History Was Changed Forever When The Columbia Space Shuttle Crashed Over This Tiny East Texas Town
By Katie Lawrence|Published August 19, 2022
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Katie Lawrence
Author
Katie Lawrence is a Southeast Texas native who graduated 18th in her high school class with a GPA of 4.25. She attended college in the Houston area and began writing for OnlyInYourState in 2015.
Today, Katie writes, edits, and performs several other tasks for OnlyInYourState and has never been more passionate about a job before. Outside of work, you can likely find her curled up on with a hot cup of coffee, practicing yoga, baking, or exploring the beautiful Lone Star State (in particular, the vast and mystical West Texas desert).
There are several small towns in Texas where big things happened – some positive, and others unbelievably tragic. Hemphill, a small town of just over 1,300 nestled deep in the East Texas Piney Woods, would fall into the latter group after the fateful day of February 1, 2003. On that morning, the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated upon atmospheric reentry, with many of the largest pieces of debris crashing down in and around the town.