County Seat: Memphis * County Population: 3,735
Built in 1923, the Hall County Courthouse was designed in a Texas Renaissance style complete with classic columns and unique stairs rising to the entrances.
Hall County was included in a 54-county block created by the Legislature in August 1876. The 1880 census logged 36 residents. The Fort Worth and Denver City Railroad lured additional settlers, and upon the county’s organization in 1890 some 200 citizens called the county home.
Hall County was named for a North Carolina lawyer, Warren D.C. Hall, who relocated to the Lone Star State and served as secretary of war in the Republic. The county seat of Memphis was actually labeled by accident when mail that was supposed to go to Memphis, Tenn., was addressed to Memphis, Texas by mistake!
Today Memphis is noted for its tree-lined streets, community center, city park, swimming pools, and 50 blocks of brick paving laid in 1926.
The county is known as an outdoor paradise with its abundance of fish, deer and wild hogs. In fact, the county’s wild hog hunts have been labeled as some of the best in America. Birders also frequent the area, nestled between several stops on the Great Texas Wildlife Trail.
Hall County’s rolling and hilly plains are broken by the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River, the Little Red River, and several small tributaries.
The area economy is supported primarily by agriculture including grain, cotton, peanuts and wheat sorghum, with a market value of approximately $20.6 million, along with cattle and hog production.
The county plays host to several special events including Big Tom’s Country Roundup, Old Settlers Reunion, and Bob Wills Day. In addition, the Cotton Boll Enduro, a 125-mile cross country motorcycle event, begins and ends in Memphis.
The Memphis Chamber of Commerce touts the area as a small town with “people getting together to quilt, play dominoes, have parades, picnics, cookouts, dances, festivals…good, clean, wholesome fun.” The chamber’s Web site goes on to offer “Ten Good Reasons” why folks should relocate to Hall County:
You can hear yourself think.
A traffic jam is a tractor with three cars behind it.
Rush hour is the time you spend rushing to get out the door.
You don’t just know your neighbors…you like them, too.
You can learn the names of your kids