Central Texas

Hempstead

1 min read
Hempstead, Texas

Hempstead is in Waller County, Texas. The community, located at the junctions of U.S. Highway 290, Texas State Highway 6, and Texas State Highway 159, is around fifty miles northwest of Downtown Houston.

The town was named after Dr. G.S.B. Hempstead from Portsmouth, Ohio. An oil painting of Doctor Hempstead is on display in the Hempstead Library.

Hempstead is famous for its watermelon crop, and until the 1940s the town was the top shipper of watermelons in the United States. Billy DiIorio was known as the Watermelon King and Angelina DiIorio was known as the Watermelon Queen. Both resided in Hempstead, Texas. The town holds an annual Watermelon Festival in July.

reprinted from Wikipedia and Texas Escapes | photo by stevesheriw

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