Located about 20 miles north of Houston, the town of Spring, Texas is an unincorporated but autonomous district straddling northern Harris and southern Montgomery counties. The town's population is 36,385 (as of 2000), a modest number that gives Spring a rural feel in a suburban area. Spring's easy access to both Houston and The Woodlands means that it is an excellent place to live, and the town was listed as one of the "Top 1,000 Places to Retire" in a recent US News & World Report survey. People moving to Spring will soon have all of these amenities and more.
Economy:
The early settlers of the Spring area focused mainly on agriculture (especially sugar cane and cotton production), although trade was always a factor. The town only really grew with the arrival of the railroads, and for many years Spring's economy remained dependent on that industry. Since the 1960s, Spring has been mostly economically-dependent on its proximity to Houston, with much of its residents' employment in the larger city. There are indications that this may change, as the Houston Business Journal reported in January 2010 that ExxonMobil planned to build a major corporate campus in the Spring area. Spring moving companies are busily relocating new families and excited new residents to this flourishing area.
History:
The earliest inhabitants of the Spring area were the Orcoquisac Indians, and both French and Spanish traders established posts to trade with them by the end of the 18th century. European settlement began in the early 1800s and flourished with Texas' independence from Mexico in 1836. A rural community, made up in large part by German immigrants, brought the population of Spring to 153 by 1840. The 1870s arrival of the railroads named the town and brought in more population. Railroad workers laying tracks through the winter named the site "Camp Spring" when they arrived in the springtime, and it became an official settlement in 1873. The town was a railroad base of operations and a crossroad for intersecting rail lines, and the population flourished over the following 50 years. Railroad operations moved to Houston in 1923, rapidly reducing Spring's importance and population (the 1200 people residing in Spring in 1910 had shrunk to only 300 by 1931). With Houston's 1960s oil boom, Spring's population rebounded, and steady growth through the 1970s and 1980s led to the town it is today.
Tourism:
Although close to the attractions of Houston, Spring has many draws of its own. Festivals occur throughout the year in Spring, with the most prominent being Springfest (celebrating wine, art and food each March), the Texas Crawfish & Music Festival (held on the last two weekends in April), the Long Horn Rod Run (on the last weekend in September) and Down Home Christmas (mid-November). Cultural attractions include the Old Town Spring area (featuring historic buildings, boutiques, galleries, wineries and specialty stores), the Spring Historical Museum, the Civil War Museum and the Pearl Fincher Museum of Fine Arts (opened in 2008). Performing arts find a home at the Cypress Creek Foundation for the Arts & Community Enrichment cultural center at the Centrum. The closest airport to Spring is the Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, and there is bus transit throughout Harris County on Houston's METRO service.