Newly Remodeled 1868 Cottage – 5 Bed / 3 Bath – East End Historic District

Rebecka Behrman Tenant Cottage built 1868 and remodeled in 1913 and 1956.

Information written and complied by: Jami Durham, Historian - Buildings & Cultural History, Galveston Historical Foundation, July 2024.

German widow Rebecka Olmstead Behrman (1797-1886) built this Gulf Coast cottage for use as a rental property in 1868. Behrman was born in Oldenburg, Germany, where she married August Ludwig Behrman in his hometown of Hannover in 1824. Between 1826 and 1837, the couple had seven children, including daughters Augusta (1826-1902, Mrs. John Hermann Carstens), Theresa (1830-1912, Mrs. Heinrig Aschoff), Elise (1836-1912), and Sara (1837-1920) and sons George (1828-1862), Henry (1829-1863) and Friedrich (1832-1866).

In 1843, the Behrman family immigrated to Galveston, where George was one of the the island's earliest pharmacists. By 1850, Rebecka was a widow supporting five children still living at home. They relocated to Houston, where George Jr. worked as a merchant clerk to support the family. Rebecka, along with Sara and Elise, presumably remained in Houston during the Civil War while her sons all eventually enlisted in the Confederate Army, and by 1866, were all dead.

By January 1867, Rebecka had returned to Galveston and purchased two lots on Broadway, on the southeast corner of 17th Street, where she built two houses. Situated directly on the corner, 1627 Broadway (demolished 1913) served as the family's primary residence, which she shared for the remainder of her life with daughters Sara and Elise.

In 1868, Rebecka contracted to build 1623 Broadway on lot two, which she utilized as a rental property. In 1870, she gifted lot two and the tenant cottage to her youngest daughter Sara.

The 1868 Behrman tenant cottage is an example of a Gulf Coast cottage, one of Galveston's most common forms. Sometimes called Creole cottages, the one-and-one-half story, three-bay frame cottage features a side-gable with dormered windows.