Helotes comes from the Spanish word “elote�, which means stalk corn or corn-on-the-cob. Over a period of many centuries, several Native American Indian tribes used the fertile land in and around the Helotes area to plant and raise their corn crops. They would come out of the Hill Country each year for the growing season and when the tribal medicine men would taste the corn and declare it to be ripe and ready to be eaten, the harvest would begin. At the end of the harvest, the Native American Indians would celebrate and feast before taking their harvested corn and return to their permanent camps in the hills. The first settlers in the Helotes area date back to the 1850s. For many years, they had to fight the Native American Indians, sometimes each other, and put up with many other hardships to survive. But survive they did, and with their survival they placed Helotes onto the path that brings us to where we are today, a thriving and vibrant community we can with great pride call home.
new and first permanent local post office in Helotes. It was located in the building that is now Doris Young Realty in our Old Town District on Old Bandera Road. In 1967, Cornyval grew in size as the first Cornyval Parade and the first Miss Helotes scholarship pageant were added to the festivities, and the tradition took a firm hold in the history of Helotes. The Lions Club of Helotes was instrumental in organizing the celebration until the Helotes Festival Association a ssumed the responsibility and expanded the Cornyval into a four day extravaganza.
Cornyval, a celebration stemming from the tradition of the corn harvest, has a rich history of its own dating back to 1966 when residents in the area came together to celebrate the opening of the
Helotes: Gateway to the Texas Hill Country
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