The Cassinelli Gin House
Del RIo, Val Verde County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Italian Stonemason G.B. Cassinelli and his partner John Taini were recruited in their native county by an American contractor who wanted them to construct buildings in New York. Shortly after their arrival in the United States, the project failed and they went to work for the railroads. Later, they were hired by the Federal Government to construct several stone buildings at Fort Clark in Brackettville. When that project was completed, they came to Del Rio to work on the Val Verde County Courthouse. Cassinelli became a successful area businessman. He owned a general store, a contracting firm, and sold wood, hay, lime, and brick. In 1903 he purchased land at this site for the construction of a cotton gin housed Cassinelli's short-lived gin operation and the upper floor was used for community dances and receptions. Located near a Ford of the San Felipe Creek and downstream from an ice house and dam, built by Cassinnelli, the gin house was a popular site for many early Del Rio Social Functions. Interior alterations made in the early 1950s for residential purposes were later destroyed by fire. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1981
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Italian stonemason G.B. Cassinelli came to America to build in New York, but when that project collapsed he and his partner found work on the railroads and then on stone buildings at Fort Clark and the Val Verde County Courthouse. Cassinelli settled in Del Rio and prospered as a merchant and contractor, and in 1903 he built a cotton gin here beside San Felipe Creek. Its upper floor, used for dances and receptions, made the gin house a hub of early Del Rio social life.
Why it matters
The building embodies the immigrant craftsmen whose skills raised the courthouses and commercial districts of the American West, and who often became pillars of the towns they built.
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Related people
- · G.B. Cassinelli
- · John Taini
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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