Arcadius Steinle House
Castroville, Medina County, Texas
Marker Inscription
A native of Hettingen, Prussia, and a mason by trade, Arcadius Steinle emigrated to the U.S. in 1844 and moved to Castroville the next year. In 1847, he wed Marie Ann Dreyer and began construction of this home, where they reared six children. Arcadius died in 1858, and in 1858 Marie wed his brother, Franz. To the union were born five more children. The home later passed to son Henry Steinle, and it remained in the family until 1946. Built in phases to accommodate the growing family, it is a vernacular, side-gable house of stucco over rubble stone and a rear ell of timber frame and stone. Features include a central entry flanked by paired windows. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark-1962
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In the 1840s, Castroville rose on the Medina River as one of empresario Henri Castro's Alsatian-German colonies, drawing skilled European tradesmen to the young Texas frontier. Arcadius Steinle, a Prussian-born mason, arrived in 1845 and within two years was raising this stucco-over-rubble-stone house for his growing family. Built in phases over decades and held by the Steinles until 1946, it reflects the durable vernacular craftsmanship these immigrant artisans brought with them.
Why it matters
The house embodies the German and Alsatian immigrant settlement that gave the Texas Hill Country its distinctive stone-building tradition and cultural character.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · Arcadius Steinle
- · Marie Ann Dreyer
- · Franz Steinle
- · Henry Steinle
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Louis Haller House
Castroville, TX
Louis Haller was a teenager when he emigrated from France to the Alsatian colony at Castroville in 1845, part of Henri Castro's ambitious settlement scheme on the Texas frontier. He scouted for the Texas Rangers and hauled freight during the Civil War before marrying Leonie Naegelin and raising a family in this limestone house, built around 1877. Its distinctive corner fireplace, whose chimney angles up through the wall to emerge at the roof peak, marks it as a fine example of the region's Alsatian-influenced pioneer craftsmanship.
Biry-Arh Property
Castroville, TX
Castroville was founded in 1844 by empresario Henri Castro, who drew immigrants from the Alsace region of Europe to recreate their distinctive culture in the Medina County countryside. Between 1847 and 1850, Alsatian settler Jacob Biry built this modest limestone house room by room, its steep roofs, thick walls, and small rooms reflecting the traditions and hard work of its builders. Biry and his business partner Stephen Ahr, who married sisters, raised their families here in one of the finest surviving examples of early Alsatian immigrant architecture in Texas.
Dolch-Hans Compound
Castroville, TX
German immigrants Louis and Rosina Dolch raised this stone house in Castroville around 1860, on the eve of the Civil War. Ownership later passed through Rosina's brother—a sheriff and U.S. marshal—before butcher Thomas Hans and his wife Amelia bought the homestead in 1907 and added a brick market building in 1910. With its barn, smokehouse, and well house, the compound grew into a working town farmstead that stayed in the family until 1969.
Alsatians of Texas
Castroville, TX
In 1842 the empresario Henri Castro brought his first colonists to the land west of the Medina River, most of them from the Rhine country and many from Alsace on the French-German border. Two years later he laid out a townsite the settlers named Castroville, which became the heart of Alsatian culture in Texas. They built white-washed, single-story limestone houses in the European manner and carried over farming, winemaking, cuisine, and customs that still flavor the region.