Size doesn’t matter – and this is especially true when you’re talking about Hemphill. Despite being only 2.4 square miles, Hemphill can hold its own in historical significance as the county seat of Sabine County since 1858.
What started out as a town composed of only 350 residents, two churches, a district school, and a mill, slowly developed into a close-knit community of 1,207 residents. Hemphill has three fully equipped hospitals and medical centers, one public school serving K-12 levels, and a heliport. It is also currently a commercial center for lumber.
Hemphill still has one of the lowest population densities around in spite of its diminutive size. It is easy to buy homes here, whether you want a vacation house, a retirement home, or a family home to settle in.
Big Things Come in Small Packages
There’s quite a lot to do and see in the small city of Hemphill.
- Tourists usually make the trip to Hemphill in order to get to the Toledo Bend Reservoir, the Sabine National Forest, or Lake Sam Rayburn.
- Locals celebrate an annual calendar bursting with festivities, such as the Mayfest and Western Day Rodeo and Carnival, Scare on the Square in October, Christmas parades, and homecoming festivities hosted by the Hemphill High School.
- Among the town’s famous sites are the Sabine County Historical Foundation, the Sabine County Courthouse, the Sabine County Jail and its near century-old gallows, and the historic Gaines-Oliphant House.
- The Patricia Huffman Smith Museum hosts a permanent exhibit honoring the crew of the Space Shuttle Columbia. Some of the shuttle’s debris landed in the area.
There’s more to know about this charming little town found southeast of Nacogdoches, at the junction of State Highways 87 and 184. Call your real estate agents at Allman Company for more information today.
