Leon Springs is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

Bexar County, Texas Bexar County ( or ; ) is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Texas. It is in South Texas and its county seat is San Antonio. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 2,009,324, making it the st ...

, United States, now partially within the city limits of

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

. According to the

Handbook of Texas The Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) is an American nonprofit educational and research organization dedicated to documenting the history of Texas. It was founded in Austin, Texas, United States, on March 2, 1897. In November 2008, the ...

, the community had a population of 137 in 2000. It is located within the

San Antonio Metropolitan Area Greater San Antonio, officially designated San Antonio–New Braunfels, is an eight-county metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Texas defined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The metropolitan area straddles South Texas and Central ...

History

The region was settled in the mid-nineteenth century by German immigrants, most notably John O. Meusebach, George von Plehwe, and Max Aue. The Aue Stagecoach Inn became the first stop on the

stagecoach A stagecoach (also: stage coach, stage, road coach, ) is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by ...

route between San Antonio and

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

. The community came to some prominence as the location of an officer training school at

Camp Bullis Camp Bullis Military Training Reservation is a U.S. Army training camp comprising in Bexar County, Texas, United States, just northwest of San Antonio. Camp Bullis provides base operations support and training support to Joint Base San Antoni ...

. The original

Romano's Macaroni Grill Romano's Macaroni Grill is an American casual dining restaurant chain specializing in Italian-American cuisine. As of April 2024, the company operates 31 locations in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, Ohi ...

was founded in Leon Springs; however, the company closed down this branch after the second of two devastating floods in July 2002. It was operated by Brinker International. It is also the site for the first Rudy's Country Store and Bar-B-Q. The restaurant chain was created by a descendant of town founder Max Aue, Rudolph Aue. The community currently has Baptist, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, and non-denominational churches. The

San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway The San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway first began operation in the U.S. state of Texas in 1886. It was developed by Uriah Lott and businessmen of San Antonio as a direct route from the city to Aransas Bay on the Texas Gulf coast. It was eventu ...

reached Leon Springs in 1887. The stop was originally called Aue Station.

Education

Residents are in the

Northside Independent School District Northside Independent School District is a school district headquartered in Leon Valley, Texas. It is the largest school district in the San Antonio area and the fourth largest in the State of Texas. Northside serves of urban landscape, sub ...

. Students are zoned to: * Leon Springs Elementary School and Aue Elementary School * Hector Garcia Middle School and Rawlinson Middle School * Louis D. Brandeis High School and Tom C. Clark High School

Notable people

* Andrew Davis Bruce, academic, soldier, and third president of the

University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...

. *

Henry W. Butner Henry Wolfe Butner (April 6, 1875 – March 13, 1937) was a United States Army general (United States), general in World War I and onetime commanding officer of Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Fort Bragg (1928–29). A native of North Carolina, Butn ...

, a former Army officer. * John M. Devine, a former Army officer. * Louis R. Douglass, civil engineer who built army hospitals in Leon Springs. * Aaron R. Fisher, a former Army officer.Funk, p. 4. * Anthony Franchini, guitarist. * John Daniel Leinbach Hartman, a former

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

officer. * Doyle Overton Hickey, a former Army officer. * Harry H. Johnson, a former Army officer. * Lloyd E. Jones, a former Army officer. *

Louis Jordan Louis Thomas Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the King ...

, football player who served in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and was stationed at Camp Bullis. * Lesley J. McNair, a former Army officer. * Troy H. Middleton, a former Army officer, educator, and president at

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

.Price, 59 * George Peddy, attorney, military officer, and political figure. * Adolf Topperwein opened a

shooting range A shooting range, firing range, gun range or shooting ground is a specialized facility, venue, or field designed specifically for firearm usage qualifications, training, practice, or competitions. Some shooting ranges are operated by milita ...

in Leon Springs in 1951. *

Samuel Tankersley Williams Lieutenant General Samuel Tankersley Williams (25 August 1897 –26 April 1984) was a senior United States Army officer. Williams became prominent in army history for being reduced in rank from brigadier general to colonel, and then resuscitatin ...

, senior

officer who attended Camp Bullis. * Edwin A. Zundel, a former Army officer.

Media

* KCJV-LP, an

Oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as well as for a radio format playing this music. Since 2 ...

broadcast radio station for 97.9 FM, licensed in Leon Springs.

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Bexar County, Texas Unincorporated communities in Texas