Хемфилл, Техас: История и современность города у водохранилища Толедо-Бенд

Hemphill is a city in Sabine County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,029 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Sabine County. It is located on State Highway 87 at the junction of State Highway 184, and is surrounded by the Sabine National Forest and the Toledo Bend Reservoir.

Hemphill is located at (31.342612, –93.854909). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.4 square miles (6 km2), of which 2.4 square miles (6 km2) is land and 0.04 square miles (0 km2) (1.66%) is water. Hemphill is 484 miles (as the crow flies) from Hemphill County (which is in the northern Panhandle). This is the largest separation of a Texas city from a Texas county of the same name.

In 1858 the Sabine county voters elected to move the county seat from Milam, in the east along the Sabine River, to a more central part of the county. The following year, the plans for the town were laid down, with the post office opening as well. The Town was named after John Hemphill, an early Texas judge and legal scholar, and later a United States senator. The location was ideal in terms of being centrally located in relation to other settlements, but it initially had poor transportation access, as it was neither located on the Sabine River or existing rail lines. In 1912, the Lufkin, Hemphill and Gulf Railway provided Hemphill with rail connections. This construction also supported nearby lumber operations. After the timber was depleted and sawmills closed in these communities, by 1938 the line would be abandoned.

The nearby Toledo Bend and Sam Rayburn lakes attract many tourists during the summer months.

In February 2003, the town and its vicinity were one of the key search areas for wreckage from the Space Shuttle Columbia after it broke up over Texas. Search teams recovered some of the remains of the shuttle and crew members, and the Orbiter Experiment Support System recorder (OEX) was found near Hemphill. A memorial has been erected in Hemphill commemorating the deceased Columbia astronauts. The memorial is located at the intersection of Hwy 87 North and Hwy 83 East. On the eighth anniversary of the disaster, the Patricia Huffman Smith NASA "Remembering Columbia" Museum was opened in Hemphill on February 1, 2011 in a new building constructed next to the J. R. Huffman Public Library. The museum is named for the late wife of philanthropist Al Smith, who donated most of the money to build the museum. The Sugar Land real estate developer also exports construction materials. He and his wife had also donated money for the library a decade ago. The new museum features the permanent "NASA Remembering Columbia" exhibit. It includes many items donated by area families who worked on the search for remains, as well as items from families of the astronauts, and official material from NASA, which operates the museum.

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Hemphill has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.