Town of D'Hanis

Jean Batot and his son Christian were the first to arrive, and each colonist received a town lot and a twenty-acre farm. With building materials short, the families first lived in rough shelters of mesquite pickets and thatch, later replaced by European-style rock houses, and priests from Castroville held Mass in a small building in the village. Fort Lincoln, built nearby in 1849, gave the settlers work and protection. By 1850 there were twenty dwellings and a teacher, and from 1854 the town had a post office and was a stage stop on the San Antonio-Rio Grande road.

What the plaque says

Town of D'Hanis Now Known as Old D'Hanis. Established in 1847 by 29 families under the leadership of Theodore Gentilz, representing Henri Castro (1781...1861), distinguished pioneer and colonizer of Texas who introduced the early settlers of Medina County. Named in honor of Guillaume (William) D'Hanis, manager of the colonization society. When the Southern Pacific Railroad missed the town, its citizens moved to the present D'Hanis. Erected by The State of Texas 1936

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Landmark Inn State Historic Site — 23 mi
  A store and stage stop at the Medina River ford in Henri Castro's Alsatian town, with a mill race under the ground and rooms you can still rent for the night.

More markers nearby

• D'Hanis — 1.3 mi
• Southern Pacific Depot of Hondo — 6.5 mi
• Hondo — 7.2 mi
• Medina County — 7.7 mi