James P. Nash was born in Ireland about 1810. Gifford White’s book, First Settlers of Galveston County (Ingmire Publishers, St. Louis, Missouri, 1985), notes Nash’s arrival in Galveston in 1841, along with his wife, Bridget Ryan, and their young baby, Mary. Bridget was born in County Tipperary, Ireland, in 1816. After the family arrived in Galveston, nine more children were born to the couple. The family resided on the northwest corner of Tremont Street and Ball Avenue.

In 1842, Nash opened a private academy on Tremont and Ball Streets and operated the school with great success for many years. Tuition varied between $5 and $8 depending on the course of study chosen. In addition, Nash frequently lectured on bookkeeping and ornamental writing after the normal school hours. When he died in February 1875, his obituary noted that he dedicated himself to the instruction of reading, writing, arithmetic, and bookkeeping, and that “many active businessmen now living were indebted to his care for the most useful part of their education.”

The house may have been under construction at the time of Nash’s death in early 1875, or erected by his estate shortly thereafter.

The property transferred between many owners between 1875 and 1934.

Bridget Nash inherited the couple’s property upon Nash’s death in 1875. When Bridget died in 1896, the only surviving child was Catherine, known familiarly as Kate. When Kate died just three years later, her husband, Joseph Owens, inherited her property. Owens maintained ownership until 1902, when he sold the property to Bernard and Joseph Levy, owners of J. Levy & Brother, boarding stables, undertakers, and embalmers. The Levy brothers continued to utilize the house as rental property until they sold it in 1907 to Frederick Schmidt, a local carriage maker with a storefront on the northwest corner of 24th and Church Streets. Schmidt also utilized the house as rental property. William Armentrout purchased this property in 1921 and used it as his residence and boarding house. In 1934, his estate sold the house to Jennie Safos. The Greek Safos family would own the house for the next 55 years.

Steve John Safos was born in Perdiki, Greece, in 1873 and immigrated to Galveston in 1900. In 1913, he married Irene Chrisopedou, who was born in Euboea, Greece, in 1896 and immigrated to Galveston in 1909 with her parents. The couple were married in Galveston and had three children: daughter Jennie (1913-1990) and sons Arthur (1915-1933) and Vangelo (1920-1994).

Safos operated his own restaurant, Two Bit Café (sometimes Two Bits), at 11th and Seawall. In 1946, Safos built an addition on the lot to support a package liquor store, called the Galveston Star Package Store. Irene Safos operated the business attached to their house and maintained ownership of it after her husband's death in 1955 until her own death in 1974. Jennie assumed ownership of the property and continued to operate the package store until her death in 1990. During her lifetime, Jennie was an active member in the Greek Orthodox Church and for many years, played the bells at Trinity Episcopal Church. Her brothers sold the property in 1991.

The record notes the build date of the house as “about 1875” and records the building’s use as tenant property. The approximate build date of 1875 coincides with a jump in value noted on the Galveston County Tax Rolls, which recorded an improvement on the lot in 1875. Joseph A. Owens is noted on the 1902 insurance record as the owner of the building. James Nash purchased the lot the house sits on from the Galveston City Company in 1842. It's unclear whether the house was already under construction when Nash died in 1875, but one thing is certain—he never saw the building completed.

This side-hall, Southern townhouse is similar to many Galveston houses of the 1870s with distinctive window moldings, two-story articulated columns and porches, and a double front door under an extensive hipped roof. The house retains its original siding, trim, windows, doors, and hardwood floors. In addition, the entryway to the building retains the original glazed double-doors and glazed rectangular transom surrounded by classic trim. Many features of the house are associated with the post-Civil War period when “carpenter’s Greek Revival” began to evolve toward more flamboyant Victorian designs.