The land upon which Leonard, TX, now dwells was owned by the President of Texas up until 1845. He sold the land, and it changed hands several times over the years. In 1859, E.J. Leonard purchased a parcel of that land for $10,560, which is a little over $325,000 in today’s dollar. Unfortunately, Leonard died while traveling to Missouri a few short years later, and the land went unused until 1880. That year, the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad purchased the tract from Leonard’s heirs, and intending to create a town, named it after E.J. With the railroad station built, a small settlement grew around it.