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 Huebner-Onion Homestead and Stagecoach Stop Posted by:  Team 57
N 29° 29.640 W 098° 36.997
14R E 537162 N 3262779
A marker commemorating the Old Onion House (aka, Huebner-Onion Homestead and Stagecoach Stop).
Waymark Code: WMAXBH
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 03/07/2011
Views: 16
The marker is located at 6613 Bandera Road. It is fenced off because vandals would go in and spray paint the building while they were trying to restore it. The Leon Valley Historical Society is trying to raise funds in order to continue the restoration.
Marker Number: 14818
Marker Text:
This site was home to two important area families, as well as a stagecoach stop in the 1800s. Development here began in 1858 when Joseph Huebner and his family, who arrived from Austria five years earlier, bought acreage surrounding what is now Huebner Creek and Huebner Road. A successful San Antonio businessman, he soon erected three limestone buildings here and began to acquire herds of horses, mules and cattle. He also opened a stagecoach stop at the family's homestead ranch on the San Antonio to Bandera stage line route. The stop included blacksmith services, change of stock and overnight accommodations if travelers were unable to pass over the flooded creek. Joseph Huebner died in 1882 and was buried on the homestead property.
After Huebner's death, and well into the early 20th century, the family continued to operate the ranch, watering hole and livery service on this land. In 1930, Judge John F. Onion and his wife Harriet acquired a section of the Huebner property that included the homestead site. John (d. 1955) began a family tradition, working as a lawyer and later serving as a San Antonio Municipal Judge, Bexar County Justice of the Peace and Bexar County District Judge. Harriet (d. 1983) was a schoolteacher in Leon Valley.
Due to metropolitan growth, the homestead was in danger of disappearing, but grassroots efforts led by the Historical Society of Leon Valley, along with corporate donations and the purchase of land, helped save this historic property. Today, it serves as a natural area and educational site.
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Visit Instructions:
Please include a picture in your log. You and your GPS receiver do not need to be in the picture. We encourage additional information about your visit (comments about the surrounding area, how you ended up near the marker, etc.) in the log.
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