In earlier times the townland was probably uninhabited as it consists mainly of bog and poor clay soils. It was not seized by the English during the Plantation of Ulster in 1610 or in the Cromwellian Settlement of the 1660s so some dispossessed Irish families moved there and began to clear and farm the land. Lowther Kirkwood of Mullinagrave, parish of Templeport, Co. Cavan, gentleman made the following will: A map of the townland drawn in 1813 is in the National Archives of Ireland, Beresford Estate Maps, depicts the townland as Letera and the owner as The Lord Primate, the lessee as Mr. Kirkwood'' and the tenant as Patrick Grace. The Tithe Applotment Books for 1826 list eleven tithepayers in the townland. The Leitra Valuation Office Field books are available for September 1839. In 1841 the population of the townland was 64 being 34 males and 30 females. There were eight houses in the townland of which one was uninhabited. In 1851 the population of the townland was 45 being 26 males and 19 females, the reduction being due to the Great Famine. There were six houses in the townland and all were inhabited. Griffith's Valuation of 1857 lists six landholders in the townland. In 1861 the population of the townland was 27, being 16 males and 11 females. There were five houses in the townland and all were inhabited. In 1871 the population of the townland was 38, being 19 males and 19 females. There were seven houses in the townland and all were inhabited. In 1881 the population of the townland was 36, being 24 males and 12 females. There were six houses in the townland, all were inhabited. In 1891 the population of the townland was 38, being 23 males and 15 females. There were six houses in the townland, all were inhabited. In the 1901 census of Ireland, there are six families listed in the townland. In the 1911 census of Ireland, there are six families listed in the townland.
Antiquities
The site of a 19th century hedge-school. The 1930s Dúchas folklore collection states- In Leitra a school was held in a sheltered place behind a ditch. The ditch served as a back wall, and a mud wall was built on each side of that, but then a man who lived near the place gave the teacher an old barn built of mud, and he and his pupils studied there for years.
