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Leon County is a
county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
in the U.S. state of
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
. As of the 2020 census, its population was 15,719. Its
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
is Centerville.


History

The legislature of the
Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas (), or simply Texas, was a country in North America that existed for close to 10 years, from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846. Texas shared borders with Centralist Republic of Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande, an ...
authorized Leon County in 1846 from part of Robertson County, and named it in honor of Martín de León, the founder of
Victoria, Texas Victoria is a city and the county seat of Victoria County, Texas, United States. The population was 65,534 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The three counties of the Victoria, Texas metropolitan area, Victoria Metropolitan Statis ...
. However, local tradition holds that it is named for a yellow
wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, includin ...
of the region commonly called the ''león'' ( Spanish 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 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 U.S. state of Texas. While most primary Interstate routes which have numbers ending in "5" are cross-country north–south routes, I-45 is comparatively short, ...
* U.S. Highway 79 * State Highway 7 * State Highway 75 * State Highway 164 Additionally, State Highway OSR runs along the south and southwestern county line of Leon County, where it borders with Madison County.


Adjacent counties

* Freestone County (north) * Anderson County (northeast) * Houston County (east) * Madison County (south) * Robertson County (west) * Limestone County (northwest)


Demographics

As of the
census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
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 (disambiguation), 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 geog ...
was . The 8,299 housing units averaged . 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 average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
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 ...
, 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)


Census-designated place

* Hilltop Lakes


Unincorporated communities

* Concord *
Corinth Corinth ( ; , ) is a municipality in Corinthia in Greece. The successor to the ancient Corinth, ancient city of Corinth, it is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Sin ...
* Flynn * Hopewell * Wealthy


Ghost town

*
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...


Politics

Leon County is so heavily Republican that in 2014 none of the statewide GOP nominees fell below 87 percent of the votes cast.


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 website

in ''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, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 students as of fall 2 ...
{{coord, 31.30, -96.00, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-TX_source:UScensus1990 1846 establishments in Texas Populated places established in 1846