David S. Castle, Architect
David Sharon Castle, Sr., born February 13, 1884, in Constantine, Michigan. Died, October 28, 1956, in Abilene, Texas.
Castle left home in 1899, when he was but 15 years old, and rode his bicycle some 120 miles from Constantine to Chicago. He soon found a job with the Chicago Telephone & Telegraph Company as a messenger. While employed there, he learned mechanical drawing in the company's engineering department and became very proficient in the art of drafting. Building on that skill, Castle enrolled in 1902 at the Armour Institute of Technology (in 1940 it became the Illinois Institute of Technology) in Chicago, where he majored in in mechanical, structural and electrical engineering.
In 1905, after three and a half years of college, but no degree, Castle, returned to work at the Chicago Telephone & Telegraph Company, in the Engineering Department. His innate talent and skill as a draftsman and designer enabled him to succeed quickly in the industry. He spent two years with CT&T before moving to the Missouri & Kansas Telephone Company in Kansas City, Missouri, where he spent three years, and met his wife. In 1910 Castle moved to Dallas, Texas began working with the Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, designing and constructing telephone buildings in Dallas, Fort Worth and Houston, Texas.
Through his projects in Texas for Southwestern Bell, Castle met the chief engineer for the Texas Company (Texaco), E.H. Catlin. Soon after, Castle joined the Engineering Department of the Texas Company, where he spent three years, designing oil refineries and other buildings. In 1913, Castle left the Texas Company and began working for an architectural firm in Fort Worth, the M.L. Waller Company.
Thus employed, in October 1914, David S. Castle arrived in Abilene, Texas to open an office for M.L. Waller. In Abilene he was to remain. Having spent the previous nine years moving from place to place and job to job, Castle, now practicing as a architect, finally resolved to settle down. In 1915 he left the M.L. Waller Company and established his own firm, the David S. Castle Company, in Abilene.
An October 11, 1950 article in the Abilene Reporter-News described Castle as a "skyline-maker," noting that "Most of the West Texas skylines can be blamed on David S. Castle, Sr., Abilene architect-engineer. The area is sprinkled with millions of dollars worth of buildings he has designed and seen constructed."
David S. Castle designed 8 Texas courthouses. All of them remain in use. However, the Upton County courthouse was significantly altered by a large addition that engulfed the Castle designed building.
Castle left home in 1899, when he was but 15 years old, and rode his bicycle some 120 miles from Constantine to Chicago. He soon found a job with the Chicago Telephone & Telegraph Company as a messenger. While employed there, he learned mechanical drawing in the company's engineering department and became very proficient in the art of drafting. Building on that skill, Castle enrolled in 1902 at the Armour Institute of Technology (in 1940 it became the Illinois Institute of Technology) in Chicago, where he majored in in mechanical, structural and electrical engineering.
In 1905, after three and a half years of college, but no degree, Castle, returned to work at the Chicago Telephone & Telegraph Company, in the Engineering Department. His innate talent and skill as a draftsman and designer enabled him to succeed quickly in the industry. He spent two years with CT&T before moving to the Missouri & Kansas Telephone Company in Kansas City, Missouri, where he spent three years, and met his wife. In 1910 Castle moved to Dallas, Texas began working with the Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, designing and constructing telephone buildings in Dallas, Fort Worth and Houston, Texas.
Through his projects in Texas for Southwestern Bell, Castle met the chief engineer for the Texas Company (Texaco), E.H. Catlin. Soon after, Castle joined the Engineering Department of the Texas Company, where he spent three years, designing oil refineries and other buildings. In 1913, Castle left the Texas Company and began working for an architectural firm in Fort Worth, the M.L. Waller Company.
Thus employed, in October 1914, David S. Castle arrived in Abilene, Texas to open an office for M.L. Waller. In Abilene he was to remain. Having spent the previous nine years moving from place to place and job to job, Castle, now practicing as a architect, finally resolved to settle down. In 1915 he left the M.L. Waller Company and established his own firm, the David S. Castle Company, in Abilene.
An October 11, 1950 article in the Abilene Reporter-News described Castle as a "skyline-maker," noting that "Most of the West Texas skylines can be blamed on David S. Castle, Sr., Abilene architect-engineer. The area is sprinkled with millions of dollars worth of buildings he has designed and seen constructed."
David S. Castle designed 8 Texas courthouses. All of them remain in use. However, the Upton County courthouse was significantly altered by a large addition that engulfed the Castle designed building.
Borden County Courthouse

Gail, Texas 1939
Irion County Courthouse

Mertzon, Texas 1937
Mitchell County Courthouse

Colorado City, Texas 1924
Reagan County Courthouse

Big Lake, Texas 1927
Stephens County Courthouse

Breckenridge, Texas 1926
Sterling County Courthouse

Sterling City, Texas 1938
Upton County Courthouse

Rankin, Texas 1926
Winkler County Courthouse

Kermit, Texas 1929