Palo Alto College

Seven and a half miles north and about eight minutes outside of Pleasanton stands the little town of Leming, Texas, if you blink you might just miss it. Yet at one time this little town in the heart of peanut country had a bank, a couple stores and a school that went to the eleventh grade. Due to the lack of documented information the past is quite sketchy. We do know that Gallinas which was the name of the first post office established in 1880, was named for the Gallinas Creek which rises three miles west of Oakhill Ranches in southern Bexar County and runs southeast for 12 miles to its mouth on Galvan Creek, two miles south of Leming in northern Atascosa County. It traverses flat to rolling terrain surfaced by clay and sandy loam that supports mesquite and grasses. The name Gallinas is Spanish for "hens."

Origins of Leming Texas

"Childhood Memories" Written by Minnie Lee May Tom

Around 1900, there was talk of a railroad being built from San Antonio to the coast. P.B.Leming from Cape Girardeau, Missouri, blew into our little town and began meeting with the farmers. He told them of the many advantages of having a railroad and promised them one would be built if they would each donate 50 acres of land to become a town site. They gave the land and the railroad was built. Mr. Leming moved to the town to be in charge of the development of the San Antonio, Uvalde and Gulf Railroad. Sure enough, a little town sprang up. There was a drugstore, bank, two mercantile stores, a gin, a sidewalk, a depot, several new homes, a lumber yard, a church house and a garage. The post office and town later became Leming in honor of the promoter of this building boom.

On September 13, 1880, the first post office was opened. Sam Childress was Gallinas' first postmaster. Childress also ran a general store. On September 9, 1902 an application was approved by the Postal Department change the name of the post office from Gallinas to Leming. This would happen with the understanding that there would be 70 heads of families served with 25 of them living in the town. Renaming the town also served as way of honoring P.B. Leming, the man who brought the railroad through. On April 18,1912 the old Gallinas Post Office officially closed it's doors, on the same day the new Leming Post office opened, James S. Neill was postmaster. Now if you have a post office box you actually have a Leming address with the zip code of 78050, yet if you don't your address for 911 purposes you have a Pleasanton address.

LEMING AREA CHURCHES
The oldest church in Leming is thought to be The First Baptist Church; though it is not known exactly when it was formed. However we do know that it was moved to it's present location on Verdi Rd. in 1913. On February 7, 1859, Mr. Joseph Williams deeded two acres of his home place on the Gallinas Creek to five trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. This land was to be used to build a Methodist Church on. Though I have found no one that remembers this church, I have found information regarding another Methodist Church that was located two miles east of town. A.J. Neill in 1888 deeded land for a Methodist Church. The building was also used as a school, it was named The Doodlebug School Service because it was located on Doodlebug Lane.

The people of Leming of the Catholic faith had a hard time making it to church. The closest Catholic Church was St. Joseph's which was located four miles north of Leming. Most were without transportation. In 1952, Santos Silva sold the Archdiocese two lots on which to construct a church. The original building was an old Army barracks that was brought from San Antonio. Thus Our Lady of Guadalupe was formed. This church was a mission of the Pleasanton Catholic Church and the Priest from St. Andrews would come and say mass. On his way from Corpus Christi, Archbishop Lucey stopped at the service station in Leming, he asked if there was a Catholic Church in Leming and was told yes, but that many did not go to worship there because it was too cold in the winter. Archbishop Lucey wrote to the priests in Pleasanton that he thought it might be feasible to combine St. Joseph's in Las Gallinas and Our Lady of Guadalupe, thereby constructing a larger, more comfortable church where members of both might go and worship. The parishioners of St. Joseph's would not hear of it. Their church was reaching the century mark. It was then decided that a new church would be built in Leming. The new church would be constructed out of cement blocks and it would be moved onto land donated by Mariano Valdez. On January 14,1962 the new building was blessed. The old barracks was moved and is used as a parish and community hall. In 2003, the church was renovated with a new building built over the existing cement blocks. A majority of the Anglo Catholics went to St. Joseph's until it closed on August 27, 1981. In the early morning hours of December 15,1983, St. Joseph's Church burnt to the ground. Most Mexican-Americans have gone and continue to go to Our Lady of Guadalupe.

POINTS OF INTEREST

Leming has six separate cemeteries, two of which are located in the town of Leming the other four are located on the outskirts of town. The oldest is Shiloh Cemetery. The cemetery is all that remains of the community west of Leming on FM 1470. The cemetery dates back to the 1850's. The earliest marked grave is that of fourteen-year-old John A. Uzzell, who died on May 14,1857. The land at that time belonged to Isaac H. Cavender Sr.; who was related to Uzell. Cavender allowed other burials on his property and soon the graveyard became know as the Shiloh Cemetery. For many years, the cemetery was associated with an adjacent schoolhouse that was used for Baptist church services. The log cabin, built in 1868, served as the Baptist Church until the congregation built its own sanctuary in 1878 and was used a schoolroom until 1898. The community was also served until the end of the nineteenth century by a general store run by Robert M. Long
St. Luke's Cemetery; the death of Dr. Joseph I. Hayden in January of 1869 created this tiny cemetery. Little is known regarding the condition of this cemetery. It is located on the property of Basil Hayden, the eleventh child of Dr. Hayden.
St. Joseph's Cemetery; Kasper Kalka donated the ground and also the road to the cemetery. John Korus and Kalka each donated 22 1/2 feet for the road to be built from St. Joseph's church to the cemetery. This road is now called FM 536.
The Gonzales Cemetery is located just west of Highway 37 and north of Highway 97 on the access road. It is on land formerly owned by Brijidro Gonzales and is south of where the San Augustine Church was once located.

Brite Cemetery is located on Verdi Rd, west of Highway 37 near Gallinas Creek. The cemetery is between the communities of Leming and Verdi. In 1859, Thomas R. Brite was buried here, a short distance from his home. This was the first grave in what became know as Brite Cemetery. Ownership of the land changed and for many years the Neill family owned the cemetery. In 1915 Tully Neill, R.E. Tumlinson and Etta Tumlinson deeded the land to the Brite Cemetery Association.

Tumlinson Cemetery is located about two miles in a northeasterly direction from Leming on what is now Tumlinson Road. A century ago, however it was named Adams Lane, named for the family who migrated from New York in 1870's. A marker is placed in front of the Adams' headstone. It says that Hoxie Adams is related to be related to the second President of the United States John Adams and the sixth President John Q. Adams. The oldest legible death date on a headstone is 1866, but some of the older headstones are missing or broken. It is generally believed that the first graves belong to the Adams and Tumlinson families.

On November 9, 2002 Texas Ranger Joel Marion Walker(1825-1905) had a grave marker dedicated to him. His granddaughter, Winnie Custer had searched most of her life to find the cemetery that her grandfather was buried in. Her parents had moved to Carrizo Springs after Ranger Walker's death. Ms. Custer knew the cemetery was located either on Highway 181, 281 or the old Corpus Christi Highway.

 On January 11, 1951 at the request of J.L. Harrison Jr. who owned the land, a meeting was set at the Baptist Church to organize a cemetery association. That was the first meeting of the Tumlinson Cemetery Association. On October 10, 1952, J.L Harrison Jr. deeded the land to the trustees of the Tumlinson Cemetery Association. The deed specified that it be used for cemetery purposes only it also specified that no oil, gas, or minerals from the land could be sold or leased.

In 1876, Wright and Lucinda Williams bought 490 acres in Atascosa County. They supplied buyers in San Antonio with fresh venison. They were active in community affairs, giving land and helping build both a church and a school. Paul Williams currently lives on their Heritage farm where the original home was built during the founders' period still stands and is kept in a habitable condition. The property was listed in the 1983 Texas Family Land Heritage Registry.
Korus Farmstead was added to the National Register of Historical Places in 1998, it is located U.S. 281, at FM 536. There is a total of 1120 acres, four buildings, 10 structures.

SCHOOL LIFE
Neill School was named for S.H. Neill, on whose land west of the Borrego Creek the school was built before 1867. The school was discontinued before 1884 and no trace of it remains today.
The school at Shiloh, which is located about two miles west outside of LEMING on FM 1470. It is said that the school was active around the time of the Civil War, perhaps a few years before. Hickory Hill School served the surrounding area prior to that time.
 

On March 11, 1913 the Leming Common School District # 7 was started. The Commissioner's Court decreed that the adjacent Shiloh and Neill schools be consolidated. The red brick building was built in 1914. In 1930, Leming was a nine-grade school with the tenth grade added for the 1931-1932 school year. The 11th grade was added the next year. The history of the school is sketchy between 1938-1950, however students graduated in a continuous string since 11 grades were all that was required. In 1963, the Pleasanton ISD consolidated into both Campbellton and Leming schools. Now students go through the first grade then are bused to Pleasanton.

To this day, Leming remains a small town, with one school, a post office, gas station, three cemeteries, and several churches, with a population at about 230 people. Although the pace of life is slower than most cities, that doesn't stop people from staying where they are, most enjoy the quite life, in a old fashioned community where neighbors actually know each other by name. Most have lived here for years, and will remain here for many more years to come.

FURTHER LINKS
Longhorn Museum
Handbook of Texas Online " Leming TX"

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Special Thanks to Barbara Schorsch and all the ladies at The Atascosa County Tax Assessor's Office, for allowing me to search old handwritten records.
To The Longhorn Museum, for letting me spend many hours searching through their records.
To Donna & Calvin Bruce, for giving me the break through photos I desperately needed.
To The Atascosa Co. Clerks Office, for letting me search their records.
To The Atascosa Co. Fair Association, for having an annual fair program book, which finally gave me the break I needed.
To Ms. Thelma Cardwell, for putting the Fair Association's book, and being a well of knowledge.
To Harvey & Frances Schneider for helping me with all that I needed.
To Etty Digges for giving me support
To Paul Schneider & our kids, for the patience when I had none.
To Mr. Hines & Ms. Orneals, for keeping me stress free, and calm through it all.