Anthropologists say that the Helotes area was occupied seasonally by small bands of Indians in search for food. In the late 17th century this land was occupied by the Lipan Apache and it was that way till the 18th century. The Comanche Indians forced the Lipan people from the land in early 1820’s which allowed small farming ranchers to come in. Unfortunately those ranchers were under occasional attacks until the late 1870’s by the Comanche.

It wasn’t until 1858 when a Scottish immigrant decided to purchase this land and it would later become the site of a small town. The immigrant’s home, due to the small town, often was the stagecoach stop and the post office. His heirs decided to sell their parts of the land in 1880 to a Swiss immigrant who built a home and a mercantile store around which the town of Helotes was born. The land was sold again then two more times before 1946 when a gentleman decided to open the country store. It is still open today and top talent plays there.

As the urban area of San Antonio expanded and approached the city limits of Helotes , the people of Helotes decided to negotiate to make there small town their own city not part of San Antonio. Then in October of 1981, Helotes became its own city.

As history progressed, the city of Helotes began to shape itself in to what it currently is today. But still today the resident struggle with trying to keep the rugged charm and still allow for the modern world to bring in more business.

The population of Helotes is 7,725 people. This small city stretches out 85.6 square miles but only has 96 people per square mile. That is very low for this area of Texas . 86 percent of this population is White, while 2.24 percent is black, Hispanic or Latino of any race make up 26.49 percent and 2.26 percent Asian. The balance between males and females are very close being only separated by one percent in favor of the female gender.

Only 8 percent of the population pays some type of landlord to live in their home, where the rest decide to own their own land. The median household value in Texas is 106,000 dollars where Helotes is on the high scale at 188,000 dollars. The median age here in 78023 is 38.2 years old where their household averages 2.8 people bringing in an income of 77,828 dollars. That is well above the Texas state average.

Helotes is only 2 hours, 125 miles to the Mexico border, 3 hours, 215 miles to Houston, and 4 hours, 284 miles to Dallas. From Helotes you are just a highway drive a way since the major highway going through town links to a network of highways. It’s not that far away from Austin and just a couple of steps further to Waco.

Since Texas borders Mexico, you can see that many of the population are some type of Hispanic. With that 79 percent of the area calls English their first language while 18 percent call Spanish their first language. Many of the population can speak both because it will help relations all the way around.

When talking about education, people in Helotes can go to elementary school within its city limits but then some may have to travel to next door neighbor San Antonio for their high school education. There is one elementary school in Helotes , no middle schools, one high school with no colleges.

Helotes is just a hop and a jump on highway 16 northwest out of San Antonio. Most people in this area feel that they have to venture to San Antonio if they want to do anything or have any fun. Well then they do not know what kind of land they live in.

Now it is true that Helotes is a small, tight night community but that does not mean that the local people do not know how to entertain. Depending on the time of year, you can really enjoy some good entertainment. There are bike shows and local competitions to bring the community together.

If you are deciding to visit this small city outside of San Antonio, then you will have to find some accommodations outside of town. There are not any hotels that are in town that come up on the map. The closest ones are right inside the San Antonio city limits. There are resorts, spas and even the home comforts of a bed and breakfast. So depending on what kind of experience you are looking to get while you visit the surrounding areas of San Antonio, you can receive it. 

Helotes is a great place that you can outside of the main city limits and enjoy a number of different parks. You can sit outside almost year round and enjoy the nice climate that the state of Texas can offer. The cool, non humid air hits your face and the gentle breeze can rock you to sleep. This is the perfect time and weather to find a good book to cuddle up next to or start up writing the poems that you have stopped because you haven’t had the time. Also, if you are looking for some thrills, less than fifteen miles away is an amusement park in which there are acres, upon acres of attractions and rides in which you can occupy yourself for the whole day.

If you are looking for a tasty treat right off highway 16 that you would enjoy. Being old fashioned is not a bad thing when your burgers taste that good. So many great reviews have come from the service of this establishment. The service, ambiance, and the food leave people with a good taste in their mouth. Also, if you are looking for a nice sit down, elegant, great atmosphere, four store restaurants, then a little place of the Scenic Loop would be your cup of tea. There was very limited negative reviews and mostly great talk about the atmosphere of the restaurant.

Sometimes you just want to catch flick and just kick back and have some over price popcorn and soda. Helotes has a 16 movie, theater in town that the residence can view. If they want a larger than life experience, they can drive down the 1604 to the I-10 the biggest screen in town. Do not sit on the front row due to fact the screen is to big to see anything going on around the only point you can actually see.

How does one get around in the 78023 zip code? When the inhabitants of Helotes have to go to work 83 percent of people drive their own car, 10 percent carpool, and 5 percent decide to work from home. Most people decide to find work outside of the city because of the opportunity for employment. It takes the majority of the city 20 to 24 minutes to drive to their place of work while 7 percent of the community of Helotes has to travel 45 minutes or more to work everyday.

Depending on what time of year in Helotes , the community in or around it is doing something to pull the city together. They have annual tug-o-war contests among the different business. They have annual motorcycle shows that display local and regional talent in terms of creativity and they have local and regional artist come in and display their musical talent. Some events have been going on for years while some have recently taken place in hopes of becoming an annual event.

Maybe shopping is what you are really looking to get into. Well in the actual city limits of 78023 , there are not major shops as you would find in the larger cities. There are more mom and pop type places. It is good for a community like Helotes to contribute to the local economy. There are shops there that have been there since the city came into being. Otherwise if you are looking for the big box clothing, electronic or supplies you will have to check out the major city to the south east of town.