{"nrhp_refnum":"80004142","name":"de Montel, Charles, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"NW of Castroville","address_restricted":false,"city":"Castroville","county":"Medina County","state":"TX","lat":29.368373942000062,"lon":-98.90201108299999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-11-25","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Exploration/Settlement","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story, L-shaped stuccoed limestone rubble farmhouse on about 110 acres beside the Medina River, roughly 1.5 miles northwest of Castroville, Texas. Charles de Montel and a builder named Schott built it in stages between 1848 and 1850.","why_significant":"The nomination presents the house as a nearly untouched pre-Civil War building showing both early frontier construction and a later, more refined vernacular Greek Revival design, which is rare in an area dominated by Alsatian building types. It is also tied to Charles de Montel, who guided the Castro colonists, helped lay out Castroville and founded Bandera, and held other regional roles.","narrative":"Built in stages between 1848 and 1850 beside the Medina River northwest of Castroville, this one-story limestone rubble farmhouse began as a two-room frontier dwelling and grew into a larger Greek Revival home. Later additions included a two-room wing, a carriage breezeway and a five-room central-hall block with high ceilings, large twelve-over-twelve windows and a simple columned south portico. Apart from a galvanized metal roof and the loss of three of four chimneys, the house remains much as it was built. Its builders were Charles de Montel and a man named Schott. De Montel guided Henri Castro's colonists to the site of Castroville, helped plan the town, and later helped found Bandera, served as a county judge and commanded Confederate units. The house is notable for preserving early construction methods and for a Greek Revival style uncommon in an area known for Alsatian buildings. At the time of listing the property was unoccupied and on the market.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"Charles de Montel, Mr. Schott","architectural_style":"Greek Revival vernacular","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as unoccupied and offered for sale; the original portions are largely unaltered apart from a metal roof, lost chimneys and a deteriorating slave-quarters section.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:19.666029-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/28/9730/40973028/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/80004142.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40973028","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q110002285"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/medina-county/de-montel-charles-house-80004142/"}