Leon Junction, Texas

Coordinates: 31°32′47″N 97°37′6″W / 31.54639°N 97.61833°W / 31.54639; -97.61833
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Leon Junction, Texas
Leon Junction is located in Texas
Leon Junction
Leon Junction
Leon Junction is located in the United States
Leon Junction
Leon Junction
Coordinates: 31°32′47″N 97°37′6″W / 31.54639°N 97.61833°W / 31.54639; -97.61833
CountryUnited States
StateTexas
CountyCoryell
Elevation
679 ft (207 m)
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
Area code254
GNIS feature ID1361091[1]

Leon Junction is an unincorporated community in Coryell County, in the U.S. state of Texas.[1] According to the Handbook of Texas, the community had a population of 25 in 2000. It is located within the Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood metropolitan area.

History[edit]

The area in what is known as Leon Junction today was first settled in the early 1880s. It was given this name for the river and a Lampasas railroad that had never been built, but it did have a track from the Texas and St. Louis Railway that traveled between Waco and Gatesville in 1882. A post office was established at Leon Junction that next year with Jackson Thomason as postmaster. The community had 50 residents and three general stores in the mid-1890s. Local farmers shipped cotton. The settlement's peak of prosperity was in the early 1900s. In 1914, the population was 100 then lost three-quarters of it in the 1930s. The railroad track was abandoned in 1972. The post office and another business remained in the 1980s. The population remained at 25 from the early 1990s through 2000.[2]

Geography[edit]

Leon Junction is located on Farm to Market Road 931 and the Leon River, 10 mi (16 km) southeast of Gatesville in eastern Coryell County.[2]

Education[edit]

In 1904, New Olive School had 75 students and two teachers.[2] Today, the community is served by the Gatesville Independent School District.

Notable person[edit]

Jack Thornton, basketball player.[3]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Leon Junction, Texas
  2. ^ a b c Smyrl, Vivian Elizabeth. "Leon Junction, TX". tshaonline.org. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  3. ^ "Jack Thornton NBL stats". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 10, 2016.