Leesburg, Texas
Unincorporated community
Leesburg is located in Texas
Leesburg
Leesburg
Location within the state of Texas
Leesburg is located in the United States
Leesburg
Leesburg
Leesburg (the United States)
Coordinates: 32°59′15″N 95°5′2″W / 32.98750°N 95.08389°W / 32.98750; -95.08389
CountryUnited States
StateTexas
CountyCamp
Elevation
397 ft (121 m)
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP codes
75451
GNIS feature ID1339795

Leesburg is an unincorporated community in southwestern Camp County, Texas, United States. Its elevation is 397 feet (121 m).[1] 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.[2]

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.[3]

Geography

Leesburg lies along Texas State Highway 11 on the Louisiana and Arkansas Railway, 7 mi (11 km) west of the city of Pittsburg in western Camp County.[2]

Education

Leesburg had two schools in 1896. Since 1955, its schools have been consolidated into the Pittsburg Independent School District.[2]

Notable people

  • Leo Birdine - baseball player.[4]
  • Carroll Shelby – automotive designer and racing driver, born in Leesburg to Warren Hall Shelby, a mail carrier, and Eloise Lawrence Shelby.[5][6]

References

  1. ↑ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Leesburg, Texas
  2. 1 2 3 Leesburg, TX from the Handbook of Texas Online
  3. ↑ "San Francisco Call 11 October 1921 — California Digital Newspaper Collection". cdnc.ucr.edu. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  4. ↑ Riley, James A. (1994). The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues. New York: Carroll & Graf. ISBN 0-7867-0959-6.
  5. ↑ "The Official Carroll Shelby Website: History page". carrollshelby.com. Archived from the original on November 20, 2010. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
  6. ↑ "The Life of a Legend through the Years". Motor Trend. May 11, 2012. Retrieved July 19, 2018.


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