Galveston is thought to be approximately 5000 years old. It was called the Isle of Doom in 1528 by shipwrecked sailors.The Spanish then called it the Isle of Snakes due to the abundance of reptiles. The control of the property that the Stewart Mansion sits on has gone through multiple hands over its life.
Jean Lafitte and his men took control from the cannibalistic Karanwawa Indians in a the first transfer of control. One of the first houses built on Galveston Island was built by J.A. Settle in 1846. An 1851 map showed the building just west of Lake Como and was labeled Settle’s Post. F.S. Hook was the next to purchase followed by Colonel Warren D.C. Hall. The building burnt down in 1925. The Sealy family bought the property from Mottexas Ranch, followed by the Stewart family, who then gave it to the University of Texas Medical Branch. In 1967, the property was sold it to oilman and developer George Mitchell. In the year 2000 Moore and Gould obtained the property. It has since then deteriorated and transferred a few more times.
The Galveston Historical foundation works to preserve architecturally and culturally important structures. The mansion was added to its annual heritage at-risk list in 2004 because it is historically significant to the island. The foundation removed it from that protected list in 2007 because new property owners Moore and Gould had acquired city approval to do an inn project. There has been no demolition of the mansion to make way for any project. Today there is no historical designation that protects it from demolition.
The mansion suffers from serious deterioration although many of the original features are still intact. There is a pull to go through the long abandoned property for some. It seems it has become a right of passage for many islanders probably from the years of urban legend and all of the interesting history.
The historic significance begins with the first transfer of control of the property and that begins with Jean Lafitte. This famous pirate was born in either France or the French colony of Saint Domingue in 1776. In 1805 he had a warehouse in New Orleans which held stolen goods from his older brother Pierre. They became so good at smuggling (which included slaves) they moved their base of operations and turned to piracy.
In 1814, the American authorities captured most of Lafitte’s fleet. In order to be granted a pardon, in 1815 Lafitte had to help General Andrew Jackson against the British. The Lafittes then became spies for the Spanish during the Mexican War of Independence. At that time they relocated to Galveston because as a part of Mexico it was outside the authority of the United States and was largely uninhabited. They developed a pirate colony where they tore down the existing structures and built 200 sturdier homes. The colony had anywhere between 100-200 men at the time and they named it Campeche.
The headquarters was known as Maison Rouge. It was a two-story building surrounded by a moat and was painted red. It faced the harbor were there were landings for The Pride, which was Lafittes ship. He conducted most of his business aboard for his safety. The slaves that were smuggled by them practiced black occult (voodoo and hoodoo) perhaps this is one reason why everything fell apart for the brothers. The downfall of Campeche began in 1818 when Lafitte’s men kidnapped a Karankawa woman and warriors from her tribe attacked the colony killing five men. In return, the corsairs aimed their artillery at the Karankawa which killed most of the men in the tribe. This became known as the battle of three trees. Then a hurricane flooded most of the island where four ships and most buildings were destroyed as well as several people killed. In fact only six houses survived out of 200 as habitable. They began to rebuild the settlement. In 1821 The USS Enterprise was sent to get Lafitte and his men out of the Gulf of Mexico. Angry, his men burned down Maison Rouge, the fortress and the whole settlement as they left the island. Lafitte continued attacking ships until he died in 1823.
The Sealy’s were the next major family to acquire the property that was formerly occupied by Jean Laffite from Mottexas Ranch . As one of the most dynamic families they were very powerful in business and politics. George Sealy Jr. commissioned San Antonio Architects Atlee B. and Robert M. Ayres to design the opulent 8,200 sq ft Spanish Colonial Revival summer retreat to be built in 1926. He was a famous industrialist and infamous union-buster. He called the mansion Isla Ranch and commissioned the murals to be painted sometime in the 1930’s.
The next owner of the property is Marco Stewart Sr. who was the founder of Stewart Title Co. He acquired the mansion on October 13, 1933 as a vacation resort home. He made his fortune in insurance, banking and war. Marco Stewart Jr. then inherited the more than 2,000 acres property in 1939. He remodeled and expanded the property as well as changed the name to Stewarts mansion. In 1944, Stewart’s widow, Louise Bisbey Stewart and her son Marco Stewart Jr. donated the residence to the University of Texas Medical Branch where it was used for a number of years as a convalescent home for crippled children.
It is hard to find through all the grass and brush on the property but the Marco Stewart family cemetery is located here. There are markers for Marco Stewart, Marco Stewart Jr. and one of his sons. Stewart died before his wife and children in 1950, when he suffered a heart attack while driving home from a social event. There is an urban legend that the family was killed and put into the walls of the mansion by Stewart himself before he committed suicide
The last time my group Woodlands Paranormal was in the location we were able to get numerous EVPs that included some of children. Perplexed as to why there would be children there some of our members thought it was from the story of Marco Stewart killing his children. Upon doing research we realized that the property was a convalescent home for crippled children for years and most likely had some deaths of the children here. Perhaps what haunts the location is residual energy trapped from the years of death and tragedy. Perhaps what is there is intelligent because we were also able to get EVP responding appropriately to our questions.
Many things are said to happen here. Some of the stories are that the pirate murals are said to supposedly change places and you can see ghostly apparitions. You can hear disembodied voices, footsteps, humming and the piano. According to urban legend there use to be an electric chair in one of the rooms. According to the caretaker “There are ghosts in this house. My wife and I hear doors banging and noises in the middle of the night.” Many people tell you not to go at night for whatever reason. Lafitte’s spirit is said to walk the property looking to show someone the treasure’s location.
The island is also said to be home to a pack of supernatural black dogs since before the great storm of 1900. One urban legend says that twelve black puppies were adopted by a downtown business owner when their mongrel mother was killed. For over a century now there are tales of these large black hellhounds with flaming eyes. The stories are not just scary but are also somewhat of an omen because seeing the dogs are a warning of an impending disaster.
Some tell the story with the twist that the twelve black dogs were part of a pack that were owned by the Pirate King Jean Laffite. Known as the Campeche devil dogs they were bred for hunting down thieves, travelers and interlopers. This pack from hell is said to have been born within the eye of a hurricane. It is rumored that Lafitte demanded that a voodoo queen give him an army of dogs to guard his place. This Voodoo Queen that did a ritual where it is said that she died as the last puppy was born. So her dark powers were poured into the original twelve as they were born.
Some say the dogs are shape shifters and will shift into unseen shadows. People are sometimes aware of the smell of a wet dog they cannot see, hear low growls as they are walking or will feel breathing on the back of their necks.
While in the location I was sitting on the stairs and went to stand up to take a picture of one of the murals. I felt something on my neck and thought it was a mosquito so I went to smack it. As soon as my hand touched my neck it stung where I asked someone to look and see what it was. It turned out to be a scratch about 4-5 inches long. They took a picture of the scratch. When we went home I reviewed my audio and caught a child making a noise at the time I was scratched. So it seems perhaps a child was trying to get my attention. This is one interesting place I cannot wait to go back to!
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‘Woodlands Paranormal’ investigations are anything but normal 
