Here at 1605 Thirty-Third Street, also listed as 1604 33rd St, the Menard House known as The Oaks has stood since 1838, the oldest surviving structure in Galveston. Built in 1838, it is the oldest surviving structure in Galveston as recently as 2014 and stands on the National Register of Historic Places. The house takes its name from Michel B. Menard, a Canadian-born trader, real estate investor, and a founder of Galveston.
Menard built on outlot block 37, a site that originally lay outside Galveston city limits. The frame you face was fabricated in Maine and shipped in parts, a solution born of a dearth of carpenters in 1830s Texas and excess cargo space on Texas-bound ships; prefabricated buildings were economically viable for just that reason. Menard probably began construction in 1837 for his second wife, Catherine Maxwell; she died in the summer of 1838, the same year the house was completed.
In 1838 John Kirby Allen purchased the property but died that July. By 1843 a cousin had deeded the property to Menard's third wife, Mary Jane (Clemens) Riddle Menard, who lived in the house. Picture Mary Jane Menard living here, inside the oldest house still known as The Oaks.