Texas Historical Marker #13955
Neinda Community. Soon after Jones County organized in 1881, ranchers settled west of Skinout Mountain and established a community called Banner. In 1890, a post office named Neinda opened, with John O'Brien as postmaster. A cemetery began the following year. The Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway bypassed the town in 1902 (creating Hamlin 6 mi. NW), and the post office closed in 1907. At its peak in the 1920s, the community had a school, Methodist and Baptist churches, a cotton gin, a doctor's office, pharmacies, stores and a filling station. By the early 21st century, only the cemetery (1891), Neinda Baptist Church building (1905) and Brown's Cash Store Building (1927) remained in the once viable town. (2007) #13955
FM 126, Hamlin, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #12356
Hamlin. Early settler R. D. Moore conveyed 320 acres of land to the International Construction Co. (also called the Orient Land Co.) of Kansas City, Missouri, for a town site along the Panhandle Gulf Railway in September 1902. Probably named for Orient executive W. H. Hamlin, the Hamlin community was organized in 1905, the same year it received its first post office. The Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railway reached Hamlin in 1906 and a newspaper, the Hamlin Herald, was first printed that same year. Hamlin was incorporated as a town and a school system was established in 1907. By autumn 1908, Hamlin had grown to more than one thousand citizens as more railroads reached the area. Hamlin quickly became a major shipping point, with its economy based on agriculture and the railroad. Among the town's business operations were cotton compresses, a cotton oil mill, an ice plant, a cement and plaster plant, a grain elevator, several cotton gins, an electric generating plant, an ice cream factory and bottling works, and a telephone company. Churches formed in Hamlin's early days included Church of Christ, Baptist, Methodist and Church of the Nazarene. A movie theatre opened in 1907. Central Nazarene College was established in 1909. The Oscar Depriest School System for African American students began operation in 1925. Oil was discovered near Hamlin in 1928, broadening the area's economic growth with oil and gas exploration. In 1950, the town's population was 3,564. The school system was integrated in 1965. The population of Hamlin in 1990 was 2,791. At the dawn of the 21st century, Hamlin remains a center for farming and varied manufacturing. (2000) #12356
?, Hamlin, TX, United States