A Methodist church was erected in 1886. In 1884 Leakey became the county seat of Edwards County. The previous county seat was Bullhead, which later became Vance and is now in western Real County. Leakey remained county seat until 1891, when the government was moved to Rocksprings. When Real County was organized in 1913, Leakey was elected the county seat, although the town was not incorporated until June 11, 1951.
Western Carolina Catamounts. The Western Carolina Catamounts are the athletic teams of Western Carolina University. The Catamounts compete in the NCAA Division I Southern Conference. Western fields sixteen varsity sports teams. The Catamount football team competes in Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).
They have won six division titles, one in the NFC West and five in the NFC South. The Carolina Panthers are legally registered as Panther Football, LLC. The team is headquartered in Bank of America Stadium in uptown Charlotte; also the team's home field. They are one of the few NFL teams to own the stadium they play in, which is legally registered as Panthers Stadium, LLC.