Leon County is a
county in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sov ...
of
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 b ...
. As of the
2020 census, its population was 15,719. Its
county seat is
Centerville.
History
The legislature of the
Republic of Texas
The Republic of Texas ( es, República de Tejas) was a sovereign state in North America that existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846, that bordered Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande in 1840 (another breakaway republic from Me ...
authorized Leon County in 1846 from part of
Robertson County, and named it in honor of
Martín de León
Martín De León (1765–1833) was a rancher and wealthy Mexican empresario in Texas who was descended from Spanish aristocracy. He was the patriarch of one of the prominent founding families of early Texas. De León and his wife Patricia de ...
, the founder of
Victoria, Texas
Victoria is a small city in South Texas and county seat of Victoria County, Texas. The population was 65,534 as of the 2020 census. The three counties of the Victoria Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 111,163 as of the 2000 censu ...
. However, local tradition holds that it is named for a yellow
wolf
The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly u ...
of the region commonly called the ''león'' (
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
for lion). The county was organized that same year, with its first county seat at
Leona. In 1851, the county seat was moved to
Centerville, since Leona was in the far southern part of the county.
The 1886 Leon County Courthouse was designed by architect George Edwin Dickey of Houston, incorporating remnants of an earlier 1858 courthouse that was destroyed by fire. The courthouse was rededicated on July 1, 2007, following a full restoration to a 1909 date.
Geography
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the county has a total area of , of which are land and (0.7%) are covered by water.
Major highways
*
Interstate 45
Interstate 45 (I-45) is a major Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of Texas. While most Interstate routes which have numbers ending in "5" are cross-country north–south routes, I-45 is comparatively short, with the ...
*
U.S. Highway 79
*
State Highway 7
*
State Highway 75
*
State Highway 164
Additionally,
State Highway OSR runs along the south and southwest county line of Leon County, where it borders with Madison County.
Adjacent counties
*
Freestone County
Freestone County is a County (United States), county in the east-central part of the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, its population was 19,435. Its county seat is Fairfield, Texas, Fairfield. The county wa ...
(north)
*
Anderson County (northeast)
*
Houston County (east)
*
Madison County (south)
*
Robertson County (west)
*
Limestone County (northwest)
Demographics
''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.''
As of the
census of 2000, 15,335 people, 6,189 households, and 4,511 families were residing in the county. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPop ...
was 14 people/sq mi (6/km
2). The 8,299 housing units averaged 8/sq mi (3/km
2). The
racial makeup of the county was 83.53% White, 10.39% African American, 0.34% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 4.50% from other races, and 1.06% from two or more races. About 7.91% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race.
Of the 6,189 households, 28.20% had children under 18 living with them, 60.20% were married couples living together, 9.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.10% were not families. About 24.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.10% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.46, and the average family size was 2.92.
In the county, the age distribution was 24.3% under 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 23.4% from 25 to 44, 25.6% from 45 to 64, and 20.0% who were 65 or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 96.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.70 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $30,981, and for a family was $38,029. Males had a median income of $32,036 versus $19,607 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the county was $17,599. About 12.60% of families and 15.60% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 21.20% of those under age 18 and 14.30% of those age 65 or over.
Communities
Cities
*
Buffalo
*
Centerville (county seat)
*
Jewett
*
Leona
*
Marquez
Towns
*
Normangee (small part in
Madison County)
*
Oakwood (small part in
Freestone County
Freestone County is a County (United States), county in the east-central part of the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, its population was 19,435. Its county seat is Fairfield, Texas, Fairfield. The county wa ...
)
Census-designated place
*
Hilltop Lakes
Unincorporated communities
*
Centerville
*
Concord
*
Corinth
*
Flynn
Flynn is an Irish surname or first name, an anglicised form of the Irish ''Ó Floinn'', meaning "descendant of Flann" (a byname meaning "reddish (complexion)" or "ruddy"). The name is more commonly used as a surname rather than a first name.
...
*
Hopewell
*
Wealthy
Wealth is the abundance of valuable financial assets or physical possessions which can be converted into a form that can be used for transactions. This includes the core meaning as held in the originating Old English word , which is from an I ...
Ghost town
*
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...
Politics
Leon County is so heavily
Republican that in 2014 none of the statewide GOP nominees fell below 87 percent of the votes cast.
U.S. Representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
Kevin Brady
Kevin Patrick Brady (born April 11, 1955) is an American politician and the U.S. representative for , serving since 1997. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district includes northern Houston, including The Woodlands. On April 14, 202 ...
of
Texas's 8th congressional district
Texas's 8th congressional district of the United States House of Representatives includes parts of Montgomery County, Walker County, Harris County, Polk County, and all of San Jacinto County. It includes much of the northern outlying areas ...
led the
ticket
Ticket or tickets may refer to:
Slips of paper
* Lottery ticket
* Parking ticket, a ticket confirming that the parking fee was paid (and the time of the parking start)
* Toll ticket, a slip of paper used to indicate where vehicles entered a to ...
with 97 percent of the ballots cast in Leon County.
See also
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Leon County, Texas
*
Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in Leon County
References
External links
Leon County government's websitein ''Handbook of Texas Online''at 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 ...
{{authority control
1846 establishments in Texas
Populated places established in 1846