{"nrhp_refnum":"71000934","name":"Williams, Samuel May, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"361 Ave. P","address_restricted":false,"city":"Galveston","county":"Galveston County","state":"TX","lat":29.287900841000067,"lon":-94.80440752399994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1971-07-14","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story frame Greek Revival residence at 3601 Avenue P in Galveston, Texas, built between about 1839 and 1842, with additions through 1844, for Samuel May Williams.","why_significant":"It is one of the few structures from Galveston's earliest years still standing, and is typical of the Greek Revival version of the Louisiana Bayou style. Its importance also rests on its owner, Samuel May Williams, Stephen F. Austin's colonial secretary and a pioneer businessman. With partner Thomas F. McKinney, he secured loans that helped sustain the Republic of Texas government, and he became the state's first banker.","narrative":"This one-story frame house at 3601 Avenue P in Galveston is a Greek Revival residence of the Louisiana Bayou type, built for Samuel May Williams between about 1839 and 1842, with work continuing through 1844. It has a decked hip roof with dormers, an inset front gallery with Tuscan columns, and a symmetrical center-hall plan. The house was raised six to eight feet on brick piers for protection from storm tides. Local tradition held that it was framed in Maine and shipped to Galveston, but later research suggests it was built in a standard manner. It matters for its age, as one of few surviving structures from Galveston's first years, and for its owner. Williams served as Stephen F. Austin's secretary, helped finance the Republic of Texas with his partner Thomas F. McKinney, and opened the state's first bank. He died in the house in 1858. It was recorded as a Texas Historic Landmark in 1964.","period_of_significance":"1837-1840","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Greek Revival (Louisiana Bayou style residence)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed in excellent condition and altered; occupied, restricted access, and used as a museum. It is on its original site and owned by the Galveston Historical Foundation.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:19.191301-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/14/9720/40972014/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/71000934.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/71000934/22983c172c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/71000934/22983c172c-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Jim Evans","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Samuel_May_Williams_Home.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jim Evans</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Samuel_May_Williams_Home.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40972014","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_May_Williams_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7412134"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/galveston-county/williams-samuel-may-house-71000934/"}