Leonard

Leonard, on U.S. Highway 69 and State Highway 78 in southwestern Fannin County, is near the center of a tract of land that, on February 8, 1845, Anson Jones, president of the Republic of Texas, granted to Martin Moore. This 3,520 acres, now known as the Martin Moore survey, was sold to Solomon Langdon Leonard in February 1859 for $10,560. It is located on the Blackland Prairie, which angles through southwest Fannin County from northwest to southeast. The prairie was bordered on the south by Wildcat Thicket and on the north by Bois d'Arc Thicket. Wildcat Thicket was an "area of trees, briar bushes, thorn vines, and tall grass, so thick and dense that it was almost impossible to see through it, even in the daytime." It was also a haven for outlaws and fugitives and the scene of several killings in the Lee-Peacock feud (1865–72).

Adapted from the official Handbook of Texas, a state encyclopedia developed by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). It is an authoritative source of trusted historical records.