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HEMPSTEAD,
TEXAS
Waller County Seat,
Central Texas S
US 290 and Hwy 6, Hwy 159
51 miles NW of Houston
22 miles E of Brenham
16 miles NE of Bellville
Population: 4,691 (2000) 4,654 (1990)
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Hempstead
water tower
Photo by John Troesser |
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History in
a Pecan Shell
The town was named after Dr. G.S.B. Hempstead from Portsmouth, Ohio.
An oil painting of Doctor Hempstead is on display in the Hempstead
Library.
1856: The Hempstead Town Company is formed in anticipation of the
railroad's arrival.
June 1858: The town becomes the terminus for the Houston and Texas
Central Railroad.
November 1858: The Washington County Railroad from Hempstead to
Brenham is opened
1857: post office is established
1861-1865: Hempstead was a manufacturing center and had three encampments
of Confederate troops stationed in the vicinity. A prisoner of war
camp was also located in Hempstead.
1866: After the war, Union troops were stationed there throughout
reconstruction, much like nearby Brenham.
George Armstrong Custer is stationed in Hempstead for a time.
1873: Becomes Waller County seat
1872 & 1876: Fires destroy much of the downtown section of Hempstead
1881: First public school opened
1891: First newspaper started as The Weekly News
1899: Hempstead is disincorporated
1935: Hempstead is reincorporated
Captain Alfred H. Wyly is buried in the Hempstead Cemetery.
Waller County has had four
courthouses ... next page
Hempstead
Hotels
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The Waller County Courthouse
A plain building - built in 1955 of limestone and brick
Architect - Herbert Voelcker
Bottom
photo: The subtle detail of the courthouse
Photos by John Troesser, 2002 |
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Hempstead
Attractions
Liendo Plantation:
Private residence, but open one Saturday per month. Former home of
Elisabet Ney, the famous sculptress who commuted between Hempstead
and Austin on horseback. See Austin attractions: "Formosa"
her castle-like residence/studio in Austin.
She, husband and baby are all buried on the grounds.
Hempstead
Hotels
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People
Norris
Wright Cuney by Archie P. McDonald
Norris Wright Cuney, though born in 1846 on a plantation located near
Hempstead, became a powerful figure in Texas' Republican circles,
especially in Galveston. ......
Cuney died in 1889, and is buried in Galveston. He was the most remarkable
African American leader in Texas in the nineteenth century. more
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A
feed store in Hempstead
Photo by John Troesser |
Hempstead
Chamber of Commerce
PO Box 517 Hempstead,
TX 77445
Phone: 979-826-8217
http://chamber.hempsteadtexas.org/
Hempstead
Hotels
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