DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Cassinelli Gin House in Val Verde County. Now settle in, because this story starts about as far from West Texas as you can get. We're talking Italy.
G.B. Cassinelli was an Italian stonemason — and not just any stonemason. The man could work stone the way some folks work a room.
He and his partner John Taini were recruited right there in their native country by an American contractor who had grand plans for buildings in New York City. So these two men crossed an ocean on the strength of a promise. And wouldn't you know it — shortly after they arrived in the United States, the project failed.
Just like that. The dream that brought them across the Atlantic was gone before they'd hardly unpacked. But Cassinelli and Taini weren't the type to fold.
They went to work for the railroads, following the iron tracks across this big country until the Federal Government came callin'. Washington hired them to construct several stone buildings at Fort Clark, over in Brackettville. When that project was done, they followed the work again — this time to Del Rio, to build the Val Verde County Courthouse.
Think about that journey. Italy to New York to the railroads to Brackettville to Del Rio. Every setback just pointed the man a little further toward where he was supposed to be.
Cassinelli put down roots in Del Rio and built himself into a genuine area businessman. He ran a general store, operated a contracting firm, and sold wood, hay, lime, and brick. The man had range.
Then in 1903, he purchased the land right here at this site and put up a gin house for cotton. Now, the gin operation itself turned out to be short-lived — but Cassinelli being Cassinelli, he didn't let the upper floor go to waste. That second story became the place to be for community dances and receptions.
The building sat near a ford of the San Felipe Creek, downstream from an ice house and a dam that Cassinelli himself had built. So you had the creek, the ford, the dam, the ice house, and the gin house — practically a whole little world, and right at the center of it, Del Rio's social life was happenin'. The gin house became a popular site for many of the early Del Rio social functions.
Stone walls, creek air, the sound of a fiddle drifting out over the San Felipe on a warm evening. Not bad for a man who started out fixing a contractor's broken promise in New York. The story doesn't end on that high note, though.
Interior alterations were made in the early 1950s to convert the building for residential purposes — and later, those alterations were destroyed by fire. So what you're passing now is what remains of a life's work that began with a recruitment pitch in Italy and ended up woven into the very social fabric of Del Rio, Texas. G.B.
Cassinelli built things to last. Some of it did.
What the marker says
Italian Stonemason G.B. Cassinelli and his partner John Taini were recruited in their native county by an American contractor who wanted them to construct buildings in New York. Shortly after their arrival in the United States, the project failed and they went to work for the railroads. Later, they were hired by the Federal Government to construct several stone buildings at Fort Clark in Brackettville. When that project was completed, they came to Del Rio to work on the Val Verde County Courthouse. Cassinelli became a successful area businessman. He owned a general store, a contracting firm, and sold wood, hay, lime, and brick. In 1903 he purchased land at this site for the construction of a cotton gin housed Cassinelli's short-lived gin operation and the upper floor was used for community dances and receptions. Located near a Ford of the San Felipe Creek and downstream from an ice house and dam, built by Cassinnelli, the gin house was a popular site for many early Del Rio Social Functions. Interior alterations made in the early 1950s for residential purposes were later destroyed by fire. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1981