Moody Mansion a standing witness of Galveston’s history
The year after the Civil War ended (1866), Col. William Lewis Moody Sr., a lawyer by training and a Confederate officer by recent vocation, brought his pregnant wife Pherabe Elizabeth Moody and son, William, Jr., to Galveston. There he established the W.L. Moody & Co., a cotton factoring business with two of his brothers — David Jameson and Leroy Moody — and became the first presiding officer of the Galveston Cotton Exchange.
His sons, W.L. Moody Jr. (age 21) and Frank B. Moody (who predeceased his father in 1917 at age 50), became partners in their father’s cotton factoring company in 1886, the foundation of what would become the Moody family’s financial empire. Later the company organized a private bank and Col. Moody became president of the National Bank of Texas as well as the city’s leading philanthropist.
Known to be calm, dignified and modest in his demeanor and respected by all, Col. Moody was prominent in the promotion of public improvements in Galveston and contributed heavily to them. As a result of his civic involvement, the senior Moody received the Democratic nomination for representative in the Texas legislature and was elected by a large majority in 1873.
The Colonel’s son, W.L. Jr., had been groomed to continue the Moody legacy, both in business and as a community builder. Born January 1865 in Fairfield, Junior grew up in Galveston and under his father’s tutelage became a civic leader as well as a successful businessman in his own right.
Within days after the devastating Galveston hurricane of 1900, the younger Moody purchased the palatial 28,000-square-foot, 42-room, red brick, Texas limestone and terracotta tile structure from Mrs. R.S. Willis. This spectacular home, adorned with turrets, dormers and arches, had been designed by architect W.H. Tyndall and decorated by Pottier Slyinus & Co., for R.S. Willis, president of the national bank in Galveston and owner of Darington Plantation.
At the time Moody purchased “the Moody
Mansion,” some believed he had negotiated “the deal of a lifetime” when he acquired the home for about $20,000. The truth: others who submitted bids to purchase the mansion from Willis withdrew their intentions in the aftermath of the devastating storm.
Moody museum archives show W. L. Moody Jr. had strong faith in Galveston Island and the people who lived there, in spite of the carnage the hurricane left behind; and when he bought the mansion, it was his way of showing he believed in Galveston’s future when most were packing the belongings they had left, burying their dead and moving inland.
The home at Broadway and 27th Street had been on the list of New Year’s day open houses, a Galveston holiday tradition during Willis’ occupancy and one which continued after the Moody family moved in, celebrating more than 80 multi-generational Christmases during their ownership of the home, which ended in 1986. The mansion also provided the backdrop to society balls, teas, garden parties and functions supporting Galveston’s charitable organizations.
Beyond the home’s impressive four-story facade and deep inside its walls are structural-steel beams used to support the floors — a Galveston first. Before 1894, the year the house was built, roof-to-basement loadbearing walls were the norm and dictated a uniform floor plan.
But in the Moody home, Tyndall, the architect, was free to design the space where each floor was a “shell” and the living space was designed to fit into the shell.
Beginning in the cotton factoring business founded by his father, the genius of W. L. Moody Jr. extended with equal success into the fields of banking, insurance, hotel operation, ranching, and many other activities.
According to a tribute from the Galveston Chamber, published after the younger Moody’s death on July 21, 1954 at age 89, “His confidence in Galveston and personal business achievement remained unshaken by great major depressions, and throughout the span of his long and full life he was faithful to the of working diligently and wholesome recreation.
“While his business interests included Texas and the nation, W. L. Moody Jr. never ceased to be a loyal citizen of Galveston and one who was closely concerned with the economy and welfare of his city. Described as a gentle and modest man … of rare ability and good courage, Moody’s enterprises, which he located or operated within Galveston, have been a mainstay employment and a keystone in growth and prosperity of this island.”
Upon his death, W.L. Moody left the bulk of his estate to the Moody Organization. The mansion, however, was left to his daughter, Mary Moody Northen, whom he had groomed to carry on his business interests. Her first initiative was to mount a seven-year restoration of the mansion and museum in 1984.
As the restoration neared completion, the following article appeared in the Galveston Daily News:
“Killis Almond, architect for the project, and his associates were specialists in the restoration and rehabilitation of historic buildings. When finished and open to the public in the spring of 1991, the museum was, indeed, one of the premier examples of early 20th century life anywhere, then museum director Dr. Peter Mooz said.
“The project began shortly after Mary Moody Northern moved out of the waterdamaged house after Hurricane Alicia in 1983. The Mary Moody Northern Inc. Foundation had been set up earlier, with one of its initial directives to transform the house into a museum to honor W. L. Moody Jr.
“Hundreds of photos, drawings and notes were made before Mary Moody Northen’s belongings, estimated at almost one million individual items, were moved from the house. Two areas in the house — a vestibule near the front door and a second-floor bathroom — still had original coats of paint. These helped Almond and the other specialists determine the palette used throughout.”
A terra-cotta turret destroyed by lightning was carefully glued back together and then duplicated by a craftsman in Austin.
“This restoration is being done to the state of the art,” Almond said. “There’s nothing like it in the state.”
The mansion is open daily, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. at 2618 Broadway. For information, visit www.moodymansion.org or call 409-7627668.