Information about the Leakey, Texas Area

Attractions:

Museums: located nearby are: 

Real County Historical Museum   (232-5330)   Historic items and articles displayed in period rooms depicting history of Real County area. Open Fri., Sat. 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Just off courthouse square. Admission.

Sabinal Canyon Museum   (966-2100), Displays pictures and artifacts depicting the settlement of the region, and hosts several special exhibitions annually.  On Main St., Utopia, TX.

Wildlife Art Museum   (232-5607)   Features art of taxidermy, sculpture, paintings and carvings. Open Mon. - Sat. 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. On F.M. 337, 3 blocks east of U.S. 83.

Scenic Drives:  F.M. 337 both east and west spans some of the Hill Country's most spectacular scenery-wooded steppes and tiny secluded valleys. West to Camp Wood leads to river camps on the picturesque Nueces River. East to Vanderpool and north on F.M. 187 leads to beautiful Lost Maples Natural Area.

U.S. 83 north skirts East Frio River; 12 miles north, a roadside park offers spectacular view and picnic facilities. Texas 39 east, along Guadalupe River to Ingram is another picturesque route.

State Parks:  located nearby are  Hill Country,  Lost Maples, and Devil's Sinkhole State Natural Areas, and  Garner  and  Kickapoo Cavern State Parks. Also nearby are John Nance "Cactus Jack" Garner Museum in Uvalde; the ruins of historic Mission Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria del Cañon, founded in 1749; Camp Sabinal (a U.S. Cavalry post and later Texas Ranger camp) established 1856; and Fort Inge, established 1849.

Churches:

Frio River:

The Frio River rises in northeast Real County and flows southeast through Uvalde, Medina, Frio, La Salle, and Live Oak Counties. Totaling in length approximately 250 miles, the Frio is spring-fed in its upper section and flows through picturesque canyons. Garner State Park is located on the banks of this upper section. The waterway is a free-flowing river, since there are no major impoundments or reservoirs located along its entire course. 

A map of the Frio River from Kent to Concan

Map courtesy of Texas State Parks and Wildlife Department

Geology:

Deep canyons, crystal-clear streams, high mesas, and carved limestone cliffs are the brush strokes in the geologic painting of this intriguing terrain. Many backcountry paved roads wind through canyons along streams here, offering the traveler a different pace from the freeway rush.

The rock formations in this area are early Cretaceous in age, deposited over millions of years in warm, shallow seas that once covered Texas. The Glen Rose formation, a collection of limestone, shale, marl, and siltstone beds, was deposited along the shifting margins of the sea where dinosaurs roamed in great numbers, leaving their footprints in the sands. The Cretaceous Sea then spread over Texas, depositing the Edwards Formation (limestone), over the Glen Rose beds. This sequence of strata, Glen Rose below, Edwards above, is found throughout this area.

History & Information:

Leakey, (pronounced LAY-key) is in one of most scenic and picturesque areas of the rugged Edwards Plateau. Leakey, the county seat of Real County, is on the Frio River southwest of the confluence of the East and West branches at the intersection of Farm roads 336, 337, and 1120 and U.S. Highway 83, in the southeastern part of the county.  Elevations range from 1,500 to 2,400 feet with deep, dramatic canyons cut by the Frio and Nueces rivers. Archaeological excavations show evidence of prehistoric civilizations in the Leakey area.

At the time of the first Spanish explorers, the game-rich Leakey area was inhabited by Comanche, Apache and Lipan-Apache Indians. Anglo-Americans arrived in 1856, when John Leakey, for whom the town was later named, his wife Nancy, and five others settled near the site at springs that were later known as Leakey Springs. Shingles and lumber were produced from the abundant cypress trees lining area streams, which were processed at water-powered sawmills along the Frio. In 1883 A. G. Vogel moved a post office to the settlement from Floral, two miles north, and opened the town's first store. A Methodist church was erected in 1886. In 1884 Leakey became the county seat of Edwards County. The previous county seat was Bullhead, which later became Vance and is now in western Real County. Leakey remained county seat until 1891, when the government was moved to Rocksprings. When Real County was organized in 1913, Leakey was elected the county seat, although the town was not incorporated until June 11, 1951.  Ranching predominates Leakey today, featuring cattle, sheep and goats. Flocks of registered Angora goats produce prized mohair.

Camping and hunting are popular with Leakey visitors. Game birds and animals include white-tailed deer, wild turkey, mourning dove, quail, squirrel, javelina, rabbits, and raccoons.

During the spring and summer Leakey visitors enjoy tubing the crystal clear waters of the Frio River, and in the fall, seeing the beautiful hues of red and gold of autumn leaves on the tree-covered Leakey hills.

Weather:

July average high is 97; January average low is 37. May and October are the wettest months.

Go to Mapquest.com for driving directions to Leakey, Texas.

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