Castell, Texas
Encyclopedia
Castell is a small unincorporated riverside town
in Llano County
, Texas
, United States
. Located in the heart of the Texas Hill Country
, its northern border is formed by the Llano River
. Designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark
in 1964, Marker number 9440.
territory settled by German Abolitionists
and Free-Soilers. The unsettled land had formerly been part of the Fisher-Miller Land Grant
.
It was part of a series of five immigrant settlements sponsored by a group of prominent Germans known as the Adelsverein
, including Count Emil von Kriewitz, John O. Meusebach
, Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels
, Hermann Spiess
, Gustav Schleicher
, Ferdinand Ludwig Herff
and Count Carl Frederick Christion of Castell-Castell
(1801–1850). Count Castell was the Vice President and Business Manager from the beginning of the Adelsverein until about the time of Castel's founding. The other communities were Schoenburg, Meerholz, Leiningen, and Bettina. The first two were unsuccessful from the start. Leiningen and Bettina had brief lives, Bettina lasting only a year. Only Castell remains.
Describing conditions in Castell in the mid-19th century, a tour guide has written
pioneer families under the leadership of Lyman Wight
. They had settled in Zodiac, Texas
in 1847, in Mormon Mill in 1851, and then settled in Castell briefly before moving south in 1854 to Bandera, Texas
. Wight died on March 31, 1858 and his body was returned to Zodiac for burial. Due to the Mormon custom of sending out missionaries, it is possible that the Castellite congregations of 19th-century North Carolina
took their name from the Mormons who lived briefly in Castell, Texas.
Castell had a population of 72 people in 1972 and again in 2000. In 2007, a Castell promotional site claims a population of only 23.
Castell is in the Central Time Zone
and is assigned ZIP code
76831 and area code 325.
Castell has several small businesses, mainly centering around camping and hospitality as a result of the flyfishing and kayaking opportunities there.
Randy Leifeste operates the general store of Castell, which offers barbecue
and Bloody Mary
s on weekend mornings.
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
in Llano County
Llano County, Texas
Llano County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2010, its population was 19, 301. Its county seat is Llano, and the county is named for the Llano River....
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Located in the heart of the Texas Hill Country
Texas Hill Country
The Texas Hill Country is a vernacular term applied to a region of Central Texas featuring tall rugged hills consisting of thin layers of soil atop limestone or granite. It also includes the Llano Uplift and the second largest granite monadnock in the United States, Enchanted Rock, which is located...
, its northern border is formed by the Llano River
Llano River
The Llano River is a tributary of the Colorado River, approximately 105 mi long, in central Texas in the United States. It drains part of the Edwards Plateau in Texas Hill Country northwest of Austin....
. Designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark is a designation awarded by the Texas Historical Commission for historically and architecturally significant properties in the state of Texas....
in 1964, Marker number 9440.
Founding
Castell began in 1847 as a land grant in ComancheComanche
The Comanche are a Native American ethnic group whose historic range consisted of present-day eastern New Mexico, southern Colorado, northeastern Arizona, southern Kansas, all of Oklahoma, and most of northwest Texas. Historically, the Comanches were hunter-gatherers, with a typical Plains Indian...
territory settled by German Abolitionists
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
and Free-Soilers. The unsettled land had formerly been part of the Fisher-Miller Land Grant
Fisher-Miller Land Grant
The Fisher-Miller Land Grant was part of an early colonization effort of the Republic of Texas. Its 3,878,000 acres covered between the Llano River and Colorado River. Originally granted to Henry Francis Fisher and Burchard Miller, the grant was sold to the German colonization company of Adelsverein...
.
It was part of a series of five immigrant settlements sponsored by a group of prominent Germans known as the Adelsverein
Adelsverein
Society for the Protection of German Immigrants in Texas, better known as Adelsverein , organized on April 20, 1842, was a colonial attempt to establish a new Germany within the borders of Texas.-History:...
, including Count Emil von Kriewitz, John O. Meusebach
John O. Meusebach
John O. Meusebach , born Baron Otfried Hans von Meusebach, was at first a Prussian bureaucrat, later an American farmer and politician who served in the Texas Senate, District 22.-Early years:John O...
, Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels
Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels
Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels , was a German prince and military officer in both the Austrian army and in the cavalry of the Grand Duchy of Hesse. As Commissioner General of the Adelsverein, he spearheaded the establishment of colonies of German immigrants in Texas...
, Hermann Spiess
Hermann Spiess
Hermann Spiess was co-founder of the Bettina, Texas commune in 1847. He became Commissioner-General of the Adelsverein after the resignation of John O. Meusebach.-Early life:...
, Gustav Schleicher
Gustav Schleicher
Gustav Schleicher was a German-born Democratic United States Representative from Texas. He was an engineer who served briefly in the Texas legislature, and was a veteran of the Confederate Army.-Early life:Schleicher was born in Darmstadt in the German principality of Hesse in 1823...
, Ferdinand Ludwig Herff
Ferdinand Ludwig Herff
Ferdinand Ludwig Herff was a 19th Century German-born physician who emigrated to Texas and became a medical pioneer in San Antonio. He was one of the co-founders of the Bettina commune...
and Count Carl Frederick Christion of Castell-Castell
Counts of Castell
The family appears already in 1057 with Robbrath de Castello. The County of Castell was created in AD1200, in the modern region of Franconia in northern Bavaria, Germany. Rulership of Castell was shared between the brothers Louis and Rupert II in 1223, and later with the brothers Albert II,...
(1801–1850). Count Castell was the Vice President and Business Manager from the beginning of the Adelsverein until about the time of Castel's founding. The other communities were Schoenburg, Meerholz, Leiningen, and Bettina. The first two were unsuccessful from the start. Leiningen and Bettina had brief lives, Bettina lasting only a year. Only Castell remains.
Describing conditions in Castell in the mid-19th century, a tour guide has written
Mormonism
Castell briefly experienced an influx of about twenty MormonMormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
pioneer families under the leadership of Lyman Wight
Lyman Wight
Lyman Wight was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. He was the leader of the Latter Day Saints in Daviess County, Missouri in 1838. In 1841, he was ordained a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. After the death of Joseph Smith, Jr...
. They had settled in Zodiac, Texas
Zodiac, Texas
Zodiac is a vanished Mormon settlement established in 1847 on the Pedernales River, located southeast of Fredericksburg, in Gillespie County, in the U.S. state of Texas. It was the first Mormon colony established by Lyman Wight in Texas. The second settlement was Mormon Mill, Burnet County, Texas...
in 1847, in Mormon Mill in 1851, and then settled in Castell briefly before moving south in 1854 to Bandera, Texas
Bandera, Texas
Bandera is the county seat of Bandera County, Texas, United States,in the Texas Hill Country, which is part of the Edwards Plateau. The population was 957 at the 2000 census, and according to a 2009 estimate, the population had jumped up to 1,216 people...
. Wight died on March 31, 1858 and his body was returned to Zodiac for burial. Due to the Mormon custom of sending out missionaries, it is possible that the Castellite congregations of 19th-century North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
took their name from the Mormons who lived briefly in Castell, Texas.
Modern era
The community was originally on the north bank of the Llano River but now is on the south bank in the western part of Llano County near the Mason County line.Castell had a population of 72 people in 1972 and again in 2000. In 2007, a Castell promotional site claims a population of only 23.
Castell is in the Central Time Zone
Central Time zone
In North America, the Central Time Zone refers to national time zones which observe standard time by subtracting six hours from UTC , and daylight saving, or summer time by subtracting five hours...
and is assigned ZIP code
ZIP Code
ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...
76831 and area code 325.
Castell has several small businesses, mainly centering around camping and hospitality as a result of the flyfishing and kayaking opportunities there.
Randy Leifeste operates the general store of Castell, which offers barbecue
Barbecue
Barbecue or barbeque , used chiefly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia is a method and apparatus for cooking meat, poultry and occasionally fish with the heat and hot smoke of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of...
and Bloody Mary
Bloody Mary (cocktail)
A Bloody Mary is a popular cocktail containing vodka, tomato juice, and usually other spices or flavorings such as Worcestershire sauce, Peri-Peri Sauce, Tabasco sauce, beef consomme or bouillon, horseradish, celery, olive, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, lemon juice, and celery salt...
s on weekend mornings.
Notable people
- Emil KriewitzEmil KriewitzEmil Kriewitz was a German immigrant and veteran of the Mexican-American War, who came to this country with the Adelsverein colonists. After John O. Meusebach successfully negotiated the Meusebach–Comanche Treaty, Kriewitz lived among the Penateka Comanche as an intermediary between the whites...
, lived with the Penateka Comanche, served as guide for Fisher-Miller Land GrantFisher-Miller Land GrantThe Fisher-Miller Land Grant was part of an early colonization effort of the Republic of Texas. Its 3,878,000 acres covered between the Llano River and Colorado River. Originally granted to Henry Francis Fisher and Burchard Miller, the grant was sold to the German colonization company of Adelsverein...
settlers. 1870 Llano County justice of the peace, 1871 Llano County election judge, postmaster of Castell from 1876 to 1883. Buried Llano County Cemetery.
External links
- Castell, Texas Community Profile includes numerous links to various Castell maps, aerial photos, Census data, local government offices. Accessed August 7, 2007.
- Castell, Texas — 76831, a reference to the area's zip code, with information about the town's business community and photo of plaque commemorating the founding of Castell, Bettina, and Leiningen. Accessed August 7, 2007.
- Biography (English) of Count Carl of Castell-Castell