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A native of Pennsylvania, Archibald Franklin Leonard (1816-1876) moved to Missouri in the 1830s where he married Mary Ann Foster (1822-1904) in 1839. In 1845, along with many of their neighbors, the Leonards migrated to Texas. Leonard was awarded land in the Peters Colony and settled near present-day Grapevine. Much of Grapevine's business and residential areas are sited on land once owned by him. Archibald Franklin Leonard's significant record of achievements in this part of the state includes active leadership in early area Baptist churches. Along with Henry Clay Daggett, he opened the first civilian store in Fort Worth. After the creation of Tarrant County in 1849, Leonard was elected to the office of First County Clerk. He later represented Tarrant and surrounding counties in the Twelth Texas Legislature. Known as a prosperous businessman and farmer, A. F. Leonard helped lay out the town of Grapevine in 1855, two years after opening a mercantile store there. In 1856, he helped establish Leonard's Mill on the Trinity River around which a community developed and which later became known as Randol Mill. Leonard served as part of the home guard during the Civil War and died at his home in Birdville in 1876. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986 |
