In 1842, empresario Henry Castro brought his first colonists to Texas to settle land west of the Medina River. Most of the immigrants came from the Rhine River area of Europe, and many claimed Alsace, on the border of France and Germany, as their homeland. They brought a combined French and German heritage that left a distinctive mark on this part of the state. In 1844, Castro laid out a townsite that the settlers named Castroville, which became the center of Alsatian culture in Texas. The houses, European in style, were primarily single-story dwellings of cut limestone, mortared with adobe, and whitewashed. Over the years, farming was the major occupation in the area, as it had been in Alsace. The Alsatian immigrants and their descendants made a distinct impression on local politics, holiday customs, cuisine, and religion, and winemaking with grapes grown along the Medina River was another early tradition that continued over the years. Their history in Texas reflects ethnic and cultural diversity in the state's rich heritage.