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Spring, TX Area Guide

Spring, Texas is located 20 miles north of Houston nestled between Harris and Montgomery Counties. It is a quaint community with a suburban feel, with access to all of the amenities of the city. Spring is a wonderful community with excellent schools, heavily wooded neighborhoods, great shopping, diverse dining, excellent parks, world class golf courses, museums, and quick access to world class healthcare and Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH). With its many lakes and streams, parks and golf courses, and master planned communities, Spring is a great place to live and work! It is one of the fastest growing areas in the region. The city has been listed at one of U.S. News and World Reports Top 1,000 places to retire.

Though Spring maintains its rural feel, it has grown into a vibrant and active community for every lifestyle. Old Town Spring offers visitors and residents alike a historic environment for dining and shopping, while Spring Town Center offers addition dining and shopping venues. Spring has its own theatre, museum, & library, Spring is only minutes away from Mercer Arboretum and Botanical Gardens, Cypress Creek Park Project, Jesse H Jones Park and Nature Center, Bush International Airport, The Woodlands Waterway, The Woodlands Mall, and Market Street.

Spring Texas History
(The following information about Spring Texas’ history has been directly sourced from: http://www.oldtownspringtx.com/history.htm. To learn more, please click on the link provided in blue.)

The Spring area was first occupied by a tribe known as Orcoquisac Indians who depended on fishing and hunting which they found in abundance in this area. The first merchants in Old Town Spring could be considered to be the Trading Posts that were established by the French and later the Spaniards called "El Orcoquisac" where trade with the Indians was brisk.

In the early 1800's settlers began to make their way to the area increasing the trade and growth of the Spring area. Colonization began to flourish after Texas won it's independence from Mexico in 1836 which was the same year Houston was founded on the Banks of Buffalo Bayou. For the next nine years settlers migrated steadily to the area as part of the "Republic of Texas". In 1845, Texas became part of the US and generous land grants were relatively inexpensive to obtain for homestead farming which stimulated more growth to the area primarily by German Settlers.

After the Civil War, railroads expanded into South Texas. In the 1870's, railroad tracks were constructed to Houston and rapid industrialization began for the Houston area. Spring was named by railroad workers that were laying the tracks to the south during a harsh winter, when they reached the area it was spring time and they were so excited about winter ending they named it "Camp Spring". In 1873, Camp Spring was platted by the I. & G.N. Railroad and became a settlement. "Camp" was dropped from the name and Spring became the base of operation for railroad workers. This addition stimulated abundant growth for lumber companies and farmers and created jobs and opportunites for new immigrants to the area.

The next 50 years Spring experienced steady economic growth when the rest of the nation struggled. During that period, in 1901, Spring became a crossroads for two intersecting railroad lines and added a roundhouse and 14 track yards. In 1902, several businesses began locating in Spring including an opera house, hospital, lumber mill, bank, hotels and saloons. One of whichwas Wunsche Bros. Cafe' and Saloon. Business flourished until 1923 when the railroad relocated their base of operations to Houston. This move crippled local merchants and other business in the area, which were forced to close. Insult to injury came with prohibition, which caused the saloons to close. Wunsche Bros. resisted and was the last saloon in Harris County to close. Along with the Depression of the 30's, Spring was reduced to a small settlement and remained dormant until the late 60's when local merchants started locating around the Spring Cafe' (Wunsche Bros.) to take advantage of the economic growth enjoyed by the oil boom in Houston. Old Town Spring emerged with the steady growth of merchants through the 70's and 80's into a favorite site of customers and visitors from all over the world and produces several popular festivals and events such as the Texas Crawfish & Music Festival held each year in April. Old Town Spring is voted one of the top attractions in Texas each year.

Spring Texas Parks & Recreation
(The following information about Spring Texas Parks and Recreations has been directly sourced from: http://www.hcp4.net/Parks/index.htm. To find out more about an individual park or recreation, please visit the individual sites listed below.)

Bayer Park
http://www.hcp4.net/Parks/bayer/index.htm
Bayer Park is a 30-acre facility with four lighted softball fields, seven lighted baseball fields, and rest room facilities.

Collins Park
http://www.hcp4.net/Parks/collins/index.htm
Collins Park is a 55-acre facility with five lighted softball fields, four lighted baseball fields, one unlighted soccer field, one lighted basketball pavilion, one sand volleyball court, two playgrounds, a skate park, an amphitheater, nature trails, picnic tables, barbecue grills, and rest room facilities.

Klein Park
http://www.hcp4.net/Parks/klein/index.htm
Klein Park is a seven-acre facility with four lighted ball fields and rest room facilities.

Myer Park
http://www.hcp4.net/Parks/meyer/index.htm
Meyer Park is a 286-acre facility with 16 unlighted soccer fields, ten lighted soccer fields, two unlighted softball fields, a basketball court, barbecue pavilion, gazebo, paved trails, nature trails, duck pond, a three-acre fishing lake, picnic tables, barbecue grills, two age-specific playgrounds, and rest room facilities.

Southwell Park
http://www.hcp4.net/Parks/southwell/index.htm
Southwell Park is a five-acre facility with one lighted basketball pavilion, a barbecue pavilion, a community building, a playground, picnic tables, barbecue grills, and rest room facilities.

Spring Texas Events
(The following list of Spring Texas events has been directly sourced from: http://explorespring.com/pages/EventsCalendar. To find out more about an individual event, please click on the link listed just below that event’s title.)

SpringFest, Wine, Art & Food Festival
http://www.oldtownspringtx.com/SpringFest.htm
Held in March
Come and enjoy several Texas wineries as they offer tastes of some of their finest wines. Also, you will be able to visit with talented artists who will be showing off their original art. You will enjoy over 150 unique shops that line the streets of our charming village.

Texas Crawfish & Music Festival
http://www.texascrawfishfestival.com
Held in April
The event, one of the largest and most established crawfish festivals in the South, will feature live entertainment from some of the top country, blues, zydeco and rock acts on three stages, carnival rides, midway games and activities for kids of all ages and the best Southern Louisiana food, crawfish and fixings in the land!

LongHorn Rod Run
September 27th & 28th
September 27 & 28, 2008. Over 500 custom muscle cars will be on display in Old Town Spring and car buffs of all ages will be on hand to browse and admire. The owners of the antique cars will compete is various categories for prizes and awards. Vehicles from all eras will be on display - those from the ‘60s as well as the older classics dating from the early 1900’s.

Pet Fest
http://www.petfestoldtownspring.com
October 18th & 19th
A weekend event in Old Town Spring, Texas dedicated to finding homes for the many wonderful animals in shelters and rescue groups across the Houston and surrounding areas. We invite you to grab your furkids and join us for this fun-filled festival of entertainment and education while helping raise money, volunteers and foster homes.

Home for the Holidays
November 8, 2008
Over 150 shops decorated with red bows, thousands of twinkling lights and ropes of garland will welcome visitors to another season of unique gift shopping for Christmas. Various entertainments are available for the seven-week festival. Stages are scattered around town to accommodate large choral groups and church choirs while single individuals and small groups stroll around the town playing instruments, singing and thoroughly delighting shoppers. Of course, the train is always available for a ride through town and Santa is available for photographs.

For more information on events in Spring Texas please view the events calendar by clicking here http://explorespring.com/pages/EventsCalendar

Spring Texas Attractions
(The following information about Spring Texas Attractions has been directly sourced from: http://www.shopspringtexas.com/index.html. To find out more about an individual attraction, please visit the individual sites listed below.)

Spring Historical Museum
The museum features historical documents, photos and other artifacts related to the history of the area.

Civil War Museum
The Civil War Museum is located at Thyme Square on Noble Street and is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday.

Cypresswood Golf Club
http://www.cypresswood.com
Cypresswood Golf Club is one of the most prominent daily fee golf complexes in the Southern United States. Situated on over 800 acres of rolling, heavily wooded terrain along the confluence of Spring and Cypress creeks, this 54-hole golf facility offers three unique golf experiences and the finest of playing conditions.
The Creek and the Cypress courses earned Golf Digest’s ranking of the “Best New Course” in 1988 and 1989, respectively. The golf cousres offer a challenging and exciting golfing experience, with dramatic topography and are nestled within the native forest of North Houston.

For more information on Spring Texas visit their official website by clicking here http://explorespring.com

For the Spring Texas Visitors Bureau website click here http://www.shopspringtexas.com/index.html

For the Old Town Spring Texas official website click here http://www.oldtownspringtx.com/index.htm