Page last updated May 18, 2008

    It may have occurred to you that not one President of the United States or even a candidate for the office has ever been to De Leon.  There is a simple explanation for this phenomena.  It is against the law in De Leon to annoy and insult others in public.  You can not call a person by a nickname; nor mimic, tease, tantalize, speak disrespectfully to, annoy, insult, or disrespectfully address any person in a public place.  The fine is $50.

    That law has for years successfully kept most politicians out of De Leon.  Even so, it is probably not enforced often enough.

    Over the years De Leon’s City Council has, in typical governmental fashion instituted some laws that, with the passage of time appear illogical if not comical.

    One such law still in effect, prohibits individuals from going onto the roofs of buildings not belonging to them with heavy objects or to place heavy objects on the buildings unless they have permission the owner.

   It is also against the law in De Leon to block the main intersection with a horse, buggy, auto, or wagon.  The penalty of $100 was a very steep fine when it was adopted in 1913.

    If you’re thinking of jumping onto the running board of a moving automobile, that will cost you $50.

    It is against the law in De Leon to operate a wagon yard, stock yard or livery stable within the city limits.

    You also can not park or ride tricycles, bicycles or roller skate on De Leon’s sidewalks.

   It is against the law to sell fruit, lunches and merchandise on railroad property or at the depot without permission of the railroad.  Hawkers at the depot were out of control in 1912.  The fine is $25.

    The speed limit in De Leon is 18 m.p.h. except in the business district where it is 15 m.p.h.  It has been that way since 1917.

   But perhaps, this final law would today be considered the strangest of all.  In fact, there was a very logical reason for it’s passage.  It is against the law in De Leon to operate a nitro glycerin truck or an automobile containing nitro within the city limits.  It is also illegal to bring nitro or any container that has been used to hold or transport nitro into the city limits of De Leon.

   This law was passed in late 1919 at the peak of the oil boom.  A firm called the Independent Torpedo Company operated a plant just east of De Leon that produced torpedoes filled with nitro glycerin.  The torpedoes were lowered into the oil wells and exploded in hopes of bringing in the oil.

   The town had a real scare at one point when two houses and a warehouse owned by the company caught fire.  The houses burned to the ground and the warehouse thought to contain nitro, was ablaze when the fire department got there.  Luckily, the law was already in effect and the nitro had been moved to the plant outside the city limits.  The warehouse did contain blasting caps but the fire was extinguished before the building exploded.

   De Leon began its second hundred years as an incorporated city with a new mayor who assumed the office without opposition.  The first hundred years were filled with controversy and problems and there is little reason to believe that the second hundred will be different.

   Our city government’s first century began with 127 men only voting in the first election and ended with with the administration of De Leon’s first and only woman mayor.

   It was almost two decades after the town’s founding before a city government was established.


INCORPORATION


   In 1890, the Comanche County Commissioners Court was petitioned by the citizens of De Leon to have an incorporation election.    The proposed area of incorporation was to consist of one square mile with the railroad depot, then located in the center of Texas Avenue as the center point of the city.  The election was held on August 30, 1890 with a favorable vote of 43 to 9 for incorporation.  There appear to be no records of this early incorporation except that the November 25, 1892 issue of the Free Press states “We understand that the city council have under advisement the matter of putting in some street crossings where they are needed in DeLeon (as printed).  This is a good step if they will only take immediate action and fix creditable crossings.  There are several places in the city where crossings are badly needed, for instance, between the hotel (Lambert) and depot; a gravel walk there would save many a traveler the necessity of a few profane expressions, as well as create upon their minds the impression that our citizens have some thrift and energy.  Other places badly in need of gravel walks, are the streets between Lambert and Booth (Pino’s Clinic Bldg), Dr. Redden (vacant lot) and Gorman (Franks Appliance), Higginbotham and the Baptist church and between the Central Hotel (old F&M location) and the bank (Bank of De Leon now a vacant lot). Sidewalks would be great improvements. ....”

     It is probable that the city government dissolved either from a loss of interest in local government or the lack of money to sustain the city.  In 1898, the citizens again petitioned the County Court for an incorporation election.

  On January 27, 1898 a petition signed by 44 of De Leon’s eligible voters was presented by J.R. Gilmore to county Judge John M. Lambert calling for incorporation of De Leon for school purposes only.

   Then on August 29, 1899, S.J. Black presented the Commissioners Court a petition signed by 80 men requesting a city incorporation election for municipal purposes be approved.  County Judge W.M. Robinson appointed John J. Switzer as election judge and on September 12, 1899, 83 voted for incorporation and 44 voted against.  The election was held at the Faggard Hotel (the old Central Hotel) located on the northeast corner of Texas and Reynosa.  Judge Robinson ordered “It is therefore considered and ordered that the inhabitants within the boundary of said territory be and are from this date (September 22, 1899) incorporated for municipal purposes, and the same shall be and is known as the city of De Leon....”

   John M. Lambert, the former county judge was elected Mayor in April 1900.  The Aldermen selected in that first election included John W. Gorman, W.L. Spencer, Dr. R.H. Rush and T.J. Nabors.

   The town operated under the general laws of the State of Texas with a Mayor-Alderman system of government until the end of 1919.

   After oil was discovered in Desdemona on Labor Day 1918, De Leon underwent phenomenal growth.  In mid 1919, the Mayor, B.J. Pittman Sr. and Aldermen J.H. Buchan, W.T. Patterson, and W.E. Butler appointed a commission to review De Leon’s form of government.  They instructed the commission that if it found a more favorable form of government, then they were to write a new charter which would then be put before the community for consideration.


HOME RULE


   The commission was chaired by W.E. Lowe and consisted of W.T. Patterson, C.E. Kenyon, A.E. Hampton, Dr. A.M. Allen, Merten L. Harris, A.M. Pate, W.W. Nance, J.J. Smith, J.D. Ham, R.R. Harvey, W.C.Streety, Frank R. Carter. T.P. Weaver and C.R. Ayers.

    The commission very quickly decided that it would be a great advantage for De leon to become a Home Rule City.

   As a Home rule City, the community could write a charter which allowed the citizens to more freely define how the city would be structured including the number of council positions and terms of office. It also allowed the city to increase taxes from 1% of the taxable property value to 2.5%.  That would enable the town to fund bonds to improve its water system and construct a wastewater system.  The city population had probably increased at least 300% in the twelve previous months and the limited infrastructure was insufficient to meet the town’s growing needs.

   One of he requirements to become a Home Rule City was that the population of the town had to exceed 5,000.  The council and the committee both felt that De Leon’s population was well past that mark.  Prior to the boom, De Leon probably had a population of less than a thousand but exactly what the population was at the peak of the oil boom is impossible to say.  Population claims were greatly exaggerated by all the communities in the area.  Some in Desdemona claimed as many as 30,000 lived in that city.  Of course they all lived in a city that was less than five block wide and fifteen block long.  Gorman also claimed to be above 5,000 in population.

   To determine if De Leon had sufficient population, the council, in August 1919 hired Ghent Sanderfer to make a count.  In less than three weeks he was able to count the entire town and determine that De Leon had a population of 5,240. 

   On October 14, 1919, the citizens of De Leon voted 75 to 20 to approve the establishment of a charter commission and allow them to write a new charter as a Home Rule City.  The charter was submitted to the voters on December 31, 1919.  The voters approved the new city charter although the vote is unknown.  In the same election new city officials were elected. C.E. Kenyon was elected Mayor, D.L. Terrill, W.W. Nance and W.T. Patterson were elected councilmen.  On January 2, 1920 the incumbent Mayor B.J. Pittman Sr. and the aldermen resigned and the new council took office.

   The new council immediately began to act by passing a series of bond issues.  The city water system was expanded and a new water tower constructed on the north side of town.  The city also constructed a wastewater processing system.  Outhouses were soon banned and the city limits were expanded.

  By the time the bonds had been passed and the work begun, the oil boom effectively ended and the population began falling dramatically.  When the real census was completed in early 1920, De Leon had a population of 3,020.  Ten years later it had fallen to only 1,766.

  With the end of the boom, the city quickly found itself in financial trouble.  The smaller population and smaller tax base was insufficient to carry the boned debt.

   In early 1924, there was a petition drive to change the government back to the old Mayor Alderman system.  It called for an election on the petition within 30 days.  Many felt that it was the change to the Home Rule Charter that had caused the financial problems.

   While there were more than enough signatures on the petition to force an election, the city attorney, C.C. Hampton, had some reservations with the council accepting the petition.  First, no city in Texas had ever tried to revert to their old system after becoming a Home Rule City.  Additionally, De Leon could not revert to the old form unless it paid down a large portion of the debts that had been incurred during the first part of 1920.  There was no way the town could do this and the allowable tax rate would not have been sufficient under the old form of government to pay the city’s debts.

   On the advice of Mr. Hampton, the council was able to get around having to call an election on a technicality.  The petition called for a single election to both reestablish the previous form of government and at the same time elect new officials.  State law required that those elections be held separately.  Thus, the council did not have to accept the petition and it was not put to a vote.

   When the voters learned that it would be necessary to repay a large portion of the debt before the city could return to the “good ol’ days,” the issue was dropped.

    But the issue did not die easily.  The 1924 elections for mayor and council were controversial due to the charter and financial issues but the real heat came when accusations of Klu Klux Klan involvement were brought into the mix.

    The Klan was very active in politics in the early twenties.  Its candidates controlled many cities and state legislatures.  Several members of Congress and President Woodrow Wilson were members of the Klan.  The organization was so important politically that the State Fair of Texas even had a Klan day at which of 100,000 members showed up.

   The Klan was active in Comanche County. It had effectively brought to an end the De Leon Free Fall Fair when Klan members rode down main street on horses disrupting the events.

    According to a cousin of one Klan member, the Klan was not organized in this area for political purposes or even for the racial purposes with which we connect it today.  It was a “club” which provided its members access to illegal liquor and women brought in from Fort Worth.  Its promoters were making a fortune furnishing both commodities for its members a well as for the politicians it controlled throughout the country.

  Mayor Lowe, had taken a stand against the Klan and had confronted the Grand Goblin in front of Higginbothams following the incident at the Free Fall Fair. 

    Another prominent citizen, Dr. J.E. Self, had signed the petition to return to the previous form of government.  He had also nominated B.J. Pittman to run against Mr. Lowe and Mr. Grisham to run against W. P. Weaver for the council .  Neither Grisham nor Pittman had known of the nomination in advance and both were defeated by a 3-1 margin.

   Soon, accusations arose accusing Dr. Self of voting the Klu Klux Klan ticket.  He had to defend himself against the charges, stating he neither had ties to nor had ever had ties to the Klan.  Further, he indicated that he had nominated the three candidates because he thought they were well qualified and that none of them had ties to the Klan.

     Things settled down for a few years and then an unusual event occurred.  In even numbered years, the mayor and one councilman were elected.  In odd numbered years, two councilmen were elected.  In the the election of 1930 both the mayoral election and the council election ended in a tie.

     It was not the first time a tie had occurred.  In 1904 Eb Dabney and A.E. Hampton each drew 35 votes in the mayoral election.  In the election of aldermen, four men were elected but a tie for the fifth spot occurred between B.J. Pittman and John D. Ham.  An entirely new election was held for the two tied positions only two weeks later and Pittman was elected Mayor by a vote of 42 to 41 over Eb Dabney.  D.P. Lloyd who had not even run in the first election got the Alderman’s seat.

   in the 1930 election both the incumbent Mayor N.T. Haskins and his opponent W.L. Steakley received 172 votes.  The incumbent Councilman W.P. Weaver was tied by M.Z. Stovall with each receiving 170 votes.  A second election was held a month later and while both incumbents increased the number of votes they received, both lost.  Steakley won by a 280 to 187 margin while Stovall won by a 286 to 175 margin.

    Only two months into his term, W.L. Steakley resigned.  J.D. Tate, the Mayor Pro-Tem acted as mayor (he was never appointed to the position of mayor) from August 25, 1930 until the election in April 1931.

    In 1931, the council decided that it would hold a mayoral election along with the scheduled council elections .  The candidates for Mayor were F.T. Daniell and Jeff Tate.  Daniell won the election.  Then just before the new council took office, the present council was advised by the City attorney that the charter required that when a vacancy occurred in the office of mayor, the council had to appoint a mayor or the Mayor Pro-Tem would act as mayor.  The existing council voided the election for mayor and allowed the incoming council to resolve the problem.

    The only returning council member was M.Z. Stovall.  He was elected Mayor Pro-Tem.  He immediately made a motion to appoint Daniell to the post of Mayor.  The motion carried and Mr. Daniell was notified to come to the meeting and take the oath of office.  Stovall probably served as De Leon’s Mayor for only fifteen minutes.

    Another tie would occur in the 1948 election between F.T. Daniell and W.B. Nowlin.  The district court decided that election, ruling that two votes for Nowlin would be disallowed, thereby handing the post back to Daniell.

     F.T. Daniell would serve as mayor longer than anyone in De Leon’s history.  He was was appointed in 1931, and re-elected in ‘32, ’34, ’36, ’38, and ’40.  M.D. Stewart replaced him in 1942 and was reelected in 1944 but Daniell was returned to office in ‘46 and ’48.

   About 1940, the financial situation of the town had become critical.  The community could not meet its bond payments on the old oil boom debt and was forced to file bankruptcy.  Part of the debt was written off and the remainder refinanced.  The refinanced debt was not paid off until the 1960s.

    De Leon has had at least three city halls.  Al that is know of the oldest of these is a mention in the minutes of the City council that they had met at the City Hall.  The minutes also mention that meetings were held at the F&M National Bank and at various businesses of elected officials.  In 1905, the council noted that the city jail was in need of repair or replacement.  The council voted to replace the jail but no indication that any work was done has been found.  The jail was located on the northwest corner of Gonzales and Houston.

   In June of 1910, an election was held to approve bonds to build a new city hall.  Eighty-four De Leonians voted for the issuance of $4,000 in bonds for forty years at 5%.  Eight voted against the proposal.

     The aldermen appointed a committee to find a site for the building.  The committee consisted of W.C. Streety, Frank Carter and C.R. Ayers.

    The committee selected the Arthur Anderson property.  The site had been the home of the Dabney family prior to the purchase by Anderson and is the site of the current City Hall.  Two large cedar trees marked the entrance to the Dabney home.   

    In July 1911, the issues was resubmitted to the voters.  The new proposal increased the bond issue to $7,000.  The vote was coupled with a second proposal to issue $2,000 to build new wing on the school building.  The city hall proposal carried 85-0 while the school bonds carried 82-3.  The building of the school was under the control of the city aldermen at the time.

    County Judge J.M. Reiger arranged to give De Leon a steel cage that had previously been used at the county poor farm.  This cage would become the city jail.

    Three bids were received to erect and repair the cage.  C.W. Haney bid $39.75 and J.T. Lance bid $39.85.  The winning bid was by Tom Boswell for $27.50.

    At the council meeting of October 8, 1912, C.R. Ayers made a motion which was seconded by J.R. Ross to build the new city hall on the Anderson property and for the hall to face Texas Avenue.  The building was to be a 50’X75’ two story structure.  It was believed that there were insufficient funds to complete the structure, so it as decided to complete the second floor which consisted of a court room, auditorium type facility and to finish the first floor when funds became available.

   The aldermen selected Roy E. Lane of Waco as architect and to supervise the construction.  Taylor and Merritt were hired as contractors after securing a completion bond in the amount of $3,000.

  Extra funds came in that allowed the completion of the lower floor.  Bricks from the structure that had been on the land were sod for $15.  The county provided $1,000 and in return were granted use of the court and jail as may be needed.  An additional bond issue was put before the votes on May 13, 1913 and by an 81-2 vote an additional $2,000 was approve allowing the building to be finished.  It also allowed the city to purchase 600 chairs to be used in the auditorium.

    The building was accepted from the contractors on July 24, 1913 provided a fireproof door was added to the jail and some minor window repairs were completed.

    The dedication was soon held and the new Mayor J.B. Wilson assured the citizens, according to W.H. Smith Sr., that “this city hall is not my city hall but your city hall.”

     The present city hall was constructed in 1939 by the Work Progress Administration.