Enoch Jones Farmstead

Before Texas, Jones built canals. As a young man he contracted to construct locks on the western division of the Pennsylvania Canal, and in 1832 he built the dam at Johnstown. He kept a store and made lumber in Detroit, then joined John William Smith in buying Republic of Texas land scrip for cash, until the two controlled as much as 175,000 acres. Back in San Antonio he ran a large store on Main Plaza and helped incorporate the San Antonio and Mexican Gulf Railway. Opposed to secession, he closed the store in 1861.

What the plaque says

Enoch Jones Farmstead Enoch Jones (1802-1863) purchased the land at this site, part of an 1808 Spanish colonial land grant to Ygnacio Perez, in 1837. An Ohio native, Jones was already a nationally known engineer when he moved to Texas permanently in 1846. He opened a general merchandise store in San Antonio and became a prominent citizen. In 1851 Jones bought out his partner John Smith to become the sole owner of this land. Though some evidence suggests that earlier buildings may have been present, construction began on the farmstead buildings in 1856 with stone quarried on site. A large house, barn, and outbuildings were erected. After Jones' death, the family continued to live on the property until they sold it in 1895 to Count Norbert Von Ormay (Ormy) of Prussia and his wife. The Von Ormays intended to establish a royal court in the home, but sold the property within two years. Though he was a resident of the area only a short time, the count's name was adopted by the community as Von Ormy. After a series of owners, T. B. Baker bought the land in 1915. The president of Baker Hotels, the new owner called his land the St. Anthony Ranch, for the St. Anthony Hotel in San Antonio. The Baker family held the property until 1994. The "Castle on the Medina" has been home to many prominent area families. Its legacy stands as a memorial to the pioneers of Bexar County. (1998)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• San Antonio Missions National Historical Park — 11 mi
  Four working parish churches on the Mission Trail south of downtown, with the visitor center at Mission San Jose, the Queen of the Missions, and the descendants who still worship there.
• Mission Espada and the Espada Aqueduct — 12 mi
  The southernmost San Antonio mission and the oldest Spanish aqueduct in the United States, still carrying river water over Sixmile Creek to the fields after nearly three centuries.
• Mission San Juan — 12 mi
  The mission near the river bend where the San Antonio got its name in 1691, with an unfinished church foundation and farm fields still watered by an eighteenth-century acequia.
• Mission Concepción — 12 mi
  A stone church dedicated in 1755 that has never fallen into ruin, its convento ceilings still painted, and the ground where the Texas Revolution's fight for San Antonio began.

More markers nearby

• Ruiz-Herrera Cemetery — 1.7 mi
• Rambie-Lewis Family Cemetery — 5.5 mi
• The Rev. John Wesley DeVilbiss — 5.6 mi
• Oak Island Methodist Church and Cemetery — 5.6 mi