What is today known as Leland was once a small settlement built upon where Village Road crossed the Augusta, Columbia and Wilmington railroad lines.

[10] In March and April 1989, Belville made unsuccessful attempts to annex the area known as Leland.

This, in turn resulted in the Leland civic association making proactive attempts to incorporate to avoid annexation.

Leland's first mayor, Russell Baldwin, when questioned about the matter, stated: "It was kind of a dirty trick.

"[11] In 2012, according to Jack Batson, the mayor of Belville at the time, "It's something that's always on people's minds because you see the way the maps are laid out.

Belville is effectively an enclave township surrounded by Leland's borders to the left and the Brunswick River to the right.

In 2000, Leland made an unsuccessful attempt to merge with Navassa, Belville, and the North Brunswick sanitary district.

[12] Jack Batson, the mayor of Belville at the time, faced heavy criticism for discussing the subject matter with Leland officials.

The eight acre park includes such features as a playground, disc golf courses, benches, community gardens, open green spaces and a paved multi-used path.

[26] Charter Day School garnered national attention in 2016 when the school was sued in the eastern district of North Carolina southern division by the ACLU and the ACLU of North Carolina; the law firm of Ellis & Winters LLP filed the challenge on Leland students.

[27] The Charter Day School's uniform policy required female students to wear skirts, the only exception being gym class, which Charter Day's founder stated promoted chivalry, mutual respect, and traditional values.

[28] U.S. District Judge Malcolm Howard ruled that the charter schools uniform policy engaged in unconstitutional sexual discrimination, citing the equal protection clause of the constitution, by prohibiting females from wearing pants or shorts, instead mandating skirts.

[36] The Leland police department offers its citizens the use of a service called CrimeMapping, a product of TriTech Software Systems.

CrimeMapping is an online interactive tool that allows users to access and analyze reports for the entire town limits, or the option to isolate their search to a certain block, street or neighborhood.

CodeRED is a free high-speed emergency mass notification system provided by OnSolve, LLC.

[42] At the date of its launch the town's emergency management directory John Grimes was quoted by WECT stating: "CodeRED’s system will provide Town staff with a reliable, easy-to-use interface to quickly deliver critical information to our residents during emergencies"[43] Leland does not have its own municipal waste system; instead, trash service is provided by Brunswick County through GFL Environmental, Inc.[44] The town of Leland did once offer a curbside recycling service to its citizens; the service which was done through GFL environmental Inc., expired on June 30, 2021.

Prior to cancellation of service, Leland transitioned its curbside recycling program to once a month, instead of twice, on July 1, 2020.

According to town officials, the deciding factor was the dramatic increase in costs associated with the recycling program.