Wikimapia is a multilingual open-content collaborative map, where anyone can create place tags and share their knowledge.

Hempstead, Texas

USA / Texas / Hempstead /
 city, county seat
 Upload a photo

Hempstead is a city in and the county seat of Waller County, Texas, located at the junction of US Highway 290, State Highway 6, and State Highway 159, approximately 50 miles northwest of downtown Houston. Incorporated in 1858, the population was 5,814 at the 2010 Census.

In 1856 Dr. Richard Rodgers Peebles and James W. McDade organized the Hempstead Town Company to sell lots in a newly-established community located at the projected terminus of the Houston and Texas Central Railway; Peebles named it Hempstead in honor of Dr. G. S. B. Hempstead, his brother-in-law.

Hempstead is famous for its watermelon crop, and until the 1940s the town was the top shipper of watermelons in the United States; the town holds an annual Watermelon Festival in July.

Hempstead is served by the Hempstead Independent School District.
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   30°5'52"N   96°4'17"W
This article was last modified 5 years ago