|
|
| | A
view of the Lesley old schoolhouse from Hwy 256
Photo by Erik
Whetstone, May 2005 |
History in a Pecan
Shell
In
1902 local resident James P. Montgomery opened a post office at his home and named
it after his son. It remained in Montgomery until 1907, when it was moved to the
town's general store. It closed in 1915 and mail was rerouted through Lakeview.
By 1920 the town had the school (shown), a cotton gin and three stores. A gas
station and restaurant had been added by the late 20s. In 1937 the school was
consolidated with Lakeview's
ISD. The population was a mere 10 from the 30s through the 40s. By the early 1970s
it had increased to 70 and it retained its gin and grocery into the 80s. Lesley
had about 40 people in 1984 and it was forty-five by 1990.
Photographer's
Note
"Due to all the mesquite trees, I wasn’t able to get complete
image of the front. The school was pretty interesting. It still has a majority
of it’s old doors. It looks like someone was using it to store cattle at one point,
there were numerous pins constructed throughout the building." - Erik
Whetstone, July 26, 2005
Lesley,
Texas Area Hotels
Memphis
Hotels |
| | | |
L
- Lesley School rear entrance. R - Front entrance
Photos courtesy David Higgins | |
| |
Old
gas pump in Lesley
Photo courtesy David Higgins |
1940s
Hall County map showing Lesley W of Memphis
Courtesy Texas General Land Office |
| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories, and vintage/historic
photos of their town, please contact
us. | | |
