The Voelcker Farmstead Historic District

During the Pre-Columbian Period, the ancient Pinta Trail ran through or very near to what is now the Voelcker Farmstead District.18 Early Native Americans used this trail to travel to and from what is today's city of San Antonio and the general vicinity of what is now the town of Fredericksburg. Later, various explorers and early European settlers also used this trail.19

In 1841, John Coker, a South Carolina native and veteran of the Battle of San Jacinto, moved onto land he had received as a first-class headright, thus founding a community along the often dry Salado Creek that became known as The Coker Settlement. Located at the time outside of San Antonio city limits, the settlement was bounded by the current San Antonio streets of Nakoma Avenue, West Avenue, Bitters Road, and U.S. Hwy. 281.20 Through time, the ancestors of both Max and Minnie Voelcker moved into the Coker Settlement.

In 1890, Max's father, Louis Voelcker, purchased 200 acres in the J. B. Thompson Survey on the Salado Creek from his older sister, Ida Smith, for $1,000. Over the next sixteen years, he continued to substantially expand his farm properties in the same general area upstream from the original Coker Settlement, growing his dairy business during the same time.21

As the 1900s ended, in fact, many families had dairies along the Salado Creek, so many so that people in San Antonio often called the area "Buttermilk Hill."22

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The Voelcker Farmstead Historic District