Leplat, Gustave

Gustave Leplat was born in Lille, France, on January 13, 1847, to Belgian parents. He was educated in Brussels, served six years in the Ninth Infantry Belgium Army as a fencing instructor, and worked on fortification construction in Antwerp. After moving to the United States in 1880, he worked as a painter and interior decorator in Chicago, Illinois, and Los Angeles, California, before settling in Fresno on April 6, 1891.

In Fresno, Gustave built a successful business in painting and artistic interior decorating, completing work on the Winchell Block, the Catholic Church, the C Street schoolhouse, and various private residences. He acquired real estate in Fresno, including a home at 227 Valeria Street, a house on I Street, and two lots near the Normal School. Following the death of his first wife, Josephine Landeloos, in Belgium, he married Mrs. Mary Lee in Fresno in 1891 and raised two children from his first marriage, Frank and Jeannie.