LEON VALLEY – Located right off Bandera Road in Leon Valley, the Huebner-Onion Homestead and Stagecoach Stop is a historical landmark that is reportedly haunted. KSAT’s Erica Hernandez, Adrian Garcia and members of San Antonio Paranormal Investigations toured the property to see if they could find the ghost of Joseph Huebner, a prominent jeweler in the 1800s.
Joseph Huebner purchased land and built a home in 1862 in what is now Leon Valley.
The frontier home was used as a stagecoach stop and many travelers came through to rest or stay.
Huebner, said to be a bit of a drinker, died an unusual death in 1882.
One day, a carriage stopped at the home with a load of whiskey. While working, Huebner started to drink the whiskey but didn’t realize some of the bottles contained kerosene. After mistakenly drinking one of the bottles, he ran into the house and collapsed.
Linda Persyn, with the Leon Valley Historical Society, said that those who found Huebner could not tell if he was passed out from being drunk or had died. Despite that, he was buried by the creek behind the home.
“Whether he was buried alive or not, he didn’t want to leave,” Persyn said.
Huebner’s Ghost
Strange things weren’t reported until 1930 when the Onion family moved into the house. Neighbors warned that the property was haunted but the family still bought it.
Almost immediately, matriarch Marian Onion and the rest of her family began to hear footsteps and the piano playing on its own.
“They moved in and she tells the ghost stories,” Persyn said. “We have it on tape (from) when she was still living of all the experiences she felt in this home.”
EXPLORE: Find out more about the history of the Hueber-Onion Homestead
The night KSAT 12 visited, psychic Deborah Tudor said she immediately felt the presence of someone there.
“Earlier this evening, I had a feeling of a man walking on the balcony,” Tudor said.
An electronic voice phenomena (EVP) session was conducted to see if anything could be caught on camera.
During that session, Nanette Patton, with SAPI, said she felt something cold close to her that was trying to lead her into another room.
“I’m getting the impression that whoever is here wants us to go that way for some reason,” Patton said.
EXPLORE: See the video of the EVP Session
Besides a few other cold spots inside the house, there wasn’t any other activity caught on camera.
The question remains as to whether Joseph Huebner still haunts the property.