Hurricane Ike at Ashton Villa - Galveston, TX
Posted by: 
jhuoni
N 29° 18.004 W 094° 47.574
15R E 325863 N 3242564
As with many buildings in Galveston, historic Ashton Villa bears the 2008 Hurricane Ike High Water Mark.
Waymark Code: WMWJRP
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 09/13/2017
Views: 2
Ashton Villa is approximately just about in the center of the island. Half mile from any water. The plaque is about 5 feet from the ground.
BUT before Ike there was another storm...
On September 8, 1900, a hurricane hit the island that changed her course of history. Six to eight thousand people lost their lives that night, and the Great Storm is still the worst natural disaster our country has ever experienced. Ashton Villa survived the storm with only water damage. The family and close friends stayed on the second floor and rode out the storm. The water eventually reached the tenth step of the grand staircase. During the grade raising of the island that followed the Great Storm, three feet of fill had to be pumped in to even Ashton Villa's grade with the rest of the island. Only the women were living in the house at the time, as Mr. Brown had passed away on Christmas day of 1895, and the boys had all married and set up their own households. The women opted to have the above ground basement filled in, rather than raise the house. The tops of the basement windows can still be seen behind the front flowerbeds. In another effort to save money, they only removed the gates of the front fence and allowed half of the fence to be buried. The gates were then replaced so that they maintained their function.
From GALVESTON.COM 1859 Ashton Villa (
visit link)