Castroville was established in 1844 by
Henri Castro, an
empresario of the
Republic of Texas, who brought several dozen European families from the
Upper Rhine valley regions of
Alsace and
Baden to populate his land grant along the
Medina River, some 25 miles (40 km) west of
San Antonio. Long after its foundation the city retained a strongly Alsatian character, both in the continued common use of the
Alsatian language into the mid-twentieth century, and in the Alsatian architecture that characterizes the community to the present day.[2]
The oldest portion of the city, surrounded on three sides by a bend in the Medina River, was designated a
United States historic district on the
National Register of Historic Places on April 3, 1970,[3] in recognition of the old town's well-preserved colonial Alsatian architecture and unusual cultural heritage, for which it is known as the "little Alsace" of Texas.[4] Castroville's was one of the first three United States historic districts to be designated in Texas.[5]
The NRHP nomination specified twelve
contributing properties within the district, including the
Landmark Inn State Historic Site (an NRHP-listed site in its own right), St. Louis Catholic Church, and a number of private residences exemplifying the prevailing architectural style. Including some of these twelve properties, the district contains numerous
Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks, many of them especially well-preserved residences of early colonists.[2]
Architectural character
The structures surveyed during the designation of the historic district, constructed between 1844 and the 1880s, share common architectural elements that mark the old town's Alsatian character. The oldest houses typically contain two rooms and a
loft, with thick,
stuccoedlimestone walls,
beams of
cypress or
cedar wood, and sloping,
gabled roofs of
tin or cypress
wood shingles. A kitchen is typically either attached as a rear
shed or built into a nearby free-standing structure. The houses are generally set close to the fronts of their lots, and many have full-width front
porches.[2]
Historic properties
Historic properties within Castroville Historic District
Landmark Inn State Historic Site (about 1844); National Register of Historic Places #72001368, 1972; Recorded Texas Historic Landmark #3031, 1965[6]
Old St. Louis Church (1846); Recorded Texas Historic Landmark #5053, 1966[7]
Claude M. Dubuis House (1847); Recorded Texas Historic Landmark #1291, 1966[8]
St. Louis Catholic Church (1868–1870); Recorded Texas Historic Landmark #5051, 1970[9]
F. Xavier Schmidt House (about 1870); Recorded Texas Historic Landmark #1523, 1966[10]
Louis Haller House (about 1877); Recorded Texas Historic Landmark #3135, 1978[11]
Castroville was established in 1844 by
Henri Castro, an
empresario of the
Republic of Texas, who brought several dozen European families from the
Upper Rhine valley regions of
Alsace and
Baden to populate his land grant along the
Medina River, some 25 miles (40 km) west of
San Antonio. Long after its foundation the city retained a strongly Alsatian character, both in the continued common use of the
Alsatian language into the mid-twentieth century, and in the Alsatian architecture that characterizes the community to the present day.[2]
The oldest portion of the city, surrounded on three sides by a bend in the Medina River, was designated a
United States historic district on the
National Register of Historic Places on April 3, 1970,[3] in recognition of the old town's well-preserved colonial Alsatian architecture and unusual cultural heritage, for which it is known as the "little Alsace" of Texas.[4] Castroville's was one of the first three United States historic districts to be designated in Texas.[5]
The NRHP nomination specified twelve
contributing properties within the district, including the
Landmark Inn State Historic Site (an NRHP-listed site in its own right), St. Louis Catholic Church, and a number of private residences exemplifying the prevailing architectural style. Including some of these twelve properties, the district contains numerous
Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks, many of them especially well-preserved residences of early colonists.[2]
Architectural character
The structures surveyed during the designation of the historic district, constructed between 1844 and the 1880s, share common architectural elements that mark the old town's Alsatian character. The oldest houses typically contain two rooms and a
loft, with thick,
stuccoedlimestone walls,
beams of
cypress or
cedar wood, and sloping,
gabled roofs of
tin or cypress
wood shingles. A kitchen is typically either attached as a rear
shed or built into a nearby free-standing structure. The houses are generally set close to the fronts of their lots, and many have full-width front
porches.[2]
Historic properties
Historic properties within Castroville Historic District
Landmark Inn State Historic Site (about 1844); National Register of Historic Places #72001368, 1972; Recorded Texas Historic Landmark #3031, 1965[6]
Old St. Louis Church (1846); Recorded Texas Historic Landmark #5053, 1966[7]
Claude M. Dubuis House (1847); Recorded Texas Historic Landmark #1291, 1966[8]
St. Louis Catholic Church (1868–1870); Recorded Texas Historic Landmark #5051, 1970[9]
F. Xavier Schmidt House (about 1870); Recorded Texas Historic Landmark #1523, 1966[10]
Louis Haller House (about 1877); Recorded Texas Historic Landmark #3135, 1978[11]