Galveston's oldest surviving residence, built in 1838 by a Texas Declaration of Independence signer; it served as a Civil War hospital and has been the subject of Galveston Historical Foundation ghost hunts for decades.
1605 33rd St, Galveston, TX 77550
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Galveston Historical Foundation ghost hunt events require paid tickets; check galvestonhistory.org for current pricing and dates.
Access
Limited Access
1838 Greek Revival structure on raised foundation; interior access for ticketed events only
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1838 · National Register of Historic Places · Oldest surviving residence on Galveston Island · Home of Texas Declaration of Independence signer Michel B. Menard · Civil War Confederate hospital with documented yellow fever deaths
Michel Branamour Menard was a fur trader and land speculator who, in 1837, purchased the land that would become Galveston from the Republic of Texas. He was among the signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence and laid out the original street grid for the city. In 1838 he built the house at what is now 1605 33rd Street — a Greek Revival structure that Texas Highways and Wikipedia describe as the oldest surviving residence on Galveston Island.
Menard lived in the house until his death on September 2, 1856, which occurred in an upstairs bedroom of the residence according to Wikipedia's sourced account of his life. He was 59 years old. The house then passed through several owners during the latter half of the nineteenth century.
During the Civil War, the house was documented as a Confederate hospital. Galveston served as a Confederate port until its fall and recapture in late 1862 and 1863, and yellow fever epidemics periodically devastated military personnel stationed there. Multiple soldiers died at the property from yellow fever, according to Texas Highways' coverage of the building's history.
A later resident, John Sydney Thrasher — a journalist and translator who lived in the house in the late nineteenth century — is documented in Texas Highways' account as having hosted séances in the house. This detail has become part of the property's paranormal narrative.
The Galveston Historical Foundation now manages the house and includes it in its Haunted History programming, which has run for multiple years and features evening ghost hunts and historical tours of the interior.
Sources
The Menard House has been part of Galveston's organized paranormal event circuit since at least the early 2000s, when the Galveston Historical Foundation began including it in its Haunted History series. Reported phenomena center on three themes: figures of children seen in the garden, unexplained laughter and voices heard in interior rooms, and an apparition described as a weeping woman — an account Texas Highways connects to the house's nineteenth-century occupation period.
The building's two most concrete historical anchors for paranormal storytelling are Michel Menard's death in an upstairs bedroom in 1856 and the Civil War hospital period, during which multiple soldiers died from yellow fever at the property. Ghost hunt participants have reported cold spots and unexplained sounds concentrated on the upper floor.
The séance tradition attributed to John Sydney Thrasher, a journalist who occupied the house in the late 1800s, is cited in Texas Highways' account as an early form of organized paranormal inquiry at the address — unusual provenance that distinguishes the Menard House from most historic home paranormal claims, which typically lack any contemporary documentation of interest in the supernatural.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
The Galveston Historical Foundation runs annual Haunted History programs at the Menard House, including ghost hunts and historical tours of the 1838 interior. Events typically run in October; check galvestonhistory.org for current schedule and ticket availability.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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