DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Victor Gustafson Home in Galveston. Now, every good story needs a piece of land with some history to it, and this lot on Postoffice Street in the east end historical district has got more than its fair share. But before we get to the lot, let's talk about the house sitting on it — because that house has been through things.
The structure started life at 620 Market Street, and it was built by a man named Victor Gustafson — born in Finland in 1870, came to Galveston, and went to work on the wharves. Hard, honest work. And sometime in those last years of the nineteenth century, he built this raised one-story cottage for his family.
Before he purchased the property in 1895, it had belonged to a Swiss immigrant named Henry Rosenberg — remembered as a prominent businessman and public benefactor. So the land already had a notable name attached to it before Gustafson ever put hammer to nail. Now, if you know Galveston history — and if you've been riding with me long, you do — you know what's coming next.
The year 1900. The storm. That storm partially destroyed the cottage Victor Gustafson had built with his own hands.
But here's the thing about that man: he rebuilt. Not only rebuilt, but enlarged the place as his family grew in number. A Finland-born wharf worker, raising a family, raising a home, in one of the most storm-battered cities on the Gulf Coast.
The marker calls this a good example of a working class home in the 1880 to 1900 period of Galveston history, and I'd say it earned that description the hard way. Victor Gustafson lived until 1956. The house outlasted the storm.
It outlasted a century. But a house needs somewhere to stand, and that's where the story takes a turn over to Postoffice Street. From 1918 until 1965, this particular lot was home to the Cordray Drugstore — well known to Galvestonians, the marker says, and begun by pharmacist Edmund Joseph Cordray.
Cordray was born in 1879, a native of Galveston, a graduate of the University of Texas School of Pharmacy. He built something the neighborhood counted on. And the drugstore ran for decades, right up until 1965, when Edmund Joseph Cordray died.
The business closed upon his death. The structure on the lot was condemned and torn down, and what had been a neighborhood institution became an empty lot. An empty lot doesn't stay empty forever — not in Galveston, not when there's a sturdy old cottage looking for a home.
In 1979, the Victor Gustafson home was moved from its original address to this site in the east end historical district. A working man's house that survived the great storm of 1900, now standing on ground that once belonged to a beloved neighborhood pharmacist. Two stories, two families, one piece of Galveston earth.
And somehow, the house is still standing to tell it.
What the marker says
This raised one-story cottage originally was located at 620 Market Street. Before the property was purchased by Victor Gustafson in 1895, it had belonged to Swiss immigrant Henry Rosenberg, who is remembered as a prominent businessman and public benefactor. The builder of this cottage, Victor Gustafson (1870-1956), was a native of Finland. He worked on the Galveston wharves and constructed this home for his family during the last years of the nineteenth century. Although the house was partially destroyed during the 1900 storm, Gustafson was able to rebuild and to enlarge it as his family grew in number. A good example of a working class home in the 1880-1900 period of Galveston history, the structure was moved to this site in the east end historical district in 1979. From 1918 until 1965, this lot on Postoffice Street was the location of the Cordray Drugstore. Well known to Galvestonians, the business was begun by pharmacist Edmund Joseph Cordray (1879-1965). Cordray was a native of Galveston and a graduate of the University of Texas School of Pharmacy. The drugstore closed upon his death. The structure at the site was condemned and torn down, leaving an empty lot to which the Victor Gustafson home was moved. (1985)