Fincastle

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Fincastle, on Farm Road 315 four miles north of Poyner in southeastern Henderson County, was settled in 1848. A post office was established there on March 6, 1855, with Daniel R. McRae as postmaster. Apparently McRae proposed the name Fincastle, after a town in Scotland. Seven years later a town plat was drawn up by John and Mary Tindel for a site that the Tindels purchased from Dr. P. P. Adams in 1851. Through the years the town saw a succession of general stores, a drugstore from which several doctors practiced medicine, a blacksmith shop, a cotton gin and gristmill, and a well and wagonyard where farmers could park their wagons. Some stores sold whiskey, although the Tindels stipulated in a deed to Thomas Hendon on March 22, 1862, that "if he sold any spirituous liquors to the injury of the schools and church" the title to the lots would be void.

The first school was begun by the Tindels in a small log building on their property. It was followed by one established by Dr. P. P. Adams. Then Tindel put up a larger building for use both as a school and church. The land for both the church and a large cemetery across the road was later formally deeded to the town by Lydia Frances Tindel Parmer from her inheritance from John and Mary Tindel. The church building was used by various congregations on alternate Sundays and as a school until the 1930s. It was used in 1980 for elections and for such community meetings as the annual memorial on the first Sunday in August. In the early 1990s burials continued to occur in the Fincastle Cemetery.

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Kathryn Brown | © TSHA

Handbook of Texas Logo

Adapted from the official Handbook of Texas, a state encyclopedia developed by Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). It is an authoritative source of trusted historical records.

Belongs to

Fincastle is part of or belongs to the following places:

Currently Exists

Yes

Place type

Fincastle is classified as a Town

Location

Latitude: 32.12932370
Longitude: -95.56773620

Has Post Office

No

Is Incorporated

No

Population Count, 2009

75