Hemphill (2008)

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)

Hemphill is a historical marker in Hemphill, Sabine County, dedicated in 2008. It is one of 43 historical markers documented in Sabine County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 148 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 31.3422, -93.8494 near Hemphill. The nearest cataloged historic site is Sabine County Courthouse (courthouse), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include First Baptist Church of Hemphill, Hemphill First United Methodist Church, and Hemphill Cemetery.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5507015412. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.