Castro County
Dimmitt, Castro County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Formed from Young and Bexar Territories, created August 21, 1876, organized December 8, 1891. Named in honor of Henri Castro 1786-1861. A distinguished pioneer and colonizer of Texas. Founder of the towns of Castroville, Quihi, Vandenburg and D'Hanis in Medina County. Dimmitt, The County Seat.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Carved from earlier territories and formally organized in 1891, Castro County honors Henri Castro (1786–1861), a French-born empresario who colonized the Texas Hill Country. Castro founded Castroville, Quihi, Vandenburg, and D'Hanis in Medina County, recruiting European settlers — many Alsatian — to a raw frontier. Dimmitt serves as the county seat on the High Plains far to the north of the towns that bear his mark.
Why it matters
Castro's colonization brought waves of European immigrants into the Texas frontier, a vivid example of how empresario grants shaped the peopling of the American West.
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Related people
- · Henri Castro
Themes & tags
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