Welcome to Helotes

Surrounded by the beauty of the Texas Hill County, located just northwest of San Antonio, Helotes was incorporated in 1981 as a Type A General Law City. Helotes, whose name is derived from the Spanish word elotes or “corn,” has been on Texas maps since the nineteenth century. Today, the City of Helotes is a unique community that maintains its small-town tranquility and family-oriented activities. Citizens remain committed to economic prosperity while balancing environmental consciousness and historic preservation with modern revitalization.

Helotes (pronounced hel-LO-tes), a town twenty miles northwest of downtown San Antonio, dates back to the 1850s. On Bandera Road (State Highway 16) between the towns of Bandera and San Antonio, Helotes became a stagecoach stop in the 1860s, with a post office established in 1873. Home of the famous John T. Floore Country Store dance hall and the annual Cornyval Festival; Helotes is known as a place to “let down yer hair and kick up yer heels.” This hill country town, incorporated in 1981, took its nature from the ancient creek that meanders through the town.

Helotes remained primarily rural until the late 20th century. With a population of about 10,000, Helotes still retains its small-town appeal. In 2013, Bloomberg Businessweek named Helotes the Best Small Town in Texas to Raise Kids. Renowned as much for its citizens’ independent spirit as for its hill country landscape, frontier history, and fun-lovin’ attitude, Helotes is the quintessential Texas town.