History

Before Hamlin came into being, the land around us was teeming with the migratory Southern Bison Herd that caused many tribes of Native Americans, entrepreneurs, U.S. Cavalry units, buffalo hunters, surveyors, and even outlaws to traverse the area and begin to inhabit the barren prairies, which eventually led to the near extermination of the buffalo herd in the latter 1870’s. In September 1902, 320 acres of land were conveyed by R. D. Moore to the Orient Land Company for a townsite along the Panhandle Gulf Railway, which was being constructed nearby. The townsite quickly drew interest of travelers seeking to become pioneers, and Hamlin was organized in 1905 and incorporated in 1907. Almost overnight, the town found herself as a bustling and prolific railroad town, eventually seeing a total of four different railway lines serving the community, with three of them providing passenger transport as well as freight delivery.  The rising popularity of inexpensive automobiles, however, eventually brought state highways to the area and railroad service began to diminish. Construction began on U.S. Highway 83, placing Hamlin squarely in the middle of one of the first major north-south highways in the state that eventually connected Mexico to Canada.  Our downtown business district benefits greatly from the traffic flowing through the area.

While farm and ranch lands provided perfect grazing areas for livestock, the area also became a hunter’s paradise as wild animals moved into the area.  In the 1920’s, another hidden gift became apparent as oil was discovered under those same prairies and drilling began in earnest. Petroleum has been a mainstay of our economy for over a century, and new horizontal drilling ventures have just begun which promise to far exceed the output from years of vertical drilling. Hamlin is home to several independent industries located both within the downtown district and in our local industrial development park in the northeast part of town. The addition of these new income sources show great promise for our future.  Our community is also blessed with a quality collegiate public school system, offering local and area students employment training in commercial applications through area colleges at low or no cost.  Prospective families are also pleased to know that over one dozen churches of varying faiths help our citizens in myriad ways.  Several athletic opportunities are also available for both children and teens throughout the year in addition to those offered by the public school system. Perhaps one of Hamlin’s most unique and recognized features is the school’s mascot, the Hamlin Pied Piper, given the designation in 1921 by Hamlin’s first football coach and based on Robert Browning’s poem about Hamelin, Germany.  Our community is one filled with loving and forward-looking citizens who do not forget the rich history of this area, yet continually seek ways to enrich the community even more by having others join alongside us in sharing their dreams, skills, leadership qualities and talents in making Hamlin a “home” you can and will be proud of.