DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about George H. Nicholls. Now, every good Texas story starts with a man who came looking for something — and George H.
Nicholls was no different. According to a Galveston directory, he arrived as a mariner, the kind of man who'd made his living reading water and weather. But George had his eye on the horizon of a different kind, and that horizon was Galveston's booming warehouse trade.
He signed on as the first employee at Geo. M. Steirer & Co., working as a warehouseman.
The first. Not one of the first — the first. You don't forget a detail like that.
Now, a man who starts at the bottom of a business tends to learn every corner of it, and George was paying attention. He formed a partnership with a Mr. Wiley, and in 1888, the two of them turned around and purchased the very business from the employer who'd given them their start.
They called it Wiley & Nicholls. Set up shop at the corner of 19th Street and the Strand, dealing in the warehouse business and freight transfer — the kind of work that keeps a port city breathing. The business prospered.
That's not my word, that's what the marker says, plain and steady: prospered. And by 1893, George Nicholls had something to show for it. He moved into a home — the first home built on 24th Street.
Think about that. Not just a new address, but the address that broke ground on an entire street. He lived there until 1899, when he purchased a larger home at 1413 24th Street.
A mariner who came seeking his fortune, and friend — he found it.
What the marker says
According to a Galveston directory, George H. Nicholls was a mariner seeking his fortune in Galveston when he entered the warehouse business. George was the first employee at Geo. M. Steirer & Co. As a warehouseman. Nicholls later formed a partnership with a Mr. Wiley. In 1888, they purchased the business from their employer and formed Wiley & Nicholls. Their company dealt in the warehouse business and freight transfer and was located at the corner of 19th Street and Strand. The business prospered and, in 1893, Nicholls moved into this home, the first home built on 24th street. Mr. Nicholls lived at this location until 1899 when he purchased a larger home at 1413 24th Street.