History of the Caswell Family

Daniel Haskell Caswell, Senior came to Austin from Nashville, Tennessee in about 1895.  He purchased a cotton oil manufacturing company, bought and sold cotton, and in 1899 built a cotton gin.  Around 1899 he began construction of an elegant two-story stone house at 1404 West Avenue and was first listed at this address in 1900. 

History of AJF and the Daniel H. Caswell House

In November 1978, AJF submitted a bid to the City of Austin for the purchase of the Daniel H. Caswell House. The City Council awarded the home to AJF for the purchase price of $125,830 and the closing took place on January 5, 1979. The Daniel H. Caswell House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. AJF members and their families spent many laborious hours working to rehabilitate the interior of this stately home. In 1983, the Daniel H. Caswell House was chosen as the Designer Showcase Hospice and the interior was restored to its original elegance and grandeur.

After the purchase of the Daniel H. Caswell House, additional fundraising was required to pay off the mortgage and fund interior restoration. The birth of Lone Star Legacy Bluebonnet edition cookbook met this requirement. Members of AJF gathered their recipes, spent 3 years testing, tasting and finally producing their first cookbook. After one year of sales and marketing, the members gathered to ‘burn the mortgage’ as the Caswell House note had been paid in full. Due to the great acceptance and success of their first cookbook, AJF released the Lone Star Legacy Indian Paint Brush edition in 1985. In 1996, Changing Thymes the new and improved cookbook that added a nutritional analysis after each recipe was released. All proceeds from the sales of these cookbooks have been returned to the community in the form of grants.

The pride and accomplishment in restoring the Daniel H. Caswell house prompted a new ‘ways and means’ idea. The first Christmas at the Caswell House was established in December following the Designer Showcase Hospice. Today Christmas at Caswell continues to not only serve the purpose of a fundraiser but also gives another opportunity for the citizens of Austin and the surrounding community to visit and enjoy this distinguished historic mansion.