Galveston's oldest brick commercial block, struck by Union cannon fire in 1863 and used as a hurricane morgue in 1900
2010 Strand, Galveston, TX 77550
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Exterior walk-by free; interior occupants vary (retail, loft residences, office tenants)
Access
Wheelchair OK
Paved Strand sidewalk; flat grade
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1859 · Oldest surviving commercial brick structure on the Strand · Battle of Galveston (January 1, 1863) — Confederate position and Union cannon strike · 1900 hurricane emergency morgue · Galveston Historical Foundation-owned heritage site
William Hendley and Company — a partnership that included William Hendley, Captain Joseph J. Hendley, John L. Sleight, and Phillip Gildersleeve — built the four-unit commercial block between 1855 and 1859 to anchor their Texas and New York Packet Line, a fast sailing-ship service connecting Galveston's booming cotton trade to New York merchants. The Greek Revival design produced what became the tallest structure on the Strand at the time of completion, and the roof served as a Confederate signal post for scanning the harbor approaches.
During the Union occupation of Galveston in 1862, Federal troops commandeered the rooftop as their own lookout. On January 1, 1863, Confederate General John Bankhead Magruder launched a coordinated dawn assault — army troops crossing the railroad bridge from the mainland while an improvised Confederate navy attacked Union vessels in the harbor. The Hendley Building served as a forward position for Confederate riflemen. Union shipboard guns returned fire; the cannonball or shell damage visible today on the 20th Street-facing pillar dates to that engagement. The Battle of Galveston was a Confederate victory and ended the Union occupation of the island.
In September 1900, the hurricane killed an estimated 6,000 to 8,000 people in Galveston. With the city's morgues immediately overwhelmed and the need for temporary storage urgent, Hendley Row was among the buildings used to stage bodies in the days following the storm. Hundreds of bodies were reportedly held in the building before being transported to mass burial sites or released to surviving family members.
The western-most unit of the row burned in 1866 and was rebuilt in 1867, preserving the original facade. The Galveston Historical Foundation acquired the building in 1968 and rehabilitated the west section in 1979. Today the structure contains warehouse space, loft residences, offices, and retail tenants. The Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS No. TX-3296) documented the building in a detailed architectural survey.
Sources
The Lady in White is Hendley Row's most-described apparition. Witnesses — primarily residents of the upper loft units and passersby on 20th Street — describe a Victorian-era figure in a white dress or nightgown on the building's rear staircase and occasionally on the sidewalk below. She is almost always described as distressed: pacing, crying, or searching. No confirmed historical identity has been attached to her.
The Confederate soldier apparition is reported primarily on the internal stairs and in the upper corridor. Descriptions consistently place him in a gray uniform, running or moving quickly, as if responding to an alarm. Given the building's documented use as a Confederate firing position on January 1, 1863, investigators and tour guides connect the figure to the battle.
Child apparitions are the third category. A boy and a girl, described as young and poorly dressed, have been seen near the rear of the building by residents and cleaning staff. The children are generally interpreted as 1900 storm victims, consistent with the building's use as an emergency morgue in the days following the hurricane. The building's documented history — active combat, mass casualty storage, and a century and a half of continuous occupation — has made it a standard stop on Galveston's ghost-tour circuit.
Notable Entities
The four-unit Greek Revival block at 2000–2016 Strand retains visible Civil War damage: cannonball or shell strikes on the south-facing 20th Street pillar, detectable to anyone who looks closely. The granite quoins between units bear the carved initials of the original building partners. The oldest surviving brick commercial structure on the Strand.
Multiple Galveston ghost-tour operators include Hendley Row as a featured stop. US Ghost Adventures covers the three reported spirits and the building's role as a 1900 storm morgue. Tours depart from the Strand.
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