DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Hall County, straight from the record. Now, out here on the rolling plains of the Texas Panhandle, the land has a way of keeping its secrets quiet — just sitting there, patient as stone, waiting for somebody to come along and give it a name. Hall County's story starts with two enormous territories, Young and Bexar, carved and shaped until the Texas legislature drew the lines and called it done on August 21, 1876.
That's when Hall County came into being on paper. But paper and dirt are two different things, and it took a good while longer — all the way to June 23, 1890 — before the county actually got itself organized and open for business. Now, who do you name a county after?
That's the kind of question that says something about what a place values. Hall County carries the name of Warren D. C.
Hall, a man born in 1788 and gone by 1867, which means he never lived to see this county bear his name. What he did live to do was show up when Texas needed showing up for. He was a member of the San Felipe Convention in 1832 — one of those gatherings where Texans put their grievances on the table and their courage on the line.
And if that weren't enough, that same year, 1832, Warren D. C. Hall stood second in command of the Texans at Anahuac.
Second in command. Close enough to the fire to feel the heat, and steady enough to hold. The county seat?
That would be Memphis. Not Tennessee — Texas. Out here on the plains, Memphis is where Hall County hangs its hat.
So next time you pass through this stretch of country, think on Warren D. C. Hall — a man who stood his ground at Anahuac, spoke his piece at San Felipe, and ended up with a whole county to his name.
Some legacies settle quiet, right into the soil.
What the marker says
Formed from Young and Bexar territories. Created August 21, 1876. Organized June 23, 1890. Named in honor of Warren D. C. Hall 1788-1867, member of the San Felipe Convention in 1832. Second in command of the Texans at Anahuac, 1832. Memphis, the County Seat.