![Map of Leesville, Texas](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/Map_of_Leesville%2C_Texas.jpg)
Leesville is an
unincorporated city of 384 residents distributed over 51 square miles in the
Gonzales—
Guadalupe County,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
area (),
electorally known as local Precinct 13; defined by the south of its Capote Hills ("El Capote Ranch")
at the “Leesville Quad” intersection
() and the north of Sandies Creek (), twelve miles southeast of
Seguin.
Beginning in the 19th-century, the municipal identity of Leesville was founded upon being one of the first
Justice of the Peace Precincts
of its original county-area, as prescribed in the
Texas Constitution
The Constitution of the State of Texas is the document that establishes the structure and function of the government of the U.S. state of Texas, and enumerates the basic rights of the citizens of Texas.
The current document was adopted on Febr ...
; as well as once generally serving as the primary seat of a former
Texas House District 90, once rated at more than 1,000 constituents.
Straddling and nearing the southeastern border of
Guadalupe County, the
real estate
Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...
origins of Leesville go back to the 1800s survey-plots
of
Texas Revolution figures
Ezekiel Wimberly Cullen (late owner of Sandies Creek) and
Count
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
Joseph
de la Baume of
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
(late owner of Capote Hills); the latter retaining Texas's founding father
Stephen F. Austin
Stephen Fuller Austin (November 3, 1793 – December 27, 1836) was an American-born empresario. Known as the "Father of Texas" and the founder of Anglo Texas,Hatch (1999), p. 43. he led the second and, ultimately, the successful colonization ...
as an attorney, to reacquire the early-1800s Spanish land-tract, after
Mexico's Independence from
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
in 1825. Divided by joining with Gonzales—Guadalupe County Road 121 West, Leesville's northern territory is closest to the
Austin Metropolitan Areas through , while the southern territory is closest to the
San Antonio Metropolitan Areas through .
In 1844, De la Baume's heirs sold out to newly-elected Judge Michael Erskine,
a then-future
Confederate Army commander of the Sandies Creek, Leesville area; the namesake of Leesville's founder "N. Guinn" serving under this "Sandies
Home Guard
Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense.
The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting w ...
" as a
Third Lieutenant Junior lieutenant is a junior officer rank in several countries, equivalent to Sub-lieutenant.
Germany
In the National People's Army, the rank of () was introduced in 1956.
Eastern Europe
In many Eastern European countries, the rank of junior l ...
in 1861. Erskine held most of the land in the Leesville-area until 1882 when it was purchased by a group of speculative investors, including
Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt. The lien on the property was held by the
Scottish-American Mortgage Company, Ltd., financiers of the well-known
Swan Land and Cattle Co. and
Prairie Land and Cattle Co. The original 12-acre residential Capote Ranch headquarters in the "Alameda" of
Downtown San Antonio
Downtown San Antonio is the central business district of San Antonio, Texas, United States. It also serves as the urban core of Greater San Antonio, a metropolitan area with nearly 2.5 million people.
In addition to being encircled by Loops 1604 ...
, formerly known as "La Baume Place" upon the
St. Joseph Catholic Church, has since been relinquished and divested from the property. From this time period into present-day, just before and after Judge
Leroy G. Denman took ownership, the complexities of this large estate and its jurisdiction have led to direct interventions by late
San Antonio
("Cradle of Freedom")
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mayor
John W. Smith; and the
Texas Courts of Appeals
The Texas Courts of Appeals are part of the Texas judicial system. In Texas, all cases appealed from district and county courts, criminal and civil, go to one of the fourteen intermediate courts of appeals, with one exception: death penalty cases ...
(its
caselaw
Case law, also used interchangeably with common law, is law that is based on precedents, that is the judicial decisions from previous cases, rather than law based on constitutions, statutes, or regulations. Case law uses the detailed facts of a l ...
cited in ''ConocoPhillips Co. v. Ramirez''), through the trust of
Trinity University and the
San Antonio Museum of Art
The San Antonio Museum of Art (SAMA) is an art museum in Downtown San Antonio, Texas, USA. The museum spans 5,000 years of global culture. The museum is housed in the historic former Lone Star Brewery (1886) on the Museum Reach of the San Antonio ...
.
As the 19th-century concluded, its expatriate
George W. Littlefield acted as a significant Texan architectural patron and proprietor of the
Driskill Hotel
The Driskill, a Romanesque-style building completed in 1886, , the
Littlefield House and the Littlefield Building in
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
; he relocated to what is now
Downtown Austin
Downtown Austin is the central business district of Austin, Texas. Downtown is located on the north bank of the Colorado River. The approximate borders of Downtown include Lamar Boulevard to the west, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and the U ...
after three of his family members died in a
gunfight
A shootout, also called a firefight or gunfight, is a fight between armed combatants using firearms. The term can be used to describe any such fight, though it is typically used to describe those that do not involve military forces or only in ...
in 1880s Leesville.
During the
Spanish–American War
, partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence
, image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg
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,
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
rode a Capote, Leesville area horse, "Seguin", at the
Battle of San Juan Hill
The Battle of San Juan Hill, also known as the Battle for the San Juan Heights, was a major battle of the Spanish–American War fought between an American force under the command of William Rufus Shafter and Joseph Wheeler against a Spanish fo ...
(1898). Several other horses from the area were used by the
1st United States Volunteer Cavalry
The Rough Riders was a nickname given to the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, one of three such regiments raised in 1898 for the Spanish–American War and the only one to see combat. The United States Army was small, understaffed, and diso ...
("Roosevelt's Rough Riders") as well.
During this time,
Frederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the USA. Olmsted was famous for co ...
, then-future designer of
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
’s
Central Park
Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...
, made the area’s principal species of trees and agriculture as a point of his studies.
Through the early 20th-century,
rail transport
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a p ...
and
interurban rail were proposed and built intermittently, including a 1916
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...
—
San Antonio
("Cradle of Freedom")
, image_map =
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, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, subdivision_t ...
electric railway
A railway electrification system supplies electric power to Rail transport, railway trains and trams without an on-board Prime mover (locomotive), prime mover or local fuel supply.
Electric railways use either electric locomotives (hauling pa ...
concept and proposal, with Leesville as a
main line station. Towards the late 20th-century, the ventures either remained undeveloped or developed then terminated with the rail easements sold to the
Lower Colorado River Authority
The Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) is a nonprofit public utility created in November 1934 by the Texas Legislature. LCRA's mission is to enhance the lives of the Texans it serves through water stewardship, energy and community service. LC ...
, as an
overhead power line
An overhead power line is a structure used in electric power transmission and distribution to transmit electrical energy across large distances. It consists of one or more uninsulated electrical cables (commonly multiples of three for three-p ...
. At present, the primary industries of the Capote-Sandies, Leesville area are under the real estate holdings of vast
Texas Wildlife Management Areas, and the primary Quien Sabe Ranch that raises
Santa Gertrudis cattle
The Santa Gertrudis is an American list of cattle breeds, breed of beef cattle. It is a taurine-indicine hybrid breed, descended from both zebu and European cattle. It was bred in the early twentieth century in Texas, and received official recog ...
of
King Ranch
King Ranch is the largest ranch in the United States. At some it is larger than the state of Rhode Island and country of Luxembourg. It is mainly a cattle ranch, but also produced the Triple Crown winning racehorse Assault.
The ranch is lo ...
Running W Bull descent. The most valuable asset in this area is a $149-million water facility and 40-mile pipeline, that can store and move up to 11.6 million gallons of water towards the
Greater San Antonio areas. According to the
Texas Department of Transportation
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT ) is a government agency in the American state of Texas. Though the public face of the agency is generally associated with the construction and maintenance of the state's immense state highway system ...
, 12,179 vehicles travel through the Leesville-area daily, with the busiest intersection rated at 2,978 vehicles; thru-traffic utilizes Leesville routes to generally bypass upon
Wilson County Wilson County is the name of four counties in the United States:
*Wilson County, Kansas
*Wilson County, North Carolina
*Wilson County, Tennessee
*Wilson County, Texas
Wilson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 202 ...
—
Seguin.
Services
![Capote Mountain, Texas (present-day Leesville) in 1856](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Capote_Mountain%2C_Texas_%28present-day_Leesville%29_in_1856.jpg)
In 2000, Leesville had 7 businesses. It is situated at the southeastern Guadalupe County line upon Gonzales County, approximately 19 miles south of North in
Luling (
Greater Austin) and 26 miles west of South in
Gonzales.
The historical city center of Leesville is located alongside the street of , where the city’s original church and cemetery reside; currently acting as a location for local events.
Leesville is within 59 miles of the
city center
A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms exist in other languages, such as "" in Fren ...
s of these significant, medium-to-large cities; respectively:
Seguin,
New Braunfels
New Braunfels ( ) is a city in Comal and Guadalupe counties in the U.S. state of Texas known for its German Texan heritage. It is the seat of Comal County. The city covers and had a population of 90,403 as of the 2020 Census. A suburb just north ...
,
Schertz
Schertz ( ) is a city in Guadalupe, Bexar, and Comal counties in the U.S. state of Texas, within the metropolitan area. The population was 42,002 at the 2020 census, up from 31,465 at the 2010 census. Schertz was settled by Alsatian emigrants ...
,
Lockhart Lockhart may refer to:
*Lockhart (surname)
Places
Australia
*Lockhart, New South Wales
*Lockhart River, Queensland
*Lockhart River, Western Australia
United States
*Lockhart, Alabama
*Lockhart, Florida
*Lockhart, Minnesota
*Lockhart, Sout ...
,
Universal City,
San Marcos
San Marcos is the Spanish name of Saint Mark. It may also refer to:
Towns and cities Argentina
* San Marcos, Salta
Colombia
* San Marcos, Antioquia
* San Marcos, Sucre
Costa Rica
* San Marcos, Costa Rica (aka San Marcos de Tarrazú)
...
,
Converse
Converse may refer to:
Mathematics and logic
* Converse (logic), the result of reversing the two parts of a definite or implicational statement
** Converse implication, the converse of a material implication
** Converse nonimplication, a logical c ...
,
Live Oak
Live oak or evergreen oak is any of a number of oaks in several different sections of the genus ''Quercus'' that share the characteristic of evergreen foliage. These oaks are not more closely related to each other than they are to other oaks. ...
,
Kirby
Kirby may refer to:
Buildings
* Kirby Building, a skyscraper in Dallas, Texas, United States
* Kirby Hall, an Elizabethan country house near Corby, Northamptonshire, England
* Kirby House (disambiguation), various houses in England and the Unit ...
,
Kyle
Kyle or Kyles may refer to:
Places
Canada
* Kyle, Saskatchewan, Canada
Ireland
* Kyle, County Laois
* Kyle, County Wexford
Scotland
* Kyle, Ayrshire, area of Scotland which stretched across parts of modern-day East Ayrshire and South Ayrshir ...
,
Canyon Lake,
San Antonio
("Cradle of Freedom")
, image_map =
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, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, subdivision_t ...
,
Leon Valley,
Pleasanton and
Austin.
Economy
In 2016, Leesville business owners earned, in total, an estimated $1.3 million. Through 1999–2018, the aggregate household income for the city ranged from $7.8-$10.6 million annually.
All commercial and residential properties in Leesville paid a combined estimate of $192,500 in property taxes in 2016.
In 2019 as rated by the
Texas Department of Transportation
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT ) is a government agency in the American state of Texas. Though the public face of the agency is generally associated with the construction and maintenance of the state's immense state highway system ...
, the aggregate annual-average-daily-traffic (AADT) of all local state highway-segments, that intersected into the Capote-Sandies, Leesville area, was rated at 12,179 vehicles. The Midtown-Downtown intersection was rated at 2,978 vehicles.
Real estate
As of 2018, Leesville was rated as having 249 residential structures with a total of 1,253 rooms; 825 of these were rated as owner-occupied, 184 were rated as renter-occupied. The vast majority of these renters are not charged "cash rent;" the 9 cash renters in Leesville pay from $150-$199 per month. Within Gonzales County, generally any subdivision or "improvement" of land less than 10 acres must be directly approved by the
County Commission; approximately zero residential structures have been approved and built in Leesville, Gonzales County after 2014, as recorded by the census in 2017.
The local median cost of housing, as of 2016–2018, ranges from $546 to $633 per month; with the households of the city paying an aggregate $23,500 in annual property taxes. In estimation, of local workers 16 years and over who do not work at home, 16% commute within 5 minutes of their place of work; 28% commute within 15 to 24 minutes; 56% commute half an hour or more.
An estimated majority of homes (40.5%) in the area were built from 1980 to 1999. The estimated median year Leesville homes were moved into was 1996.
Through 2000–2018, all occupied residential real estate in Leesville was valued from 13.9 to 19.6-million dollars, leading to a residential value density of more than $400.00 per acre, of 32-thousand acres of Leesville land. As of 2020, vacant Leesville land not yet developed, sold at $4,649 per acre; based on recent volume-land sales data of more than 200 acres; within the same time period, an additional sample of volume-land sales data of more than 300 acres, indicates $4,995 per acre.
Overall, historical pricing includes 26,568 acres of the late Joseph de la Baume's "El Capote Ranch," the majority of Leesville's land; appraised and inventoried in 1862: The Guadalupe County side priced at $28,780.00, while the Gonzales County side priced at $9,965.00. In 1872, 17,623 acres of El Capote in Gonzales—Guadalupe County was priced at $35,246.00.
This 19th-century data indicates original pricing at or less than $2 per acre, not adjusting for
inflation
In economics, inflation is an increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation corresponds to a reduct ...
.
Civic
Leesville has a post office with the zip code of 78122. The U.S. Postal Service offered to close the Leesville Post Office in 2011, leading to a resident litigating post office limitations on Leesville mail service in 2021. Under postal code 78122, the Leesville post office serves relevant areas from (Capote Road) to ; with the
UPS and
FedEx parcel services offering doorstep service to every residential address.
Public education in the areas of Leesville are provided by
Gonzales Independent School District
Gonzales Independent School District is a public school district based in Gonzales, Texas ( USA).
Located in Gonzales County, a small portion of the district extends into Caldwell County.
The school district was recently engaged in a scandal o ...
,
Nixon-Smiley Consolidated Independent School District and
Seguin Independent School District. Since 1998, an organization known as the Happy Quilters has produced quilts for auction at the annual Leesville Country Fair, to maintain Leesville landmarks such as the Leesville school house; while supporting local education, by raising $1,000 or more in support per quilt.
Leesville relays issues of improper garbage disposal to state and county authorities.
An extreme-western portion of Capote, Leesville in
Guadalupe County attempted to incorporate as the “City of Capote Hills,” with 16.77% of qualifying voters voting “For” and 83.23% voting “Against” in 2017. Most “blank voted” regarding proposed
city council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...
and
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
seats. The rural population near this outlying area, just west of Capote, approaches 1,647 people; as the region maps west with the more developed Guadalupe County.
This unincorporated outlying-area includes the large neighborhoods of Hickory Forest, Holmes Lake and Vivroux Ranch, alongside the county line; terminating at Sand Hills near
12th Flying Training Wing
The 12th Flying Training Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Education and Training Command's Nineteenth Air Force. It is headquartered at Joint Base San Antonio, Texas. The wing is the parent organization for the 479th Flyin ...
(Randolph Airforce Base) in southeast Old Seguin.
Water
Upon Sandies Creek, Leesville, the Schertz-Seguin Local Government Corporation transports water from the local Carrizo Aquifer utilizing a 40-mile pipeline. This project was arranged in 2012 at a reported cost of $149-million. In 2014, this facility was permitted to pump 19,363 acre-feet of water per year, with a then-present utilization of 10,000 acre-feet. Over 60,000 households can be sustained through this water supply.
The location of the SSLGC water supply upon Leesville, between Gonzales and Guadalupe Counties, was a strategic choice to mitigate cost and provide long-term reliability of the water source for nearby cities. As of 2016, the system can store up to 11.6 million gallons of water.
Fitch Ratings
Fitch Ratings Inc. is an American credit rating agency and is one of the " Big Three credit rating agencies", the other two being Moody's and Standard & Poor's. It is one of the three nationally recognized statistical rating organizations ( NRSRO ...
remarked on this water company's inability to directly assign liabilities to either the City of
Schertz
Schertz ( ) is a city in Guadalupe, Bexar, and Comal counties in the U.S. state of Texas, within the metropolitan area. The population was 42,002 at the 2020 census, up from 31,465 at the 2010 census. Schertz was settled by Alsatian emigrants ...
or
Seguin. It has also remarked that
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
has not affected the demand of water from the facility. As of 2020 through 2016, the facility makes over $9.2-million in revenue each year and serves additional cities such as
Selma
Selma may refer to:
Places
*Selma, Algeria
*Selma, Nova Scotia, Canada
*Selma, Switzerland, village in the Grisons
United States:
*Selma, Alabama, city in Dallas County, best known for the Selma to Montgomery marches
*Selma, Arkansas
*Selma, Cali ...
and
Universal City.
County
Agriculture
*Belmont Wildlife Management Association
*Leesville 4-H Club
*Quien Sabe Ranch (Pioneer
Santa Gertrudis Breeder);
as late as 1954, this ranch has utilized a foundation stock of cattle from the herds of
Richard King and a “John Martin,” claiming all to be from
King Ranch
King Ranch is the largest ranch in the United States. At some it is larger than the state of Rhode Island and country of Luxembourg. It is mainly a cattle ranch, but also produced the Triple Crown winning racehorse Assault.
The ranch is lo ...
Running W Bull lineage
*Sandies Creek Wildlife Management Association
Transportation
* (
TxDOT
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT ) is a government agency in the American state of Texas. Though the public face of the agency is generally associated with the construction and maintenance of the state's immense state highway system ...
), corridor to
* (TxDOT), corridor to
*, Leesville-
Belmont (TxDOT), Belmont-bridge bypass at ;
:Eastern bypass at County Road 143,
Monthalia
*, Leesville-Dewville (TxDOT), Gonzales County bypass towards
Seguin (County Road 121/114 access)
Intercity
* connection (TxDOT); Downtown Leesville
* County Road 105 (78122-4205), Uptown connection
* County Road 108 (78122-4218), East Uptown bypass
* West County Road 109, West Uptown bypass
Airports
*
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (58 highway-miles)
:
*
San Antonio International Airport
San Antonio International Airport is an international airport in San Antonio, Texas. It is in Uptown Central San Antonio, about north of Downtown. It has three runways and covers . Its elevation is above sea level. SAT averages 260 daily dep ...
(70 highway-miles)
:
*
Corpus Christi International Airport
Corpus Christi International Airport is west of Corpus Christi, in Nueces County, Texas. It opened in 1960, replacing Cliff Maus airport at , where the Lozano Golf Center is now located.
The airport's six-gate Hayden Wilson Head Terminal, ...
(144 highway-miles)
:
*
George Bush Intercontinental Airport
George Bush Intercontinental Airport is an international airport in Houston, Texas, United States, serving the Greater Houston metropolitan area. Located about north of Downtown Houston between Interstate 45 and Interstate 69/U.S. Highway 5 ...
(174 highway-miles)
:
*
William P. Hobby Airport
William P. Hobby Airport (colloquially referred to as Hobby Airport, Houston Hobby, or simply Hobby) is an international airport in Houston, Texas, located from downtown Houston. Hobby is Houston's oldest commercial airport, and was its primar ...
(176 highway-miles)
:
History
Early population
Within a limited historical record of the Leesville population, a 1904 voting press-record from
The Houston Post
The ''Houston Post'' was a newspaper that had its headquarters in Houston, Texas, United States. In 1995, the newspaper shut down, and its assets were purchased by the ''Houston Chronicle''.
History
Gail Borden Johnson founded the ''Houston P ...
indicates at least 708 ballots were cast in Leesville during a primary election. In the 1880s, during the
Texas House of Representatives
The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abo ...
election of what was considered a Leesville district, vote counts were measured in the thousands.
One of the earliest forms of social establishment and organization in the Leesville area, or interchangeably Leesburg at the time, involved common-property of "the people of Leesburg" most-especially a single
crowbar; quoted as being shared contiguously by the community from 1863 until as late as 1883, when it was thought to have been used in a local theft of the Peebles & Brown store.
Name
![EWCullen1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/EWCullen1.jpg)
The first settlement and commerce of the area began around Sandies Creek, said to be once landmarked by a giant granite stone; leading to the Leesville area once being referred to as Sandies. From the 1830s until the 1870s, significant amounts of social activity climaxed around this area; with theft of watermelon, corn and food occurring at a nearby property. The nearby proprietor destroyed the granite landmark in response, ending the original rapid growth of the area.
The general area was then named Capote, named after its hills. In the late 1800s, local land developer Newburn H. Guinn attempted to name the town Leesburg after his daughter Lee. The local post office at the time refused to recognize the name, as another Texas town had already claimed the name Leesburg. It was then compromised that the city would be named Leesville.
[...Sometime between 1868 and 1887, Mr. Newburn H. Guinn divided land on the west bank of the creek into town lots and sold them to various businesses. In about 1870, Guinn decided to name the town Leesburg, after his daughter, Lee. When the town applied for a post office however, they had to do so under the original name of Capote -- there was already a Leesburg in Texas at the time. The post office opened in 1873. Finally, in 1874, the town became known as Leesville...](_blank)
/ref>
The greater federal government recognized Leesville, Texas as early as 1885, in patents “315,236” and “325,154;” the former being an “Indicator for Merchandise” and the latter being a “Marking Device.”
In the 1800s, a significant portion of Leesville's southern territory was owned by Ezekiel Wimberly Cullen, with Leesville alternatively and legally known as the Ezekiel W. Cullen League (E.W. Cullen).
Industry
Original businesses and organizations since the area's settlement used to include, in greater capacity:
* Fayette Smith's saloon (late-1800s)
* A Masonic Lodge
A Masonic lodge, often termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also commonly used as a term for a building in which such a unit meets. Every new lodge must be warranted or chartered ...
, with $60 in silver recorded as deposited in the local bank (late-1800s); destroyed, totaled by a fire on December 14, 1904, due to lack of insurance
* Peebles & Brown mercantile storehouse and bank, with as much as $5,000 in goods and $1,400-$1,500 in currency deposits (east-side of O'Neill Creek, late-1800s)
* Sylvester A. Hubbard‘s ox-driven corn grinder and lumber saw (1860)
* Sandies Home Guard C.S.A.; Captain Michael Erskine, First Lieutenant W. H. Burris, Second Lieutenant Larkin N. West, Third Lieutenant N. W. Guinn (June 22, 1861)[The Seguin-Gazette Enterprise (September 23, 1998); 'Sandies Home Guard' of 1861 muster printed...A list of officers and members composing of the Voluntary Cavalry Company known as the "Sandies Home Guard" was organized on June 25, 1861 in Gonzales County. This company consisted of 70 men, including officers. Most of the men agreed to equip themselves with a good reliable gun, either a rifle or a shot gun, a six shooter and a good horse fit for service. Most of the company had rifles, some shot guns and some of them had six shooters. The recruits who did not have arms assured Erskine that they would be procured on reasonable terms as soon as possible. The names of those appearing on this muster are listed as follows. Officers: Captain Michael Erskine, First Lieutenant W. H. Burris, Second Lieutenant Larkin N. West, Third Lieutenant N. W. Guinn...](_blank)
/ref>[At Sandies...In 1861 a volunteer cavalry company was formed. Called the Home Guard it was organized by Capt. Michael Erskine and was made up of 70 men.](_blank)
/ref>
* Daniel Brown‘s general merchandise store (1868)
* A brick kiln (1868)
* A saddletree and stirrup factory (1868)
* Leesburg Male and Female Institute, known as “Leesville school house” (January 21, 1873)
* L.C. Cocke Pharmacy (1890s-1910s)
* Medical doctor, Dr. M. A. McBride having moved his practice from West Point, New York
West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York, West Point was identified by General George Washington as the most important strategic position in America during the Ame ...
to Leesville, Texas (1894)
* Southern Pacific Railroad – GHSA, a " Glidden to LaGrange" ("Glidden Subdivision") spur connecting to the late " Stockdale to Cuero" branch line
A branch line is a phrase used in railway terminology to denote a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line.
Industrial spur
An industr ...
(constructed 1905–1907); this railway easement has been converted to an overhead power line
An overhead power line is a structure used in electric power transmission and distribution to transmit electrical energy across large distances. It consists of one or more uninsulated electrical cables (commonly multiples of three for three-p ...
at present-day
* Hupmobile
Hupmobile was an automobile built from 1909 through 1939 by the Hupp Motor Car Company of Detroit. The prototype was developed in 1908.
History
Founding
In 1909, Bobby Hupp co-founded Hupp Motor Car Company, with Charles Hastings, for ...
dealership, J.W. West (1913)
* Leesville School System, elementary and high schools (closed in 1951)
* Lumber production
* Grain production
* Beef production
* Cotton production
* Peanut farming
* Melon farming
* Various churches including a Missionary Baptist
Missionary Baptists are a group of Baptists that grew out of the missionary / anti-missionary controversy that divided Baptists in the United States in the early part of the 19th century, with Missionary Baptists following the pro-missions move ...
church
Rail proposals
In March 1912, the Quanah, Acme and Pacific Railway
Quanah, Acme and Pacific Railway (QA&P) was a Rail freight transport, freight railroad that operated between the Red River of the South, Red River and Floydada, Texas, from 1902 until it was merged into the Burlington Northern Railroad in 1981.
...
was being built 2.5 miles east of Leesville; The Houston Post
The ''Houston Post'' was a newspaper that had its headquarters in Houston, Texas, United States. In 1995, the newspaper shut down, and its assets were purchased by the ''Houston Chronicle''.
History
Gail Borden Johnson founded the ''Houston P ...
indicated citizens attempted to financially cause the railroad to build near the city with a "bonus offered" at the start of its construction. In the same time period, engineers of the "Quanah, Seymour, Dublin and Rockport Railroad" completed a preliminary survey for the construction of a line through Leesville.
In 1916, to "J. H. Berryman & Co." served by its president Steve Holmes from Leesville; with vice-president and general manager W. A. Reinhardt from Houston: An "electric railway
A railway electrification system supplies electric power to Rail transport, railway trains and trams without an on-board Prime mover (locomotive), prime mover or local fuel supply.
Electric railways use either electric locomotives (hauling pa ...
" contract was awarded to grade the first 60 miles out of Houston for the "Houston Richmond & Western Traction Co." A line was proposed to reach San Antonio
("Cradle of Freedom")
, image_map =
, mapsize = 220px
, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, subdivision_t ...
from Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...
; stopping at Richmond, Garwood Garwood can refer to: People
* Doug Garwood, American golfer
* Edmund Johnston Garwood, British geologist
* Julie Garwood, author
* Kelton Garwood, American actor
* Richard Garwood, Air Marshall in the Royal Air Force
* Robert R. Garwood, prison ...
, Gonzales, Steve Holmes' home of Leesville, Willow Springs and New Berlin; totaling 190 miles of proposed track. The expected material cost was written as “530,000 cross-ties,” equivalent to “16,000,000 feet of lumber;” as well as “32,000 poles.” This was considered a notable “prospective order” for the lumber
Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...
industry at the time.
Events
In 1835, at Sandies Creek in what is now Leesville, 13 traders of Mexican and French origin traveling from Louisiana to Mexico, were killed by Comanche Native Americans.
In 1889, while having lived in Leesville since 1869 with a lack of "political aspirations," over a thousand people of the Leesville general-area elected the Representative James William Peebles for the local legislative seat without Peebles direct involvement in the campaign; beating his competitor by a margin of a thousand votes. He was elected to a second-term, in the same Leesville district, from 1891.
In 1903, the Southern Coal and Coke Company noted “a vein of coal two feet thick” in Leesville, in the coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when ...
industry journal.
In 1909, there were over a dozen cases of smallpox around Leesville, spanning over months with only one case of quarantine. Traveling African-Americans were reported to be disproportionately affected.
In late 2020, a porcelain sign weighing approximately 150 pounds, was stolen from Leesville’s Quien Sabe Ranch; it landmarked the northern area of Leesville at County Road 102 and . A $500 reward was circulated “for information about the theft.”
Governor's pardon of John Hester
In 1884, in a State criminal-appeal from the District Court of Gonzales County ("''Robert Carr v. The State''"), John Hester was a prior-criminal and witness of a burglary of Leesville's general store, who was pardoned by Governor Ireland.
Hester had been imprisoned for the felony of stealing sheep. He was pardoned and conditionally released of his entire criminal-record for the sole purpose of being allowed to testify in a case, having "''wrote a letter to the citizens of Leesville, to the effect that he wanted to change his course, and that he knew all about the robbery of Peebles & Brown's store.''" County Sheriff William E. Jones, having acquired his testimony, traveled to Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
and requested that the Governor grant the witness a pardon, as to make his testimony admissible in court.
Despite the pardon being granted, it was later ruled as not a genuine nor full pardon, with the Governor having made it revocable at any time he deemed the witness criminal in his behavior, thus the Texas Court of Appeals
The Texas Courts of Appeals are part of the Texas judicial system. In Texas, all cases appealed from district and county courts, criminal and civil, go to one of the fourteen intermediate courts of appeals, with one exception: death penalty cases. ...
holding the criminal witness's testimony as inadmissible and unreliable:
"Held, by the majority of the court, that such conditional pardon did not restore to the witness the competency to testify, and in permitting him to be introduced as a witness, the trial court erred." The dissent argued it was a full pardon until it was deemed revocable upon the "vitiation" of the listed condition.
Littlefield-Martin
In 1880, two generations of Leesville families Littlefield and Martin, received national attention after three Littlefield belligerents died in a revolver gunfight between the two families. It was postulated that the family feud would continue.
The late George W. Littlefield was the grandson of one of the belligerents, through a son named Fleming Littlefield; in 1883, George Littlefield relocated to the state capital of Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
from South Texas. His Littlefield Building on Congress Avenue in downtown Austin now houses Capital One Bank. From 1895 to 1903, Littlefield owned the Driskill Hotel
The Driskill, a Romanesque-style building completed in 1886, , located near the Littlefield Building. He installed the first electric lighting system in the hotel, which became a gathering place for Texas politicians during much of the 20th century. He willed his residence, the Littlefield House, to the University of Texas
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
.
El Capote Ranch
The founder of El Capote Ranch was Joseph de la Baume (1731–1834), a French army officer who came to North America with the Marquis de Lafayette
Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemason and military officer who fought in the American Revolutio ...
and fought in the American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
. He later joined the Spanish Army and for his services received title in 1806 to 27,000 acres of Texas land in what is now Leesville – the original El Capote Ranch. "El Capote," meaning "The Cape," was probably derived from nearby hills of the same name. De la Baume's grant was reaffirmed after Mexico won independence from Spain in 1821. Virginia-born Michael Erskine (1794–1862) acquired the property in 1840. He raised cattle here and drove his herds to California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
and . Since the San Antonio to Gonzales Road forded the Guadalupe River on El Capote land, many travelers passed this way.
The Erskine family hosted several eminent visitors, including William Bollaert FRGS (1840), Ferdinand von Roemer
Carl Ferdinand von Roemer (5 January 1818 – 14 December 1891), German geologist, had originally been educated for the legal profession at Göttingen, but became interested in geology, and abandoning law in 1840, studied science at the Univer ...
(1845–1847), and Frederick Law Olmstead (1857). After the Erskine family sold the ranch in the 1870s, part of the land was deeded to Edith Kermit Carow, the second wife of Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
. During the Spanish–American War
, partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence
, image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg
, image_size = 300px
, caption = (cloc ...
, Roosevelt rode an El Capote horse, "Seguin", at the Battle of San Juan Hill
The Battle of San Juan Hill, also known as the Battle for the San Juan Heights, was a major battle of the Spanish–American War fought between an American force under the command of William Rufus Shafter and Joseph Wheeler against a Spanish fo ...
(1898). Several other horses from El Capote were used by the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry
The Rough Riders was a nickname given to the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, one of three such regiments raised in 1898 for the Spanish–American War and the only one to see combat. The United States Army was small, understaffed, and diso ...
("Roosevelt's Rough Riders") as well.
Its former cabin (now preserved in Lubbock
Lubbock ( )
is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northw ...
), dating from the late 1830s or early 1840s, was probably built by "French" Smith, de la Baume's resident overseer. Its former building served as headquarters for ranching and farming operations until the 1880s and thereafter as tenant quarters, being occupied as late as 1920. It represents the earliest form of dwelling utilized on the Texas frontier. The ranch was acquired in 1897 by Judge Leroy Gilbert Denman (1855–1916), a justice of the Texas Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Texas (SCOTX) is the court of last resort for civil matters (including juvenile delinquency cases, which are categorized as civil under the Texas Family Code) in the U.S. state of Texas. A different court, the Texas Court of ...
, and is owned by his descendants; the cabin was donated to the Ranch Headquarters of the Museum of Texas Tech University
The Museum of Texas Tech University is part of Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. It is made up of the main museum building, the Moody Planetarium, the Natural Science Research Laboratory, the research and educational elements of the Lubbock ...
by the heirs of Judge Denman.
The property-at-large through its liquidation in the mid-1800s, was attached to De la Baume`s 12-acre residence in the "Alameda" of Downtown San Antonio
Downtown San Antonio is the central business district of San Antonio, Texas, United States. It also serves as the urban core of Greater San Antonio, a metropolitan area with nearly 2.5 million people.
In addition to being encircled by Loops 1604 ...
; formerly known as "La Baume Place" in "Cotton Wood Grove," being a "double-stone house" located on East Commerce Street across from the St. Joseph Catholic Church, in what is now a city park. In common, the original will of the property-at-large was signed by the first Texan mayor of San Antonio
("Cradle of Freedom")
, image_map =
, mapsize = 220px
, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, subdivision_t ...
, John W. Smith.
In 1880, the editors of the San Antonio Express
The ''San Antonio Express-News'' is a daily newspaper in San Antonio, Texas. It is owned by the Hearst Corporation and has offices in San Antonio and Austin, Texas. The ''Express-News'' is the third largest newspaper in the state of Texas, with ...
rated the remainder of the “Capote Farm” under its then-new proprietor Major Alexander Moore, as “the largest and most complete farm in Texas...if not in the south;” giving examples of the diversity of livestock and crops that were raised at the scale of 75 workers over 20,000 acres. The farm’s stock included 2,800 heads of cattle
Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...
, 6,000 Berkshire pig
The Berkshire is an English breed of pig. It originated in the county of Berkshire, for which it is named. It is normally black, with some white on the snout, on the lower legs, and on the tip of the tail.
It is a rare breed in the United Kin ...
s and various other segments of livestock and agriculture. Within the same time period, the lien on the property was held by the Scottish-American Mortgage Company, Ltd., financiers of the well-known Swan Land and Cattle Co. and Prairie Land and Cattle Co.
At present day, this property's remaining estate, in its apparent complexity, has generated significant caselaw
Case law, also used interchangeably with common law, is law that is based on precedents, that is the judicial decisions from previous cases, rather than law based on constitutions, statutes, or regulations. Case law uses the detailed facts of a l ...
in Texas, in ''ConocoPhillips Co. v. Ramirez'': "To be entitled to summary judgment
In law, a summary judgment (also judgment as a matter of law or summary disposition) is a judgment entered by a court for one party and against another party summarily, i.e., without a full trial. Summary judgments may be issued on the merits of ...
on the affirmative defense of limitations, a defendant must prove as a matter of law: (1) the date on which the limitations period commenced, i.e., when the cause of action accrued, and (2) that the plaintiff filed its petition outside the applicable limitations period. In ''re Estate of Denman'', 362 S.W.3d 134, 144 (Tex. App.—San Antonio 2011, no pet.)" Summarily, " lding that residual four-year limitations period of Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code section 16.051 applies to declaratory judgment
A declaratory judgment, also called a declaration, is the legal determination of a court that resolves legal uncertainty for the litigants. It is a form of legally binding preventive by which a party involved in an actual or possible legal ma ...
action to construe he will of remaining El Capote Ranch estate"
Ecology
The Leesville-Belmont area has an annual average of 33.1 inches and 35.8 days of rainfall. The average day consists of 12.6 hours of light. Temperatures are high with very mild winters. Generally, described as a humid subtropical climate.
Subregion
Description
In 1851, William Bollaert FRGS of the Royal Geographical Society became lost in the Leesville area, generally describing it as “Big Hill prairies.” He found the soil to be “rich looking” and “black, reposing upon recent sandstone, forming beautifully undulating lands.” Herds of mustangs, wild horses, wolves and forests of pecan
The pecan (''Carya illinoinensis'') is a species of hickory native to the southern United States and northern Mexico in the region of the Mississippi River. The tree is cultivated for its seed in the southern United States, primarily in Georgia, ...
trees were described. Near Guadalupe River, he found the land “fit for all agricultural purposes, although the surface soil is sandy,” the sand upon masses of silicon
Silicon is a chemical element with the symbol Si and atomic number 14. It is a hard, brittle crystalline solid with a blue-grey metallic luster, and is a tetravalent metalloid and semiconductor. It is a member of group 14 in the periodic ta ...
containing selenite. He found chiltepin peppers to be “most abundant.” The main Capote Hill was described as a “conspicuous object...isolated in the prairie” at “350 feet above.” Within, he found disintegrated limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
, gypsum
Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, blackboard or sidewalk chalk, and drywal ...
, oyster
Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not ...
and other shells; compromising a great variety of former marine life.
In 1852, Frederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the USA. Olmsted was famous for co ...
, then-future designer of New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
’s Central Park
Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...
; noted the area’s principal species of trees as pecan
The pecan (''Carya illinoinensis'') is a species of hickory native to the southern United States and northern Mexico in the region of the Mississippi River. The tree is cultivated for its seed in the southern United States, primarily in Georgia, ...
, hickory, cypress, cotton wood, box elder
''Acer negundo'', the box elder, boxelder maple, Manitoba maple or ash-leaved maple, is a species of maple native to North America. It is a fast-growing, short-lived tree with opposite, compound leaves. It is sometimes considered a weedy or inva ...
, white oak
The genus ''Quercus'' contains about 500 species, some of which are listed here. The genus, as is the case with many large genera, is divided into subgenera and sections. Traditionally, the genus ''Quercus'' was divided into the two subgenera ''C ...
and walnut
A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus ''Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''.
Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a true ...
. He described the bottom land's "rich, black clay soil" as difficult to cultivate yet "producing high yields" of agriculture.
Earlier in 1830, Byrd Lockhart described the lands beyond the river as rolling prairie, with sandy hills which were removed far from the Guadalupe River. This "rolling" sandy soil was of lower quality and was found to be covered with post oak
''Quercus stellata'', the post oak or iron oak, is a North American species of oak in the white oak section. It is a slow-growing oak that lives in dry areas on the edges of fields, tops of ridges also grows in poor soils, and is resistant to r ...
s and blackjack oaks. Dr. Ferdinand von Roemer
Carl Ferdinand von Roemer (5 January 1818 – 14 December 1891), German geologist, had originally been educated for the legal profession at Göttingen, but became interested in geology, and abandoning law in 1840, studied science at the Univer ...
, in 1846, described the area summarily: "...the road leading us in agreeable changes through fertile valleys or over low hills composed of gravel and sand. The country was more settled here, as we came upon farms every few miles."
Events
In 1848, over 12,000 bushels of corn were grown and sold in the Capote, Leesville area at 45 cents each; a record-size crop in Southeast Texas for facilities the size of El Capote Ranch, the record held for several years time.
In 1903, implicitly due to heavy rains, cotton crops failed at a rate of one bale per thirty acres of land.
In 1910, an agricultural report in The Houston Post
The ''Houston Post'' was a newspaper that had its headquarters in Houston, Texas, United States. In 1995, the newspaper shut down, and its assets were purchased by the ''Houston Chronicle''.
History
Gail Borden Johnson founded the ''Houston P ...
on Leesville, Texas crop conditions indicates excessive dryness with most crops and pastures in a "burned" state; with cotton crops in a derelict state. Local farmers indicated cotton yields had lowered to one bale per 8 acres of land; approximately half of the year before. Corn yields improved year-on-year.
In 1912, Leesville cotton yields were rated as generally poor with corn yields excellent, despite a two-month drought. Hay crops reported satisfactory. The cotton shortfall was reported at a record low since 1904, one-third lower year-on-year.
In 1918, the Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
"Farm and Ranch" of March 23 reported that G. N. Linecum of Leesville raised 47 bales of cotton in the previous season, on 30 acres of black sandy land "in a drought stricken area of Texas." The result was described to have been achieved through "irrigation from artesian wells and intensive cultivation."
In 1936, Leesville was once established with a number of grocery stores, barbershops, cotton production and a pharmacy; now said to be non-existent and depopulated due to flooding and displacement from a local creek, after 26 inches of sudden rain.
Through the summer and fall of 1939, G. A. C. Haiff constructed a bass pond in the Leesville area; producing a 10-inch largemouth black bass
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
in the spring of 1940, as noted by the American Fisheries Society.
During Tropical Depression Eight of 1981, several dwellings in and around Leesville suffered water damage after the O'Neill Creek reached its highest level since at least 1936. Leesville experienced some part of the county's $5-million estimated damages, caused by the storm.
Culture
Leesville is a hub of the collection of historical remnants and cemeteries it houses, as well as its historical city center acting as an election precinct.
Philosophy
Michael Erskine, a founding settler of the area, described the values of its people summarily in 1845: "I move along here as well as I can—work hard, live poor and am respected by the poor chaps. There are but few rich people in this part of the country. And no claims to be superior to another on account of his wealth."
Politics
As late as 1906, Leesville farmers were majorly unionized
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
under the Leesville Farmers' Union, a focus of Thomas Mitchell Campbell
Thomas Mitchell Campbell (April 22, 1856April 1, 1923) was the 24th Governor of Texas, serving two terms from 1907 to 1911. He was an attorney and businessman, working as a manager for the International-Great Northern Railroad before entering ...
's 1906 Texas gubernational election
During the William Jennings Bryan 1896 presidential campaign
In 1896, William Jennings Bryan ran unsuccessfully for president of the United States. Bryan, a former Democratic congressman from Nebraska, gained his party's presidential nomination in July of that year after electrifying the Democratic Nati ...
, Leesville resident William W. Littlefield (grandfather of George W. Littlefield) acted as a delegate
Delegate or delegates may refer to:
* Delegate, New South Wales, a town in Australia
* Delegate (CLI), a computer programming technique
* Delegate (American politics), a representative in any of various political organizations
* Delegate (Unit ...
from Texas for the Populist Party, nominating Thomas E. Watson as an alternative vice presidential candidate against the Democratic ticket's Arthur Sewall
Arthur Sewall (November 25, 1835 – September 5, 1900) was an American shipbuilder from Maine, best known as the Democratic nominee for Vice President of the United States in 1896, running mate to William Jennings Bryan. From 1888 to 1896 he ser ...
.
According to ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', during the 2016 United States presidential election
The 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticket ...
, 82% of participating Leesville-Gonzales voters voted for Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
and 16% voted for Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
. In Leesville-Belmont-Luling, 79% voted for Trump and 18% voted for Clinton. In Leesville-Seguin, 75% voted for Trump and 21% voted for Clinton.
Cemeteries
*Antioch Cemetery, containing the grave of the late Leesville resident, Representative James W. Peebles of the 21st & 22nd Texas Legislature
*Askey African-American Cemetery (unmaintained)
*Caraway Cemetery
*Dewville Cemetery
*Leesville Cemetery, acting as an election polling place
A polling place is where voters cast their ballots in elections. The phrase polling station is also used in American English and British English, although polling place is the building
*Leesville Latin-American Cemetery, divided and fenced from Leesville Cemetery
*O'Neill Cemetery
*Sandies Chapel Cemetery
*Union Hill Cemetery
Churches
*Camp Valley Full Gospel Church
*Dewville United Methodist Church
*Leesville Baptist Church, held regionally-publicized citywide revivals as late as 1904
*Leesville Encouraging Word Church, former election polling place
*Leesville Methodist Church, acting as an election polling place
Neighborhoods
* County Road 159 West (78122-4209), West Midtown access-road
* County Road 102, West Uptown; Quien Sabe Ranch
* East County Road 104 (78122-4238), Northeast O'Neill Creek – Baker Branch
* West County Road 104 (78122-4272), East Fork O'Neill Creek
* East County Road 109, East Uptown access-road
* County Road 155, Downtown loop and bypass
* County Road 159 East (78122-4273), East Midtown access-road
* Sandies Creek Bridge – , 8000-block (78122-428X)
* County Road 114 / 157 / 113, Sandies Creek embankments
* County Road 121, west end divide
* ; “The Y,” a Gonzales-Luling highway-intersection
Notable people
* African-American Los Angeles—Patrolman Frank E. Corley of the LAPD, was born July 14, 1895, in Leesville, Texas. In 1924, leaving behind a wife and two children, he served Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
for only three years before being shot and killed while aiding another police officer. His African-American identity was not revealed until 1998. Notably, alone he had captured an armed bank robber at the Pacific Southwest Bank on LA's 7th Street.
* John Beecher, descendant of Harriet Beecher Stowe the author of ''Uncle Tom's Cabin
''Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly'' is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in two volumes in 1852, the novel had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in the U ...
'', reported on Leesville working conditions and labor unionism
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...
.
Ghost towns
The border of Leesville once acted as a location of these former towns:
West
From 1869 until circa 1940, a community with the duplicate name of "Capote, Texas" established itself on the far west-end of . The community centered around the former Capote Baptist Church and became inhabited by former slaves who worked 3 potteries, termed The Wilson Potteries; originally founded by slave-master John McKamey Wilson. In 1904, Capote had 3 single-teacher schools for 44 white students, and 3 schools and 4 teachers for 137 African-American students. Only its abandoned church landmarks the former community from the 1980s to present-day. Hiram Wilson, an owner of the former Wilson Potteries in West Capote, is credited with being the first "black businessman" in Texas, by the University of Texas
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
.
Southwest
* Albuquerque, Texas
Albuquerque, Texas was a settlement established in 1857 by Samuel McCracken and Henry Hastings in what they thought was Wilson County. Its population grew, and following the American Civil War, the town boasted a mercantile store, saloon, blacks ...
; where outlaw John Wesley Hardin murdered Jack Helm in 1873
* Dewville, Texas; named after the Dew brothers, operators of a local steam-powered gin in 1885
* Sandies Chapel, Texas; named after its former church that was moved to Dewville in 1897
East
*Bebe, Texas
Bebe is an unincorporated community in Gonzales County, Texas, United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It co ...
; the community had an estimated population of 52 in 2000. A post office called Bebe was established in 1900, and remained in operation until 2002. The community was named after the brand-name Beebee baking powder.
Folklore
In folklore, locals claim to see a ghost of a little girl in a blue dress, playing in Leesville Cemetery; seen only at a significant distance.The Leesville Cemetery Ghost...Many people have reported seeing a little girl in the Leesville cemetery, and they always see her from a distance. They also say the same thing – that she wears a blue dress and is playing in the graveyard like a living child would do in a schoolyard. But the second someone starts to walk toward her, she disappears...
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See also
* Texas Blackland Prairies
References
General references
“Telling It Like It Was”...Beatrice O’Neill...charter member of the Leesville Historical Commission...
* John Beecher. Like it Be's in Leesville; Deep in the Heart of Texas. United States,
Workers Press, 1980.
External links
Newspaper Archives; Leesville, Texas
Leesville, Gonzales Inquirer (No Obituaries)
*
Auctioned Campbell jersey won at Leesville fair
{{authority control
Greater San Antonio
Railway towns in Texas
Populated places established in 1874
1874 establishments in Texas
1861 establishments in the Confederate States of America
Unincorporated communities in Guadalupe County, Texas
Unincorporated communities in Gonzales County, Texas
Former Masonic buildings in Texas
Former school districts in Texas