The History of Hemphill, Texas
Hemphill sits deep in the East Texas Piney Woods, the seat of Sabine County near the Louisiana line and the great Toledo Bend Reservoir. Its history runs from a frontier courthouse town carved out to centralize a young county, through the timber-and-railroad era, to a community known today for the lake, the national forest, and an extraordinary act of service in 2003.
Here's how Hemphill came to be.
A New County Seat in 1859
Sabine County, established by the Republic of Texas in 1837 and named for the nearby Sabine River, first kept its seat of government at Milam in the north. By 1858 voters had decided they wanted a more central location, and E. P. Beddoe of Sabinetown was given the task of selecting and laying out the new town and moving the county records.
When the new county seat was platted in 1859, it was named in honor of John Hemphill, one of the most important legal figures of early Texas. A post office opened in July 1859 with Michael Watson as the first postmaster. From the start, Hemphill was a courthouse town — the place where the county's business was done, set in the rich timber country of the eastern Piney Woods.
Timber and the Railroads
Like much of deep East Texas, Hemphill's early fortunes were tied to the pine forests around it. In 1884 the town was a modest place of about 350 people, with two churches, a district school, a gin, a mill, and a newspaper. Real growth came with the rails: the Gulf, Beaumont and Great Northern Railway built through the southwestern part of the county in 1902, and the Lufkin, Hemphill and Gulf Railway added connections in 1912.
The lumber boom that followed pushed the town's population sharply upward in the 1910s and 1920s as sawmill operations worked the surrounding forests. When the big timber operations wound down, the local rail line was abandoned in 1938, and Hemphill settled back into the steadier rhythm of a small county seat in the woods.
Lake, Forest, and a 2003 Act of Service
The modern era reshaped Hemphill's surroundings. The Sabine National Forest spread its protected woodlands across the county, and in 1966 the damming of the Sabine River created Toledo Bend Reservoir — one of the largest man-made lakes in the South — along Hemphill's eastern edge, turning the town into a gateway for fishing, boating, and lake recreation.
Hemphill's most defining modern moment came in February 2003, when the Space Shuttle Columbia broke apart on reentry and much of its debris fell across Sabine County. Hemphill became a center of the recovery effort, and its residents fed, housed, and guided the searchers; two men, Charles Krenek and Jules Mier Jr., died in a helicopter crash during the search. The community's role is honored at the Patricia Huffman Smith NASA Museum, 'Remembering Columbia,' which opened in town in 2011.
Timeline
1837
The Republic of Texas establishes Sabine County, named for the nearby Sabine River, with its seat at Milam.
1858
Voters resolve to move the county seat to a more central site; E. P. Beddoe is charged with laying out the new town.
1859
The new county seat is platted and named for jurist John Hemphill; a post office opens in July with Michael Watson as postmaster.
1902–1912
Railroads — the Gulf, Beaumont and Great Northern and the Lufkin, Hemphill and Gulf — reach the area, fueling a timber boom.
1966
Toledo Bend Reservoir is created on the Sabine River, making Hemphill a lake-country gateway.
2003
Hemphill becomes a hub of the Space Shuttle Columbia debris recovery; the community's role is later memorialized in town.
Notable People
John Hemphill
The town's and county's namesake (1803–1862), chief justice of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Texas and later of the state, called the 'John Marshall of Texas,' and afterward a U.S. senator from Texas.
Charles Krenek & Jules Mier Jr.
Two searchers who lost their lives in a helicopter crash during the 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia recovery centered on Hemphill; they are honored alongside the shuttle's crew at the town's NASA museum.
FAQ: History of Hemphill
Hemphill is named for John Hemphill, chief justice of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Texas and later a U.S. senator, often called the 'John Marshall of Texas.' The town was given his name when it was laid out as the new Sabine County seat in 1859.
Sabine County's original seat was Milam in the north, but in 1858 voters resolved to move it to a more central location. E. P. Beddoe of Sabinetown laid out a new town, which was platted in 1859 and named Hemphill, becoming the county seat.
Hemphill began as a small courthouse town and grew with the timber industry. Railroads reaching the area in 1902 and 1912 fueled a lumber boom that swelled the population in the 1910s and 1920s, until the big mill operations wound down and the local rail line was abandoned in 1938.
In February 2003, debris from the Space Shuttle Columbia fell across Sabine County, and Hemphill became a center of the recovery effort. Local residents supported the searchers, and two men died in a helicopter crash during the search; the town's NASA museum now honors the crew and the recovery.
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