Pendleton

Pendleton was ten miles northeast of Hemphill in northeastern Sabine County. The townsite was laid out in 1837 by Thomas S. McFarland at the request of James Gaines, who operated Gaines Ferry, originally called Paso del Chalan when it was established in 1795. Gaines named the community Pendleton, a family name of his. The town apparently flourished during the antebellum period; it became an important port of entry during the republic. During the postbellum period, changes in transportation caused the settlement to decline. By the 1890s Pendleton had an estimated population of fifty and one general store. When State Highway 21 was constructed through the county in 1937 a bridge was built across the Sabine, and the ferry was discontinued. By the 1940s the population of Pendleton had fallen to fifteen, and by the 1970s t community had ceased to exist.