Ashton Villa holds the corner of 24th and Broadway in Galveston, Texas, a fully restored three-story home from 1859. Constructed in 1859, this three-story house was built as one of the first brick structures in Texas, erected with slave labor alongside European craftsmen. On January 7, 1859, Colonel James Moreau Brown purchased four lots here and, referencing architectural pattern books current at the time, modified several plans to design the home you see.
The result is a Victorian Italianate residence, with deep eaves, long windows, and ornate verandas topped by lintels made of cast iron. Its brick walls were built thirteen inches thick to help protect against humidity and to add strength, and the interior was laid out around a central hall floor plan. Brown’s wife, Rebecca Ashton, named the home Ashton Villa in honor of her ancestor, Lt.
Isaac Ashton, a hero in the U.S. Revolutionary War. As you stand here, imagine the hands who shaped each brick and iron detail. Notice the cast-iron lintels topping those verandas, ornate details Rebecca Ashton's Italianate home has carried since 1859.