Jules Carl Leffland (1854-1924) was born in Usserød, Denmark, on September 9, 1854. He was the son of Carl Wilhelm and Julia Welhelmine (Olsen) Leffland. He studied architecture at the Institute of Technology of Copenhagen. Jules Leffland married Emily Struck in Copenhagen in 1879. They had seven children, including Kai J. and Paul W., who became architects.
In 1886 Leffland immigrated to Texas, arriving in Victoria on April 29. Jules Leffland’s first jobs are said to have involved moving and rebuilding homes from Indianola to Cuero after the devasting hurricane of 1886. In the following decades, Leffland prospered in Victoria and surrounding communities as a versatile architect, designing homes, outbuildings, schools, churches, civic, and business structures.
In 1890s Leffland established the firm of Jules C. Leffland, Architect in Victoria, Texas. The business thrived and, as the years passed, Leffland collaborated with other architects, and the firm’s original name, Jules C. Leffland, Architect changed accordingly, first to Hull and Leffland, with James Hull then Leffland & Son when Leffland’s oldest son, Kai, came of age, then Leffland, Son & Dixon with Sam H. Dixon, Jr. Kai Leffland worked as Kai J. Leffland, Architect after his father died in 1924. Another son, Paul W. Leffland, was also an architect.
