John Taini
Del Rio, Val Verde County, Texas
Marker Inscription
On November 1, 1854, John Taini was born in Rezzato, Italy (near Brescia) to Gerolamo and Lucia Prandelli Taini. John later became a stonemason there, and an American contractor recruited him and his partner, G.B. Cassinelli, to build structures in New York. Although those projects fell through, Taini and Cassinelli worked for the railroads and then for the U.S. Army constructing stone buildings at Fort Clark in Brackettville, Texas. Like many hired to work at Fort Clark, Taini and Cassinelli later moved to Del Rio, where many other Italians immigrated in the 1880s. Family tradition holds that Taini returned to Italy in 1889 to wed Erminia Gerola (1874-1955). The couple reared two daughters, Annie and Lucy. Taini maintained his partnership with Cassinelli, building several structures, as well as buying and selling real estate in the Del Rio area. As a stonemason, Taini worked as a sub-contractor on the Val Verde County Courthouse in 1885. Other projects at that time included Southern Pacific Railroad employee housing, Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Club Café, the 1904 Methodist church building and numerous residences. Taini's partnership with Cassinelli dissolved by 1904, but he continued working on construction projects. He won multiple county and city contracts, including work on the county jail, bridges, canal and creek improvements, and two dams across San Felipe Creek. Unfortunately, many of Taini's structures were damaged or razed as a result of a 1998 flood. In addition to Taini's architectural contributions, he was also a leader in the Del Rio community. He donated land for civic improvements and served as an election judge and on the board of directors of the Italian Catholic Cemetery, now part of Sacred Heart Cemetery, where he was buried in 1929. (2006)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Born in 1854 near Brescia, Italy, John Taini trained as a stonemason before an American contractor recruited him to work abroad. After building stone structures for the U.S. Army at Fort Clark, he settled in Del Rio, part of a wave of Italian immigrants who arrived in the 1880s, and put his hands on much of the growing town — the Val Verde County Courthouse, churches, railroad housing, jails, bridges, and dams across San Felipe Creek. Beyond the stone he laid, Taini donated land, served as an election judge, and helped lead the Italian Catholic Cemetery before his death in 1929.
Why it matters
Taini's life traces how skilled immigrant craftsmen quite literally built the towns of the American West, and how a frontier community like Del Rio was shaped by the Italian families who chose to stay.
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Related people
- · John Taini
- · G.B. Cassinelli
- · Erminia Gerola
Themes & tags
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