The Rio Medina General Store

    The past lives on in the Rio Medina General Store. Since its origination in the early 1900's as the San Geronimo Store, it has been in continuous operation. In 1908, the name was changed to Rio Medina Store when the US Post Office was added. The store was always and still is, the center of this small community.

Groceries, fresh and dry Alsatian sausage and parisa, made locally, homemade sandwiches, cold old-timey sodas, hardware, farm and ranch supplies, antiques and collectibles and a full-service post office and local gossip and news make this one-stop shopping experience just like when your grandparents were kids. Primitives, collectibles and store memorabilia are also on display in every nook.

    The store is open 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. It is located at 3980 FM 471 North in Rio Medina, Texas. Call us at 830-538-2441.

History of Rio Medina

    Located on the eastern edge of Medina County, Rio Medina is just 20 miles west of the city of San Antonio and six miles north of historic Castroville off FM 471 N.

    Settlers from Alsace, France began arriving in this area in the mid-1800's settling along the spring fed Medina River. Haby Settlement, the town that preceded Rio Medina, was named for the Haby families who made their homes just one mile west of Rio Medina. The old limestone and cypress homes, barns, log schoolhouse, and store remind us of times past. All are on private land but are visible from the road. Some are inhabited by descendants of those first families. The Alsatian language and dialect can still be heard among the old-timers, especially when sharing local gossip.

 In the early 1900's, a grand ambitious dream became a reality with the completion of Medina Dam on the Medina River about nine miles north of the Haby Settlement. At the time, it was the largest in Texas and the fourth largest in the world. Up to 3,000 men worked to complete this massive project. The main road from Castroville to the dam site by-passed Haby Settlement, and the new town of Rio Medina emerged.

Rio Medina prospered during construction of the Medina Dam. At various times the town has had a school, several saloons, a dance hall, meat market, cotton gin, automotive garages, general store and post office. People came from miles around to socialize and dance. Socializing is still a favorite pastime in this largely farming community where working farms grow bountiful crops of corn, sorghum, and cotton. Fishing, abundant deer and wild hogs make this a sportsman's paradise as well.

    A friendly meeting place is the local "watering hole," Texas Spirits Saloon, located in a resurrected garage/gas station. This is a real Texas-style beer joint with a great juke box, pool tables and occasional live bands.

Mumme's, a farm and ranch store, supplies feed, seed, fertilizer, livestock equipment and fencing materials.

    The Quihi Gun Club, 12 miles west, with its tin structure and wooden floor, is one of the largest and oldest social clubs in the area. It makes a great dancing atmosphere as you enjoy live music year-round every second and fourth Saturday night. There are also two historic churches and cemeteries marked by Texas Historical markers in the Quihi and New Fountain area worth visiting.

    Several RV campgrounds are in the vicinity. Riverside and Paradise Canyon as well as Medina Lake offer fishing, swimming, tubing, boating and picnicking.

    So if you're in the mood to step back in time, visit the town of Rio Medina, Texas and the General Store. You won't be disappointed.