine County. Earl Percy Beddoe surveyed and laid out the town site on an 80-acre tract owned by Richard Fendall Slaughter and his wife, Anna (Holman). A Post Office was established in Hemphill in 1859.
Builders constructed the first courthouse in Hemphill shortly after the community's establishment; it was replaced in 1864 by another building, which burned down in 1875. Builder completed another courthouse in 1877, which was eventually replaced by the current structure in 1906. Other significant early institutions included Sabine Valley University, established in 1879, and First National Bank, which opened in 1907 and closed during the Great Depression. Hemphill Common School District No. 1 organized in the late 1800s, and by 1890 listed three trustees, two teachers and eighty-eight students.
The population of Hemphill increased steadily between 1850 and 1930, due in great part to the presence of the Knox Sawmill in the western part of town. Temple Lumber Company later bought the mill, which burned in 1937. Combined with post-World War II rural-to-urban migration trends and the lack of major thoroughfares in the town, the closing of the sawmill promoted a decline in the community's population. Today, Hemphill remains the seat of the Sabine County government, and is home to several national, state and local offices, remaining a community of vital importance in the state of Texas.
(2008)
Marker is Property of the State of Texas
|
Visit Instructions:
Please include a picture in your log. You and your GPS receiver do not need to be in the picture. We encourage additional information about your visit (comments about the surrounding area, how you ended up near the marker, etc.) in the log.
Recent Visits/Logs:
| There are no logs for this waymark yet. |
|
|
|
|