1922-23
The first owners of The Bungalow were Sydney Patrick and Thelma Elizabeth (Bagnal) Stubbs, who moved in January 1922. The contractors was C. H. Frank. The house was built in 60 days, and cost $4100.
In the archives at the Rosenberg Library in Galveston, The Bungalow is listed as a one-story, asbestos shingled dwelling having 9 1/2” ceilings, five rooms with two closets, one hallway, one bath and two porches.
In July 1923, the Stubbs sold the house to Mr. and Mrs. R. L. Benton
About the Owners
Sydney Stubbs was a clerk at D. S. Goodwin at the time the home was built. Later, he became the Acting Assistant Group Chief Director of the local office of the Internal Revenue Service. Thelma Stubbs worked as a stenographer at the railroad office before they were married.
The Stubbs had four children: Sidney Patrick Stubbs, Jr., Thomas Bagnal “Toby” Stubbs, Norma Elizabeth Stubbs and John Edward Stubbs.
1923-26
The second owners, R. L. Benton and his wife, lived in the house for about three years (1923-26). They sold The Bungalow to Harry and Annie Lensky in 1926.
About the Owners
Richard Levister Benton was a clerk at Southern Compress & Warehouse at the time they bought the house. He and his wife, Allisa, moved to a home at 2921 Rice Blvd. in West University Place, when their daughter, Dorothy, was seven months old.
1926-1941
Harry and Hannah Lensky bought The Bungalow in October 1926 and lived there for nearly 14 years. In 1941, they sold the bungalow to Owen and Cora Garrigan.
About the Owners
Harry owned The Seamen’s Store, a men’s clothing establishment, located at 2828 Market. (At one time, it was known as Lensky Brothers. ) Harry eventually went into real estate in Houston.
Harry was born April 18, 1891 in Chodorkow, Ukraine and died October 22, 1963 in Houston. His wife, Hannah S. (Krafchezk) Lensky, was born December 18, 1901 in Poland and died February 8, 1981 in Houston. The couple had two children, Paul and Sylvia.
Ad for Harry Lensky’s store published in City Times on November 22, 1919.
1941-2007
Owen and Cora Garrigan purchased The Bungalow in July 1941 and owned the house until Cora passed away in 1995 - a total of 54 years. They have the distinction of having owned the home the longest. With the passing of Cora, The Bungalow passed on to the couple’s only child, Mary Gay Paratore, who kept the house until 2007.
Official poster of the 2008 Galveston Historical Homes Tour, designed by Gay Paratore.
About the Owners
When they bought the house, Owen Garrigan was the merchandise manager and, then, the credit manager at the Light & Power Company. Later, he owned Garrigan’s Sporting Goods at 514 Tremont Street. Owen was a longtime member of the Galveston Lions Club, and Cora was very active in the Galveston Altrusa Club. Cora’s family roots in Galveston date back to 1846.
Owen Albert Garrigan, Jr. was born November 4, 1901 in Galveston and died May 31, 1950 in Galveston. Cora Louise (Hunter) Garrigan was born April 16, 1910 in Galveston and died September 16, 1995 in Galveston.
Mary Gay Garrigan, born in 1940, grew up in The Bungalow and attended local schools. As a young adult, she married Philip J. Paratore, Jr. Today, Gay is an award-winning artist and popular art teacher. Gay resides near the island, in Santa Fe, Texas.
2007-2013
William T. and Katherine S. Hawkins purchased The Bungalow from Mary Gay Paratore on January 23, 2007. By 2010, William had sole ownership, and he kept the house until July 22, 2013.
This old tractor seat was painted by William Hawkins, and it hung on the front of The Bungalow for many years. It is currently adorning the backyard.
About the Owners
William Hawkins is a fine wood furniture maker and the owner of Hawkins Furniture in Rosenberg, Texas. While he owned The Bungalow, he made several notable improvements to the dwelling. He remodeled the kitchen, installing custom-made wood cabinets, countertops and backsplash, as well as having an original brick post and some shiplap walls exposed. He also remodeled the bathroom, removing an old clawfoot tub and replacing it with a large walk-in shower. Kept in place were the original tile floors, wood vanity medicine cabinet and light fixtures.
2013-2017
Lamar Mathews and David Douglas purchased the bungalow as a vacation rental property and, over the next few years, made many improvements to the bungalow’s structural integrity, including stabilizing the foundation, replacing rotted wood in various locations on the outside of the house and painting the inside and outside of the house.
About the Owners
Lamar, a Houstonian, is a serial entrepreneur who has started, built and sold businesses throughout her career She has a consulting business where she serves as a Fractional Integrator in the EOS and Rocket Fuel concepts. David is a serial CEO in the Oil Services industry. Besides The Bungalow, the couple has owned other properties in Galveston, two of which have been included in the Galveston Historic Foundation’s annual Home Tour. They currently own two historic homes in the Houston Heights, one of which has been included in The Heights Association’s Historic Home Tour.
2017-Present
On April 21, 2017, Beverly Denver purchased the bungalow as a getaway place and short-term vacation rental property. On April 21, 2018, Beverly hosted an open house and 96th birthday party for the bungalow, with more than 50 old and new friends in attendance, including Gay Paratore, who grew up in living in the property.
In 2019, Beverly decided to give The Bungalow its own unique name, as many of her neighbors on the island have done with their own homes. She wanted a name that reflected the playfully quaint and fanciful nature of The Bimgalow and its decor and the split-second decision she made to buy the property. She settled on Whimsy!
In the spring of 2022, The Bungalow was selected by the Galveston Historical Foundation to be featured in the 48th Annual Galveston Historical Homes Tour in May. At that time, The Bungalow was given its official name, the Stubbs-Garrigan Bungalow, honoring the original owners (The Stubbs) and the family who owned the property the longest (The Garrigans).
About the Owner
Beverly is the founder, editor and publisher of Houston Woman Magazine. Since purchasing The Bungalow, Beverly has made many improvements to the property, including the removal of a storage shed at the back of the house and 13 “volunteer” tress in the backyard, installation of a new cedar fence and large flowerbeds around the palm trees and the addition of a 14’x14’ wood deck off the kitchen. In 2019 and 2020, she had plantation shutters installed on all of the windows in the house and had the exterior of the house re-painted. In 2020, she also replaced the central air-conditioning system and the washer and dryer units in The Bungalow.