In 1842, Empresario Henry Castro brought his first colonists to Texas to settle land west of the Medina River. Most of the immigrants were from the Rhine River area of Europe. Many claimed the province of Alsace, on the border of France and Germany, . . . — — Map (db m79054) HM
A native of Hettingen, Prussia, and a Mason by trade, Arcadius Steinle emigrated to the U.S. in 1844 and moved to Castroville the next year. In 1847, he wed Marie Ann Dreyer and began construction of this home, where they reared six children. . . . — — Map (db m193028) HM
Castroville was founded by Empresario Henri Castro in 1844. By the mid-1840s, immigrants, many from the Alsatian region in Europe, began to settle here. The unique Alsatian culture was recreated in the countryside of Medina County and largely . . . — — Map (db m193017) HM
Jean Baptiste Cordier (1804-1881) built this Alsatian pioneer dwelling after migrating to Texas in 1844. The native limestone structure had three downstairs rooms and an attic. Cordier sold the cottage in 1847 to blacksmith Stephan Ahr (1821-1903) . . . — — Map (db m193021) HM
Castroville was settled in September 1844 by predominately Catholic immigrants, brought to Texas by Empresario Henry Castro from the Alsace region of France along the Rhine River bordering Germany. It is long established European custom for a . . . — — Map (db m193099) HM
This compound reflects a continuum of Castroville's history from before the Civil War. German immigrants Louis and Rosina (Niggli) Dolch built the stone house c. 1860. They stayed only a few years, but retained ownership into the 1880s, when . . . — — Map (db m193025) HM
The two original rooms in this house were erected 1847 by Father Claude M. Dubuis from Lyons, France, aided by Father Chazelle (who soon died of typhus). Father Dubuis, the first priest in Castro's colony was captured twice by Comanches 1847, but . . . — — Map (db m193034) HM
Built about 1870 by German artisan who constructed many houses in area. Cypress logs were floated down the Medina River, adzed lengthwise for attic timbers. Has 22-inch walls of limestone quarried nearby, hand-carved stone fireplace, outside . . . — — Map (db m193051) HM
Erected 1854; first permanent courthouse in Castroville, the first seat (1848-1892) of Medina County. When built, structure was on old road to San Antonio.
This building took place of temporary office space which County Court had used 6 . . . — — Map (db m130157) HM
In 1846, General John Ellis Wool amassed an army of 3,400 troops in San Antonio to invade Chihuahua, Mexico. Departing from Camp Crockett crossing the Medina River and passing through Castroville and Quihi, Wool’s plans changed after receiving . . . — — Map (db m130158) HM
Henri Castro, a native of Bayonne, France, and the descendant of Portuguese nobility, served briefly in Napoleon's French Army. In 1813 he married Marie Amelia Mathias. He later immigrated to the United States and in 1827 became a naturalized U.S. . . . — — Map (db m130159) HM
Early Castroville colonist and Dutch immigrant Marie Becker Ihnken was buried just north of this site in 1847 by her son, Gerhard. The German born Gerhard married Marie Jeanne Pichot on October 22, 1846. The Pichot family arrived on the first of . . . — — Map (db m193054) HM
Both the Lipan Apaches and the Payaya are known to have hunted in these hills and fished in the Medina River long before Castroville was settled in 1844. Most were hunters and gatherers, and relatively peaceful. Some were known to trade with the . . . — — Map (db m193083) HM
In 1950, Mr. & Mrs. Hoog purchased these 126.2 acres from the Ihnken Family. In 1968, they sold it to the City of Castroville at a fraction of its worth, with the stipulation that it be turned into a park for everyone to enjoy.
Thanks to a . . . — — Map (db m193064) HM
These limestone structures along the Eagle Pass - San Antonio road at the Medina River ford were once centers of trade, travel, industry, and domestic
life. Alsatian colonist Michel Simon settled here in 1844, followed by Caesar Monod, who built . . . — — Map (db m201908) HM
1766: The Governor of Spain gave a large parcel of land to the Indians of Mission San Jose. It was later conveyed to John McMullen, becoming known as the "McMullen Grant".
1800: The land, including what is now the Castroville Regional . . . — — Map (db m193063) HM
Born in Neufreystadt, Baden, Louis Huth Jr. first met Henri Castro in Paris in 1842 and became an important figure in the establishment of Castro's Colony in Texas. Huth's father, Ludwig, provided much of the funding for immigrant supplies and . . . — — Map (db m193024) HM
Medina Lake was constructed in 1912 as an irrigation reservoir. Its 26-mile gravity-flow canal system delivers water to 34,000 acres of farmland via earthen canals. Wooden trestles and flumes, like the one in the photo below, used to carry water . . . — — Map (db m193086) HM
Named for the Rev. John Martin Moye, founder (1762) of the Sisters of Divine Providence, religious order that opened school in Castroville in 1868, and built first part of this structure in 1873: first mother house of the order in the United . . . — — Map (db m116588) HM
German native Henry Renken created this cemetery in 1876 upon the death of his wife, Lissette (Kueck) Renken. She was buried on property owned by Gerhard Ihnken that Renken had sold to him in 1874. Renken was an active contributor to the Castroville . . . — — Map (db m193060) HM
Henri Castro (1786-1861), a naturalized American of French origin, befriended the Republic of Texas and became interested in settling here. In 1842 he was given authority to establish a colony of Europeans in Southwest Texas. He succeeded in . . . — — Map (db m130155) HM
Planned, according to tradition, by the Rev. Peter Richard, pastor who came from Loire, France, 1868. First (1847-51) resident pastor, the Most Rev. Claude Dubuis, returned as Bishop of Texas to lay cornerstone on July 2, 1868.
Locally . . . — — Map (db m130396) HM
This cemetery has, served the Parish of St. Louis Catholic Church since the founding of Castroville in 1844. The original burial ground is outlined by the stone wall, which was built in 1860. The earliest marked grave is that of Katharina Haldy . . . — — Map (db m193100) HM
Built by Alsatian settlers of Castro Colony, in Republic of Texas dedicated by the Rt. Rev. John Odin, C.M., first Catholic Bishop of Texas, on Nov. 9, 1846. Claude Dubuis, 1847 pastor, was later a Bishop of Texas. Here in 1868 Sisters of Divine . . . — — Map (db m180014) HM
Since as early as 1847 residents of Castroville have conducted a community holiday on or about the 25th of August--the Catholic observance of the Feast of St. Louis. Local tradition recalls that early processions escorted clergy from the priests' . . . — — Map (db m79053) HM
Constructed in 1849 with local limestone, mortar, and cypress lumber, this building includes elements of Alsatian domestic architecture found in Castroville. The 18-inch-thick walls were originally coated with a whitewashed lime plaster, while . . . — — Map (db m201907) HM
Many of the German settlers who arrived here in the 1840s were Lutherans who kept their religious traditions by meeting for worship in their homes. The Rev. Christian Oefinger sailed from Bremen, Germany, arriving in Galveston. From there he made . . . — — Map (db m130156) HM