Quigg-Baulard Cottage

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Quigg-Baulard Cottage in Galveston County. Now, some houses just sit there. This one has been sittin' there, and survivin' there, and quietly outlasin' just about everyone who ever walked through its door.

Let me tell you how that went. William and Josephine Quigg built the place in 1867. Wooden construction, clapboard siding, five-foot brick piers holding it up off the Galveston earth.

The front of the house carries Greek revival features, that clean, columned look that was the mark of a well-regarded Galveston home in the mid-nineteenth century. A rear extension came along by 1871, because that's what a house does when it's doing well. It grows.

Then, in 1875, a French immigrant by the name of Victor J. Baulard purchased the home. Now, Baulard wasn't the kind of man to leave well enough alone.

He looked at what the Quiggs had built, and in 1887, he added to it, extensively. The marker doesn't mince that word. Extensively.

Whatever Victor J. Baulard had in mind for that cottage, he committed to it. The Baulard family held onto the property across the years, right up until 1962, when Texas philanthropist Mary Moody Northen purchased it.

And Mary Moody Northen was not the kind of owner who lets a thing fade. The Mary Moody Northen Endowment took on a comprehensive restoration of the cottage, and in 1991, that work was completed. From William and Josephine Quigg laying the first boards in 1867, to a French immigrant's grand additions, to a full restoration finished in 1991, that cottage has had a lot of hands looking after it.

Some buildings earn their survival. This one did.

What the marker says

The Quigg-Baulard Cottage was originally built by William and Josephine Quigg in 1867. The wooden house with clapboard siding includes five-foot brick piers. The front exhibits Greek revival features, characteristic of mid-19th century Galveston. A rear extension was added by 1871. French immigrant Victor J. Baulard purchased the home in 1875 and extensively added to the building in 1887. The Baulard family owned the property until it was purchased by Texas philanthropist Mary Moody Northen in 1962. The Mary Moody Northen Endowment was responsible for a comprehensive restoration that was completed in 1991. RECORDED TEXAS HISTORIC LANDMARK - 2016