[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 144 (Thursday, October 6, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: October 6, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
             HONORING THE CASTROVILLE, TX, SESQUICENTENNIAL

                                 ______


                           HON. HENRY BONILLA

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, October 5, 1994

  Mr. BONILLA. Mr. Speaker, my colleagues, I would like to take this 
opportunity to share with you remarks delivered by Monseigneur Roy Rihn 
on the occasion of Castroville, Texas' Sesquicentennial. This statement 
eloquently recounts the history of this proud community and I strongly 
recommend it to all. I am also sharing a copy of a letter I sent 
Castroville Mayor McPherson on this historic occasion.

                                            September 3, 1994.

     Hon. Ron L. McPherson,
     1209 Fiorella,
     Castroville, TX.
       Dear Mayor McPherson: I am honored to be here today and I 
     would like to thank you, the Medina County Historical 
     Commission and all of the citizens of Castroville for 
     allowing my family and I to participate in Castroville's 
     sesquicentennial celebration.
       Upon my return to Washington, I will submit today's remarks 
     to the Congressional Record as an official account of today's 
     events celebrating the history of Castroville.
       Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize the warm and 
     friendly community of Castroville Texas on its 150th 
     anniversary. Known as the ``little Alsace of Texas,'' 
     Castroville's ancestors traveled from the Rhine provinces of 
     France and settled on a scenic spot along the banks of the 
     Medina River, fifteen miles west of San Antonio in 1844.
       What is known as the old part of Castroville has been 
     designated as a National Historic area, and today almost 100 
     original homes are still in use.
       Henri Castro, a French citizen of Portuguese descent sought 
     colonists to come to Texas from Europe. He proved to be quite 
     successful attracting 485 families and 457 single men to the 
     Republic of Texas. In fact, only Stephen F. Austin brought 
     more settlers to the State.
       I can think of no better example of a community committed 
     to the preservation of its history and the prosperity of its 
     future than Castroville, Texas.
       This commitment will serve to benefit the citizens of 
     Castroville for generations to come.
       Congratulations, Castroville, on your sesquicentennial!
           Sincerely,
                                                    Henry Bonilla,
                                               Member of Congress.
                                  ____


                          Remarks of Roy Rihn

       It rained torrents all day in San Antonio de Bejar Sunday, 
     September 1, 1844. But that was the date Henri Castro had set 
     to begin the 25-mile trek westward to the site he had chosen 
     for his first colony, so, rain or no rain, the 22 carts he 
     had assembled finally got underway around 4:00 in the 
     afternoon. The cavalcade included Castro, his trusted 
     lieutenant, Louis Huth, 27 colonists, 8 hired helpers and a 
     20-man armed guard. (The women and children had stayed in San 
     Antonio for safety.) By nightfall the following day, they 
     reached the east banks of the Medina River where they 
     encamped overnight. Early the next morning, Tuesday, 
     September 3rd, under a now-clear and benign sky, the entire 
     party crossed the Medina to the lush flatland bounded on the 
     north, east and south by the river's horseshoe bend, on the 
     west by gentle hills. Castro drew up the carts in a circle 
     inside which, he reports, each man had by nightfall 
     constructed a cabin of brush and reeds. That evening, made 
     festive by a copious supply of stout red wine (compliments of 
     the impresario), all the men savored a meal featuring wild 
     turkey, deer and bear shot that day--in what was to prove the 
     first of many ``wild game dinners'' in Castroville. This day, 
     marked by hard labor and ending with hard partying, was the 
     foundation-day of this storied town--exactly 150 years ago 
     today. Thus September 3, 1844, is the date of the actual 
     founding, though the formal founding ceremonies occurred 
     September 12th--a momentous day which included the laying of 
     the corner-stone of St. Louis church by Bishop Odin, the 
     official adoption of Castroville as the name of the colony, 
     and the first election of local county officials.
       This may give the impression that developments had gone 
     smoothly for Castro once he had signed a contract with the 
     Republic of Texas on February 15, 1842, to settle, within 3 
     years, 1200 colonist-families on the 3 huge tracts of public 
     lands between San Antonio and the Rio Grande. Not so! 
     Indicative of the frustrations, disasters and treacheries 
     which dogged Henri Castro from the outset is the fact that, 
     even though he had recruited and transported across the 
     Atlantic to Texas more than 700 persons in 7 ships between 
     November, 1842, and May, 1844, only 27 hardy souls showed up 
     that rainy Sunday to begin the hazardous venture into the 
     wilderness. What happened? The heart-breaking story is too 
     long to re-tell here, but let me mention only 2 details. The 
     surrender of Santa Ana at San Jacinto in 1836 did not end the 
     Texan-Mexican war--Mexican forces recaptured San Antonio 
     twice in 1842: once in March and again in September. Those 
     invading forces had marched through the heart of the Castro 
     concession. This daunting news greeted the Castro recruits 
     when they disembarked on Texas soil between January 1843 and 
     July 1844. Many of them opted for the safer terrain of 
     Victoria or Houston and never got even to San Antonio, let 
     alone to Castroville. Some (who could afford it) sailed back 
     to Europe. And those who did make it to San Antonio found 
     themselves in a precarious limbo: not until Louis Huth 
     arrived on the scene early in 1844 was there anyone there to 
     meet them, to advise them, to help them. (Castro himself, 
     busy recruiting more settlers in Europe, was not to arrive in 
     San Antonio until July 1844.) Luckily, these bewildered 
     immigrants did have one thing going for them upon arriving in 
     San Antonio: housing was plentiful, since most of the 
     inhabitants had fled in terror, leaving their houses vacant, 
     when the Mexican army twice re-occupied the city in 1842. 
     Then there were the native Americans--the Indians. Though 
     generally friendly, they could at times be as savage as their 
     European invaders. The news of the first massacre of one of 
     Castro's colonists en route from Port Lavaca to San Antonio 
     in August, 1844, shocked and terrified the remnant waiting in 
     the San Antonio staging area. Ever fewer dared the risks of 
     settling west of San Antonio where Indians were even more in 
     control. All this (and much more) contributed to the 
     embarrassing 27-out-of-700 response to Castro's clarion call 
     to get the great adventure underway September 1st, 1844.
       Except for a quirk of fate, we would be celebrating this 
     sesquicentennial not here but in Quihi. The easternmost 
     boundary of Castro's concession began some 7 miles west of 
     here. On July 25th, 1844, just one week after Castro first 
     arrived in San Antonio, he led a scouting party to inspect 
     his concession for the purpose of selecting a suitable site 
     for the first colony. Their unanimous choice was Quihi Lake, 
     about 9 miles west-northwest of here. But when Castro got 
     back to San Antonio July 31st, he learned that his 
     competitor, Prince Solms, was negotiating with one John 
     McMullen to purchase for colonization a 50,000-acre tract 
     along the Medina River. Castro knew that if this deal were to 
     go through, his own project would be doomed: few settlers 
     would cross through available land much closer to San Antonio 
     (and therefore much safer)--rich land with a clear river 
     flowing through it--to get to his concession farther west. He 
     immediately sought out McMullen, used all his charm and 
     powers of persuasion, and within 3 weeks--on August 22nd, 
     1844--got McMullen to sign a contract selling him 25,000 
     acres of his Medina Valley tract for $2,000.00! Within less 
     than 2 weeks Castro had his first colonists ensconced here on 
     the banks of the Medina, busy building the town they were to 
     name Castroville.
       The dedication of a Texas Historical marker honoring Henri 
     Castro will be highlight of today's observance. Books have 
     been written about this colorful man, so I shall not attempt 
     even to summarize the story of his remarkable life. Let me 
     say only that the State of Texas is well advised to honor his 
     memory, for he played a significant role in its history--both 
     as a Republic and as a fledgling State. Of the several 
     empresarios with whom the Republic of Texas contracted to 
     colonize public lands, Henri Castro was the only one who 
     followed that contract through to a successful conclusion--
     and did so in the face of incredible odds. Between 1844 and 
     1847 he was responsible for the founding of 4 frontier 
     settlements in the vulnerable buffer zone between Texas and 
     Mexico--2 of which, Dhanis and Castroville, flourished, and 
     remain 2 of this county's major communities. And even though 
     fewer than half the 2,134 colonists he brought from Europe to 
     Texas actually settled on his concession lands, almost all of 
     them put down roots somewhere in Texas at a time when 
     settlers were desperately needed to populate its vast 
     undeveloped spaces.
       Henri Castro began recruiting colonists in 1842 in his 
     native France. But he had scant success because the French 
     government was at the time itself vigorously recruiting 
     colonists to settle its African foothold, Algeria, and 
     overtly sabotaged Castro's efforts. Scant success, that is, 
     until his agents got to France's 2 easternmost departments, 
     Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin--better known as Alsace. There the 
     response was electrifying. For sheer wanderlust, the 
     Alsatians are unrivaled--even by the Irish! Though their 
     homeland is tiny, both in size and in population, you find 
     Alsatian emigres everywhere. It was they who made up the bulk 
     of Castro's colonists, though Germany's Saarland and Baden 
     contributed their fair share. The outnumbered Germans, 
     however, were no match for the ``Elsassers'' who quickly 
     established theirs as the dominant culture: language, 
     architecture, cuisine, traditions. This was especially true 
     in Castroville which, throughout the first 100 of its 150 
     years, was an Alsatian enclave. As a boy growing up here I 
     remember that when some unsuspecting family moved into town 
     from elsewhere they were immediately ostracized. Word quickly 
     got around in the village (in the language all villagers then 
     spoke): ``Sie sinnd Americawner!'') Strange, but the irony of 
     this never dawned on us: that here in this place in America, 
     Americans were the outsiders! Most everyone's first language 
     was the Alsatian dialect, not English. All that is now 
     changed. Despite the last ``Blackie'' Tschirhart's valiant 
     efforts to preserve the dialect, it's gone--except for a few 
     rapidly dwindling ``old timers''. The unique architecture of 
     the PCHs (Pioneer Castroville Houses) is the last visible 
     link with the culture which 150 years ago was transplanted 
     ``lock, stock and barrel'' from Alsace to the southwest 
     Texas wilderness. Those original colonists were sturdy 
     stock--enduring hardships, privations, dangers beyond 
     belief. What magnificent witness they gave to that 
     mysterious spark in the human spirit which is ready, 
     whatever the cost, to leave the security of the status quo 
     to begin again.
       Today's observance would not be complete without at least a 
     brief salute to the memory of Ferdinand Louis Huth, 
     Castroville's unsung hero, without whom the infant colony 
     would probably not have survived. Louis Huth was the hands-on 
     head of the colony during the first two and most crucial 
     years of its existence. Scarcely 2 months after Castroville's 
     founding Castro had to return to Europe to meet the growing 
     demands of his project. In a contract signed by both men, 
     Castro placed Louis Huth in sole charge of the infant colony 
     during his absence. Castro was unable to return to 
     Castroville until September, 1846, and during those 22 
     critical months Huth not only proved himself an able 
     administrator, as well as a compassionate and generous friend 
     of the struggling colonists, he also established the second 
     and third settlements (first and second on concession lands): 
     Quihi in March 1846 and Vandenburg in September 1846. The 
     Huth family's financial disputes with Castro led to Louis' 
     dismissal by Castro in November 1846. Nevertheless, until 
     Louis Huth moved his family to San Antonio in 1863, he was 
     not only a respected citizen of Castroville, he was 
     repeatedly elected to high public office in the newly-created 
     Medina County and was co-founder of Castroville's historic 
     Zion Lutheran Church.
       There are many wonderful old Castroville stories. Let me 
     share just one with you. It is no secret that Castroville's 
     #1 industry during ``Prohibition'' (1918 to 1933) was 
     bootlegging: selling home-brew beer. It was not an uncommon 
     weekend sight to see beer flowing down the street where the 
     ``Revenooers'' had sprung a surprise raid and smashed 
     hundreds of bottles of home-brew. (Raids were always on 
     weekends because that's when the bootleggers' patrons drove 
     out from San Antonio.) One Saturday ``Augueschty'' Tschirhart 
     was hosting a big poker party in his home, selling lots of 
     home-brew to the players and the crowd of kibitzers. Dozens 
     of cars were parked outside Augueschty's house--the telltale 
     sign the Revenuers looked for. Word reached the house that 
     the dreaded Revenooers were coming into town. Augueschty, 
     whose avocation was coachman to drive the hearse for the 
     town's funerals, got a bright idea. He hurried to the garage 
     next-door where the hearse was kept, hitched up the horses, 
     then parked the hearse in front of his house. When the 
     Revenuers reached that part of town, out of respect for 
     the dead, they passed up Augueschty's house. Two serious 
     crimes--public gambling and selling home-brew--went on 
     uninterrupted. Augueschty became a legend. (By the way, 
     this elegant old carriage-hearse now graces San Antonio's 
     Institute of Texan Cultures--one of its more prized 
     exhibits.)
       The Second Texas Legislative created Medina County on 
     February 12, 1848, with Castroville as the County Seat. In 
     1880 the Southern Pacific was extending the railroad west 
     from San Antonio to California, but the citizens of 
     Castroville voted no on the $100,000 bonus demanded by the 
     company to route the line through town, so the Southern 
     Pacific chose a route several miles south of Castroville. The 
     town's commercial activity began a steady decline, while the 
     new town of Hondo, some 15 miles to the west and a regular 
     stop on the ``S-P'', prospered and grew. In August, 1892, 
     Medina County citizens voted to transfer the County Seat from 
     Castroville to Hondo. By-passed by progress, the old town 
     appeared to be dying on the vine. Around this time an 
     anonymous author wrote the following obituary: ``Castroville 
     is no more . . . she is defunct . . . the light of her 
     political life has gone out. . . The remains are now reposing 
     in state under the spreading boughs of her once-loved pecan 
     trees.'' (Quoted from Ruth Lawler's ``The Story of 
     Castroville''.)
       Well, Castroville might have said with Mark Twain, ``The 
     reports of my death are premature''. From our vantage point 
     we now see that losing the railroad and the County Seat were 
     among the best things ever happened to our beloved old town. 
     Had ``progress'' won the day, Castroville would have grown 
     into just another stereotypical Texas town. The lovely old 
     Alsatian homes and public buildings would have been razed to 
     make room for more modern (and soulless) construction. What 
     makes Castroville unique in these 50 States would have been 
     lost forever.
       I may well stand corrected, but I attribute Castroville's 
     rebirth to an outsider, an ``Amerikawner'', who came to 
     Castroville in 1927 but who refused to succumb to the usual 
     ostracism. Her name: Ruth Curry Lawler. This well-bred New 
     Orleans lady not only recognized the uniqueness of 
     Castroville but fell in love with it. It was she, in her 
     quiet but strong way, who convinced us that ``Alsatian is 
     beautiful''. She taught us not only to save but to savor our 
     precious heritage. She was the moving spirit behind the 
     founding, in 1975, of the Castro Colonies Heritage 
     Association, a co-sponsor of today' event, and the guarantor 
     that our unique heritage will now never be lost.
       I close by using this bully pulpit to make 3 
     recommendations to the City of Castroville and to the Castro 
     Colonies Heritage Association. One: bring back the remains of 
     Henri Castro from Monterrey, Mexico, for re-interment here 
     where he belongs. Two: lobby the Texas Historical Commission 
     to erect here in our town an historical marker to Ferdinand 
     Louis Huth. Three: ditto for another to Ruth Curry Lawler.

                          ____________________