On December 29, 1856, Richard Rodgers Peebles and James W. McDade organized the Hempstead Town Company to sell lots in the newly established community of Hempstead, which was located at the projected terminus of Houston and Texas Central Railway.

The Washington County Railroad, which ran from Hempstead to Brenham, enhanced the city upon its completion.

Camp Hebert was established on the eastern bank of Clear Creek and south of Washington Road.

Numerous Confederate infantry regiments were organized, trained, and equipped at Camps Groce and Hebert.

Many were taken to the Post Hospital in the Planter's Exchange Hotel located at the southwest corner of 12th and Wilkins Streets in downtown Hempstead.

[7] German-American sculptor Elisabet Ney and her husband, Scottish physician and philosopher Edmund Montgomery, purchased the Liendo plantation where their family and they split time between there and their home in Austin for the next 20 years.

[10] The town has grown in recent years because of its relative closeness to Houston along U.S. Highway 290.

One of the town's residents was Lillie E. Drennan, who in 1929 became the first woman to hold a commercial driver's license in Texas.

She ran a regional hauling company called the Drennan Truck Line while maintaining an excellent driving record.

Drennan received periodic attention in national newspapers and radio broadcasts.

[13] As of the 2020 United States census, 5,430 people, 2,777 households, and 1,734 families resided in the city.

The United States Postal Service Hempstead Post Office is located at 901 12th Street.

[23] In early 2007, the Department's head, R. Glenn Smith, was given a two-week, unpaid suspension and six months probation because of allegations that four officers and he, all White, had exhibited racism and police brutality during the arrest of a 35-year-old Black man.

[24] In February 2009, the mayor pro tem and an alderman resigned as a result of an investigation into bribery and kickbacks in awarding contracts.

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters.