East Texas / Piney Woods
Leon County, Texas
A local guide to the county: the stories that give it a shape, practical checks, and a few things worth knowing before they surprise you. Every note points to its source.
6 stories · 4 practical · 0 good to know
The practical part
Leon County offices and deadlines
Appraisal district & tax office →
The Comptroller's official directory for Leon County: who sets your value and who sends the bill.
Homestead exemption →
File Form 50-114 with the appraisal district. It is free. The regular deadline is April 30, and late filing is allowed for up to two years.
Protest your appraisal →
The usual deadline is May 15, or 30 days after your notice arrives, whichever is later.
Estimate a tax bill →
Model a bill from local rates, the homestead exemption, and the appraisal cap.
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A little of what makes this place itself
Leon County · Courthouse
Centerville's 1886 courthouse still carries older brick
Leon County's courthouse in Centerville was built in 1886 on the footprint of the 1856 courthouse and reused much of its exterior brick.
Leon County · State Park
Fort Boggy traded farm rows for woods and a little lake
The land inside Fort Boggy State Park has held a frontier fort, nearly a century of farming, and now woods, fields, trails, and Sullivan Lake.
Leon County · Lake Limestone
Lake Limestone puts open water on Leon County's map
Lake Limestone is a 12,553-acre Navasota River reservoir shared by Leon, Robertson, and Limestone counties, with a public ramp on the Leon County side.
All 10 local notes
The full county shelf is mixed so stories and useful checks travel together. Use the filters when you need one kind.
Showing all 10 notes.
- Stories & local character History & Culture Centerville's 1886 courthouse still carries older brick Leon County's courthouse in Centerville was built in 1886 on the footprint of the 1856 courthouse and reused much of its exterior brick.
- Practical Outdoors Keechi Creek WMA gives hunters access to 1,500 acres in Leon County Keechi Creek Wildlife Management Area is a 1,500-acre public hunting area in northeastern Leon County that is open to hunters with the right state permits.
- Stories & local character Outdoors Fort Boggy traded farm rows for woods and a little lake The land inside Fort Boggy State Park has held a frontier fort, nearly a century of farming, and now woods, fields, trails, and Sullivan Lake.
- Practical Money & Taxes Filing a homestead exemption caps how fast your tax value can rise If you live in your home and file a homestead exemption, your taxable value cannot go up more than 10 percent per year, no matter how fast the market moves.
- Stories & local character Outdoors Lake Limestone puts open water on Leon County's map Lake Limestone is a 12,553-acre Navasota River reservoir shared by Leon, Robertson, and Limestone counties, with a public ramp on the Leon County side.
- Practical Money & Taxes Two offices handle your property tax in Leon County The appraisal district sets your property value; a separate tax office collects what you owe. They are different offices with different jobs.
- Stories & local character History & Culture The railroad moved Leon County's map away from the river After the International-Great Northern Railroad reached Leon County in 1872, river landings faded and railroad towns like Jewett, Buffalo, and Oakwood rose.
- Practical Home & Property Leon County has a groundwater district that oversees water wells Leon County wells run through the Mid-East Texas Groundwater Conservation District. Put the permit question near the front of any rural land plan.
- Stories & local character History & Culture The Old San Antonio Road brushes Leon County's southern edge The main route of the Old San Antonio Road passed along what is now Leon County's southern boundary.
- Stories & local character History & Culture Leon County was formed in 1846 and Centerville has been county seat since 1851 Leon County was carved out of Robertson County in 1846, and Centerville replaced Leona as county seat in 1851 because the law required the seat to be near the county's geographic center.
Nearby counties