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Please add profiles of those who were born, lived or died in Hemphill County, Texas.
For the 200 years leading up to 1875, nomadic Indian tribes representing the Apache, Comanche, Kiowa, and others roamed the Panhandle following the huge bison (buffalo) herds. In search for an alternate route to California through Santa Fe, New Mexico, Josiah Gregg (1840), and Captain Randolph B. Marcy (1845) surveyed trails that crossed Hemphill County, following the south bank of the Canadian River.
The 1874–75 Red River War was an effort by the United States Army to force the Indians of the Southern Plains to move to Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma. Two major battles took place in what would become Hemphill County: the Battle of Lyman's Wagon Train and the Battle of Buffalo Wallow.
During the 1970s, the county grew due to a rapid expansion of oil production. Though oil was discovered in the county in 1955, production remained relatively small because the technology had not yet progressed to efficiently capture the very deep reserves known to exist. By 1974, oil production had reached 999,000 barrels and more than 1,891,000 bbl in 1978. In 2000, about 505,000 bbl (80,300 m3) of oil and more than 8 billion cubic feet of natural gas were produced in the county.
The space shuttle Columbia "crash memorial" is located in Hemphill County. It commemorates when Columbia blew apart over Texas and rained down debris over the county.
Adjacent Counties
- Ellis County, Oklahoma
- Roger Mills County, Oklahoma
- Lipscomb County
- Gray County
- Wheeler County
- Roberts County
The county contains one city, named Canadian, which is the county seat. It also has one unincorporated community named Glazier.
Links
The Battle of Lyman's Wagon Train
Black Kettle National Grassland (part)
National Register of Historic Places
