1745 - The Orcoquisac Indians

As early as 1745, the Orcoquisac Indians, peaceful artisans on the banks of Spring Creek, established Spring as a trading locale, bartering with Spanish explorers and wandering frontiersmen.


1800s - German Immigrant Migration

The area was further populated in the mid-1800s with an influx of German immigrants - many entering Texas through the Port of Galveston and settling on the rich, inexpensive land in the Spring area.  They brought elements of their German lifestyle with them:  hard work and creation of neat fields and farm dwellings, schools and churches.  The Germans also underscored the importance of trade in Spring with sales of their crops and land exchanges.

The "Railroad Era"

As the "railroad era" expanded into South Texas, the International and Great Northern Railroad favored the farming hamlet of Spring; water for the steam engines was accessible and property for railroad expansion was plentiful.  During this time, railroad workers that lay the train tracks to Houston named the town.  The workers had endured a harsh winter and when they reached the Spring area, the season changed.  The railroad men were so excited about the warm weather they called the area "Camp Spring".  In 1873 the railroad designed the town plat for "Camp Spring."  Streets and block markings brought order to the disparate camp.  By 1900 Spring had become a major railroad center with two rail lines running through the town, a round house and fourteen track yards.  Increase in railroad personnel brought a need for housing and entertainment.  Spring boomed.  Saloons, such as Wunsche Bros., hotels, an opera house, a hospital and other recreational and commercial structures sprang up, most crafted from pine slabs milled by workers at local sawmills.  As the town thrived, so did the lumber business.

The Great Depression

Prohibition in 1919, relocation of the railroad roundhouse in 1923 and later the Great Depression gnawed at the town.  Businesses closed, some people moved away, others turned to bootlegging as a source of income.  The Dallas highway (Hwy. 75) which became I-45 by-passed the town.  The old town slowly crumbled in the 40's and 50's.  In the 60's subdivisions and schools, spawned by the growth of Houston, eclipsed the farms but brought no life or interest in the decaying Spring business district.


Early 70's Growth

In the early 70's a resurgence of growth occurred in Spring brought on by an unusual circumstance.  As the story goes, the hamburgers at Wunsche Bros. (called Spring Cafe), which had remained open during the decline, were wonderful and enormous - good enough to bring people from Houston and other areas of Harris County to Spring.  An incredibly slow cook at the restaurant let her patrons line up in great numbers to be served.  Enterprising entrepreneurs, noting crowds with full pockets and no place to spend it, used the little Victorian buildings left standing to set up specialty shops for the idle crowds.

"Old Town Spring" Today

The rest is obvious.  The shops have grown to more than 150 businesses, the crowds have expanded and today Spring - still a trade center - has regained its sense of vitality so long dormant.  The village is a favorite site for customers and visitors all over the world.  Seasonal activities and festivals throughout the year are popular attractions.  Yet, few visitors who stroll on the streets, fill their shopping bags and dine at unique eateries stop to think that one hundred years ago a population of such different backgrounds lived and worked here and called Spring home.