The Steamboat House in Huntsville was Sam Houston’s last residence. He died in a downstairs bedroom on July 26, 1863. One of the rare occasions that the house is open to the public is on the Saturday closest to the anniversary of his death.
The house Houston died in is a two-story clapboard house built in 1858 for Rufus W. Bailey, a local college professor. The odd-looking house has twin square turrets on the front flanking a wide staircase to the second floor. Double porches on both sides of the long, narrow building gave it the appearance of a riverboat.
Bailey offered the house to his son as a wedding present, but he and his bride refused the gift.
The hero of San Jacinto was elected as governor of Texas in 1859. A firm Unionist, Houston refused to take an oath to the Confederacy and was removed from office in March 1861.
Sam and Margaret Houston left Austin with seven of their eight children ages 3 to 15 years old. The family went to their farm in Chambers County and then to Huntsville where they had previously lived.
Though neither of the Houstons cared much for the 10-room Steamboat House, they rented it in late 1862. The following summer Houston was bedridden with a high fever in the sweltering East Texas heat. He eventually succumbed to pneumonia at age 70. His funeral was held the next day in the upstairs front parlor with only 12 mourners in attendance. He was buried at Huntsville’s Oakwood Cemetery.
The Steamboat House was moved to the grounds of the Sam Houston Memorial Museum and Republic of Texas Presidential Library in 1936. This year on the 162nd anniversary of Houston’s death, Saturday, July 26, docents will lead small groups through the house between 10am to 2pm. Admission to the museum and grounds will be waived.
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This article appears in July 18 • 2025.