Proto-Town

Proto-Town is an industrial innovation campus in Caldwell County, Texas, south of Lockhart. It provides shared space and infrastructure for companies working on hardware, manufacturing, robotics, aerospace, energy, water technology, construction, and other physical technologies.

Proto-Town's public website describes the project as an effort to restore a culture of experimentation and provide infrastructure that allows people to build quickly. Caldwell County describes the planned Proto-Town Innovation Hub as a center for technology manufacturing and hardware startups. Public plans include demonstration buildings, research facilities, advanced-manufacturing prototypes, and temporary accommodations for people engaged in research.

The campus is developed and managed by Earthship Corporation. A 2025 development agreement among Caldwell County, Earthship, and Greenwood Ventures Group identifies Earthship as the developer and describes a lease with a contract to purchase approximately 537 acres covered by that agreement.

Founding

Local reporting identifies Josh Farahzad, Merle Nye, and John Cyrier as the founders of Proto-Town in 2024. Farahzad and Nye met while attending Duke University; Farahzad previously led a student rocketry project, while Nye's earlier work included energy-hardware projects. Cyrier is a mechanical engineer and former Caldwell County commissioner who represented Texas House District 17 from 2015 to 2023. Local reporting credits him with helping secure the ranch property and connecting the project with the surrounding community and workforce.

Companies associated with the campus are listed in Category:Companies. Publicly documented locations and events are collected in Category:Locations in Proto-Town, Category:Historical and significant events in Proto-Town, and Category:Recurring events in Proto-Town.

External links

• Official website