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Welcome
To North Aggieland's
Visitor Information Portal
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Thank you for visiting the
Hearne Chamber Of Commerce website. Hearne,
a people friendly town of 4,690, is in
Robertson County. It is conveniently located
in central Texas in the middle of a triangle
formed by Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, & San
Antonio (see
central Texas map). Only 18-25 miles
from Bryan/College Station and Texas A&M
University (on combined TX6, US79, & US190),
Hearne offers visitors & residents alike an
opportunity to escape the hustle & bustle of
the big city to enjoy Hearne's peaceful,
small town charm. |
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Known as "The Crossroads Of
Texas," Hearne is nestled at the crossroads of three major
highways as well as two major Union Pacific Railroad
lines. TX 6, US 79, & US 190 cross in
Hearne. The former east-west Missouri Pacific Railroad
line converges with the former north-south Southern Pacific
Railroad line in Hearne. Union Pacific's Hearne hub sends
crews and trains out in many
directions. |
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 A
new heritage tourism attraction officially opened in Hearne on
October 23. At the
Hearne WWII POW Camp, some 5,000 prisoners, many of them from General
Rommel's Afrika Korps, were housed between 1942
- 1946.
This new attraction features a model of the camp
& a replica of one of
the barracks, which is being built from original
floor plans which will house a
new on-site visitors center. A blog at
www.camphearne.blogspot.com
chronicles Camp Hearne progress. Texas
A&M professor, Dr. Michael Waters, has even
written a book, Lone Star Stalag: German
Prisoners Of War At Camp Hearne, about this
camp. |
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In
Hearne's turn-of-the-century, arrow-shaped depot,
antique furnishings & exhibits
containing local, railroad, & depot
memorabilia are featured. Bricks
from the depot's original walkways,
an old circular concrete railroad
telephone booth, Hearne's restored
interlocker console, the
old Hearne Lumber Co. entrance
gates, & an impressive new metal
fence are just a few components of
Hearne's long-awaited historic
attraction. The depot & Camp Hearne
will both be open from 11AM - 4PM Wednesdays through
Saturdays.
(more depot photos above & below right) |
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Downtown
Hearne's nostalgic embellishments are
patterned after the street lights, street signs,
trash cans, & fire
hydrants seen in the chamber's Old Hearne Photographs
Collection. Compare downtown's new look (right) to
downtown's old look (left). The only major additions are the metal custom-made
people's
park benches (which are patterned after the park
benches on the Robertson County Courthouse grounds
in Franklin). |
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Many of the homes and commercial buildings in Hearne's
historic district attest to the prosperity of the local area's
early plantation owners, railroad builders, merchants,
bankers, and others. Take the
Historic
Hearne Tour either in person or online to relive Hearne's
colorful past and enjoy the architectural splendor of days
gone
by. |
 The
Hearne Municipal Airport
runway is the
longest in central Texas with 7,200 feet of paved infrastructure. Once used
as a runway to shoot landings by fighter jets from the
Strategic Air Command in San Antonio, the Hearne Airport now
hosts Robertson County's Air Weather Observation System
(AWOS) which provides pilots and others with local weather conditions. |
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Did you
know that Hearne is a
Preserve America community?
Preserve America
is a White House initiative in
cooperation with the Advisory Council on Historic
Preservation
which
recognizes communities which protect and celebrate their
heritage, use their historic assets for economic
development and community revitalization, and encourage
people to experience and appreciate local historic
resources through education and heritage tourism
programs. |
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Are you tired of the rat
race of the big city, rush hour traffic, urban mall sprawl,
and hordes of people everywhere you go? Explore this site
to see why moving to
Hearne's less hectic, slower-paced environment may be right
for you. Whatever your interests, there is
something for everyone to do in Hearne and surrounding areas.
Hearne offers a variety of outdoor activities. Explore nearby historic
communities and discover Robertson County's hidden
treasures. |
Are you thinking about
opening a new business or moving your existing
operations? Discover
several good reasons why you and your company
should seriously consider making the move to Hearne.
Want to look at some available commercial properties
in Hearne? Read the
BUY IT, LEASE IT, SELL IT article or check out
forty-plus
commercial real estate listings in Hearne.
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The
Hearne Chamber of Commerce is dedicated to promoting
Hearne, its businesses, and its people. Chamber
members represent a wide variety of merchants &
community leaders. The Chamber
Of Commerce is engaged in a wide variety of activities
promoting Hearne. Exciting new things have been
accomplished and are being planned in the future. But,
why wait? Hearne has a great deal to offer residents,
businesses, and visitors right now. Discover for
yourself just how much Hearne has to offer.
Other Chambers Of Commerce In Robertson County
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You are visitor
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counter installed
4.15.2003
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The photo with the red jacket at left above is the
telegraph operator's office at the depot under
construction.
The other photo above shows the Hearne Chamber of Commerce's Photographic Collection in the
baggage room at the restored Hearne Depot. Set
amidst old Hearne retail signs, it contains 200+ photos of Hearne
primarily in the 1940s. This
collection routinely grows as more & more people
with an interest in Hearne dig through their old
photos & scrapbooks & share their photo treasures
with the Hearne Chamber for future & current
generations to enjoy. Hearne has the largest old
photos collection of any town its size. Bring
by your photos of old Hearne structures. We will scan & return them to
you!
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HEARNE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
BOARD OF
DIRECTORS
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Hearne
is being preserved to capture the spirit of the forties when
the Hearne WWII POW Camp hosted prisoners, Hearne's Depot
witnessed the heyday of rail travel, & downtown Hearne was a
bustling night-time attraction. During the fifties,
the U.S. government built a Cold War landing strip just
outside of town. Its pilots lounge has been remodeled
to capture the spirit of the fifties. The airport itself looks virtually
unchanged since the fifties. |
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