Leverett's Chapel is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in northwestern Rusk County,

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 ...

, United States. According to the

Handbook of Texas The Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) is an American nonprofit educational and research organization dedicated to documenting the history of Texas. It was founded in Austin, Texas, United States, on March 2, 1897. In November 2008, the ...

, the community had a population of 450 in 2000. It is located within the

Longview, Texas metropolitan area The Longview metropolitan statistical area is a metropolitan area in Northeast Texas that covers four counties— Gregg, Harrison, Rusk, and Upshur. As of the 2010 census the MSA had a population of 280,000 (though a July 1, 2019 estimate place ...

History

Leverett's Chapel once had a

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

village located about a mile southwest. It was named for the Leverett family, who settled here in the 1850s after traveling here by

oxcart The Lockheed A-12 is a retired high-altitude, Mach 3+ reconnaissance aircraft built for the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) by Lockheed's Skunk Works, based on the designs of Clarence "Kelly" Johnson. The aircraft was ...

from

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...

, and lived in a log house. It consolidated into their colonial mansion in 1937. After moving there from

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, they also brought with them some slaves,

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

, and supplies to build plantations. They were also joined by families surnamed Christian, Russell, Hindman, Honzell, Chappell, Hinkle, Still, and Florence. Oil was then discovered here in December 1932, changing it from a

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

and farming community. New settlers lived in garages, tents, and other different homes. Its population was 450 from 1987 through 2000.

Geography

Leverett's Chapel is located on

Texas State Highway 42 State Highway 42 (SH 42) is a state highway located in the northeastern portion of the Texas in Gregg County, Texas, Gregg and Rusk County, Texas, Rusk Counties. This route was designated on December 12, 1962, over former SH 259 because of the ...

, from Overton and south of

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in northwestern Rusk County.

Education

E. A. Leverett and her family donated an acre of land for a combination school and church sometime before 1890. The school had 11 teachers employed. In 1933, it became the Leverett's Chapel Independent School District and had as many as 600 students in the 1933–1934 school year. The Starr-Bailey School was a separate school for Black students. It joined the Leverett's Chapel School in 1966 and had a 1:13 student-teacher ratio by the 1970s.

References

External links

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Rusk County, Texas Unincorporated communities in Texas Longview metropolitan area, Texas