DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it — Hendley's Row, Galveston County. Now, if you want to understand how commerce got built in early Texas, you could do a lot worse than stand right here and look at these four buildings rising three stories off the Galveston street. They didn't happen by accident.
They happened because of four men with a plan — and the nerve to spend real money on it. The commercial house of William Hendley and Company was established in 1845. Four men put it together: William Hendley, born 1798, died 1873.
His brother Joseph J. Hendley, who died in 1887. John L.
Sleight, 1810 to 1873. And Phillip Gildersleeve, 1819 to 1853. Four names, one firm, one singular ambition.
And they did not stop at dry goods and ledger books. At the very same time they opened that commercial house, they launched the Texas and New York Packet Line — in partnership with the firm of Brower and Neilson of New York — running a fleet of fast sailing ships between Galveston and the eastern seaboard. Now that is not a modest beginning.
That is a declaration. As brigs were withdrawn from service, the Hendleys and J. H.
Brower didn't mourn them. They built more suitable vessels — greater capacity, lighter draft — purpose-built for the work at hand. Over just a little more than ten years, the firm spent three hundred and twenty thousand, one hundred dollars leading the growth of Galveston's maritime commerce.
Say that number out loud. Three hundred twenty thousand dollars. In the 1840s and 1850s.
That figure has some weight to it. And then, between 1855 and 1858, the company put up what you're looking at today. A three-story Greek revival commercial row — four buildings, originally similar on the interior, separated by fire walls, sharing one uniform brick facade.
The columns, the cornices, the ornamentation — all made of granite. It was built to impress, and it knew it. Up on top sat a cupola.
It's been removed since, but in its day that cupola was a lookout post — used by Confederate forces, then Federal forces, during the Civil War. Both sides found it useful. That says something about the quality of the construction, even if it says complicated things about the history.
After the war, Hendley's mercantile firm came back to the block. Then, over time, the row became home to an entire procession of Galveston commerce and power — the offices of the First National Bank of Galveston, Colonel William Moody, the U.S. Corps of Engineers, the retail firm of Greenleve, Block and Company, and others besides.
Four buildings. One facade. Started by four partners in 1845, built in brick and granite a decade later, and still standing watch over Galveston.
William Hendley and his people didn't just build a row of offices. They built something that outlasted the brigs, outlasted the war, outlasted the firm itself. That, right there, is how you leave a mark on a city.
What the marker says
The commercial house of William Hendley & Co. was established in 1845 by William Hendley (1798-1873), his brother Joseph J. Hendley (d. 1887), John L. Sleight (1810-73), and Phillip Gildersleeve (1819-53). At the same time, they started the Texas and New York Packet Line with the firm of Brower and Neilson of New York, using a fleet of fast sailing ships. As brigs were withdrawn, the Hendleys and J.H. Brower built more suitable vessels of greater capacity and lighter draft. The firm spent $320,100 in just over ten years to lead in the growth of Galveston's maritime commerce. The company had this three-story Greek revival commercial row built in 1855-58. It is comprised of four buildings, originally similar on the interior. Separated by fire walls, they share a uniform brick facade. The columns, cornices, and ornamentation are mad eof granite. The row's cupola, since removed, served as a lookout post for both Confederate and Federal forces during the Civil War. After the war, Hendley's mercantile firm returned to the block. The row later housed offices of the First National Bank of Galveston, Col. William Moody, the U. S. Corps of Engineers, the retail firm of Greenleve, Block & Co., and other businesses. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1981