The George Manor transports guests to an era gone by and places them in a one-of-a-kind location, allowing them to catch a glimpse of the past while still enjoying the convenience of today’s comforts. In close proximity to the Seawall, beaches, and cruise line terminals, this hotel is just two streets from from the Historic Strand District. You are only a few seconds away from luxurious eating, exciting entertainment, and a place to unwind.

In 1851, Lorenza Sherwood constructed the first section of the home that still stands today. Sherwood sold it to Judge Edward Tailer Austin in 1867, and Austin extended the residence by having a Greek Revival wing built. He used materials that were brought from Maine, such as white pine and doors made of mahogany and walnut. Sherwood had built the home in the Colonial Revival style.

Stephen F. Austin, the man credited with founding the Texas colony, was Edward’s first cousin once removed. Edward T. Austin and Estelle Herbert were married in Louisiana in 1857, and after their honeymoon, the couple relocated to Galveston, where they brought up their family. Austin earned a law degree, was elected to the position of county judge, and later filled in as Galveston’s interim mayor.

When Austin passed away in 1888, his son Valery Austin, who was a city commissioner, became the new owner of the property. Valery Austin and his wife Ida L. Smith continued to dwell in the home, but they also rented out two of the rooms located on the south side of the residence.

On the morning of September 8, 1900, Valery embarked on a business journey by departing from Galveston. Ida overheard a man walking down the street at two o’clock that afternoon saying that the waters coming in from the gulf had converged at Fifteenth Street. Both she and her niece sprinted up to the upper deck, where they discovered the rumor to be accurate. Ida would later write that after opening the doors and allowing the water to run freely throughout the house, the water quickly rose to a height of three feet in each room.

The residence of Edward T. Austin

The pair had been residents of the home until the year 1938, when both of them went dead. During the same year, Joseph Selwyn Ibbotson became the new owner of the home. Between the years 1936 and 1947, Ibbotson served as the head librarian of the Rosenburg Library.

Ibbotson sold the house in 1947 to Colonel Milo Pitcher Fox, who was a retired district engineer for the city of Galveston. He had graduated from West Point and served in the military during both World Wars.

In 1962, the Texas Historical Building Medallion was bestowed upon the Austin residence; it has since been preserved and continues to be prominently displayed on the building.

After removing several layers of old wallpaper in 1975, the next owners of the house, Margie and William Simpson, found elaborately detailed murals on the walls and ceiling of the drawing room in the east wing of the house. These murals were most likely painted in 1865, which is the year that section of the house was finished being built.

Simpson asserted that John Jacob Astor had given him the murals as a present. New York’s Astors were a powerful railroad family. They came from the Astors dynasty. The paintings, which are the only creations of their sort on the island, survived several wallpaperings and the storm in 1900 when water reached four feet in the room. Reportedly, they dispatched a German artist to Galveston to complete the work as a show of friendship between the families.