History
The population in the Old Town Spring area started growing in the early 19th century when the Spanish and French came to trade with the local Akokisa (Orcoquisac) Indians. Back then, the town's name, "Old Town Spring," is said to have originated after one of the worst winters in Texas history when a group of tired railroad workers were so happy at the approach of spring that they named their new camp "Camp Spring."
The small town grew consistently until the early 20th century. At one time the town had as many as 5 saloons and a gambling hall. The town thrived on the booming railroad business in South Texas and resulting industrialization.
After the Depression, Prohibition, and a relocation of the railroad headquarters, the small town slowly declined in population until Houston's Oil boom in the 1970s and 1980s brought merchants back to the area to make the town what it is today.
This town is falsely rumored to be known for being a robbery victim of Bonnie and Clyde. Though the bank building still has bullet holes from several robberies in the 1920s and 1930s.
Read more about this topic: Old Town Spring
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—Frances A. Griffin, U.S. suffragist. As quoted in History of Woman Suffrage, vol. 4, ch. 19, by Susan B. Anthony and Ida Husted Harper (1902)
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
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