Valley Spring

Valley Spring is on State Highway 71 twelve miles northwest of Llano in northwestern Llano County. The area was originally settled by the O. C. J. Phillips family in 1854 and was known as Phillips Ranch in the early years. The Phillipses were soon followed by several other families, including that of Davie Owen. Phillips's son, W. O. Phillips, established a cotton gin and sawmill on the ranch in 1860, known as Whistleville because of the steam whistle that announced the opening of his business day. A rival mill and gin were built by Davie Owen less than a mile away and were facetiously referred to as Bugscuffle. When a post office was established for the community in 1878, it was located at the Bugscuffle establishment, which was thereupon renamed for the numerous springs in the area. The stage route from Llano to Brady was changed in 1882, and Owen built a store on the new route, at the site of present Valley Spring. From a population of 100 and several businesses in the 1930s and 1940s, Valley Spring had declined by 1968 to fifty people, a post office, and a store. The population through 2000 was still reported as fifty.