the History

Built in 1897, the Balay Negrense is the restored residence of Victor F. Gaston, son of Yves Leopold Germaine Gaston and Prudencia Fernandez. Left unused by the family and after becoming among other things, a dance studio, the house deteriorated until a group from Silay decided to restore the house. By the time restoration began, parts of the house had fallen and its furnishings dispersed.

The elder Gaston is credited as one of the pioneers of sugarcane cultivation in this portion of the Philippine archipelago. A native of Normandy in France,
he married a Filipina from Batangas where he initially began experimenting with sugar production before  relocating  to  Negros.  the  structure  housed Victor Gaston and his twelve children from 1901 until his death in 1927. the structure was abandoned  in  the  mid-1970s  and  fell  into  disrepair  until  a  group of concerned Negrenses formed what would later become the Negros Cultural Foundation and managed to acquire the  house  from  the  heirs  of Gaston through a donation. With donations from prominent individuals and later the Department of Tourism, the structure was  repaired  and  furnished with period furniture and fixtures. The museum was officially inaugurated on October 6, 1990.