Old Galveston lives again in restored Ashton Villa July 25, 1974 On this day in 1974, the restored Ashton Villa, one of the first brick structures in Texas, was opened to the public. The historic Galveston home was built in 1859 by James Moreau Brown, who by the late 1850s had developed the largest hardware store west of the Mississippi. Brown purchased four lots at the corner of Broadway Boulevard and Twenty-fourth Street in 1859. He designed the building and employed slave labor and skilled European craftsmen. His wife, née Rebecca Ashton Stoddart, named the new family residence Ashton Villa in memory of one of her ancestors, Lt. Isaac Ashton, a Revolutionary War hero. The imposing three-story home is in the Victorian Italianate style, distinguished by deep eaves with carved supporting brackets. The home is administered by the Galveston Historical Foundation and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Related Handbook Articles: ASHTON VILLA GALVESTON HISTORICAL FOUNDATION BROWN, JAMES MOREAU
Posted on: Fri, 25 Jul 2014 14:39:35 +0000