James S. Waters House
Galveston, Galveston County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The East End Historic District, which initiated development in the area immediately east of Galveston’s Downtown Business District, saw its busiest period of construction during the last two decades of the 19th century. Many of the city’s government and business leaders built large and architecturally significant houses, including county treasurer James Stephen Waters. Waters was born February 13, 1854, in New Orleans and moved to Galveston in 1872. In 1886, Waters partnered with Charles M. Mason to form a fire and marine insurance agency. That same year, Waters was elected treasurer of Galveston County, an office he held for the next 16 years – a period during which Galveston saw great economic growth and activity. In November 1889, Waters married Violet Hinkle and the couple had three sons: James Jr., William and Fenelon. In January of 1891, Waters bought lot 11 on Church Street. The house was designed in the Victorian style by Henry Collier Cooke of the firm Bourgeois Nitchner & Cooke. Curved porches and the inset front entrance were popular architectural elements in Galveston at the time. The house also featured a roof tower that was removed in the mid-20th century due to roof drainage issues and restored in 2015 based on historic photos. An eastern addition to the house was built in 1899 to accommodate the growing family. After James, Sr. died in 1923, Violet, Fenelon and his wife, Constance, lived in the house. After Fenelon and Constance moved out, William, Sr. and his wife, Haydee, moved in. After William, Sr.’s death, his widow, Haydee, lived in the house until Hurricane Ike in 2008. The property remained in the Waters family until 2014. It remains one of the best examples of Victorian architecture in the east end. RECORDED TEXAS HISTORIC LANDMARK – 2016
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In Galveston's East End Historic District, where the city's leaders built their finest homes during the boom of the 1880s and 1890s, county treasurer James Stephen Waters bought a Church Street lot in 1891. His Victorian house, designed by Henry Collier Cooke, featured curved porches, an inset entrance, and a roof tower — removed in the mid-20th century and restored in 2015 from historic photos. Waters, an insurance agent and treasurer for 16 years, presided over the county through Galveston's era of greatest growth, and his family kept the house until 2014.
Why it matters
It stands among the best surviving examples of the Victorian architecture that expressed Galveston's Gilded-Age prosperity.
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Related people
- · James Stephen Waters
- · Henry Collier Cooke
Themes & tags
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