Then & Now of the 1885 Peter V. and Agnes Gengler House at 1426 Market Street.

Galveston Historical Foundation 
  · 
Then & Now of the 1885 Peter V. and Agnes Gengler House at 1426 Market Street.
Peter Gengler II and his wife Agnes contracted with Nicholas Clayton to build this two-story Victorian residence.
The house features a projecting side bay and an attached three-bay double gallery supported by slender columns.
In 1843, German Immigrants Nicolas and Katherine Gengler arrived in Galveston with their eight children, who shared five names. By 1851, brothers John and Peter II were selling groceries by horse cart.
They followed two rules, provide quality merchandise and courteous service. Within a year, they expanded their business and opened a storefront, "Lone Star Bakery."
The bakery and grocery increased, and within two years, Peter had saved enough money to purchase the land and erect a larger frame building at 2005-2007 Market Street.
The new store was spacious enough to supply the needs of Gengler's clients and was one of the few in the United States to handle specialty goods from all parts of the world.
In 1858 Peter married Agnes Fink, and their first son was born later that same year.
The young family lived in an apartment above the store on Market St, which would prosper in the years leading up to the Civil War.
Following the war, Peter Gengler's store saw a period of unrivaled prosperity and steady expansion.
Keeping up with changing times, the market had one of the first telephone exchanges on the island, allowing customers to phone in orders.
By 1926, Gengler employed four telephone operators to handle the multiple lines and a shipping department of 25 employees to process and deliver more than 10,000 orders a month.
That same year the Peter Gengler Company celebrated its Diamond Jubilee and was recognized as the oldest retail grocer in the state and one of the three oldest in the country.
In 1885 Peter and Agnes, along with their four sons, moved from the apartment above the grocery store to their new home at 1426 Market Street.
Two years later, Peter and Agnes would pass, leaving their sons the home and the business. The house on Market St would change ownership several times before being rehabilitated in 1991.

ABOUT GALVESTON HISTORICAL FOUNDATION
Galveston Historical Foundation (GHF) was formed as the Galveston Historical Society in 1871 and merged with a new organization formed in 1954 as a non-profit entity devoted to historic preservation and history in Galveston County.
Over the last sixty years, GHF has expanded its mission to encompass community redevelopment, historic preservation advocacy, maritime preservation, coastal resiliency and stewardship of historic properties.
​GHF embraces a broader vision of history and architecture that encompasses advancements in environmental and natural sciences and their intersection with historic buildings and coastal life and conceives of history as an engaging story of individual lives and experiences on Galveston Island from the 19th century to the present day.
FINANCIAL INFORMATIONCurrent financial documents about Galveston Historical Foundation are available below.


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