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The Kettle House

USA / Texas / Jamaica Beach / Miramar Drive, 1410
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The Kettle House is a house, which resembles a tea kettle, is made out of what appears to be a huge spherical oil tank (or half of it anyway). It appears to be abandoned, although the yard is always well kept, and has "KEEP OUT" signs on the door. The home is said to have been built years ago by a man who built storage tanks for oil companies and is now supposedly owned by the son, who is a private person who does not speak with reporters. The home is well known for its ability to withstand the elements and hurricanes with nothing more than a little rust for wear.

On October 10, 2017 the truth finally came out in a Swamplot article.

"The house was built by Clayton E. Stokley, a WWII veteran, talented welder, and shop foreman at Graver Tank & Manufacturing Co. in Pasadena, in the late 1960s. The Kettle House was originally intended to serve as a drive-up convenience and liquor store.The structure takes its shape from the leftover parts made available after Graver had constructed a large sphere for a client out of three-eighths-in.-thick steel. After the deal with the client fell through, Stokley bought it and took it apart. The parts were shipped to Galveston on an 18-wheeler, where Stokley, his children, wife, siblings, friends, and assorted relatives worked on weekends over several months to assemble the structure.The structure was designed to have an open floor plan suitable for a store, with a spiral staircase in the middle leading to a second floor living quarters for the store manager. Stokley suffered a stroke before the buildout could be completed, leaving the second level incomplete. He passed away in 2005. The original roof rusted and caved in, so Stokley’s family replaced it with a “traditional, yet oddly shaped, composite roof.” Additional work was completed after the roof was replaced: The second level was finished out with a living room, kitchenette, bathroom, water heater, and AC. Also: windows on the second level and a French door over the entrance. Among the uncompleted plans for the property considered by its current owner: an outdoor deck and stairs leading to the second-floor French doors. No one has ever lived in the house."

read the full article (information source) here: swamplot.com/the-secrets-of-galvestons-mysterious-kettl...
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   29°12'16"N   94°56'38"W

Comments

  • F. Bernier (guest)
    I have some info for you: Public records show that the house was transferred from Clayton E. Stokley to Mary N. Stokley Etheridge… I have pasted his obit for you to read: Clayton E. Stokley, 82 of Pasadena, passed away Wednesday, June 29, 2005. He served in the U.S. Army during WWII, a member of the American Post 521 and received the Silver Star, Gold Star and the Purple Heart medals. He is preceded in death by wife, Patsy Lou Stokley and son, Joseph Will Stokley. He is survived by daughters, Mary Nell Etheridge-Rachels and husband Michael, Linda Joyce Stokley; sons, David Ross Stokley and wife Lisa, Edgar Barry Stokley and wife Patricia, Clayton E. Stokley Jr.; brothers, Horace Stokley, James H. Stokley and wife Margie; grandchildren, Nicole R. Stokley, Christina Ann Stokley, Elizabeth Barri Stokley, Joseph Will Stokley Jr. and Derrick Devin Etheridge; great grandchildren, Ezra Isabel Juarez and Mia Alexandra Juarez. Visitation will be from 6-9 P.M. on Friday, July 1, 2005 at Grand View Funeral Home. Funeral services will be held at 3:00 P.M. on Saturday, July 2, 2005 at Grand View Funeral Home. Interment to follow at Grand View Memorial Park. According to his Army records, he was a welder and was wounded during World War II in Eur
This article was last modified 8 years ago