Gustav Jacob Heye (1840-1915) emigrated from Germany to Galveston, Texas by way of Matamoros, Mexico in 1869 to join Focke & Wilkens as a cotton factor. In 1876, Gustav and his brother left Focke & Wilkens, and with a business partner formed Gust. Heye & Co; a cotton merchant and wholesale grocer business located on the barrier island. Over the years Gustav Heye and his wife, Adelheid, grew their family to five children and necessitated a larger residence. In 1880, Heye moved his existing residence and began construction of an addition at Thirteenth Street and Postoffice Street that was completed in 1881.

The choice for two distinctive façades to face two different streets joined by a polygonal turret at the intersection made the residence truly unique and to this day allows the Victorian structure to be easily identified in archival photos. 

With more than enough space, Gustav and Adelheid's sixth and final child Otto Joseph  Heye (1885-1937) was born. The residence would go on to entertain the Heye family, its guests, and host  numerous social events. Both the family and structure survived the Great Galveston Hurricane of 1900, the deadliest natural disaster in United States history.

Otto Heye and his wife, Kathryn, would eventually move into the residence to raise their own children, including Randall Gustave Heye, Sr. (1918-1997). Unfortunately upon the passing of Otto and Kathryn, the Heye family would no longer own or occupy what has become to be known as the "Heye House" within both the Galveston community and Heye family lore.  After at least six different owners the home, albeit a shadow of its former self,  still enduringly stands strong at 1226 Postoffice Street representing a 142 year old legacy of courage, entrepreneurship, and grit.

Through a full-time, self-funded search, Randall Gustave Heye III, intends to build upon that legacy in the 21st century using his own individual capital to acquire, own, and operate a small or medium-sized business for the next generation.