Castroville, Texas
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Castroville is a city in
Medina County, Texas Medina County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 50,748. Its county seat is Hondo. The county is named for the Medina River. The extreme northern part of the county lies within the Edw ...
, United States. Its population was 2,954 at the 2020 census, up from 2,680 at the 2010 census. It is part of the
San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...
New Braunfels, Texas New Braunfels ( ) is a city in Comal County, Texas, Comal and Guadalupe County, Texas, Guadalupe counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat of Comal County. The city covers and had a population of 90,403 as of the 2020 United Sta ...
Metropolitan Statistical Area. Castroville was founded by Alsatian-Texans, who came to Texas during the German emigration period of the mid-1800s. Most Alsatians who came to Castroville spoke Alsatian (a dialect of German origin integrating Celtic, Yiddish, and French words). The Alsatian culture and language are still kept alive by the residents of Castroville. Prior to 1893, Castroville was the first county seat of Medina County.


History

Castroville was established in 1844 by Henri Castro, an ''
empresario An empresario () was a person who had been granted the right to settle on land in exchange for recruiting and taking responsibility for settling the eastern areas of Coahuila y Tejas in the early nineteenth century. Since ''empresarios'' attract ...
'' of the
Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas (), or simply Texas, was a country in North America that existed for close to 10 years, from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846. Texas shared borders with Centralist Republic of Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande, an ...
, who brought several dozen European families to the area from
Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...
and adjoining
Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Ba ...
to populate his land grant along the Medina River west of
San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...
. The first colonists disembarked at
Galveston Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...
on January 9, 1843. They were taken by ship to Lavaca Bay and traveled overland to San Antonio, where they took shelter in abandoned buildings until the Texas Rangers were prepared to escort them to their land and protect them from hostile Indians. On September 2, 1844, the first colonists arrived at Castro's
land grant A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...
on the Medina River. From 1849, Castroville, on the Medina River, was a water stop on the San Antonio-El Paso Road and a
stagecoach A stagecoach (also: stage coach, stage, road coach, ) is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by ...
station on the San Antonio-El Paso Mail Line and San Antonio-San Diego Mail Line. After a few hard years, the town and surrounding farms flourished, but for generations, the residents remained insular. In Castroville's first century, a visitor would be more likely to hear Alsatian—a dialect spoken in Europe before
Standard German Standard High German (SHG), less precisely Standard German or High German (, , or, in Switzerland, ), is the umbrella term for the standard language, standardized varieties of the German language, which are used in formal contexts and for commun ...
was prevalent—than English spoken in the town's homes, stores, and taverns. Modern Alsatian travelers noted that the
dialect A dialect is a Variety (linguistics), variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standard language, standardized varieties as well as Vernacular language, vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardize ...
spoken in Castroville was more like that which was spoken in the 1840s. The descendants of the original settlers worked diligently to preserve their language, whose usage in Europe has been diminished by the political actions of France and Germany, especially since
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Th
Steinbach Haus
(originally built between 1618 and 1648 in Wahlbach, Alsace) was dismantled and reconstructed in Castroville in 1998. It was opened to the public in 2002.


Sister cities

Castroville has two twin towns: *
Ensisheim Ensisheim (; in Alsatian Ansa ()) is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It is also the birthplace of the composer Léon Boëllmann. The Germanic origins of the village's name reflect the area's histo ...
, (Alsace) France - 2009 * Eguisheim, (Alsace) France - 1975


Geography

Castroville is located 26 miles west of
downtown San Antonio Downtown San Antonio is the central business district of San Antonio, Texas, and the urban core of Greater San Antonio, a metropolitan area with nearly 2.5 million people. Downtown San Antonio is encircled by Texas State Highway Loop 1604, 16 ...
. According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the city has a total area of , of which 0.39% is covered with water.


Transportation

U.S. Route 90 runs east-west through the center of Castroville, leading west 16 miles (26 km) to Hondo and east roughly 25 miles (40 km) to downtown
San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...
. The closest airport with commercial airline service is San Antonio International Airport, on the north side of San Antonio 30 miles (48 km) to the east.


Demographics


2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,954 people, 1,113 households, and 860 families residing in the city. The most commonly reported ancestries were Mexican (36%),
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
(21%), English (11.5%), Irish (9.1%), Alsatian (5%), and French (3.4%).


2010 census

As of the
census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2010, 3,053 people resided in the city. The population density was . The 1,025 housing units had an average density of . Of the 941 households, 37.4% had children under 18 living with them, 61.5% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.5% were not families. About 20.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.74, and the average family size was 3.17. In the city, the population was distributed as 28.0% under 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.6% who were 65 or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.3 males. The median income for a household in the city was $42,308, and for a family was $51,007. Males had a median income of $35,625 versus $27,228 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the city was $20,615. About 5.4% of families and 9.1% of the population were below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 11.9% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.


Education

The City of Castroville is served by the Medina Valley Independent School District and Saint Louis Catholic School (Pre-kindergarten–5th grade).


Gallery

File:Steinbach house 2013.jpg, The Steinbach Alsatian House Image:The Medina River in Castroville, TX IMG 3243.JPG, Waders cool off in the Medina River in Castroville. Image:Henri de Castro monument in Castroville, TX IMG 3252.JPG, Monument to Henri Castro Image:Castroville, TX, State Bank, IMG 3260.JPG, Castroville State Bank Image:Castroville, TX Public Library IMG 3264.JPG, Castroville Public Library Image:Landmark Inn State Historic Site, Castroville, TX IMG 3240.JPG, Trees shade the entrance to the
Landmark Inn The Landmark Inn is a historic hotel on Front Street in downtown Marquette, Michigan. The hotel originally opened in 1930 as the Hotel Northland. As it originally did, the hotel operates as a full-service hotel with 66 rooms, many of which overlo ...
, a historic site in Castroville. Image:The Old Alsatian Steakhouse, Castroville, TX IMG 3255.JPG, The Old Alsatian Steakhouse and Ristorante in the historic district of Castroville. The steakhouse closed in 2020. Image:St. Louis Catholic Church, Castroville, TX IMG 3253.JPG, The historic St. Louis
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
Church is located in downtown Castroville; pastor James Conway (2011). Image:Trailhead, Castroville, TX IMG 3268.JPG, Trailhead at Castroville Regional Park Image:Hiking trail at Castroville, TX Regional Park IMG 3271.JPG, On the hiking trail in Castroville Image:Castroville2 (1 of 1).jpg, Downtown Castroville, Texas


References


External links


Castroville, Texas official PageCastroville Chamber of Commerce
*https://web.archive.org/web/20110128123337/http://preservecastroville.com/ *https://web.archive.org/web/20090902091004/http://www.castrovilletx.com/castroville-texas-history.htm Castroville Texas City History
Handbook of Texas Online: Castroville, Texas
{{authority control Cities in Texas Cities in Medina County, Texas Populated places established in 1844 1844 establishments in the Republic of Texas San Antonio–El Paso Road San Antonio–San Diego Mail Line Stagecoach stops in the United States