Storied Galveston Bay Home That Survived Hurricanes Creates Waves of Interest: Cypress Log-Built Historic Treasure That Dates Back to 1890s is Hitting the Market

Oh, to sit on the back veranda of this beautiful Victorian home and while away the afternoon watching the sea water play across north Galveston Bay. For those with a love a history, a yearning to be at water’s edge or merely a devotee of all things Victorian, a historic home nestled on a tree-shaded acre outside of La Porte is on the market

Add a bit of entertaining history to the grand dame overlooking the bay and you have one of the more interesting homes in the area, this one the oldest house in the region  (circa late 1890s) to be on the market.

This lady with her distinctive turrets and wrap-around porches has withstood the assaults of tropical storms and hurricanes including the infamous Great Galveston Hurricane of 1900. And well it should have, as it is constructed of durable cypress, the logs for the home floated down the ship channel to the construction site. The story goes that Houston’s formidable Jesse H. Jones gifted the lumber for the house to wealthy Houston businessman Dan Kennedy, who built the New England balloon design house as a summer home for his family.

The house was originally constructed on “the flats,” now the Port of Houston. It was moved in 1896 to the Morgan’s Point bluff, drawn by mule and log to its current location at 427 Bayridge.

The house remained in the Kennedy family until the 1970s when it was sold and underwent an extensive remodeling and expansion, not all of which adhered to a Victoria esthetic.

With 4,333 square feet under its roof, the house has two and one-half baths and  five bedrooms, all on the second floor where 12-foot ceilings and large windows harken back to the days of natural “air conditioning.” The updated kitchen speaks to the needs of the modern-day chef while the open ground floor plan is perfect for large scale entertaining.

The property includes a garage apartment that in addition to the expected bedroom, living room, bath and mini-kitchen features a second-floor deck for ocean viewing.

The property, also known as the McElvogue-Kennedy House, is listed with John Daugherty, Realtors with broker associate Jeff Bulman.

Asking price? $869,000.