DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Menard-Ganter House, right there in Galveston County. Now settle in, because this one's got family, architecture, and about sixty-four years of living packed into a single front gallery. You know how it goes in Texas — follow family, and you might just end up somewhere worth stayin'.
Medard Menard did exactly that. His cousin, Michel B. Menard, was already well-established in Galveston, and Medard came on down to join him.
And it worked out. In 1838, Medard married a woman named Susan LeClere, right there in Galveston. Now, here's where the story takes a long, patient breath.
Medard and Susan lived their lives, raised a daughter named Marie, and watched Marie have children of her own. And then — in 1882, after all those years — Medard built this house. Built it for himself, built it for Susan, built it for Marie, and built it for Marie's children.
That's a man who understood that a house worth buildin' is one that holds more than just the person who paid for it. And what a house. The Menard-Ganter House carries what they call a traditional Galveston form — a front gallery dressed up with Eastlake detailing, a dormered second level rising above it all, and a single door as the primary entrance, topped with a transom to let in the Gulf light.
Simple in its bones, refined in its finish. Twenty years on, in 1902, the home passed to Herbert J. Ganter and his wife Bertha, and the house took on that second name it still carries today.
Two families. One house. Built in 1882, still standing, still speaking — that front gallery saying everything a good Galveston home was ever meant to say.
What the marker says
Medard Menard followed his well-established cousin, Michel B. Menard, to Galveston where he married Susan LeClere in 1838. He built this house in 1882 for himself, Susan and their daughter, Marie, and her children. The home was purchased by Herbert J. Ganter and his wife, Bertha, in 1902. Its traditional Galveston form is represented by a front gallery with Eastlake detailing, dormered second level, and single door primary entrance with transom. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1992