Castell Texas (TX) - City Profile By Cofran's Texas Hill Country Portal

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CASTELL, Texas

Pronounced: "CASS-tell"

"First Town in Llano County"

Population(2000): 72COL Index (2008):
Elevation: ? ftArea: ? smCounty: Llano
Zip Code: 76831Area Code: 325Time Zone: CST
Coordinates: 30 42 04 N, 98 57 23 W
Location: Intersection of RR152 and RR2768;
18 mi E of Mason, 18 mi W of Llano, 3 mi S of Hwy 29
Highways: RR153, RR2768Creeks: Rivers: LlanoLakes: Parks:

REFERENCES

CITY: Unincorporated

CHAMBER and TOURISM: The General Store owners lead the effort to promote Castell. See below.

MAJOR ATTRACTIONS:

CASTELL GENERAL STORE: 325-247-4100; Hwy 153, Castell, TX 76831; real estate, beer, bait, ammo, feed, groceries, antiques, and kayak rentals. BBQ on Saturdays.

LLANO RIVER: kayaking and fishing.

EVENT CALENDAR: or full details on each event see Festivals & Events

THE GREAT CASTELL KAYAK RACE: June. www.castelltexas.com. See report on 2010 results at GCKR

Huge annual VFD BBQ & fundraiser

WEATHER: Weather Underground

MEDIA COVERAGE: Latest News (Topix); Newspaper: None

MAPS: Google Map, more maps

PRINCIPAL BUSINESS: Ranching, recreation

HISTORY: Handbook of Texas: "Castell was established in 1847 on the north side of the Llano River by German immigrants under the auspices of the Adelsverein They were led from Fredericksburg by Count Emil von Kriewitz to a site selected by John O. Meusebach to comply with the terms of the Fisher-Miller land grant, which the organization had acquired. The town was named for Count Carl Frederick Castell-Castell, business manager of the Adelsverein. Other Adelsverein settlements-Leiningen, Bettina, and Schoenburg-were established at the same time but did not survive. In 1872 a post office was established on the south side of the Llano River, where the community has since been centered. The site held the first church services in the region, conducted by Rev. Charles A. Grote in 1852. Castell has remained a center of religious activity. The local Methodist and Lutheran churches date their founding from that year. By 1972 the ranching and recreational community had declined to a population of seventy-two, mainly descendants of the original German settlers."

Castell received a lot of publicity recently from a U-Tube posting about their famous rooster CockARoo, who recently died. See Video1 and Video2

German Intellectuals on the Texas Frontier: www.texfiles.com/texashistory/castell.htm

Castell School Historical Marker: www.castelltexas.com/marker.html,
School history: www.castelltexas.com/school.html
and School pictures: www.castelltexas.com/schoolpics.html

Book: "The Captured: A True Story of Abduction by Indians on the Texas Frontier", By Scott Zesch, an award winning Mason, Texas writer. From the book overview: "On New Year's Day in 1870, ten-year-old Adolph Korn was kidnapped by an Apache raiding party. Traded to Comaches, he thrived in the rough, nomadic existence, quickly becoming one of the tribe's fiercest warriors. Forcibly returned to his parents after three years, Korn never adjusted to life in white society. He spent his last years in a cave, all but forgotten by his family. That is, until Scott Zesch stumbled over his own great-great-great uncle's grave. Determined to understand how such a "good boy" could have become Indianized so completely, Zesch travels across the west, digging through archives, speaking with Comanche elders, and tracking eight other child captives from the region with hauntingly similar experiences. With a historians rigor and a novelists eye, Zesch paints a vivid portrait of life on the Texas frontier, offering a rare account of captivity."

PRIOR NAMES: None

OTHER PROFILES: Wikipedia; Podunk (not available); City Data (not available);
Texas Escapes, Travel Texas (not available)

AVAILABLE SERVICES: Gas: no; Convenience Stores: 1; Restaurants: 1 on weekend; Lodging: yes; Grocery Stores: no; Banks: no; Vehicle Repair: no; Hospital: no; Med Clinic: no; Post Office: no; Public Schools: no; Cemetery: no

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT RESOURCES: nothing formal

NOTES:

(We welcome submission of updates, additions, corrections & digital photos, without compensation.)

BUSINESS AND ORGANIZATION DIRECTORY

See web sites shown above. Partial list below:

CASTELL GENERAL STORE: 325-247-4100; Hwy 153, Castell, TX 76831; real estate, beer, bait, ammo, feed, groceries, antiques, and kayak rentals. BBQ on Saturdays.

CASTELL VFD: Hwy 153, Castell, TX 76831

LEIFESTE CAMPGROUND: 325-247-3447; In operation for over fifty years, reservations are required well in advance. 7 sites with electric and drinking water, shuttle for boats, canoe, kayaks, flat bottom boat rentals, family oriented, great fishing, shady sites, located on the river outside Castell.

LLANO RIVER RANCH REAL ESTATE: 325-247-3453; Box 65, Castell, TX 76831; www.theranchman.com

RIVERSOUNDS CAMPGROUND: 325-247-1414; features riverside camps, some hookups, great fishing! www.castelltexas.com

RIVERSOUNDS RECORDING STUDIO: 512-217-4596; Box 53, Castell, TX 76831. Castell, TX 76831. www.enchantedrock.com/recording.html

TRINITY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH: 325-247-4238; Hwy 153, Castell, TX 76831

SEVERAL B&B's/CABINS: