DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll give it to you straight with a little color on the side. This is the story of the Hagemann-Cobb House, right here in Galveston County. Now, back in 1892, a Galveston grocer by the name of John Hagemann and his wife Jerusha decided they were going to build themselves a house.
Not just any house, mind you — an elaborate Italianate-Queen Anne style house. That's two architectural traditions showing up to the same party, and somehow they made it work. You walk up to that place and the first thing that catches your eye is the wraparound veranda, crowned with a curved metal roof and all that ornate Eastlake-style detailing.
Somebody had opinions, and they were not shy about them. The house stood through decades of Galveston sun and storm, as Galveston houses tend to do, carrying the Hagemann name into the twentieth century. Then, in 1932, Thomas and Laura Ella Cobb came along and made it their own.
Thomas Cobb was a city health inspector, and if that sounds like a quiet life, consider this: the man was also head of the local Brewer's Union and was politically active in the community. So he was checking your restaurants by day and organizing labor by evening, and somewhere in between, he was living in one of the finer Italianate-Queen Anne houses Galveston had to offer. The Hagemann-Cobb House — two families, one remarkable piece of work, still standing to tell the tale.
What the marker says
This elaborate Italianate-Queen Anne style house was built in 1892 by Galveston grocer John Hagemann and his wife Jerusha. In 1932 the home was purchased by Thomas and Laura Ella Cobb. A city health inspector, Cobb was the head of the local Brewer's Union and was politically active in the community. The Hagemann-Cobb house features a distinctive wraparound veranda with a curved metal roof and ornate detailing of the Eastlake style. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1982