Steamboat House Sesquicentennial

The Steamboat House, that strangely-shaped former residence located on the grounds of the Sam Houston Memorial Museum, celebrates its sesquicentennial year in 2008. Constructed in 1858 on a tract of land east of Oakwood Cemetery, the house was named "Buena Vista" by its creator but became known as "the Steamboat House" because of its unusual design evoked the image of a double-decker steamboat. Sam Houston moved to the residence in 1862 and died there in July of the following year. After a series of owners, renovations, and an eventual relocation to the museum grounds, the building was presented to the state on March 2, 1936 - Texas Independence Day.