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Editor’s Note:
A letter received at 9:16 p.m. on November 4th addressed the long-standing
confusion between the community of Las Gallinas and its near neighbor of Leming.
While our town pages included Leming, Las Gallinas was mentioned as being Leming’s
former name. The source of the confusion seems to be an entry in the Handbook
of Texas and the fact that Las Gallinas has no official signage. The letter was
forwarded to Terry
Jeanson in San Antonio. Mr.
Jeanson, who has an interest in anything regional to his beloved San
Antonio, drove to Las Gallinas the next morning. The places mentioned in the
Rakowitz letter were photographed by Terry and sent to the TE offices at 12:10
on November 5th. This doesn’t quite break a response record, but since the all-time
record response time is also held by Mr. Jeanson, it’s a moot point. Thanks to
Mr. Rakowitz and Mr. Jeanson, Las Gallinas now has a separate identity – at least
in our pages. We hope that the town will soon receive its own signage and that
a long-overdue ribbon-cutting ceremony can be arranged.
The initial
letter follows:
To Whom This May Concern:
The community
of Las Gallinas, Texas is not the same as
the town of Leming, Texas.
Las
Gallinas was settled in the mid-1800's by immigrants from Silensia, Poland.
My great grandfather purchased land and settled there with his family in 1867. Las
Gallinas still exists today. It is located approximately 3 miles north of
Leming, on Hwy. 281. The heart of the community
is located at the intersection of FM 536 and Hwy. 281, and includes much of the
surrounding area. The creek that runs across 281, and then crosses FM 536 is
the Las Gallinas Creek.
Besides the creek, about the only other landmark
that still exists in the community today is St.
Joseph Cemetery at the corner of FM 536 and 281. St.
Joseph Catholic Church, which was located about a mile to the east of the
cemetery on FM 536, burned to the ground in 1983. The church was over 100 years
old at the time. A monument now stands on the old church site, located at the
intersection of FM 536 and Las Gallinas Rd. |
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Over the years there
have been much confusion regarding Leming & Las
Gallinas. Many people think they are one and the same--they are not--they
are two distinct and separate communities. I grew up in Las
Gallinas, and still own property there. The main reason for the confusion
is there are no highway signs indicating the community of Las
Gallinas, or the Las Gallinas Creek, which runs through it.
I would
appreciate you correcting your article regarding Leming,
which was never the community of Las Gallinas. Leming
did not come into being until the early 1900's when the railroad came through.
Las Gallinas already was there for several
decades--and it is still there.
Also, if you know who I could contact
to get signs erected on FM 536 and 281 to inform the public of the existence of
Las Gallinas, please let me know. Thank
you. - Herman J. Rakowitz | |
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