1 week Ago By By Scott Sosebee Contributing Writer
One of the greatest joys of visiting Galveston (other than the beach atmosphere and the food) is the opportunity to see the glorious architectural wonders of the late nineteenth century that still stand, like sentinel survivors, on the island. The Gresham House (more popularly known as the Bishop’s Palace), and a good number of the historical buildings within the city’s famous Strand, are just a small example of architect Nicholas J. Clayton’s work, an oeuvre that includes not just Galveston but historic buildings throughout the state.
Nicholas J. Clayton was born in Ireland in 1840, and with his mother moved to Cincinnati in 1848 after his father’s death. In Ohio his childhood was the typical hardscrabble existence so common to the immigrant experience during the Antebellum period, and when the Civil War broke out Clayton served in the United States Navy.
Upon his discharge, he returned to Cincinnati and worked in the building trades. He came to Texas in the early 1870s, first to Houston and then he moved to Galveston in 1872, where he began his notable career as the supervising architect of the city’s First Presbyterian Church. Galveston’s lifestyle, as well the city’s emerging wealth, suited the young Clayton and he decided to make the island his permanent home.
He became so instrumental in designing structures in Galveston that the next twenty years were often referred to as the “Clayton Era.” Clayton’s buildings were unique, with exquisite decorative brick and iron work, picturesque shapes, and elaborate ornamentation. One need only gaze upon the detail and craftsmanship present in the Gresham House to see Clayton’s inimitable genius.
Clayton’s design of Walter Gresham’s home called for intricately carved edifices, luxury materials, and the use of expensive and rare woods. Gresham, the man who paid the bills, spared no expense in constructing his mansion. Completed in 1892, the construction cost him $250,000—that was in good, hard, 1890s money—and today its value is over $5 million.
Clayton designed such notable Galveston buildings as St. Patrick’s Church, Harmony Hall, the original John Sealy Hospital, and the University of Texas Medical School. Galveston and Clayton were inextricably linked, but he did not restrict his practice to just the Gulf Coast Island city.
Other significant Clayton structures included St. Mary’s Cathedral in Austin, Sacred Heart Church in Palestine, Ursuline Academy in Dallas, and Austin’s St. Edward’s University.
He also designed the International-Great Northern Railway offices in Palestine, as well as the R.E. Stafford’s Bank and Opera House in Columbus.
Somehow, he also found time to serve on the advisory board for the construction of the dome of the State Capitol. Clayton’s career took a fall after 1900, partly due to a lengthy legal fight involving a scandal over his contract to design the new Galveston County Courthouse in 1897, but perhaps more detrimental was the decline of new construction in Galveston after the 1900 hurricane. By 1903, Nicholas Clayton was bankrupt and never truly financially recovered.
He died in the city he had adopted as his home in December 1916, but the buildings and structures he designed still amaze all who see them. Next time you are in Galveston, make it a point to thank Nicholas Clayton for much of the beauty within the city. The East Texas Historical Association provides this column as a public service.
Scott Sosebee is an associate professor of history at SFA and the executive director of the association. He can be contacted at [email protected] ; www.
easttexashistorical.org . If you enjoy Dr.
Sosebee’s weekly columns, SFA Press has published a new book with a compilation of his material over the last ten years. It is titled What Is It About Texas?. You can purchase the work through Texas A&M Press Consortium at tinyurl.
com/SosebeeBook ..
