John Leakey

Duane's take

The way the marker in Real County tells it, here's the story of John Leakey, and I'll give it to you straight. Now, every town has a founder, and every founder has a story. But not every founder gets a town named after him, a plaza, a church, a school, and a cemetery all in one go.

John Leakey managed it. Let's back up and see how a brickmason from Tennessee ended up as the father of a canyon. Leakey was born in 1824, and by 1847 he was already in Texas, which, if you know anything about 1847 Texas, tells you something about the man's appetite for adventure.

He landed in Henderson County first, working as a brickmason and ranchin' on the side. That's two occupations before he even got to the hard part of his life. In 1852, he and his wife Nancy (she was a Patterson before she married him) packed up and moved to Uvalde County, settling near what is now Sabinal.

But settling wasn't really John Leakey's style. A desire to pursue other endeavors, the marker says, and I love that phrase; real polite way of sayin' the man couldn't sit still. What called him this time was the Frio Canyon, and what it was holding: an abundance of cypress timber.

Now, cypress shingles were not a small thing on the frontier. Roofs mattered. Leakey saw the timber, he saw the opportunity, and he moved his family into a canyon where Indian attacks were not a distant possibility but a constant threat.

Constant. That's the word the marker uses. Not occasional.

Constant. And still he stayed. He settled his family, started the cypress shingle business, and kept at it.

Then the Civil War came, and Leakey served the Confederacy, not as a soldier, but as a freighter, hauling provisions for the troops. When it was over, he came back home and didn't miss a beat. He established a steam sawmill, tended to his ranching interests, and then, as if the man had any hours left in the day, he started a school for the children of the community.

His home became a regular resting place for itinerant preachers passing through the canyon. By 1883, the town was laid out, situated right on the Bandera-Edwards county line. They named it Leakey, in honor of this resourceful pioneer who donated land for the plaza, a church, a school, and a cemetery.

That's not a man leaving a legacy. That's a man handing over the ground floor and saying, here, build something. Leakey served as the county seat of Edwards County until 1891, and when Real County was organized in 1913, it became the county seat there too.

John Leakey himself had been gone since 1900, but the town kept rising. Brickmason. Rancher.

Shingle man. Freighter. Sawmill operator.

Schoolfounder. Indian fighter. Pioneer.

The marker calls him resourceful, and I'd say that's the understatement carved in stone in Real County. Some men pass through a place. John Leakey became one.

What the marker says

Tennessee native John Leakey (1824-1900) came to Texas in 1847, settling for a time in Henderson County where he was a brickmason and rancher. He and his wife Nancy (Patterson) moved to Uvalde County in 1852 near present day Sabinal. A desire to pursue other endeavors took him to the Frio Canyon where there was an abundance of cypress timber. Despite constant threats of Indian attacks, Leakey settled his family and started a cypress shingle business. He served the Confederacy as a freighter during the Civil War, hauling provisions for the troops. Leakey returned to his home after the war to establish a steam sawmill and to attend to his ranching interests. He also began a school for the children of the community, and his home often served as a resting place of itinerant preachers. The town, situated on the Bandera-Edwards county line, was laid out in 1883 and named in honor of the resourceful pioneer who donated land for this plaza, a church, school, and cemetery. Leakey served as county seat of Edwards County until 1891, and became county seat of Real County when it was organized in 1913. A successful businessman, Indian fighter and pioneer, John Leakey's contributions and leadership were vital to the early growth of the area. (1983)