History
Bethesda Cemetery
Located on land granted to Thomas Moore (ca. 1805-1848) by the Republic of Texas, this cemetery began in the 1840s as a small family graveyard. Although Thomas Moore's grave is the oldest documented burial, his son, Ed B. Moore, may have been interred here two years earlier. By the 1850s the cemetery had become a community burial ground.
History
Boggy Community
With limited resources and many challenges, the Boggy Community was established in 1865 by Robert (Bob) Bowers, a former slave, and Celia North Bowers of the Keechi tribe. The Keechi Indians, until around 1835, maintained an agricultural village on the banks of the Middle Creek north of Centerville.
History
Braniff International Flight 542
Bound for New York City's Idlewild Airport with intermediate stops at Dallas Love Field and Washington National Airport, Braniff International Flight 542 departed Houston International Airport on Tuesday, September 29, 1959. At approximately 11:09 pm, the nearly-new Lockheed Electra aircraft was struck by a catastrophic failure of the left-wing structure a few miles east-southeast of Buffalo.
History
Colonel Robert Simonton Gould
(1826-1904) Born in North Carolina. Educated at University of Alabama. Came to Texas in 1850. Practiced law in Centerville. Served as the first district attorney, then as judge in the Old 13th Judicial District. Represented Leon County as member of Secession Convention, 1861. Afterward, as this county voted 534 to 82 in favor of secession, raised locally troops which as Co.
History
Concord Schools
Formal schools in Concord operated for nearly a century. J.E. Anderson taught in Redland and Concord in the late 1870s and early 1880s. A two-story frame schoolhouse, active from the early 1880s to 1919, stood on the hill later occupied by the Old Methodist Church. Trustees bought land from D.W. Montgomery, with a two-story red brick building completed in April 1920.
Military
Fort Boggy
Pioneers who settled in this area bout 1840 included members of the Middleton, Byrns, Staley, Erwin, Jones, Capp, Bloodworth, Philpott, Easton, Howell, and Hinton families. Nearby Kichai and Kickapoo Indian camps afforded these early settlers little sense of security. On February 5, 1840, Christopher C. Staley was ambushed and killed by a group of Indians while out hunting near his home.
History
Hattie Barnes Adkisson
Hattie Barnes was born January 2, 1886, in Jewett. Her family moved to San Marcos around 1908 where Hattie graduated from the Coronal Institute. Hattie married James Thedford Adkisson on May 12, 1910. They returned to Jewett and had two sons. Hattie was active in the community and Presbyterian Church. Texas women were granted the right to vote on June 28, 1919.
History
James and Julia Anderson House
Ohio-born James Elgin Anderson (1836-1918) settled in Leon County in 1857. He enlisted in the Confederate army in 1861, serving with the Leon Hunters, Hood's Texas Brigade. After standing with Gen. Robert E. Lee at Appomattox in 1865, Capt. Anderson returned to Leon County, where he became a distinguished educator and married Julia Evans (1847-1897) in 1867.
History
John Durst
Came to Texas in 1821. Owner of the Old Stone Fort in Nacogdoches in 1835. Moved to Leon County in 1844, his wife being the first Anglo-American woman resident of the county. Born in Arkansas Feb. 4, 1797. Died Feb. 9, 1851. His wife, Harriet M. (Jamison) Durst, born in Virginia Feb. 5, 1807. Died Sept. 23, 1885. Erected by the State of Texas 1936
History
Leon County
Formed from Robertson County. Created March 17, 1846; organized July 13, 1846. Named in honor of Martin de Leon, 1765-1833. A Texas empresario, founder of Victoria. County seat, Leona 1846; Centerville, since 1850.
Architecture
Leon County Courthouse
Built 1887 of slate brick, locally made. One of oldest Texas courthouses still in its original state. County created in 1846. County seat was moved from Leona to Centerville in 1850. Two earlier courthouses have occupied this site. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1966
History
Long Hollow Community
Named for the pioneer Long family, the Long Hollow community consisted of area farm families. A school erected in the 1880s also served as a community center and church. When it burned in 1918 members of the community worked together to build a larger structure.
History
Manaen Turnbull Smith
(1802-1886) Georgia native Manaen T. Smith arrived in present Shelby County, Texas in 1822. He became active in civic affairs, and served in the Texas Army from October 1835 to January 1836. He was a participant in the Siege of Bexar in December 1835. He lived in Harris and Houston counties before moving his family to Leon County about 1848-49.
History
Mt. Pisgah Church and Cemetery
Although records do not indicate when the Mt. Pisgah Cemetery was started, the earliest marked grave is that of John W. Orenbaum (1852-1854). According to local tradition, the graveyard may also contain earlier unmarked burials.
History
Rogers Prairie
Located on the Old San Antonio Road, this area was settled in 1835 by Robert Rogers (1799-1870), who had received a land grant from the Mexican government. A settlement grew up around his property as he was joined by his brother Stephen Rogers and others. The community later included a church, school, post office, Masonic Lodge, and several stores.
History
Site of Fort Boggy
Here a blockhouse was constructed in 1840 as headquarters for the Boggy and Trinity Rangers commanded by Captain Thomas N. B. Greer. A community retained the name Fort Boggy for a number of years.
History
Site of the First Court House Built in Leon County
Here a log building was erected in 1846. County officials installed Nov. 12, 1846: Geo. V. Lusk, Chief Justice Wm. Childress, Probate Judge Israel P. Reinhardt, County Clerk Wm. B. Middleton, Sheriff David Foster, Coroner Baxter King, Assessor and Col. Commissioners: John C. Smith Robert Steele Samuel Davis James Evans The county seat was moved in 1850 to Centerville.
History
Tubb Cemetery
Tubb Cemetery was named for early area landowners Elisha Floyd Tubb (1805-1862) and G. W. Tubb (1818-1896), who are both interred here. The first documented burial is that of Joel D. Leathers (1795-1849); his wife, Mary Leathers (1800-1865), is also buried here. According to oral tradition, they were sent here by General Sam Houston because Joel could speak several Indian dialects.
History
Wm. B. Middleton
A participant of the Mier Expedition, 1842, first sheriff of Leon County. Born in Illinois August 4, 1819; died March 17, 1877. His first wife Mary J. Potts Middleton, born Sept. 9, 1823; died May 5, 1874. In memory of Beoni Middleton who died in prison in Mexico while a prisoner of the Mier Expedition.
Elsewhere in Texas
Hear it from the road
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