John T. Floore Country Store
Helotes, Bexar County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In 1945, as the Second World War drew to a close, John T. Floore, manager of San Antonio's Majestic Theatre, purchased land in this vicinity. He created the Floore Subdivision, planning it as a center for the community of Helotes, which had developed at the site of a centuries-old stream crossing for travelers. Floore and his wife originally operated a Red and White Store. Following the example of Bert Hileman, who owned an early dance hall in Helotes, Floore built a store and dance hall at this site circa 1946, offering "bar, café, dance, meats, groceries, real estate and every thing nearly at Floore Country Store." A noted promoter, Floore featured country music acts big and small; notables included Bob Wills, Patsy Cline, Hank Williams, Kitty Wells and Elvis Presley. Residents came from nearby communities for the regular shows. Floore also promoted the Helotes community, helping establish the local volunteer fire department and Lions Club. In addition, he edited the Helotes Echo newspaper, and his articles were said to be instrumental in the creation of the Northside Independent School District for Helotes-area students. His business establishment served as a gathering place for several organizations and events, including the annual Helotes Cornyval Festival. Since Floore's death in 1975, his legacy has continued. Helotes incorporated in 1981 in order to preserve a separate identity from the ever-growing city of San Antonio. With the continuation of musical acts at Floore's County Store, and through the local organizations that grew out of Floore's ideas and civic efforts, the community of Helotes maintains a link to its early years as a stop for refreshment and entertainment at the edge of the Texas Hill Country. (2005)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
As World War II ended in 1945, San Antonio theater manager John T. Floore bought land at a centuries-old creek crossing in Helotes and set out to build a community around it. By 1946 he had opened a store and dance hall, promoting country music acts from Bob Wills and Patsy Cline to Hank Williams and a young Elvis Presley. Floore also helped found the volunteer fire department and Lions Club and edited the local paper, and the hall still hosts music decades after his death in 1975.
Why it matters
Floore's store became a beloved Texas honky-tonk and civic anchor, helping Helotes keep its own identity against the spread of San Antonio.
Plan your visit
NearbyMake a day of it — museums, food, and places to stay near this marker.
Attractions
- Diane Llyod9.0 mi away
- Pirate Ship10.1 mi away
- Air Castles13.3 mi away
- Murchison Tower14.8 mi away
- Scobee Planetarium14.8 mi away
- Terror Mansion14.9 mi away
Places data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Hours and details change — call ahead.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · John T. Floore
- · Bob Wills
- · Patsy Cline
- · Elvis Presley
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Gugger Homestead
Helotes, TX
In the Texas Hill Country west of San Antonio, Swiss immigrants Anton and Marie Gugger were among the pioneers who settled the little crossroads of Helotes. Around 1881 their son Arnold raised this thick-walled limestone building on the bank of Helotes Creek, where it did triple duty as blacksmith shop, general store, and saloon while the family lived upstairs. It even served twice as the town post office, and its 18-inch rough-course walls still anchor the community more than a century later.
Scenic Loop Playground
Grey Forest, TX
In 1929 businessman E.N. Requa laid out Scenic Loop Playground on 320 acres north of San Antonio as a rural retreat for middle-class city workers, offering swimming lakes, bridle trails, and live-oak groves draped in Spanish moss. The Depression slowed lot sales and shifted the resort toward year-round living, and by 1962 the former playground had incorporated as the City of Grey Forest. Many of its buildings were made from native stone and timber.
R. L. White Ranch
Helotes, TX
Ryall Luther White managed the Uvalde Rock Asphalt Company before opening his own Alamo Paving Company in San Antonio in 1920, buying his own rock-asphalt mine and, by 1928, developing a new on-site cold-mix paving process marketed through the Great Depression. Beginning in 1926 he built one of the largest ranches in northwest Bexar County, its buildings — the two-story limestone Lake Pavilion, the Main House, and the Red Cottage — showcasing Texas rustic-style architecture on a grand scale. The ranch's 3,500 acres and historic buildings still reflect the tradition of grand Texas homesteads.
Sunshine Ranch
San Antonio, TX
In 1905 Willie Maverick gave 173 acres along Babcock Road to family members who named the place Sunshine Ranch and built a hilltop home designed by architect Alfred Giles. Their son Jim Maverick opened the Sunshine Dairy in 1917, selling "certified" milk prized for its cleanliness and supplying creameries, delivery routes, and department-store restaurants across San Antonio. The city annexed the land in 1955, and the ranch was sold off and redeveloped as a subdivision.