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Discover. Learn. Preserve.

Discover Old D'Hanis is an immersive educational experience that invites you to explore the history of the old town of D’Hanis, TX. The game is based on data from the Old D’Hanis Archaeological Mapping Project, a real archaeological project that examined the ruins, stories, and landscapes of the historic town, alongside community members, in 2018.

Enter D’Hanis and you will find yourself in front of the ruin of its Catholic church, grass beneath your feet, the sound of wind and the occasional bird in a landscape empty of people. You stand at the intersection of past and present. Walking through the historic streets, you will find virtual reconstructions of white-walled cottages from the 19th century alongside 21st century ruins scanned by archaeologists.

Scattered throughout the landscape are pieces of D’Hanis’ story – a 19th century photograph, archaeological field notes, a quote from an oral history, a newspaper article. Alone, these provide small snapshots of the town or the archaeological project through time. Together, they paint a fuller picture of D’Hanis and its residents, from the Alsatian and German migrants who founded the town in 1847 to the Black and Mexican families who made it their home following the Civil War and Mexican Revolution. Your role: to explore, to collect fragments, and to piece together the stories of the Old D’Hanis.

Based on the history of a real Texas town, Discover Old D’Hanis features ruins, historically-informed landscape and sound design, interactive features, artistic reconstructions, and an original musical composition based on old German folk songs. It provides a glimpse into a real archaeology project and demonstrates how we come to understand the past through its fragments.

Discover Old D'Hanis is more than just a game; it’s an invitation to join the efforts preserve and share the historical legacy of an historic place. Are you ready to uncover the stories and experience the old town?

Project Citation

Markert, Patricia G., Michael Salton, Emily Missetta Grant, and Joyce Lee. Discover Old D’Hanis for Windows/Mac, V. 1., Saltbox Interactive.

Project Support and Acknowledgments

This project has been supported by Western University, Binghamton University, the National Geographic Society, the Wenner-Gren Foundation, the Mellon Foundation/American Council of Learned Societies, the Council of Texas Archeologists, and the Medina County Historical Commission. It features data and research from the Old D’Hanis Archaeological Mapping Project and Castro Colonies Oral History Project, with credit to online archives such as the Portal to Texas History (University of North Texas Libraries) and UTSA Special Collections. Most importantly, it has been made possible by the community of D’Hanis and Medina County more broadly, who continue to be involved in the development of the game and future research directions.