Verna Hernandez, left, and her 79-year-old mother Evangeline Skees have lived in Von Ormy their entire lives and run AJM Foods there. Residents there face a vote for incorporation on Saturday. Photo by John Davenport, San Antonio Express-News

By Noi Mahoney
Editor

It’s only been two years since Von Ormy residents began the process of incorporating their rural community into a city. But some residents said the decision is 150 years in the making.

“San Antonio is urban and Von Ormy is rural, said Art Martinez de Vara, chairman of the Committee to Incorporate Von Ormy. “We don’t have a voice.”

Earlier this year, the San Antonio City Council approved a resolution granting Von Ormy the right to start incorporation proceedings. Von Ormy residents will vote whether to incorporate on Saturday.

If residents approve incorporation, Von Ormy will become the first new city in Bexar County since the Hill Country community of Helotes was incorporated in 1981.

If the measure passes, residents would have to wait six months before they could elect a mayor.

Bexar County Precinct 1 Commissioner Sergio “Chico” Rodriguez said he supports Von Ormy’s incorporation because it will help the growth and prosperity of southern Bexar County.

“Remember Helotes in the 1970s, when Helotes and Leon Valley were long drives outside of San Antonio,” Rodriguez said. “Now, those two communities are a big part of San Antonio. They helped San Antonio grow. Now, you see Von Ormy. It’s really coming up and is going to be a huge part of south Bexar County.”

While the majority of the community’s 509 registered voters may support incorporation, there have been a few critics.

“There have been a few naysayers, but the majority of the community supports becoming a city,” Martinez de Vara said.

According to Von Ormy historians, Von Ormy sprang up during the Spanish colonial era in the early 19th century.

The community formed along the natural crossing point of the Medina River on the Camino Real between San Antonio and Saltillo. Von Ormy was known then as “Paso de las Garza’s” or “Garza’s Crossing.”

After the War for Texas Independence in 1836, the town was known as “Mann’s Crossing.” The city changed its name to “Von Ormy” in honor of Prussian Count Norbert Von Ormay in December 1886.

Today, the historic town center lies near Interstate 35 South and Benton City Road. It is located on about 1.8-square-miles and has about 1,500 residents.

It consists of a few houses, a post office and a church. Familiar businesses and landmarks in Von Ormy include AJM Food Store, an RV park, several truck stops, the “castle” where Count Ormay once lived and two historic cemeteries.

There is no sewer system and Von Ormy relies on the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office for police protection.

Martinez de Vara said if incorporation is approved, the newly formed city would be able to start its own police department and apply for grants from state and federal agencies to cover projects such as building water towers or creating a sewer system.

“By forming a city, at least we have a voice in regional planning committees and inter-governmental boards,” Martinez de Vara said. “We have a community that needs services. (City officials) in San Antonio said they can’t provide those services. We can provide those services for ourselves.”

The bulk of the new city’s expenses would be paid for by a 1.5 percent sales tax, the bulk of it coming from three truck stops along Interstate 35 South, Martinez de Vara said.

He also said Von Ormy’s property tax would be around $0.25 per $100 of assessed value, far below San Antonio’s rate of $1.04 per $100 valuation.