Leesville Schoolhouse
Why it's listed
Built about 1870 of red brick made at a nearby kiln, this one-room schoolhouse sits on the east bank of Oneal Creek in Gonzales County, Texas. It first served as the Leesburg Male and Female Institute and educated young people in the community, later renamed Leesville, until a new school opened in 1918. The east front has a double door flanked by windows under flat arches, and the gable roof originally carried wood shingles, later replaced by corrugated tin. Inside, rows of small desks seated two children each. A 1936 flood destroyed most of the town, but the schoolhouse survived, and the community rebuilt a few miles away on higher ground. The building later held storage and a small W.P.A. kitchen, then stood mostly empty. Its significance rests on its typical frontier school form and its role as one of the few remaining reminders of the original Leesville settlement. A local group raised money to restore it as a museum and meeting place.
Significance in brief: The nomination presents it as an excellent example of the one-room vernacular schoolhouse of the Texas frontier. It is also one of the few structures left from the original Leesville townsite, which was largely destroyed by a 1936 flood. It is described as a vital link to the community's early history and education.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 78002937, listed May 25, 1978. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | E of Leesville off TX 80, Leesville |
|---|---|
| County | Gonzales County |
| Listed | May 25, 1978 |
| Reference number | 78002937 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Vernacular one-room schoolhouse |
| Areas of significance | Education |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Vacant since World War II apart from a three-month period housing a family; restoration was planned, with a local group raising funds to turn it into a museum and community meeting place. Walls were partly collapsed, with most of the west wall down. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 29.40666, -97.73289 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For a publicly owned building or structure, listing mainly matters when federal funds, permits or licences are involved: projects then go through Section 106 review so effects on the property are considered. Listing also strengthens applications for preservation grants and, for leased income-producing uses, can enable the federal rehabilitation tax credit.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 78002937.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q110002080
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.