09/03/2026
On this day in 1844, September 3rd, Henri Castro and the first group of Alsatian colonists crossed the Medina River and began building what would become Castroville.
They arrived at a horseshoe bend of the river, drew their carts into a circle, and by nightfall had raised the first cabins of brush and reeds. That evening they shared a meal of wild game they had taken that same day.
Nine days later they would name the settlement, hold their first election, and lay the cornerstone of St. Louis Church. But the work of making a home here started on September 3.
One hundred eighty two years later, the streets they laid out, the stone houses they built, and the faith they planted still shape our town.
If you walk September Square or stand near the Landmark Inn today, you are standing where they first set foot. Pause a moment and remember them.
On the old plat, you can see the river wrapping around the lots like a sheltering arm. At the top it still reads Comté de Bexar, because Medina County had not yet been born. And there, written in French, are the words that belong to this day: Fondée le 3 Septembre 1844.
The map is more than paper. It is the first picture of the town they believed they could build.
A few years later, Théodore Gentilz climbed Mount Gentilz and drew what that plan had become. Houses along the river. Trees still standing in the lots. The hard work of making a home, set down in pencil and ink.
Happy Founders’ Day, Castroville Tx!
