Site of the Home of Michael Branaman Menard

Galveston, TX

Built in 1847 by John Seabrook Sydnor, an early Galveston mayor, this Greek Revival landmark boasted Doric columns shipped all the way from Maine. Over its long life the Powhatan House served as a hotel, an orphanage, a military academy, a private residence, and even a movie set before becoming a garden center. It stands among the oldest surviving buildings in a city repeatedly battered by storms.

Galveston, TX

Dr. Frederick K. Fisher and his wife Lucy Adelaide built this Victorian stick-style house in 1888, both members of longtime Texas families active in Galveston civic life. Fisher served as a quarantine officer, work that placed his family at the center of the island's public health and the tragedy of the 1900 storm, which killed his brother Walter's family. The couple raised an orphaned nephew here and, after his early death, donated land for a memorial park.

Galveston, TX

Samuel May Williams sailed from Rhode Island into a life of business and language, learning Spanish in Buenos Aires before joining Stephen F. Austin's Texas colony in 1823 as translator and clerk. He and Thomas F. McKinney ran a mercantile firm whose credit helped bankroll the Texas Revolution, extending some ninety-nine thousand dollars in support, and later helped build ships for the young republic's navy. In 1848 he opened a Galveston bank and lived out his days in this home.

Galveston, TX

This house—framed in Maine and shipped to Texas by schooner—was built for Samuel May Williams, one of the founders of Galveston and secretary to Stephen F. Austin's colony. Williams organized the first bank in Texas, helped launch the Texas navy and shipping industry, and personally contributed $150,000 toward the Texas War for Independence when he failed to secure a loan abroad. His home survives as a monument to one of the young republic's most versatile builders.