Leakey, Texas

Leakey, Texas
—  City  —
Real County Courthouse in Leakey
Location of Leakey, Texas
Coordinates: 29°43′31″N 99°45′41″W
Country	United States
State	Texas
County	Real
Area
• Total	0.6 sq mi (1.4 km2)
• Land	0.6 sq mi (1.4 km2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	1,604 ft (489 m)
Population (2000)
• Total	387
• Density	694.8/sq mi (268.3/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	78873
Area code(s)	830
FIPS code	48-42004
GNIS feature ID	1339757

Leakey (pronounced Lay-key) is a city in and the county seat of Real County, Texas, United States. The population was 387 at the 2000 census. A U.S. Census Bureau estimate of July 1, 2008, placed the population at 359.

The city is named for John H. Leakey (1824-1900), a pioneer former Tennessee.

Leakey depends heavily on tourism because of the existence of the nearby Frio River and Garner State Park. The Alto Frio Baptist Encampment is located to the southeast of the community.

Geography

Texas Hill Country view in Leakey

Leakey is located at 29°43′31″N 99°45′41″W (29.725243, -99.761463). It is situated at the intersection of U.S. Highway 83, and Farm Roads 336, 337, and 1120 in southeastern Real County, approximately 35 miles north of Uvalde and 90 miles northwest of San Antonio.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.6 square miles (1.6 km²), all of it land.

History

Archaeological excavations in the Frio Canyon region revealed Paleo-American, Archaic, and Neo-American occupations. Later, several Native American tribes, including Lipan Apache, Comanche, and Tonkawa inhabited or traversed the area.

Anglo-American settlement of the area began in 1856 when John Leakey, his wife Nancy, and a few others settled near a spring along the banks of the Frio River. Shingles and lumber were produced from the abundant cypress and cedar trees. In its first few years, the community was a lonely outpost that was subject to frequent Indian raids, which continued until 1882. Growth accelerated after the Civil War as new families arrived. In 1883, A.G. Vogel moved a post office from the community of Floral to Leakey. That same year, the Texas State Legislature created Edwards County and designated Leakey as the county seat less than a year later. 1883 was also the year that the area's first school was established on land donated by the Leakeys. A new school building was completed in 1890. In 1891, the Edwards County seat was moved from Leakey to Rocksprings. During the early 1900s, ranching superseded lumber, cotton cultivation, and corn production in importance to the local economy. The raising of Angora goats was a major component of the ranching industry. In 1902, the school in Leakey had a total enrollment of 102 students. The town's population was estimated to be 318 in 1904.

Main Street, Leakey, 1972

Real County was created from parts of Edwards, Bandera, and Kerr counties in the spring of 1913, with Leakey as the county seat. In 1919, Real County Judge Ed Kelly established the Leakey Independent School District. By the mid-1920s, the population had declined to around 120. A larger school building was completed in 1930. Soon after, several nearby schools, including West Frio, Cypress Creek, Rio Frio, Exile, Stanford, Dry Frio, and Harper were consolidated with Leakey schools.

Leakey was formally incorporated on June 11, 1951. The population fluctuated during the latter half of the twentieth century. Leakey was home to 450 people in 1960, 393 in 1970, 468 in 1980, and 399 in 1990. By 2000, there were 387 residents living in Leakey, representing a 3.01 percent decrease in population since the last census was conducted in 1990.

Leakey High School last won the state football championship in its classification in 1975.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 387 people, 169 households, and 100 families residing in the city. The population density was 694.8 people per square mile (266.8/km²). There were 211 housing units at an average density of 378.8/sq mi (145.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.51% White, 0.52% African American, 1.03% Native American, 5.94% from other races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 22.74% of the population.

There were 169 households out of which 24.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.2% were married couples living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.8% were non-families. 39.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 23.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.6% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 21.2% from 25 to 44, 24.3% from 45 to 64, and 20.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 84.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $22,019, and the median income for a family was $25,417. Males had a median income of $17,500 versus $18,750 for females. The per capita income for the city was $11,511. About 9.8% of families and 19.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.6% of those under age 18 and 19.0% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Public education in the city of Leakey is provided by the Leakey Independent School District.

Also children have the option of Ed Brune Charter School

External links

• funrivers.com website with photos of the Leakey July Jubilee and info and links to the Leakey and Frio River area
• Leakey from the Handbook of Texas Online