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Castroville is a city in Medina County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,664 at the 2000 census. It served as the first county seat for Medina County.

History

Castroville, the "little Alsace" of Texas, was established in 1844 by Henri Castro, an empresario of the Republic of Texas, who brought several dozen European families to the area from Alsace and adjoining Baden to populate his land grant along the Medina River 20 miles west of San Antonio. After a few hard years, the town and surrounding farms flourished, although for generations, the residents remained insular. In Castroville's first century, a visitor would be more likely to hear Alsatian — a soft, French-flecked dialect of German — than English spoken in the town's homes, stores and taverns.

Castro patterned his town after European villages in which small town lots were surrounded by individual farming plots.  Castroville architecture and style were distinctly European.

Today, though, native speakers of Alsatian are dying out, and fewer of town's residents can trace their ancestry back to the original Castro colonists. The suburbs of nearby San Antonio are encroaching, and much of the town has been made a national historic district to preserve the unique, sloped-roof architecture of dozens of original Alsatian homes and shops.

Castroville has been recognized as a national and a Texas historic district. Many of the ninety-seven Historical American buildings in Castroville can be seen on a walking tour; they include the Landmark Inn State Historic Site, the St. Louis Catholic and the Zion Lutheran churches, the Moye Formation Center, the Tarde Hotel, and Henri Castro's original homestead. Castroville celebrates St. Louis Day on August 22 each year.

Geography

Castroville is located at 29°21′18″N 98°52′50″W / 29.355, -98.88056 (29.354954, -98.880656).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.5 square miles (6.6 km²), of which, 2.5 square miles (6.6 km²) of it is land and 0.39% is water.

Education

Castroville is served by the Medina Valley Independent School District.

County Links and Other Information.

Medina County

Medina County - Fishing

Medina County Sheriff

Medina County TAMU

Sex Offender Records