Before There Was a League-Kempner House
- Tiffani Harris & Janie Mitcham
- Aug 11
- 4 min read
Updated: Sep 8
Before there was The League-Kempner House, another great house stood at this location. It was built in the 1870’s by Leon Blum. Born on August 20, 1836, in Gunderschoffer, France, Leon followed his brother, Alexander, to the United States in 1854. He worked as a salesman peddling goods in Louisiana before joining his brother’s mercantile business in Richmond, Texas.
Leon followed his brother once more, to Galveston, Texas, in 1858 where they expanded their business with the addition of several cousins. The company was rebranded as Leon & H. Blum. Leon and Alexander established Galveston as the business’ headquarters, leaving the other relatives in charge of the Richmond location. The company was not limited to Texas for long, as each relative branched off to operate in another state or country. Leon & H. Blum created locations in New York, Boston, and Paris, France. They also extended their services to Southwest Texas, Mexico, and various Indian Territories. Eventually, Alexander moved to New York, leaving Leon the sole proprietor of the Galveston location. This worked in Leon's favor, as he became one of the wealthiest men on the island.
By 1870, Leon & H. Blum’s yearly revenue was around $1,000,000. By 1890, the revenue climbed to an annual income of $5,000,000. Leon expanded into many other business ventures including banking and insurance. Blum was said to be the largest Texas importer of dry goods at the time, as well as an exporter of cotton and other commodities. His firm, Leon and H. Blum, was one of the stockholders in the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway, and the town of Blum, in Hill County, was named for him when the townsite was developed on the line. In 1903 he was president of Blum Land Company. Blum was even part owner of the New Braunfels Dam. He was very philanthropic, creating a relief fund after the 1900 Storm and was a contributor to Bayland Orphans' Home for Boys and to various schools.
In 1862, Leon married Henrietta Levy (1840-1876) from Corpus Christi. They had two daughters: Cecile (1862-1958) and Leonora (1865-1952). Sadly, Henrietta passed away when she was just thirty-six years old. Leon built their family home on the corner of 17th Street and Broadway Avenue. It was two stories tall and had a wraparound balcony. It was considered one of the grandest homes on Broadway at the time.
On June 8, 1877, a massive fire engulfed downtown Galveston. The Leon & H. Blum building located at 22nd Street and the Strand was severely damaged. Leon contracted architect Eugene Heiner in 1880 to build a new Leon & H. Blum building located on the corner of 24th Street and Mechanic Street. In 1882, architect Nicholas Clayton was hired to extend the building eastward. The new building has operated under different business names, including The Galveston Tribune in 1923 and The Galveston Daily News in 1926. In 1981, Cynthia and George Mitchell purchased the Leon and H. Blum building, added a 4th floor and turned the building into the luxurious Tremont House Hotel (named in honor of another Nicholas Clayton building lost to fire).
Tragedy struck again when a large portion of Galveston was burned in what was called the Great Fire of 1885. A furnace inside the Vulcan Foundry exploded sending sparks flying in strong north winds. Everything between the harbor and the beach burned with the fire line moving along 17th street. Had the Blum house been one block to the East it might have been spared. In all, hundreds of homes across 40 city blocks were destroyed although thankfully, no lives were lost.
All that was left of the Blum’s house was the iron fence around the front and East side of the property that still stands today. The fence is adorned with acorns and the live oak was a favorite tree of JC League. We had always assumed that the fence was installed by the League’s when the current house was built. From these original photos uncovered at the Rosenberg Library, we know that the fence was original to the Blum house. JC League purchased the land from Blum for $40,000 and would later build his own home on the property.
In the 1890's, a major economic depression struck the country, leaving everyone on hard times. Despite its long prosperity, Leon and H. Blum failed , as did subsequent efforts to reorganize the business. Assets of the partnership were distributed and the company stock sold to the Mistrot brothers in 1896. The family-owned enterprise closed in 1908. Leon, Henrietta, and Cecile are buried in the Hebrew cemetery on Galveston Island. The depression and its effect on Galveston is often overshadowed by the Great Storm of 1900.
In anther fun connection to the house, Henrietta Leonora Blum, Leon Blum’s granddaughter, married Isaac H Kempner, eldest son of Eliza Kempner. Henrietta was the daughter of Leon’s daughter, Cecile, who just happened to marry a man who shared the same last name.
Leon Blum, JC League and Harris Kempner were also in several business ventures together. Galveston’s early businessmen were heavily involved in every aspect of commerce.
Comments