Trip to Galveston - The H.R. Ketchum Film Collection

Duration: 17:22

Year Published: 1920s

Sound: silent

Description: This 1920s home movie captures the Ketchum family at home in Tulsa, Oklahoma, as well as around Galveston, Texas. After a tour of the harbour to watch ship unload their cargo, the family walks along the Galveston Seawall before posing in front of the Hotel Galvez. Back in Tulsa, the children play in the garden. A portion of the footage takes place at the Ketchum's Galveston residence, the historic Menard House. Michel B. Menard was a founder of Galveston. As land was only sold to Mexican-born Texans at the time, Menard purchased 4,600 acres on the island in 1836 through Juan Seguin, a Texas Revolutionary who would go on to fight in the Battle of San Jacinto. Menard built the home on his new Texas land in 1838, and the Menard House is now considered the oldest residence in Galveston. Menard and his descendants owned the home until 1880 when it was sold to Edwin N. Ketchum, who was the police chief in Galveston during the Storm of 1900. The Ketchum family, represented in this home movie collection, owned the home until the 1970s. The Menard House is still standing and now operates as a museum and event space.