This was our seventy-first Courthouse in Texas to visit. That means we are at 28% of our goal with 72% left to go.
An 1858 election called for Sabine County offices to be moved from Milam (7 mi. N) to this more central location. The new county seat, Hemphill, was named for former Texas Supreme Court Justice John Hemphill. The first courthouse at this site burned in 1875 and was replaced by a larger frame structure. The present building was started in 1906 by N. A. Dawson under the direction of James Barney Lewis. The two two floors were rebuilt following a fire in 1909 and a remodeling of the structure was completed in 1938 by the Works Progress Administration.
“Milam served as the seat of local government in Sabine County until 1858, when voters decided to move the courthouse to a more central location. E.P. Beddoe drew the assignment of finding the right spot and platting a town there. They named it Hemphill in honor of John Hemphill, former chief justice of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Texas and of the State of Texas.” – by Archie P. McDonald, PhD
