Hempstead, Texas
| City of Hempstead, Texas | |
|---|---|
| City | |
| Nickname(s): Watermelon Capital of Texas | |
 Location in the state of Texas |
|
| Coordinates: 30°5′29″N 96°4′53″W / 30.09139°N 96.08139°WCoordinates: 30°5′29″N 96°4′53″W / 30.09139°N 96.08139°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Texas |
| County | Waller |
| Incorporated | Originally incorporated November 10, 1858, re-incorporated June 10, 1935 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Michael Wolfe |
| Area | |
| • Total | 5.0 sq mi (12.9 km2) |
| • Land | 5.0 sq mi (12.8 km2) |
| • Water | 0.04 sq mi (0.1 km2) |
| Elevation | 227 ft (69.1 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 5,770 |
| • Density | 1,200/sq mi (450/km2) |
| Time zone | CST (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP code | 77445 |
| Area code(s) | 979 |
| FIPS code | 48-33200 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1337592 |
| Website | hempsteadcitytx |
Hempstead is a city in Waller County, Texas, United States, part of the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan area. It is the county seat of Waller County.
The community, located at the junctions of U.S. Highway 290, Texas State Highway 6, and Texas State Highway 159, is around 50 miles northwest of downtown Houston. The population was 5,770 at the 2010 census.
On December 29, 1856, Dr. Richard Rodgers Peebles and James W. McDade organized the Hempstead Town Company to sell lots in the newly established community of Hempstead, which was located at the projected terminus of Houston and Texas Central Railway. Peebles named Hempstead after Dr. G. S. B. Hempstead, Peebles's brother-in-law. Peebles and Mary Ann Groce Peebles, his wife, contributed 2,000 acres (8.1 km2) of the estate of Jared E. Groce, Jr., for the community. On June 29, 1858, the Houston and Texas Central Railway was extended to Hempstead, causing the community to become a distribution center between the Gulf Coast and the interior of Texas. On November 10 of that year, Hempstead incorporated. The Washington County Railroad, which ran from Hempstead to Brenham, enhanced the city upon its completion.
The Confederate Military Post of Hempstead was established in the Spring 1861. Numerous camps of instruction were established east of town along Clear Creek. Camp Hebert CSA was established on the eastern bank of Clear Creek and south of the Washington Road. Camp Hebert was the earliest camp in the area, and served as the headquarters of the Post of Hempstead early in the war.
Camp Groce CSA was established in the Spring of 1862 on Liendo Plantation on the eastern bank of Clear Creek as a Camp of Instruction for Confederate Infantry Recruits. Originally named, "Camp Liendo", the name was changed to honor Leonard Waller Groce, the owner of Liendo Plantation, and the owner of over 100 slaves. A contract to construct the barracks at Camps Groce and Hebert was let in February 1862. Numerous Confederate infantry regiments were organized, trained, and equipped at Camps Groce and Hebert. In the Spring of 1862, the camps were abandoned due to their sickly locations. Camp Groce was reused as a military camp until the Spring of 1863, but was again abandoned. From 1861 to 1863, nearly 200 Confederate Soldiers fell sick at Camps Groce and Hebert and died. Many were taken to the Post Hospital in the Planter's Exchange Hotel located at the southwest corner of 12th & Wilkins St. in downtown Hempstead. Many died in the hospital and almost all of them are buried on McDade Plantation west of town, which became the hospital cemetery.
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