HistoricSiteMarkers
Early Republic

Enoch Jones Farmstead

Von Ormy, Bexar County, Texas

Marker Inscription

Enoch Jones (1802-1863) purchased the land at this site, part of an 1808 Spanish colonial land grant to Ygnacio Perez, in 1837. An Ohio native, Jones was already a nationally known engineer when he moved to Texas permanently in 1846. He opened a general merchandise store in San Antonio and became a prominent citizen. In 1851 Jones bought out his partner John Smith to become the sole owner of this land. Though some evidence suggests that earlier buildings may have been present, construction began on the farmstead buildings in 1856 with stone quarried on site. A large house, barn, and outbuildings were erected. After Jones' death, the family continued to live on the property until they sold it in 1895 to Count Norbert Von Ormay (Ormy) of Prussia and his wife. The Von Ormays intended to establish a royal court in the home, but sold the property within two years. Though he was a resident of the area only a short time, the count's name was adopted by the community as Von Ormy. After a series of owners, T. B. Baker bought the land in 1915. The president of Baker Hotels, the new owner called his land the St. Anthony Ranch, for the St. Anthony Hotel in San Antonio. The Baker family held the property until 1994. The "Castle on the Medina" has been home to many prominent area families. Its legacy stands as a memorial to the pioneers of Bexar County. (1998)

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

Enoch Jones, an Ohio-born engineer, bought this land — part of an 1808 Spanish colonial grant to Ygnacio Perez — in 1837 and settled permanently in Texas by 1846, becoming a prominent San Antonio merchant. Around 1856 he began raising a stone house, barn, and outbuildings quarried on site, the core of the estate later nicknamed the "Castle on the Medina." After Jones's death the place passed through many hands, including a Prussian count whose adopted name, Von Ormy, stuck to the surrounding community.

Why it matters

The farmstead layers Spanish land grant, American settlement, and a touch of European nobility into one place, mirroring the tangled ownership history of early Texas.

Plan your visit

Nearby

Make a day of it — museums, food, and places to stay near this marker.

Museums & culture

Attractions

Food & drink

Places to stay

Places data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Hours and details change — call ahead.

Own a business near here? Add it to the map.

Related people

  • · Enoch Jones
  • · Ygnacio Perez
  • · Norbert Von Ormay

Themes & tags

Westward ExpansionFrontier HistoryHome

Nearby & related markers

McCulloch Cemetery

San Antonio, TX

This burial ground traces to Samuel McCulloch, Jr., wounded at Goliad in October 1835 in the opening weeks of the Texas Revolution and long remembered as among its first casualties. He received this land as a bounty for that service, and the earliest marked grave belongs to his father, who died in 1855. After McCulloch deeded acreage to a Baptist congregation in 1861, the site grew into a community cemetery holding area pioneers, Civil War veterans, and noted potter Louis Meyer.

Military & WartimeWestward Expansion

Rambie-Lewis Family Cemetery

Somerset, TX

Three graves on a corner of one family's land tell the quiet, hard arithmetic of frontier Texas life. Aaron Rambie, a Pennsylvanian who reached Texas around 1848, married his neighbor Ginsey Ann Lewis, but she died at twenty-seven and was buried on her father's land in 1862; a Lewis infant and the couple's eight-year-old daughter followed within a year. Small family burial grounds like this dot the Texas countryside, marking places where settlement meant burying children as often as breaking ground.

Westward Expansion

The Rev. John Wesley DeVilbiss

San Antonio, TX

The Methodist circuit rider John Wesley DeVilbiss came to the young Republic of Texas in 1842 to minister along its southwestern Hispanic borderlands, working to build harmony among the region's varied cultures. In April 1844 he delivered what tradition holds was the first English-language sermon ever preached in San Antonio, and he later inspired the founding of Oak Island Church. A church building of 1872 still holds furniture he and his son crafted by hand.

Westward Expansion

Oak Island Methodist Church and Cemetery

San Antonio, TX

Methodist circuit rider John Wesley DeVilbiss came to the Republic of Texas in 1842 to preach along its southwestern Hispanic frontier, working to build harmony among the region's mingling cultures. In April 1844 he delivered what is remembered as the first English-language sermon ever given in San Antonio. He inspired the founding of Oak Island Church in the late 1860s; the 1872 building still holds furniture he and his son made, and he rests in its cemetery.

Westward Expansion