Saint Dominic's Catholic Church
Old D'Hanis, Texas
See text below the photos
Saint Dominic’s Catholic Church
Old D’Hanis, Texas
Saint Dominic’s Catholic Church was founded in 1847 in the tiny town of D’Hanis, which was founded by Henri Castro. Castro, a Jewish-Portugese immigrant from Bayonne, France, received a land grant from the Republic of Texas with authority to settle 600 families. The original settlers came from Alsace in France The town was named for Guillaume (William) D’Hanis, who was an employee of Castro’s colonization company.
The original small church was replaced in 1853 by a larger stone and timber building (the ruins that are visible now). In 1881 the Galveston, Harrisburg & San Antonio Railway built a depot about 1 ½ miles west of D’Hanis. The entire town, except for the church, moved to the location of the train depot. The new location was named New D’Hanis, and the original became known as Old D’Hanis. The church in Old D’Hanis was used until it burned in 1912 and a new church was built in New D’Hanis in 1915.
Photo: Mike Gross December 2018
Location: FM 5226 in Old D’Hanis (see directions)
coordinates: 29.327201700,-99.258821200
Directions: Traveling west from San Antonio on US 90 drive to Hondo. From the last traffic signal on the west side of Hondo, travel 6.2 miles farther to the junction of Old US 90/CR 5216, on the left at the high school. Turn left Old Hwy 90 (you’ll be driving almost parallel to the highway) and drive to the second road to the right, which is CR 5226. Turn right on CR 5226 and drive 1/4 mile to the church ruins and cemetery on the left.