Spring Historical Museum and Old Town Spring

Old Town Spring is a commercial district and village located in the Town of Spring, a Texas Historic Landmark known for its history as an eighteenth-century trading post and as a nineteenth-century railroad hub. The Spring Historical Museum was established in 1995, and a historical marker placed outside of the museum in 2003 notes that Spring evolved from an agricultural community into bustling town due to the rise of the railroad and lumber industry. Old Town Spring, which was the earliest part of the town, still includes dozens of shops where people can stroll and admire the nineteenth-century Victorian architecture. In 2019, the Spring Historical Museum was renovated and repainted a bright shade of yellow, making the museum hard to miss for visitors to Old Town Spring.

The land that is now part of Spring, Texas, was originally inhabited by the Orcoquisac Indians, a tribe who hunted and fished throughout the area. When the French and Spanish colonized the area in the 1700s, they established commercial trading posts in what is now the village of Old Town Spring. Because of the trading posts, more settlers arrived in the area, and the interactions and trade with the Orcoquisac increased. In 1836, the city of Houston was established in the Buffalo Bayou watershed, the same year that the Republic of Texas was founded, following Texas winning its independence from Mexico. The short-lived Republic period lasted until Texas was annexed by the U.S. in 1845, joining the Union as the 28th state.

Thereafter, settlers were able to obtain land grants from U.S. to set up farms and homesteads in Texas. This launched another wave of immigration to the area, with many new settlers arriving. In 1861, Texas seceded and joined the Confederacy, fighting on the side of the Confederate States during the war. After the Union victory in 1865 and the re-consolidation of the United States, new opportunities opened up for railroads to expand into South Texas. The resulting matrix of railway lines connected parts of the country that had not been connected before. The 1870s became a period of rapid industrialization in Houston. Railroad workers who were hired to lay new tracks in the area decided to name the burgeoning town of "Spring, Texas" in honor of the season, given their relief at having made it through a particularly harsh winter.

Originally called "Camp Spring," the railroad workers set up a camp in the area while employed by the International & Great Northern Railroad Company, although the word "camp" was later dropped from the name of the town. Around this time, a lumber industry began to emerge in the area, and companies set up logging operations and mills. With the advent of the railroad and lumber industry, the town grew from a small agricultural community into bustling commercial hub. This, in turn, provided more jobs, which led to the arrival of additional immigrants to Spring, Texas, giving rise to a large German community. Throughout the late 1800s and early 1900s, many new homes were built to accommodate the increasing population.

During this period, new businesses were launched, included lumber mills, grist mills, cotton mills, sawmills, grocery stores, hotels, saloons, a bank, a school, an opera house, a hospital, and a school. Economic growth remained strong for a while. However, the Great Depression in the 1930s severely impacted the town of Spring, and the population dwindled. It was not until the 1960s, when the city of Houston experienced an oil boom, that money once again began flowing into the surrounding suburbs. During the 1970s and 1980s, local merchants and preservationists in Spring, Texas, collaborated to establish "Old Town Spring" as a revitalized commercial district known for its historic architecture.

In 1995, the Spring Historical Museum was established to preserve, interpret, and share the history of Spring, Texas, including the village of Old Town Spring. Because of its historic buildings, Spring was designated a Texas Historic Landmark in 2003, and a historical marker was placed outside the Spring Historical Museum. The village of Old Town Spring, which began as the earliest part of town with the commercial trading posts founded in the 1700s, currently includes dozens of shops where visitors can stroll and admire the historic architecture. Old Town Spring also hosts annual events such as the Texas Crawfish Festival; the Taco, Tequila, & Margarita Festival; the Autumn Art & Wine Festival; and "Home for the Holidays," a caroling tour with wagon rides.

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Historical Markers, Houston Precinct 4. Accessed May 4th, 2023. https://hcp4.net/news/historical-markers/.

Old Town Spring Museum, Old Town Spring Museum Facebook Page. Accessed May 4th, 2023. https://www.facebook.com/OldTownSpringMuseum/.

Smith, Margaret Mallott. "Historical Old Town Spring" excerpted from "Spring Through the Seasons, Stories of a Texas Town" , Old Town Spring Weddings. Accessed May 4th, 2023. http://oldtownspringweddings.com/about-us/historical-old-town-spring/.

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