Community guide · Fannin County
A small Fannin County town built around a historic square, where US-69 meets SH-78 — with its own school district, a picnic held every July since 1880 and country land in every direction.
By Shayla Eadler, REALTOR® · TREC #0747934 · Based in Van Alstyne · Updated
Leonard, Texas
Yes — living in Leonard, TX suits buyers who want a real small town with a historic square, a small school district and land all around, within about 25 minutes of Bonham and Greenville and 38 minutes of downtown McKinney. The trade-offs are a 2025 in-city tax rate of about 2.11%, a long drive to Dallas, and not much shopping in town.
Leonard sits in southwestern Fannin County where US-69 and SH-78 cross. The town dates to July 22, 1880, when the first lots were auctioned on the public square after the railroad came through, and it incorporated in 1889. It’s still small — the Census estimated 2,212 people in July 2025 — and the square is still the center of things, with local shops, restaurants, a history museum and the Leonard Picnic every July.
Most of my Leonard clients are choosing between an older home in town and a country home or acreage just outside it. Leonard ISD’s 2025 tax notice put the average residence in the district at $300,509, which still stretches further than most of Collin County. If you’re looking at Leonard TX homes for sale, I’ll help you sort out city limits, water source and school district for each property before you write an offer.
Leonard is growing, but gently. The Census Bureau estimates 2,212 residents in July 2025, up from 2,044 in July 2020 — about 8% — while Fannin County grew about 9%, to 39,265. Property values are moving faster: Leonard ISD’s total appraised value rose from about $819 million for tax year 2024 to about $878 million for 2025, including about $43.1 million of new property.
The town is also investing in itself. The Leonard Community Development Corporation has been funded by a quarter-cent sales tax since 1998 and offers façade grants downtown, and the Leonard Area Chamber posted a 2026 Texas Downtown Assessment of the square. The City Council has called a bond election for November 3, 2026, asking voters to approve up to $10 million for street improvements.
The honest version
Every town has trade-offs. Here’s what I tell my own clients before they buy.
Pros
Cons
For sale now
Leonard has older homes on the streets around the square, established in-town resale homes, and a lot of country property — acreage, pasture and farm and ranch land. Leonard ISD’s 2025 tax notice put the average residence at $300,509 in market value.
Homes on the streets around downtown, many of them decades old, plus a few historic lofts on the square itself. Character and mature trees, with older plumbing, wiring and foundations to inspect carefully.
Established streets inside city limits on city water and sewer, close to the Leonard ISD campuses and US-69. This is where most of the under-$300K searches land.
Leonard ISD counted about $43.1 million of new property on its 2025 roll. New homes show up as infill in town and on rural lots outside it — ask me about water, septic and any deed restrictions before you build.
Homes on a few acres, small ranches and raw land along the farm roads around town. Water source, septic, road frontage, easements and agricultural valuation are the first things I check.
Be the first to know
I’ll send new listings, price drops and my Coming Soon homes in Leonard — with my honest notes on each one.
Small-town Leonard
Leonard grew up around its square. The town lots were first sold there on July 22, 1880, with a picnic for more than 150 people, and the town has thrown a picnic on or near that date ever since — skipping only 1918 and 1945, during the two world wars. Today the Leonard Picnic is a three-day homecoming on the third weekend of July, on the square and in Old City Park, with carnival rides, music, fireworks and an all-school reunion.
The square itself is the reason a lot of buyers fall for Leonard. The chamber describes local shops, restaurants, an old-time soda fountain and the Leonard Historic Museum on South Connett Street. The town’s economic development corporation offers façade grants to downtown businesses, and the chamber posted a 2026 Texas Downtown Assessment of the square — a sign the town is planning for it, not just preserving it.
Leonard at a glance
Before you buy in town
On August 11, 2026, the Leonard City Council ordered a bond election for November 3, 2026. Voters are being asked whether to let the city issue up to $10 million in bonds for street improvements — design, rebuilding, drainage, curbs, gutters and sidewalks. The proposition doesn’t name specific streets; the council would pick projects later, and the city says it plans to issue bonds as needed rather than all at once.
The city estimates the maximum tax impact, once all bonds are issued, at $0.35311 per $100 of taxable value, on top of the 2025 city rate of 0.53805. A partial $1 million issue would add about $0.035311. This only applies inside city limits, and nothing changes until bonds are actually sold. I’ll update this section once the results are in, and I’ll factor the outcome into any in-town offer we write.
| Taxable value | If all $10M is issued | If $1M is issued |
|---|---|---|
| $100,000 | ≈ $353 a year | ≈ $35 a year |
| $200,000 | ≈ $706 a year | ≈ $71 a year |
| $300,000 | ≈ $1,059 a year | ≈ $106 a year |
Source: City of Leonard, Street Improvement Bond Election FAQs (Sept 4, 2026). City estimates, for illustration only.
Where to live
Leonard is small enough that buyers choose by setting rather than subdivision name, so here’s how I break it down — from the square out to the farm roads.
Historic · Downtown
The blocks around the public square and South Connett Street, home to the museum, local shops and the Leonard Picnic. Older homes and a few historic lofts, with everything in town a short walk or drive away.
Leonard ISD
Established · Resale
Settled residential streets inside city limits — names like College, Hackberry, Mulberry, Poplar and Sycamore — on city water and sewer and close to the Leonard ISD campuses. These carry the city tax rate and would be affected by the street bond.
Leonard ISD
Acreage · Toward Collin County
Rural homes and small acreage southwest of town along SH-78, the road toward Blue Ridge, Farmersville and the SH-121 route to McKinney. A popular setting for buyers who drive into Collin County.
Usually Leonard ISD — confirm by address
Land · Outside city limits
Pasture, hay land and country homes north and west of town along FM 896 toward Bonham and US-69 toward Trenton. Outside city limits there’s no city tax line, but check water source, septic and road frontage first.
Leonard ISD or a neighboring district
Subdivision names are a starting point. Lot sizes, HOA rules and school zoning vary street by street — I’ll confirm all of it for any home you’re considering.
Cost of living
For tax year 2025, the combined rate inside Leonard city limits and Leonard ISD is about $2.11 per $100 of value. Leonard ISD held its rate at 1.2252, the City of Leonard trimmed its rate from 0.549594 to 0.53805, and Fannin County dropped from about 0.3808 to 0.350311. Outside city limits but still in Leonard ISD, drop the city line and the stack is about 1.58.
The school portion is where the homestead exemption does the most work. Leonard ISD’s August 2025 notice estimated the average residence at $300,509 in market value but $155,353 in taxable value for school taxes, after exemptions.
Schools
Leonard ISD is a small district — 812 students in 2023–24, with about 11.3 students per teacher and an average of 16.9 years of teaching experience. In the 2025 TEA ratings (school year 2024–25, released August 2025), the district earned a B. Leonard High School earned an A, and Leonard Elementary, Leonard Intermediate and Leonard Junior High each earned a B. The four-year graduation rate was 96.2% for the class of 2023, against 90.3% statewide.
The district’s website now lists three campuses — Leonard Elementary (Pre-K–5th), Leonard Junior High and Leonard High School — and the Texas Tribune’s Schools Explorer shows 844 students in 2026. The Leonard ISD boundary doesn’t follow city limits, and rural addresses around town can fall in a neighboring district, so I confirm the district for every property.
Getting around
Leonard sits where US-69 and SH-78 cross. US-69 runs northwest to Trenton and Denison and southeast to Greenville; SH-78 runs southwest toward Blue Ridge and Farmersville; and SH-121, just west of town, is the main route northeast to Bonham and southwest to McKinney.
Bonham (county seat)
25 min≈ 16 mi
via FM 896 & SH-121
Greenville
26 min≈ 20 mi
via US-69 S
Van Alstyne
38 min≈ 25 mi
via SH-78 & SH-121
Downtown McKinney
38 min≈ 29 mi
via SH-78 & SH-121
Downtown Sherman
41 min≈ 33 mi
via US-69 N
Downtown Dallas
73 min≈ 61 mi
via SH-121 & US-75 S
DFW Airport
79 min≈ 66 mi
via SH-121 (Sam Rayburn Tollway)
Bonham State Park
31 min≈ 18 mi
via FM 896 & SH-121
Typical drive times without heavy traffic. Rush hour on US-75 and the Tollway can add 15–30 minutes.
Local favorites
Leonard’s fun is small-town and close to home, and Bonham’s state park and Bois d’Arc Lake are an easy drive north.
A three-day homecoming on the third weekend of July, on the square and in Old City Park — carnival rides, music, fireworks and an all-school reunion, in a tradition that dates to 1880.
The heart of Leonard, with local shops, restaurants and an old-time soda fountain, according to the Leonard Area Chamber. It’s also where the Picnic sets up every summer.
Run by the Leonard Historical Preservation League on South Connett Street, with labeled photos of early Leonard, a restored 1942 Ford fire truck and an old bank safe. Call ahead to arrange a visit.
The city park has a pavilion you can rent for parties and gatherings, plus an RV park run by the city.
Leonard High School’s teams are the Tigers. In a three-campus district, home games and school events are a big part of the local calendar — check the Leonard ISD site for schedules.
About 31 minutes away: a park built by the Civilian Conservation Corps, with a 65-acre lake, a fishing pier, paddling rentals and 8.75 miles of hiking and biking trails.
Texas’s newest major reservoir, northeast of Bonham and run by the North Texas Municipal Water District. The FM 897 and South 1396 ramps are open for boating and fishing, including trophy bass.
Before you move
Here are the practical details I walk every Leonard buyer through before closing.
FAQ
Quick answers to the questions I hear most from people moving to Leonard.
Leonard is a good fit if you want a small town with a historic square, its own school district and land nearby, and you can handle a longer drive into Collin County. Downtown McKinney is about 38 minutes away and Dallas about 73. The trade-offs are a 2025 in-city tax rate of about 2.11% and limited shopping in town.
For tax year 2025, the combined rate inside Leonard city limits is about $2.11 per $100 of value: Leonard ISD 1.2252, City of Leonard 0.53805 and Fannin County 0.350311. Outside city limits in Leonard ISD it’s about 1.58. The school homestead exemption is $140,000.
Leonard is served by Leonard ISD, home of the Tigers. The district earned a B in the 2025 TEA ratings, with Leonard High School rated A and the elementary, intermediate and junior high campuses rated B. Some rural addresses near Leonard fall in neighboring districts, so I confirm the district for every home.
Downtown Dallas is about 61 miles — roughly 73 minutes without traffic via SH-121 and US-75. Downtown McKinney is about 29 miles (38 minutes), Greenville about 20 miles (26 minutes), Bonham about 16 miles (25 minutes) and DFW Airport about 66 miles (79 minutes).
It’s Leonard’s yearly homecoming, held on the third weekend of July on the square and in Old City Park. It traces back to a picnic held on July 22, 1880, when the town’s first lots were sold, and now includes carnival rides, music, fireworks and an all-school reunion.
Slowly. The Census Bureau estimates 2,212 residents in July 2025, up about 8% from 2,044 in July 2020. Values are rising faster: Leonard ISD’s total appraised value grew from about $819 million to $878 million between tax years 2024 and 2025.
Inside city limits, the City of Leonard provides water and sewer from groundwater wells, and Sanitation Solutions picks up trash on Fridays. TNMP owns the power lines in town, so you choose a retail electric provider. Rural properties may have a well, septic or a different electric utility, so I check each one.
Reasonably. Bois d’Arc Lake is northeast of Bonham, and Bonham is about 25 minutes from Leonard. The lake is run by the North Texas Municipal Water District, with the FM 897 and South 1396 boat ramps open for boating and fishing.
Compare nearby towns
Fannin CountyBonhamThe county seat, about 25 minutes north — Bois d’Arc Lake, Bonham State Park and county offices.Read the Bonham guide Hunt CountyGreenvilleAbout 20 miles southeast on US-69 for bigger shopping and jobs.Read the Greenville guide 
Fannin CountyTrentonAbout 7 miles up US-69 — another small Fannin County town.Read the Trenton guide 
Collin CountyBlue RidgeAbout 15 miles southwest on SH-78, in Collin County.Read the Blue Ridge guide Facts on this page were checked against public sources in October 2026. Tax rates, school ratings and road plans change — confirm anything important for your decision.
Ready when you are
I’ll show you around — the neighborhoods, the schools and the places locals love — and put together homes in Leonard that fit your budget.
