J. R. Huffman Public Library

Hemphill, Texas

Special Exhibits and Collections

Forestry Collection

About 25 years ago Dr. Hiram Arnold approached retirement from a long and successful career as an Obstetrician / Gynecologist. That is when he decided he wanted to become a timber farmer. Dr. Arnold realized that at his age he wasn't going to start chopping down trees. Instead, he began to research timber farming and started to plant trees. In 1998 Timber was the third largest cash crop in Texas, behind cattle and cotton. Today tourism and timber are the two major resources of Sabine County. Dr. Arnold has placed his Forestry collection of books in the J. R. Huffman Library for everyone to enjoy and learn from. Since timber is such an important part of our life in Sabine County this collection has become a valuable asset to us all. Included in this collection are books dealing with diseases of trees and books on forests all over the world. If you have an interest in forestry, please stop by and visit this collection. If you have any books dealing with forestry that you would like to add to our collection please contact our director, Vicky Ostrom.

Genealogy Collection d

Another exciting area of interest that we are in the process of enlarging and improving upon is the Genealogical Research and Family History collection. With the help of our board member, Betty Burdick, we are making many exciting plans for this section. Betty feels that "You can help."

The library would appreciate donations of "how to" books and/or reference books that pertain to genealogical research. These would include individual, county or state histories, individual family files or pedigree charts, published census records, published marriage and/or birth records, published church records, family history CD's, and genealogical periodicals, etc. Monetary donations would also be welcomed at this time to be used for the purchase of much needed equipment and materials to enhance the Genealogical Research and Family History Section. All donations can be made in the form of a memorial or in honor of one of your family members or ancestors. Please note on your check that the donation is for our genealogy section.

Collectors / Collections

If you are a collector and would like to share your collection by putting it on exhibit for all to see, or have something that can be displayed in a glass case that would be of interest to the community, please call to schedule a time when we can display it for you. Whether it be old pictures of Hemphill, dolls, artifacts you may have collected on trips, stamps, coins, spoons, plates, or whatever, we would like to help you share it with the community. Why leave it sitting in a drawer when you can allow your neighbors, and the children of Hemphill to experience first hand that part of history that you hold. With Armed Forces and Memorial Day approaching, you may have some war memorabilia (flags, awards, ribbons, letters, uniforms, or pictures) that we can display for a few weeks with all the respect, honor and dignity it deserves.