This area of Crosby County was settled in 1898 by the family and relatives of M. G. Leatherwood. As other families arrived, the need for a nearby school led to the creation of the Leatherwood Common School District in 1912. The first classes were held in the spring of 1913 in a one-room schoolhouse on land donated by M. G. Leatherwood, with Ellsworth Ham as teacher. The school’s location was changed twice before it was moved to this site at the eastern edge of the county. At its height, Leatherwood School employed three teachers who taught 36 students in a three-room schoolhouse. In 1935 the Zumalt School District consolidated with Leatherwood, but by 1945 only elementary students were taught there. The final classes were held in 1949, when the area became part of the Crosbyton School District. Leatherwood was typical of many early Texas rural schools, whose longevity was shaped by migration from farms to the city, declining farm populations, and improved roads and transportation that made cities more accessible, and its history forms an important part of the heritage of public education in Texas.