Carved stone marks change to old stage stop

A message from nearly a century ago surfaced last month when a fragment of inscribed rock emerged during electrical work at the HuebnerOnion Homestead, a historic landmark dating back to 1858. That’s the year Austrian immigrant Joseph Huebner began building on a once remote site that is now at the center of Leon Valley, a municipality in Northwest San Antonio.

First, some background about the homestead.

Huebner, a jeweler by trade, continued to add to his acreage, where he raised cattle, and to build limestone structures on his creekside property — a one-room house that later became a cookhouse, followed by a larger, two-story house later trimmed with a porch and a balcony and a stacked-stone barn.

The Huebners sometimes provided food and lodging for stagecoach passengers if a rising creek halted the travelers’ progress to Bandera as they headed west to California. The stage stop’s services included blacksmithing and fresh horses along with overnight accommodations, says a Texas Historical Commission marker, and “well into the early 20th century, the family continued to operate the ranch, watering hole and livery service on this land.”

Huebner died in 1882 at 58; according to legend, he drank a visitor’s whiskey and somehow mistook a bottle of kerosene for more of the same. The pioneer

was buried on the property and subsequently gave his name to several important features of the growing community — a road, a creek, eventually a school and many businesses.

The other half of the homestead’s history belongs to the Onion family. In 1930, the family of Judge John F. “Pete” Onion Sr. and his wife, Harriet, bought a section of the Huebner property and moved into the house with their twin sons, John “Jack” and James “Jim,” born in 1925, who also grew up to be judges. Harriet Onion, a teacher at the local schools, remained in the historic home until her death in 1983.

After a period of decline, the Leon Valley Historical Society raised funds for a multiyear restoration project that preserved the 19th-century structures and developed the surrounding land into a natural

area. The property has been recognized as a Texas Historic Landmark and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Because of its age and architectural significance, the property has needed nearperpetual renovation throughout this century.

That’s how it gave up its latest mystery.

During some recent work on the main house, the contractor’s crew “found an interesting rock” while digging a trench for electrical line, said Ruth Lyle, a historical society board member. The piece of stone that popped up in the landmark’s front yard is carved with “S Zettner/1933.” Because it’s an irregularly shaped piece, it could be missing additional letters or words.

During the early to mid-1930s, as reported to society volunteers by Jack’s son

Frank Onion, the family made some additions to the first and second floors of the house. “I’m wondering if Zettner was a stonemason or builder at that time,” said Linda Persyn, a past president of the Leon Valley Historical Society. “Any information about ‘S Zettner’ would be appreciated.”

Some research into that has turned up a possibility.

Lyle learned from the society’s archives that the builder of the addition — which included two bathrooms for the growing family — was Falbo Bros., part of a well-connected family in the construction business.

Checking the last name on the stone fragment — either “Zettner” or maybe “Zeffner,” others tracked down a good possibility. At the Conservation Society of San Antonio’s library, a volunteer found Carl S.

Zettner in the San Antonio city directories for 1931-32 and 193435 as well as a mention of him having been involved in a renovation project (a house “modernized with materials and workmanship”) advertised as a show house by Ed. Steves & Sons Lumber in the San Antonio Express, Dec. 2, 1934, within the time frame of the Onion addition.

At the San Antonio Genealogical and Historical Society library, registrar Stephen Mabie found the Zettner family in the 1930 U.S. Census. At that time, there were three sons in their 20s — Walter, Theodore and Carl — all living with their mother and sister and all listed as plumbers. Carl, the eldest, was then a master plumber and owner of a shop. Ten years later, Carl was still a plumber, while the others had changed professions: Walter was listed as a schoolteacher, and Theodore had become a firefighter. None is ever identified as a stonemason, but the inscription isn’t especially precise, although some of the blurring might have to do with being buried and dug up again.

Still mysterious … why would one of at least a few contractors working on the Onions’ home addition want to memorialize their contribution to the project? Youthful esprit or a lost tradition in the building trades? If you’ve seen similar inscribed stones, for Zettner or another contractor, share your finds and photos with this column.

Leon Valley Historical Society A stone recently unearthed at the Huebner-Onion Homestead, which dates back to 1858, may refer to a contractor who worked on a 1930s addition.