Only a medallion was found at the location. There is no text in the Texas Historical Atlas.
RECORD OF ANTE BELLUM GROVER - CHAMBERS HOME 1859 A..D.
This beautiful, stately and commodious,"Ante Bellum" home, on 3 lots of
ground, located at 1520 Market St.(Ave D) Galveston,Texas, was built in 1859
by George W. Grover, a member of the Santa Fe Expedition of 1842.
All outside and interior walls, are brick from Brown's brick yard, located
on the western edge of the City of Galveston and are 16 inches thick, the
exterior being covered with concrete, while the entire interior is of plaster
of Paris, with 12 inch, hand made mouldings .
In addition to this, the large drawing room, or parlor is 20 x 40 feet; the
ceilings having hexagon, plaster of Paris ornamentations, in the center of
each a 12 ft diameter "Sunburst" of separate handmade petals with 2 ft. ro-
sette finishing center from which two brilliant (gas) crystal drop chandeliers, reflecting the lovely pier mirrors and gold cornices.
Originally there was a "Captains Lookout" or cupola with two sets of standard size windows on each of its four sides. From this point there was a splendid view of the harbor and gulf, especially so in the "Battle of Galveston" January 1st 1863, by the Federal gun boats which from time to time steamed up and down the channel bombarding the City of Galveston.
One shell entered and exploded in the North wall: a fragment of this shell
was still embedded in the wall when the Grovers sold their home to Mr & Mrs
Charles Hughes, in the early part of 1900. This fragment is still in the po-
session of its third and present owner, Miss Mary Cecile Chambers.
For many years after, children would dig at the base of the walls for riffle
bullets that had struck the brick walls, then fallen harmlessly to the ground
below. These flattened, lead bullets, were used by the children, mostly to
melt and mo.ld into sinkers for fishing lines, cast-nets, etc.
The dining room, 15' by 24' opened into the garden, onto a New Hampshire
granite porch. Above this door is a transom of ruby, hand cut, Venetian glass.
The same beautiful glass was also used around the handsomely designed front
doors, both up and down, which still has the heavily engraved brass door knob
and old fashioned brass door ringer.
Dividing the dining room from the 14' x 18' breakfast room was a large pantry
with trap door leading into the "wine cellar". The house had three sets of
stairs, the front being of Black Walnut, the middle one, by the pantry, smaller but also of Black Walnut and the enclosed one leading from the servants
quarters to the kitchen, under which room was a hugh, concrete cistern that
supplied the kitchen needs and which was hand pumped. There was still another
large, hand pumped cistern under the East gallery, which supplied ice cold
water, thru the Summer months.
Both the glass enclosed upstair East gallery, as well as the open downstairs
gallery had large solid cedar posts, turned and tapered towards the top. The
large South front gallery, across the entire width of the house had a "' by
5” New Hampshire granite step. All door sills and window sills are of Vermont
white marble; the mantle over the fireplace in the drawing room, is Italian
black marble, whereas the mantle and sides of the fireplace upstairs, is of
Vermont white marble. All this was brought in by sailing vessels. There were
six bedrooms on the second floor.
Many brilliant functions, entertainments and musicales were given in the large
beautiful rooms of the Grover home both before and after the "War" In 1905
this historic old home, was purchased by Mr. and Mrs. Landon Gore Chambers,
a rancher and cattleman of Chambers County, a great nephew of General Thomas
Jefferson Chambers, a Virginian, and one of the makers of "Texas History" for
whom Chambers County is named. Mrs. Chambers was Charcilla Josephine VanPra-
delles the grand daughter of Capt. Francis Benedict VanPradelles of Paris,
France, who joined forces with Lafayette in the victory of the Colonies.Mrs
Chambers' grandmother, Madam Cassandra D'eye Owings VanPradelles served as
"Lady in Waiting" to"Marie Antoinette" in France. After her return to America
and the death of her husband, she was captured at "Sea" by Jean Lafitte, the
pirate, while returning to Baltimore, Md., her girlhood home.
The present owner, Miss Mary Cecile Chambers, daughter of Mr. & Mrs.Chambers
has added a screened, curtained, upstairs sun porch and has painted the entire
house white.There are two huge, bearing pecan trees,plum and persimmons planted
by Mrs. Chambers, also three fig trees still bearing since purchase 1905 A.D.
Standing, as an ever watchful sentinel, at the entrance, is a large oak, which
is considered the oldest on Galveston, Island.
Source information from: Walter E.Grover, May 5th 1947 (Son of Geo.W.Grover)
From Galveston Daily News, Sunday, Feby 10 1935 p.7 & Jas D.Claitor, Historian