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47TH ANNUAL GALVESTON HISTORIC HOMES TOUR TOUR CATALOG - MAY 1, 2, 8 & 9, 2021
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WELCOME TO THE GALVESTON HISTORIC HOMES TOUR! W. DWAYNE JONES - EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ................................................................... I hope you enjoy our 47th annual Homes Tour. This year’s lineup of houses is really exciting, showcasing a range of Galveston’s best residential architecture. Small to large, the houses tell great stories of island life and exhibit various ways to restore and rehabilitate our great architectural assets. As we recognize our 150th anniversary, and through the support of homeowners opening up some great houses, we’re looking forward to this year’s tour and a number of unprecedented special events. Galveston hosts a very large collection of historic properties from the 1830s to the 1950s. GHF from the 1950s committed itself to saving properties. Our volunteer leaders and staff have a long record of going to great efforts to keep our historic properties an active part of the community and being preserved to tell future generations about this historic barrier island. Join us for our special events and tour our historic neighborhoods while you are here. Galveston is one of the nation’s real treasures of history and architecture.
TABLE OF CONTENTS: 3. Welcome to the Galveston Historic Homes Tour 5. Become a Member 20-21. Homes Tour Map 32-35. Plein Air Southwest 38. Colors of The Tour & Print Information
4. About Galveston Historical Foundation 6-19. Homes Tour Biographies 22-29. Homes Tour Biographies 37. Events Committee and Tour Chairs 39. 2021 Sponsors
V I S I T G A LV E S T O N H I S T O RY. O R G F O R M O R E I N F O
ABOUT GALVESTON HISTORICAL FOUNDATION EST. 1871 ...................................................................
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alveston Historical Foundation (GHF) was formed as the Historical Society of Galveston in 1871 and merged with a new organization formed in 1954 as a non-profit entity devoted to historic preservation and history in Galveston County. Over the last sixty years, GHF has expanded its mission to encompass community redevelopment, historic preservation advocacy, maritime preservation, coastal resiliency and stewardship of historic properties. GHF embraces a broader vision of history and architecture that encompasses advancements in environmental and natural sciences and their intersection with historic buildings and coastal life. Today, we conceive of history as an engaging story of individual lives and experiences on Galveston Island from the 19th century to the present day.
GALVESTON HISTORIC SEAPORT HOME OF THE 1877 TALL SHIP ELISSA
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BECOME A MEMBER OF GALVESTON HISTORICAL FOUNDATION START SAVING TODAY! ................................................................... Membership supports the operation of GHF’s historic properties and much more. Neighborhood preservation, innovative educational programs for children and adults, and nationally recognized events such as Dickens on The Strand and the Galveston Historic Homes Tour; all are dependent on the support of our members. For more information on membership, please call 409-765-3405, or visit us online at galvestonhistory. org. Membership applications are also available at each participating Homes Tour location. Sign up and start saving today!
COMING SOON
SHIP TO SHORE .................................... This new #GalvestonHistory experience, opening summer 2021, tells Galveston’s rich immigration history through an exciting interactive format. LEARN MORE AT #GALVESTONHISTORY AND WWW.GALVESTONHISTORY.ORG
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BONDIES-ROBERTSON HOUSE, BUILT 1877, ADDITIONS AND ALTERATIONS 1886-1904 1212 SEALY .......................
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eorge Bondies was born in Nacogodoches, Texas, in 1848, and moved to Galveston during the 1850s, where his father, George Sr., established a cotton factoring firm with offices in the Hendley Building on The Strand. In 1869, Bondies married Anna Dickinson Crane. Anna was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi in 1848. Her father, William Carey Crane, was a Baptist minister who later served as president of Baylor University from 1864 until his death in 1885. Bondies joined his father’s firm and the couple resided with the Bondies family until 1877, when they built this two-story house as their residence. In 1886, Bondies and Anna divorced and sold the house to Joseph Archibald Robertson, a cotton broker with John D. Rogers & Company. JOSEPH ROBERTSON
Robertson and his wife, Claride Vernon Scott, were both from Alabama. Claride was born in 1848 in Dallas County and moved to Waverly, Texas, with her mother in 1854. Robertson was born in 1841 in Gainesville, Alabama. In 1861, he volunteered for service with the Fourth Alabama Regiment. When the war ended, Robertson moved to Galveston in April 1870 and married Claride. Between 1871 and 1893, their family grew to include eight children. After they purchased 1212 Sealy, the Robertsons enlarged the house multiple times to accommodate their large family. Insurance records note alterations and additions in 1886,
1894 and 1904. These changes included the double gallery and chamfered bay front that dominate the main elevation of this two-andone-half story Victorian Eastlake house and extraordinary interior staircase with elaborate Eastlake details. In 1909, Robertson added the two-story stucco garage and servant’s quarters. By 1916, the twin-gabled house contained nine rooms, two halls, two tiled bathrooms, eight closets, seven porches and a finished attic, noted on the property record as a “tower room.” The Robertsons maintained their residence until their deaths. In 1937, Ward and Cora Benson purchased the house. Benson owned and operated Benson Auto Service, and Cora managed a boarding house from the residence. After their deaths the house remained vacant and fell into disrepair. Albert and Gail Pressman bought the property from the Benson estate in 2004 and completed a thorough rehabilitation in 2007. The current owner purchased the property in 2015 and completed a second rehabilitation in 2019. The dedication to the preservation of the Bondies-Robertson house executed by the current and past owners secures its place as one of the most prominent residences in the East End Historic District.
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RONALD AND ANNIE CASKIE BUNGALOW, BUILT 1916 2805 AVENUE P ...................................................................
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uilding contractor Walter Gwynne Tabb built this Arts and Crafts bungalow in 1916 as a speculative house. The Galveston City Directory noted Tabb was a real estate agent and builder of homes “on easy payments.” He and his wife, Willie Eunice, relocated to Galveston from Houston to capitalize on the building boom that occurred after the Great Storm of 1900. The 1908 Galveston City Directory included the first notice of their business. During his tenure in Galveston, Tabb focused on residential buildings. The Galveston Architecture Guidebook includes nine identical houses erected on the same block by Tabb in 1913 (2002, 2006 and 2010 25th, 2001 and 2011 24th Street and 2405, 2411, 2415 and 2419 Avenue P ½). The scale and repetitive form of the buildings are similar to a row of five houses on the south side of the 2500 block of Avenue M built by Tabb in 1908. On April 3, 1916, Tabb ran the first of several advertisements for the “modern bungalow” on the corner of 28th and Avenue P. Galveston Daily News real estate advertisements noted the purchase price was $2750. The original insurance record described a frame “bungalow” with a metal roof elevated two feet on brick piers that contained four rooms, one hall, a bathroom, three closets and two porches. Ronald and Annie Caskie bought the bungalow from Tabb on April 26, 1916. The Galveston Real Estate & Loan Company financed their purchase. Ronald and Annie
were both born in Galveston in 1886 and married on the island in 1908. When they purchased the bungalow on Avenue P, Ronald worked for the Galveston Houston & San Antonio Railroad as a fireman. He became an engineer in 1923 and held the position with the Southern Pacific Railroad until he retired. After Annie died in 1953, Ronald maintained the family residence until his own death in 1976. In 1977, their daughter Bettie Jo Caskie sold the house to realtor Gerald Dyer. Frank and Isbell Romas purchased the house from Dyer the following year and resided there until 1987. Ownership of the Caskie Bungalow transferred several more times before the current owners acquired the building in 2019. It is located in the Kempner Park Neighborhood known to contain two of the oldest houses on the island. Named in honor of the Kempner family, development of the area began in earnest after the 1900 Storm. As a result, the Galveston Architecture Guidebook notes a wide range of architectural styles represented within the neighborhood’s boundaries.
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JOHN AND CORDIA SWEENY TENANT HOUSE, BUILT 1914 3125 AVENUE O .................................
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ompleted in May 1914, real estate investor John Samuel Sweeny built this two-story Colonial Revival house for use as rental property. Situated on the eastern part of his lot, Sweeny, and his wife, Cordia, resided next door at 3127 Avenue O (built 1905-06). Born in Tennessee, Sweeny arrived in Galveston during the 1880s and worked as a master mechanic before he opened the wholesale commission house Perry & Sweeny with partner Charles Perry. In 1908, the Galveston City Directory noted Sweeny’s transition into real estate when he and partner Robert Zapp established an office for Zapp & Sweeny Real Estate and Land Agents at 205-07 Tremont.
The original insurance record for the Sweeny’s tenant house described a respectable sixroom dwelling. Francis Boyd and Cecil Wheeler were the first tenants. Boyd and Wheeler worked for the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe railroad as a clerk to the general superintendent (Boyd) and manager of the telegraph department (Wheeler). Each man resided at the house with their wife and child. The Sweenys used the house as rental property until they divorced in1921. They sold 3127 O and Cordia moved to San Antonio. Sweeny relocated to 3125 O and remained there until 1922 when James E. Haden, night captain for the fire boat CHARLES CLARKE, purchased the house. James Edward Haden was born in Cold Spring, Texas, in 1870. The son of a physician, Haden followed his brother, William D.
CAPTAIN JAMES E. HADEN AND KATHERINE MCRARY HADEN
FIRE BOAT, CHARLES CLARK
Haden, into the maritime industry on Cedar Bayou where he captained steam and tug boats. In 1893, James married Cedar Bayou native Katherine “Katie” Lee McCrary (1871-1946). The couple moved to Galveston after the 1900 Storm and by 1902 Haden was captain of the dredge boat LEVIATHAN. After they purchased 3125 Avenue O, Captain Haden and Katie resided there until their deaths. Their daughter Clara Lee inherited the house and lived there with her husband, Eugene Jackson, until 1965. The Jackson’s children utilized the house as rent property until 1983 when they sold it and ended over half a century of ownership by the Haden family. Located in the Kempner Park Neighborhood, the Sweeny Tenant House transferred ownership several more times before the current owners purchased the house in 2014. After they acquired the property, Michael Gaertner AIA designed a primary suite at the rear of the building that includes a sleeping area with en suite bath and walk-in closet separated from a master lounge by a feature wall with a fireplace. The addition is connected to the main house by a new hallway with custom cabinetry, designated work space and wet bar that overlooks a tranquil outdoor living area centered on a compact spa/pool.
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HOUSE BEING RAISED BY JOHN EGERT HOUSE MOVER AND RAISER
SEALY AND MARY HUTCHINGS HOUSE, BUILT 1896, GEORGE B. STOWE, ARCHITECT 2805 AVENUE O ...................................................................
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n 1896, banker John Henry Hutchings deeded five lots to his son, Sealy, on which to build a house for his young family. The lots were located on the south side of Avenue O, across the street from the Hutchings’ home (2816 Avenue O, built 1859, altered 1892 by N. J. Clayton), where Sealy was raised. Born in Galveston in 1869, Sealy was the seventh child of John Henry and Minnie (Knox) Hutchings. He was educated in Galveston’s school system and attended the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. In 1887 Sealy joined his father’s banking firm, Ball, Hutchings & Company, and four years later he married Mary Emily Moody (1870-1943), daughter of William L. and Pherabe (Bradley) Moody. Between 1893 and 1906 the couple had seven children with the last four born at their new residence at 2805 Avenue O.
Prominent Galveston architect George B. Stowe (1873-1932) designed the new Hutchings house. Construction of the immense frame building took almost one year and cost $14,160. Stowe was born on the island and attended Galveston’s schools and Crawford’s Private Academy. When he completed his education he opened an architectural practice on the island. His brother Elwood joined the business in 1908 and the firm, known as Stowe & Stowe, opened a second office in Houston. Existing examples of Stowe’s work include the Ikelheimer & Company Building (2102 Postoffice, 1898), the William Meininger House (1722 Church, 1896) and the Charles Clarke House (1728 Sealy, 1900). The two-and-one-half story Queen Anne style residence Stowe designed for the Hutchings family features an asymmetrical plan and Classical Revival details. The interior, centered on a grand entrance hall and adjoining stair hall, retains original millwork, hardware and
massive pine pocket doors that connect the entry halls with adjoining rooms. After the 1900 Storm, the house was raised during the grade-raising and a few years later, Hutchings enclosed the sleeping porch over the portecochere and added three bedrooms in the attic. As Hutchings aged and was no longer able to climb stairs, he also installed an elevator at the back of the house.
HOME, 1900
After Hutchings died in 1936, Mary remained at their home until her own death, after which their daughter Mary Moody Hutchings inherited the family estate. Born in 1896, Hutchings attended Mt. Vernon College in Washington, D. C., studied horticulture at Columbia University in New York and was an early member of Galveston Historical Foundation. Driven by desire to keep the house within the family after she died, two of Hutchings’ great-grandchildren purchased the property in 1991. In 1994, the Texas Historical Commission recommended the Sealy Hutchings House be added to the National Register of Historic Places. Located in the predominantly residential Kempner Park Neighborhood, the current owners acquired the house in 2020. In 2021, the City of Galveston designated the house a local historic landmark.
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HOME, CIRCA 1920, COURTESY OF HOMEOWNER
DR. FREDERICK AND ADELAIDE FISHER HOUSE, BUILT 1888 3503 AVENUE P ...................................................................
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n February 25, 1888, Dr. Frederick Fisher purchased two lots along the 3500 block of Avenue P originally part of the homestead of Texas banker, Samuel May Williams. After Fisher acquired the lots, he had a one-story house built to serve as his family’s residence. The building’s original insurance record described a five-room frame dwelling that included a kitchen, bathroom, four closets and three porches. Prominent features of the Queen Anne house include a cross-gabled and hipped roof and an inset wraparound porch that addresses its corner location ornamented with unusual cross-and-clover-patterned millwork. The house was originally elevated seven feet on brick piers. The reduction in elevation observed today is attributed to the island grade-raising that occurred upon completion of the Galveston’s protective seawall, constructed after the Great Storm of 1900.
Frederick Kenner Fisher was born in Matagorda, Texas, in 1852. His grandfather, Samuel Rhodes Fisher signed the Texas Declaration of Independence and served as the first secretary of the Texas Navy. Fisher attended Washington and Lee University and the University of Virginia before he graduated from Tulane Medical School in 1873. He married Lucy Adelaide “Addy” Selkirk in 1877. Her grandfather, William Selkirk, was one of Stephen F. Austin’s original 300 colonists. After they married, the Fishers settled in Indianola on Matagorda Bay where Fisher acted as the quarantine officer. When a hurricane destroyed Indianola in 1886, the couple moved to Galveston where Fisher resumed his position as quarantine officer and served as staff physician and associate surgeon at St. Mary’s Infirmary.
Although the Fishers never had children, they were surrounded by family. Fisher shared office space with his brother, Dr. William Compton Fisher, and brother, Walter Fisher, a pharmacist, lived nearby with his family. During the 1900 Storm, Walter, his wife, and six of their seven children drown. Fisher and Addy adopted their surviving nephew, F. Kenner. Tragedy struck again in 1910 when Kenner died from complications related to appendicitis.
After Dr. Fisher died in 1920, Adelaide Selkirk Secretan moved in with Addy, who willed the Fisher House to the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word upon her death in 1939. The Sisters passed the house to Adelaide Secretan in 1942. A year later, she sold the house to Henry and Clara Barnes. Ownership of the Fisher house changed several more times before the current owners purchased it in 2020. Through the efforts of past owners, Jim and Margaret Earthman, the Fisher House was designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1993. The City of Galveston designated the house a local landmark in 2021. The Fisher House is located in the Kempner Park Neighborhood.
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LEAGUE-KEMPNER HOUSE, BUILT 1893 NICHOLAS J. CLAYTON, ARCHITECT; BIRDSALL BRISCOE, ARCHITECT, ADDITIONS 1920 1702 BROADWAY (REHABILITATION IN PROGRESS) ...............................
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eal estate investor and self-described “capitalist” John Charles League and his wife Cornelia “Nellie” Ball commissioned Nicholas J. Clayton to design their new residence in1892. Consultations between Clayton and League began in August 1892 with completed plans delivered on December 31st to League and building contractor, Henry Kissinger. Clayton worked closely with League to design a “modern” house as illustrated in major architectural publications of the late 19th century and perhaps influenced by the nearby home of the Sealy family designed by the New York firm of McKim Mead &White and known today as Open Gates. Clayton’s daybooks from 1892 indicate that he shared images with League from The Inland Architect and News Record published in Chicago as inspiration for exterior finishes and design.
John Charles League (1850-1916) became one of the island’s most important entrepreneurs and wealthiest residents by the late 19th century. His parents, Thomas Massey League and Esther Yarnold Wilson, moved to the island in 1842. By 1850, T. M. League was an established community leader with extensive land holdings across Galveston County. In 1874, J. C. League married Cornelia “Nellie” Ball, daughter of Sarah Perry and George Ball, the namesake of Galveston’s Ball High School and Ball Avenue. League City in northern Galveston County is J. C. League’s modern day namesake as it was developed on land he owned. As one of Clayton’s last residential designs, the League’s house is decidedly different
NICHOLAS J. CLAYTON
from his earlier residential work and less influenced by Victorian design including the very vertically focused Gresham House at 1402 Broadway completed in 1892. The expansive, largely horizontal three-story house with basement covers one of the largest lots on Broadway and includes the principal dwelling, a Clayton designed garage for League’s automobile (1913), once extensive gardens and a greenhouse. Clayton’s design incorporates influences from Open Gates such as the original turret with clusters of twin columns as well as a Colonial Revival entry way popular in contemporary residential design. Architectural historian Margaret Culbertson associated the dormers with upturned ends as derivative of the F.R. Hazard House in Syracuse, New York, by J.L. Silsbee of Chicago and published in the March 1892 Inland Architect. The League House represents the highly sophisticated and well-travel League family familiar with the latest architectural work around Chicago, New York, and the midAtlantic region. The records from the League family from 1893 indicate the extent of their travel while the house was under construction. Excursions to wealthy resorts, Chicago, Niagara Falls, New York City, and Philadelphia suggest how these progressive designed areas influenced the design of their residence. The League’s daughter, Daisy, was attending the prestigious Ogontz School for Young Ladies in Pennsylvania while the house
was under construction and appears to have rarely returned to Galveston that year. In 1898, Daisy married wealthy Galveston native Waters Davis, Jr. and they built a grand residence two blocks west of the League House on the corner of 19th and Broadway (1904 Broadway, built 1899, demolished). In memory of Daisy after her death in 1922, Nellie became the major financial supporter of Galveston’s Young Women’s Christian Association and provided much of the capital for construction of their building at 621 21st designed by Houston architect William Ward Watkin (1924).
of the Kempner family and widow of Harris Kempner. One of Galveston’s most influential families, the Kempners played a significant part in the social and economic development of the island. Their family maintained ownership of 1702 Broadway until 1972, when John Samuels III purchased the property. The current owners acquired the property from the Samuel’s estate in 2021 and began extensive stabilization and restoration work on the house and grounds after decades of neglect. It is located in the East End Historic District.
After League’s death in 1916, Nellie maintained the residence two more years. She sold the house in 1918 to Eliza Seinsheimer Kempner, matriarch
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Built in 1893, renowned architect Nicholas J. Clayton designed this house for John Charles League and his wife, Cornelia Ball. The couple married in New York in 1874 and had one child, Sarah Daisy Ball League (1876-1922). Nicholas Clayton (1840-1916) was born in Ireland and immigrated to the United States in 1848 with his mother. He moved to Galveston in 1872 to supervise construction of First Presbyterian Church (1903 Church Street). During the 1880s and 1890s Clayton’s contributions to the architectural landscape of the city were so great, architect Howard Barnstone deemed the period “The Clayton Era” in his book The Galveston That Was. Clayton worked closely with the Leagues to design the house, which has an interior floor plan reminiscent of the Bishop’s Palace, designed by Clayton for the family of Walter and Josephine Gresham (1402 Broadway, completed 1892). The current owners purchased the building in December 2020 and immediately began to address decades of deferred maintenance and neglect, including decades of roof and window leaks that caused structural damage in areas of the building. As you enter the house, note the original vestibule tile designed to look like a mosaic. The house also retains the original millwork and hardware. The original gas fireplaces all retain the original logs. Four original light fixtures also remain, including the fixture in the entry and in the dining room. The first floor entry hall is flanked by a parlor (west) and library (east). The dining room is connected to the east side of the stair hall. As you proceed up the stairs, note the Garden Room, designed by architect Birdsall Briscoe in 1920. The second floor hosts three bedrooms and sitting room. An upper porch on the east side, enclosed by Briscoe in 1920 contains a bathroom addition dated to the 1960s. As you pass from the private family quarters into the servant’s wing, note the original family bathroom that dates to the 1893 construction with original tile work and sink. Two rooms off of the utilitarian hallway served as servant’s quarters and bathroom, noted as “slophopper” on the building’s plans and where chamber pots were emptied. The servant’s staircase leads to the third floor, where three additional bedrooms are located. The servant’s staircase leads downstairs to the first floor utilitarian hall that connects the kitchen and butler’s pantry to formal areas of the house. The elevator is original to the 1893 construction. The original motor is housed on the third floor. The kitchen restoration will maintain the original tile. A company in Arkansas will use existing tile to reproduce additional tiles to replace missing and damaged tiles. As you exit via the back door of the house, please watch your step.
1892 BISHOP’S PALACE
From palaces to privateers and tall ships to Seawalls, our story is part of the history of Texas. It can be part of yours as well. Welcome to historic Galveston Island. Visit www.galvestonhistory.org for events, attractions, preservation initiatives, and more.
1877 TALL SHIP ELISSA
HOMES ON TOUR & LOCATIONS OF NOTE
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* RESTROO 1. Bondies-Robertson House - 1212 Sealy
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2. Ronald and Annie Caskie House - 2805 Avenue P 3. John and Cordia Sweeny Tenant House - 3125 Avenue O 4. Sealy and Mary Hutchings House - 2805 Avenue O 5. Dr. Frederick and Adelaide Fisher House - 3503 Avenue P 6. Z ) League-Kempner House - 1702 Broadway LV E GA 7. George and Sarah Prendergast House - 2007 Avenue M 8. Charles and Elise Eickholt House - 2319 Avenue M 9. William and Edna Crawford House - 1408 Avenue N 10. Benjamin Dolson Tenant House - 1723 Mechanic ___________________________________________________________
ADDITIONAL LOCATIONS (*denotes available restrooms) A. 1892 Bishop’s Palace - 1402 Broadway* B. Galveston Historic Seaport - Pier 22 C. Star State Company No. 3 Firehouse - 2828 Market D. GHF’s 1940 Sears Building - 2228 Broadway* E. Eighteen Seventy One & GHF Offices - 2002 Strand* F. Retail Location - 2805 Avenue O
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GEORGE AND SARAH PRENDERGAST HOUSE, BUILT 1886, REBUILT WITH ADDITIONS 1901 2007 AVENUE M ...................................................................
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urrounded by mature live oak trees and located in the Lost Bayou Historic District, marine engineer George Michael Prendergast built this two-story house. Born in Apalachicola, Florida in 1855, Prendergast came to Texas with his parents in 1860. After the Civil War, they moved back to Florida and then to New Orleans where Prendergast received his assistant marine engineer license in 1874. He moved to Galveston in 1876 as chief engineer for the Galveston Steamship and Lighterage Company and married South Carolina native Sarah Ann McEvoy (18581936) a year after he arrived. By 1893, their family included five children. At the time Prendergast built the house he was engineer on the lighter ship BESSIE. In 1895, he resigned to accept a position with the U.S. War Department and was appointed chief engineer of the government dredge boat C. B. COMSTOCK. Sarah maintained the household and looked after the children as well as her elderly father, who resided with them. After their home was damaged by the 1900 Storm, Prendergast repaired and enlarged the house to accommodate his household of eight. The insurance record dated 9 January 1901 described the rebuilt two-story frame house expanded to include seven rooms, two hallways, a bathroom plus a water closet and
five porches. The most striking feature of the house, the angle-fronted double verandah over-looking Avenue M and repeated angled window bay alongside the main entry, are part of the 1901 renovations. By 1920, Captain Prendergast was superintendent of dredging and repairs for the Galveston district. He held that position until his death in 1927. Sarah remained at their residence until 1932 when she relocated to Austin and leased the house to tenants. Verona Henck Flesher purchased the property in 1935 shortly before she married Frank Shaw Pix. Both the Henck and Pix families were early Galveston pioneers. After they acquired the property Pix and Verona added the existing two-story automobile garage with three-room apartment in 1941. After his death, Verona maintained ownership until her own death in 1975. In 1977, J. Greenwell Stockton purchased the house from the Pix estate. Stockton utilized the house as rental property until he sold it in 2006 to architect Bruce Frasier and wife, Gail, who rehabilitated the house. The current owners purchased the Prendergast House in 2016. The building contributes to the twentythree block National Register Historic District located within the San Jacinto Neighborhood.
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CHARLES AND ELISE EICKHOLT HOUSE, BUILT 1898 2319 AVENUE M ...................................
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n 1898, Charles and Elise Eickholt purchased one-and-one-half lots on Avenue M from insurance agent Claude Guinard and built this Queen Anne house as their residence. Built according to Elise’s plans and completed that November , one of the most prominent features of the building is the unique entrance oriented towards Tremont (23rd Street). The original insurance record for the Eickholt house described a two-story house with basement that contained six rooms, two halls, a bathroom, four closets and three porches. The kitchen, two pantries, servant’s quarters and “cistern room” where fresh water was collected and stored for use, were located in the basement. The 1899 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map noted the unique footprint of the primary building as well as a one-story green house with glass roof erected during the summer of 1899. The greenhouse supported Elise Eickholt’s floral business, established in 1891 from the couple’s previous residence.
The Eickholts immigrated to Galveston from Germany and were married in 1885 shortly after Elise arrived on the island. While she operated her own floral business from their home, Charles worked for wholesale grocers Ullmann, Lewis & Company. After the 1900 Storm, the Eickholts rebuilt and expanded the greenhouses and in 1901, Elise opened a shop in town, on Tremont, between Market and Postoffice. The Galveston City Directory noted her showroom sold cut flowers, palms, ferns, seeds and bulbs. Her sons, Fritz and William, worked for her and when she retired due to
failing health in 1904, she appointed William manager. After she retired, Elise returned to Germany and officiated at the International Art and Horticulture Exhibition held in Dusseldorf in 1904. She died of cancer in March 1905 followed by William’s death in 1906. Charles closed the floral business soon after. He and Fritz maintained the family residence on Avenue M until Fred V. Taylor, president of the OK Laundry Company, bought the house in 1911. Taylor, and his wife, Helen, resided there until 1921. Located in the Silk Stocking Historic District, the current owners purchased the Eickholt House in 2018. The house retains original features that include cypress shutters, electric and gas fixtures, and plasterwork. Previous owners installed etched glass panels in the French doors between the parlor and dining room and discovered the bricks that outline the garden walkways and flowerbeds in a similar configuration about four feet below the surface of the yard and presumed buried during the grade raising that occurred after the 1900 Storm.
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WILLIAM AND EDNA CRAWFORD COTTAGE, BUILT 1913 1408 URSULINE (AVENUE N) ...................................................................
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n November 1913 the Galveston Suburban Improvement Company (GSIC) built three cottages along the 1400 block of Avenue N. That year, John N. Stowe was president of the board of directors. Stowe was an established insurance agent with his own firm on Strand. The 1913 board of directors also included pioneer builders Frank Jones and Robert Palliser, and carpenter, William Schadt, who manufactured windows, doors, sashes, blinds and other building materials at his mill on the corner of 27th and Ball. The company incorporated in 1892 with the objective to build affordable housing for the working class. Early advertisements for the land and real estate development corporation promoted “cottages built to suit any purchaser” on any of their “desirable” lots. Advertisements noted a small down payment due when construction began and once completed, the balance paid in monthly installments. The original insurance record for the three GSIC houses recorded identical frame buildings elevated two-and-one-half feet on brick piers that contained four rooms, one hall, one bathroom and one porch. The record also noted that all three cottages were “for sale.”
Longshoreman Will Crawford was the first owner of the cottage at 1408 Avenue N.
Crawford was born in Galveston in 1886. He married Edna Nelson on the island in 1919. Nelson was also a Galveston native born in 1890. The Crawford family resided there until April 1920 when they moved to a larger house on the block and sold 1408 Avenue N back to the GSIC.
Marine engineer and ship captain William Anderson purchased the cottage from the GSIC in 1921. Anderson was born in Galveston in 1876. After the death of his first wife in 1919, Anderson married Susie Frances Fraide. During their ownership, the Andersons enlarged the house. The insurance record noted the 1928 addition also included a back porch. After William’s death in 1939, Susie maintained ownership of 1408 Avenue N and resided there until her death in 1966, after which, Anthony D’Ambra purchased the house from Anderson’s estate. D’Ambra was born in Sicily in 1942 and immigrated to Galveston with his parents in 1947 to join the family grocery business. The current owners acquired the house in 2019. Located in the San Jacinto Neighborhood, the City of Galveston designated the Crawford House a local landmark in 2020.
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BENJAMIN DOLSON TENANT HOUSE, BUILT 1905 1723 MECHANIC (REVOLVING FUND PROJECT) ...................................................................
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orwegian immigrant Benjamin Dolson (1834-1917) built this two-story Southern townhouse with double gallery in 1905 for use as rental property. Dolson was born in Frederickstad, Norway, a seaport town on Bohus Bay. As a youth, he worked as a sailor and made his first trans-Atlantic trip in 1854 to Philadelphia. Four years later, he immigrated to Galveston and established his residency. In 1871, Dolson entered the stevedoring business as a partner in the firm Dolson & Nelson, which preceded the commercial stevedoring firm of Suderman & Dolson established in 1895 with partner Charles Suderman. Suderman & Dolson branched out and added tugboat towing to their list of services when they purchased their first tugboat, Louise. A variation of the company, Suderman & Young, remains active today. Construction of the Dolson Tenant House, along with a twin building at 1419 Mechanic, was completed in April 1905. Originally located at 1417 Mechanic, the house was one of four Dolson constructed on the block to serve as rental property. All were located near his personal residence at 1426 Market Street
(built 1885, Nicholas J. Clayton, architect). The first tenant to lease the Dolson Tenant House was Edward T. Horn, owner of E.T. Horn & Company, proprietors of furniture and stoves located on Tremont. By 1908, the house was converted into a duplex with separate apartments on the first and second floors and Herman Tschumy, a piano turner and repairer for Thomas Goggan & Brothers moved into the subdivided house with the Horn family. In 1942, the apartment on the second floor was divided again to create a third apartment. Galveston Historical Foundation (GHF) moved the house to 1723 Mechanic in 2017 to save it from demolition. The recently completed rehabilitation of the property included a new pier-and-beam foundation and replacement roof, repair and restoration of key architectural and structural elements, new mechanical systems, and landscaping. The house is the westernmost property of three buildings relocated by GHF- in August 2016, two houses built as tenant property in 1935 for local businessman Floyd Kavanaugh were moved from their original location at 12th and Market to save them from demolition and relocated to 1715 and 1719 Mechanic. All three properties are now located within the
northern boundary of the East End Historic District, added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. GHF’s Residential Revolving Fund financed the rehabilitation of the Dolson Tenant House. Established in 1982, the neighborhood
revitalization initiative is focused on the rehabilitation of vacant, endangered, and underutilized historic buildings. For more information about purchasing the newly rehabilitated Dolson Tenant House or about the Foundations’ Revolving Fund, visit the Foundation’s website, galvestonhistory.org.
SELF-GUIDED HIGHLIGHTS • •
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Originally located at 1417 Mechanic, the first tenant to lease the Dolson Tenant House was Edward T. Horn, owner of E. T. Horn & Company, proprietors of furniture and stoves located on Tremont (23rd Street). By 1908, the house was converted into a duplex. That year, the Galveston City Directory noted an additional tenant- Herman Tshumy. Tshumy was as a piano tuner and repairer for the historic music store, Thomas Goggan & Brothers. Established in Galveston in 1866, by 1885, advertisements for the company noted they were the oldest music store in the state, with branches in Waco, Houston, Dallas, Austin and San Antonio. Galveston Historical Foundation (GHF) acquired the Dolson Tenant House in 2017 and relocated it to the current lot to save it from demolition. During rehabilitation of the building, the house was converted back to a single family dwelling and the second front door was removed. The Foundation’s rehabilitation of the building included: 1. Newly constructed pier and beam foundation that elevated the house seven feet and created a garage and storage under the building. 2. Installation of all new mechanical systems. 3. A redesigned and fully modern kitchen with laundry/mud room and half-bath at the rear of the building. An existing downstairs bathroom was also converted into a kitchen pantry. 4. A new second-floor addition above the rear staircase that created a master bathroom and closets for both the master and the rear bedrooms. During demolition, GHF staff uncovered the original pocket doors that were enclosed in the walls and removed the dropped ceilings. The house is located in the East End National Register Historic District. It is located west of 1715 and 1719 Mechanic, relocated by GHF in 2016 in order to prevent their demolition. GHF’s Residential Revolving Fund financed the relocation and rehabilitation of the Dolson Tenant House. Established in 1982, the Revolving Fund is focused on the rehabilitation of vacant, endangered and underutilized buildings. For more information about purchasing the Dolson Tenant House or the Foundation’s Revolving Fund, visit the Foundation’s website, www.galvestonhistory.org
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PLEIN AIR SOUTHWEST 1859 ASHTON VILLA - 2328 BROADWAY ...................................................................
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his year’s Galveston Historic Homes Tour will partner with Outdoor Painters Society’s Plein Air Southwest for their annual member’s competition, show, and sale featuring over 40 juried artists. These artists will record history across the island in the form of paintings created during the tour. Proceeds from the sale of artwork benefit Galveston Historical Foundation.
A public sale of the art will be open on Saturday, May 8 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., at the 1859 Ashton Villa, 2328 Broadway. Also on that Saturday, visitors can stroll among the artists while they participate in the “Off the Easel” wet paint sale from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
................................................................... ABOUT THE OUTDOOR PAINTERS SOCIETY OUTDOORPAINTERSSOCIETY.COM ...................................................................
The Outdoor Painters Society was formed in 1996 with nine charter members. The goal was to create opportunities and incentive for artists of like mind to come together and paint en plein air (outside in the open air). Now a nationally known plein air artist’s organization with an annual average membership of around 350 members continues to grow. About 75% of OPS members reside in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado. The membership is ‘without borders’ and includes artists all across the country from the eastern seaboard to the west coast. There are 8-9 scheduled paint-outs each year with the outings ranging from one to five days. Locations vary all around Texas including Big Bend National Park, Palo Duro Canyon, and small towns such as Glen Rose and Mineola. The premier juried “members only” annual event known as Plein Air Southwest attracts national attention, elite artists, savvy collectors, decorators and locals who just enjoy art. For more information, visit their website at outdoorpainterssociety.com.
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PARTICIPATING ARTISTS ...................................................................
Suzie Baker Shenandoah, Texas
Donna Bland Kingsland, TX donnabland.com
Tina Bohlman Waxahachie, TX tinabohlman.com
Beverly Boren Trophy Club, TX bevboren.blogspot.com
Lon Brauer Granite City, IL lonbrauer.com
Krystal Brown Spring, TX krystalbrownfineart.com
Jon Burleson Katy, TX
Randall Cogburn Galveston, TX randallcogburn.com
Marty Coulter Washington, MI marty.coulter@icloud.com
Vlad Duchev Baltimmore, MD vladduchev.com
Fran Ellisor Conroe, TX ellisorart.com
Kaye Franklin Graham, TX kayefranklin.com
Stephen Gary Frisk Richmond, TX garyfriskart.com
Frank Gabriel Austin, TX frank-gabriel.com
Myrrh Haslam Houston, TX myrrhhaslam.com
Francis Huang San Antonio, TX
PG. 33
PARTICIPATING ARTISTS ..........................................................................
Jana Jennings Ovilla, TX janajennings.com
Peggy Kingsbury Pasadena, TX kingsburyart.com
John Lassiter IV Siloam Springs, AR
Leroy LeFlore Galveston, TX leroyleflore.com
Farley Lewis Springfield, MO farleylewis.com
Marla Luttrell Houston, TX
Jeffrey Neel McDaniel Rio Frio, TX jneelart.com
Donna McGee West Monroe, LA
Vickie McMillan-Hayes Houston, TX vickiemcmillan.com
Spencer Meagher Mount Vernon, IL spencermeagher.com
Lori Merfeld-Batson Wstcliff, CO loriemerfeld-batson.com
Suzanne Morris Nags Head, NC and Richmond, VA
Bob O’Brien Euless, TX bobobrian.com
Nancy Paris Pruden Houston, TX parispruden.com
Marchita Priest Rosenburg, TX LoneStarArtist.com
Chuck Rawle Richmond, TX chuckrawle.com
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Jeanna Reavis Houston, VI jeannereavis.com
Robert Rohm Lago Vista, TX bobrohm.com
James Sampsel Grants Pass, OR james-sampsel.com
Robert Simone St. Petersburg, FL robertjsimone.com
Roy Smith Burnet, TX roysmithstudio.com
Melanie Stokes Mart, TX melaniestokesart.com
Richard Szkutnik Littleton, CO richardszkutnik.com
Nancy Sterling Tyler Dallas, TX facebook.com/ NancysArtNetwork
Richie Vios Victoria, TX vioswatercolor.com
Irma Ward Ft. Worth, TX irmaward.com
Baron Wilson Austin, TX baron.faso.com
Jing Zhao Frisco, TX
Durre Waseem Corona, CA
Chris Willey Kansas City, MO chriswilley.com
PG. 35
COMMEMORATIVE HOMES TOUR PRINT RICHIE VIOS, ARTIST ............................. This year’s Galveston Historic Homes Tour offers guests the exclusive opportunity to purchase our limited edition 2021 print. “I believe that the mark of a good artist is to be able to capture the different facets of life in his painting -- the mode, ambiance, subtleties, etc. In a sense, not just illustrating or recording what he sees but expressing what he feels. As a plein-air artist (outdoor painting), watercolor was the perfect medium of choice: handy, quick to dry, yet delivers a truly magnificent work of art. Trust me, if you paint with no fear and a smile on your face, you can paint a masterpiece every time.”
RETAIL LOCATION: 2805 AVENUE O
GALVESTON, BY JASON LEE COMING SUMMER 2021 .......................................... “Between the months of January and April of 2017 I roamed Texas sporadically with my old Speed Graphic 4x5 camera for what turned out to be 25 days and roughly 5000 miles. I’d moved to Texas just two years prior and thought it only made sense to see more of the big state than I’d seen before as a visiting photographer. And so I did. Up into the Panhandle, a bit east, central, south, and West Texas. A lonely but fruitful expedition. 111 of the 298 exposures I made would end up being printed in the 2018 book A PLAIN VIEW. But no matter how many miles and real estate I’d covered on those travels, I never thought to make it far enough south to meet Galveston. Frankly, I’d heard of the island but was ignorant to the fact that it was Texas, too. And then, perhaps ironically, GHF contacted me in May of 2020 to see if I might like to extend my “Texas series” by making photographs in Galveston. I was happy to accept the offer, as perhaps the whole of my Texas story had yet to be completed. And so that November I drove my car from Los Angeles, where I was living once more, to Galveston with my cameras, in the passenger seat my friend and fellow photographer Raymond Molinar who would assist me in my efforts to document as strange and beautiful a land as I’d ever seen while also making not only behind-the-scenes photographs of my process but his own photographs of this remarkably standstill place. And the payoff of the experience is not just that I’ve now seen more of Texas than I ever thought I would but that this new book would stand as my favorite thus far, if not an extension of the mainland Texas photographs before it.”
GHF EVENTS COMMITTEE & TOUR CHAIRPERSONS ...................................................................
The commitment of more than 700 volunteers and many area businesses make GHF’s annual Historic Homes Tour possible. Homeowners, house and ticket chairpersons, docents, and ticket takers combine their talents and energy with hours of service to open these homes for your enjoyment.
GHF EVENTS COMMITTEE Beverly Davis (Chairwoman), Penny Britton, Tim Conti, Roxanna Gipson, Amber Jinkins, Michael Landry, Bobby Martin, Kelly Morphew, and Tony Rubino
CHAIRPERSONS James Anderson Katherine Becker Barry Conner Beverly Davis Rita Edmonds Roxanna Gipson Brett Harrington Amber Jinkins Jeri Kinnear Michael Landry Jill Macomber Bobby Martin Paul Mendoza Joan Mertens Kelly Morphew
E V E N T S S TA F F Kay Porter Hal Rochkind Tom Schwenk Johnathan Tromm Robert Zahn 1877 ELISSA Crew African American Heritage Committee (Alice Gatston) Former Bathing Beauty Contestants (Megan Carpenter) GHF Preservation Department
Will Wright will.wright@galvestonhistory.org 409-765-3424 Chief Creative Officer Travis Newman travis.newman@galvestonhistory.org 409-765-3459 Director of Events
PG. 37
2
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BROKER ASSOCIATE
Circle of Excellence Award Winner Hall of Fame Member Texas Monthly Magazine Five Star Realtor 2012-2020 Trulia and Zillow Five Star Rating Certified SIRVA Relocation Specialist Galveston Historic Home Tour Major Underwriter 2011-2020
713.854.1303 | Jim.Rosenfeld@sir.com
2021 GALVESTON HISTORIC HOMES TOUR SPONSORS QUEEN ANNE
G R E E K R E V I VA L JIM ROSENFELD
I TA L I A N AT E
The Trube Foundation CRAFTSMAN
E A S T LKempner A K E Capital Management ™
S O U T H E R N TOW N H O M E
Kempner Capital Management
RESEARCH AND WRITING BY JAMI DURHAM LAYOU T AND DESIGN BY WILL WRIGHT HOME PHOTOGRAPHY BY KOBY BROWN PHOTOGRAPHY ©2021 GALVESTON HISTORICAL FOUNDATION GALVESTON HISTORICAL FOUNDATION, PO BOX 149, GALVESTON, TX 77553
HOMES ON TOUR
THIS CATALOG IS YOUR TICKET!
................................................................... 1. Bondies-Robertson House
6. League-Kempner House
1212 Sealy 2. Ronald and Annie Caskie Bungalow 2805 Avenue P 3. John and Cordia Sweeny Tenant House 3125 Avenue O 4. Sealy and Mary Hutchings House 2805 Avenue O 5. Dr. Frederick and Adelaide Fisher House 3503 Avenue P
1702 Broadway 7. George and Sarah Prendergast House 2007 Avenue M 8. Charles and Elise Eickholt House 2319 Avenue M 9. William and Edna Crawford Cottage 1408 Avenue N 10. Benjamin Dolson Tenant House 1723 Mechanic
T I C K E T S A R E N O N - R E F U N DA B L E
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................................................................... IN MEMORY OF ANITA KATZ SCHULER The 2021 Galveston Historic Homes Tour is dedicated in memory of Anita Terri Katz. Anita was a GHF chairwoman, long-time docent and volunteer of the Galveston Historic Homes Tour, and friend to the organization.
GENERAL INFO: Masks are required while inside tour homes. Please respect social distancing
while in line. Tours are held 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. May 1, 2, 8 and 9, 2021. In case of inclement weather, the tour may be suspended temporarily or for the remainder of the day. Call 409-765-7834 for information. Please wear soft soled shoes to minimize harm to floors. Smoking, photos, food, drinks and pets are not permitted. Hats, umbrellas and sunscreen are highly suggested. Street parking is available near each tour home.
