The area now known as Spring was originally inhabited bythe Orcoquiza Native Americans. In 1836 the Texas General Council of the Provisional Government placed what is now Spring in the Harrisburg municipality. In 1838 William Pierpont placed a trading post on Spring Creek. In 1840 Spring had 153 residents. By the mid-1840s many German immigrants, including Carl Wunsche, moved to the area and began farming. People from Louisiana and the post-United States Civil War Southern U.S. settled in Spring. The main cash crops in Spring were sugar cane and cotton; area residents also grew vegetables.
By 1947 Spring had 700 residents. Starting in 1969 the Goodyear airship America was based in Spring. By 1970 Spring had 950 residents. In the 1970s Houston's suburbs began to expand to the north. More subdivisions and residential areas opened in the Spring area. Some older houses in Spring received restorations and housed shops. The Old Town Spring Association opened in 1980 to promote the Old Town Spring shopping area, which consists of the restored houses. In 1984 and 1989 Spring had 15,000 residents. By 1989 Old Town Spring became a tourist area. In 1990 Spring had 33,111 residents. In 1992 Goodyear moved America to Akron, Ohio.