North Goree

Hefner is at the junction of Farm roads 2534 and 266, ninety miles north of Abilene in southeastern Knox County. Settlers began moving to the area in the late 1880s, and in 1890 J. W. Lendon brought in a store with a post office from Riley Springs. The settlement was originally known as North Goree but was renamed Hefner in 1904, after a pioneer family. Hefner was once a thriving agricultural community with two churches, several businesses (including a gin), a post office, and a school. In 1921, however, all local pupils above the ninth grade were transferred to Goree, and after the 1943–44 school year all students at Hefner were bused to Goree schools. Between 1920 and 1969 Hefner reported a population of twenty-five, but in 1970 its population was estimated at seventy-five. In 1990 Hefner reported seventy-six residents and no businesses. By 2000, however, the population had dropped to five.