Hallsburg, TX

Hallsburg is a small city in eastern McLennan County, Texas, about eleven miles east-southeast of Waco along Farm Road 3222. The place was named for W. E. Hall, a Waco doctor who bought more than 2,000 acres in the 1880s, built a home, gin, and blacksmith shop, and donated land for a townsite. The International-Great Northern Railroad reached Hallsburg in 1902 while laying track between Marlin and Waco. A post office opened that year, though it was discontinued in 1905 and replaced by rural delivery from Waco.

The railroad was abandoned between Mart and Wardlaw in 1968, ending Hallsburg's rail service, but the completion of Tradinghouse Creek Reservoir that same year brought a new connection to the local economy. Residents voted to incorporate in the late 1970s, and the city later developed its own civic and school structure. Most of Hallsburg is served by Hallsburg Independent School District, while parts of the city extend into Axtell, Mart, and Riesel districts. Hallsburg is a small Texas city whose map still shows the sequence clearly: a donated townsite, a railroad, a reservoir, and a school district carrying the founder's name.