On April 27, the Castell Community Club is hosting an open house from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. to show off the newly restored and renovated historic Castell School. Refreshments will be served and silent auction items will be on display.

Castell, the first settlement in Llano County, was settled in 1847 by German immigrants. Soon, little one-room wooden schools dotted the countryside around Castell, and the first one-room school in the town of Castell was built in the late 1890s.

The Castell School has been the center of activities in the Castell Community ever since. In the early 1900s, members of the community built the two-room school, and in 1929 the third room was added to house ten grades, making it one of the largest rural schools in Llano County.

Due to declining enrollment, the school closed in 1948 when all the Llano County schools were consolidated and the Llano Independent School District deeded the school building and property to the Castell Community Club to be used for community purposes. The school building became the regular meeting place for the Castell Community Club, the Annual Castell Volunteer Fire Department BBQ, and other community gatherings and events.

But whether you are young or old, live near or far, from Castell or not, the Castell School is the one place in Castell that everyone can return to or visit and feel you have just come back home

In the past, the school has seen hundreds of eager and not so eager students pass through its wonderful old doors, hosted old-time plays, pageants, meetings, parties, barbecues, reunions, elections, and other community events. The Castell School is one of the oldest Llano County schools still standing.

The three-room Castell School with its old wooden floors, stage area, and big wood stove still remaining inside the building, and bell tower on the top, received a Texas State Historical Subject Marker in 2001, and there are eight more historical markers within a short distance of the Castell School that draw interest from all over the State.

For over 100 years the sturdy old school building had been everything that Castell had needed it to be and more, and was in desperate need of repairs and renovations. In 2005 the Castell Community Club appointed a fundraising and restoration committee and the project began.

The restoration and renovation of the historic Castell School Building was made possible by benefits and fundraisers sponsored by the Castell Community Club and other volunteers, grants, and the many generous donations and contributions from individuals, businesses, and friends and neighbors of the Castell Community.

Major donations, contributions and grants vital to the project came from the Tom and Mary Phema Moore Trust, Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA), Dian Graves Owen Foundation, Ted and Sharon Lusher, Texas Historical Foundation, Rue Kothmann Johnson & Howard Smith Johnson, Great Castell Kayak Race, Castell Volunteer Fire Dept Cake Auction, Warren Grote, Vera Honig, Hasse’s Inc., Vance & Janet Naumann, ExxonMobile Foundation, H.E.B. Food Stores, Wal-Mart Stores, and R&R Cabinets. The 2005-2008 Castell School Building Fundraising and Restoration Committee are Hatty Sagebiel, Margaret Tatsch Rode, and Patty Schneider Pfister.

The 2008 Castell Community Club Officers & Board members are Dorothy Bauer Schuessler, President, Dodie Gamel Vierus, Vice-President, Anna Honig Henderson, Secretary/Treasurer, and Directors Hatty Sagebiel, Margaret Tatsch Rode, and Patty Schneider Pfister.

Over the years, the Community of Castell has worked hard to preserve its 160 year old heritage. The historic sites of the Castell School, Trinity Methodist Church and Cemetery, St. John Lutheran Church and Cemetery, the old Castell General Store and Post Office with its original 1900’s postal boxes, and the 1930’s low water cement bridge crossing the Llano River offer a step back in time and a variety of history and fun things to experience.

To help fund the maintenance of the building and grounds, the Castell Community Club will be taking reservations for the use of the newly renovated Castell School for family reunions, birthdays, and other events. Information can soon be found on the internet at www.castellcommunityclub.com or by calling (325) 247-3347 or (325) 247-3392.

The Castell School is an important part of Castell’s history and future vitality, and will stand as a monument to our German heritage and pioneer spirit for generations to come.

The Castell Community Club invites everyone to the open house to share in our pride of the newly restored and renovated Castell School. Hope to see you there. Auf Wiedersehen.