De Leon, Texas

De Leon is a city in Comanche County, Texas. The population of the city is 2,246.
De Leon 	Texas
Incorporated 	August 30, 1890
County 	Comanche
Population 	2,246
Elevation 	1,280 ft (390 m)
Mayor 	Amari Santana
City Guildmaster	Jeremiah Wyatt
ZIP code 	76444
== Demographics ==
As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the racial composition of the city is:
68.97% White (1,549)
29.03% Hispanic or Latino (652)
1.20% Other (27)
0.80% Black or African American (18)
17.0% (381) of De Leon residents live below the poverty line.
== Theft rate statistics ==
De Leon has low to below average rates of Pokemon theft and murder. The city reported 2 Pokemon thefts in 2018, and averages 0.86 murders a year.
== Pokemon ==
See the Comanche County page for more info.
== Fun facts ==
* It is commonly associated with being named after the Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon, but the town is actually named for its location on the Leon River (de Leon in Spanish), which flows directly north and east of the community, and drains into nearby Lake Proctor.
* De Leon has one of the oldest festivals in Texas, the De Leon Peach and Melon Festival, which had its beginnings in 1914. Celebrated during the first full week in August, it draws thousands to its numerous events including a carnival, tractor pulls, car show, and a free cold watermelon slicing. The current watermelon seed-spitting distance record, as recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records, of 75 feet 2 inches, was set at the festival on August 12, 1995, by Jason Schayot, then of Georgetown, Texas. Schaynot is a descendant of two long-time De Leon families.
* Buried in the De Leon Cemetery is Cyrus Campbell, an early resident, who as a blacksmith made the leg irons placed on Mexican General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna following his capture at the Battle of San Jacinto. According to Campbell's family tradition, his three brothers and he were the men who actually captured Lopez de Santa Anna the day following the battle.
* Among De Leon's unique events is the only paid appearance by Elvis Presley in which he sang only gospel music. It occurred at Hodges Park on July 4, 1955, when he followed his friends, the Blackwood Brothers, at the Battle of Songs show. The Blackwoods had lost family members in a plane crash in Alabama the previous year, just prior to a scheduled appearance in De Leon, and had remembered them in a performance immediately preceding Elvis' performance. Elvis followed with more gospel music. It was one of three appearances Elvis made that day for promoter W.B. Nowlin, then mayor of De Leon. The other two were in Brownwood and Stephenville.
* De Leon has little amenities to offer. It has a Dairy Queen, Pizza Pro, Subway, dollar stores, a few local restaurants and businesses, electric showers, a municipal airport, a sports complex, a few public battle fields, De Leon Inn, and not much else.
Category:Texas Cities