Leesburg, Texas Explained

Leesburg, Texas
Settlement Type:Unincorporated community
Pushpin Map:Texas#USA
Pushpin Label:Leesburg
Pushpin Map Caption:Location within the state of Texas
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:United States
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:Texas
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Camp
Unit Pref:Imperial
Population As Of:2000
Population Density Km2:auto
Timezone:Central (CST)
Utc Offset:-6
Timezone Dst:CDT
Utc Offset Dst:-5
Elevation Ft:397
Coordinates:32.9875°N -95.0839°W
Postal Code Type:ZIP codes
Postal Code:75451
Area Code:903, 430
Area Code Type:Area code
Blank Name:FIPS code
Blank1 Name:GNIS feature ID
Blank1 Info:1339795

Leesburg is an unincorporated community in southwestern Camp County, Texas, United States. Its elevation is 397 feet (121 m). Although Leesburg is unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP code of 75451.

History

Named for early settler John Lee, Leesburg was a contender for the county seat in 1874, coming in second to Pittsburg. In the same year, the community's first post office was established. James G. Credille was the postmaster, as well as the county treasurer. The community became a stop on the East Line and Red River Railroad in the late 1870s. The community had 50 residents in 1884, as well as a mill, a gin, and three stores. It continued to grow during the decade and had a population of 150 in 1890. Six years later, the population boomed to 300 and had two churches and a business center. The population remained at around 300 until it dropped to 120 in 1943 and then to 75 in 1968. It went back up to 115 from 1970 through 2000 and had 18 businesses.

It was the site of the public burning of nineteen-year-old Wylie McNeely in 1921. Five hundred white people gathered to watch McNeely, who was black, be burned alive at a stake by a mob after he was accused of assault by a white girl.[1]

Geography

Leesburg lies along Texas State Highway 11 on the Louisiana and Arkansas Railway, 7miles west of the city of Pittsburg in western Camp County.

Education

Leesburg had two schools in 1896. Since 1955, its schools have been consolidated into the Pittsburg Independent School District.

Notable people

Notes and References

  1. Web site: San Francisco Call 11 October 1921 — California Digital Newspaper Collection . 2022-05-27 . cdnc.ucr.edu.
  2. Book: Riley, James A. . The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues . New York . Carroll & Graf . 1994 . 0-7867-0959-6 .
  3. Web site: The Official Carroll Shelby Website: History page . carrollshelby.com . 19 July 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20101120164702/http://carrollshelby.com/history.html . 20 November 2010.
  4. Web site: The Life of a Legend through the Years . Motor Trend . 19 July 2018 . 11 May 2012.