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GALVESTON,
TEXAS
Galveston County
Seat, Texas Gulf
Coast
29° 16' 52" N, 94° 49' 33" W (29.281111, -94.825833)
Hwy 45 and State 87
From Houston, Hwy 45
South 50 miles
309 miles from Dallas
ZIP Codes 77550-77555
Area code 409
Population: 50,446 est. ( 2019)
47,743 (2010) 57,247 (2000) 59,070 (1990)
Book Hotel Here > Galveston
Hotels |
Bird's eye view
of Galveston in 1905
Postcard courtesy rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
Galveston Landmarks
& Attractions
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Photo courtesy
of Lou Ann Herda |
Moody Gardens
165-acres, including Aquarium Pyramid, Rainforest Pyramid, Discovery
Pyramid, IMAX Theater/Visitor Center, Palm Beach, and Galveston
Island Convention Center.
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Photo courtesy
of Lou Ann Herda |
Galveston
Island Beach
On the Gulf of Mexico.
32 miles of sandy beach.
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Photo courtesy
of Lou Ann Herda |
Ashton Villa
c. 1859
2328 Broadway
Galveston Historical Foundation house/museum
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Photo courtesy
of Lou Ann Herda |
The Bishop's
Palace:
1886 to 1893
1402 Broadway
One of the more ornate residences in the U. S. at the time. The
house is on the AIA's list of American's 100 most outstanding residences.
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Photo courtesy
of Lou Ann Herda |
The Moody
Mansion
c. 1892
2618 Broadway
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Photo courtesy
of Lou Ann Herda |
Rosenberg
Library contains many original manuscripts and letters of prominent
Texas historical figures
2310 Sealy Avenue
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Photo courtesy
of Lou Ann Herda |
Hotel Galvez
Built to restore Galveston as a tourist destination after the
storm of 1900.
Galveston
Hotels - Book Here
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The
Seawall: Seawall, The Seawall Monument, and Statue
in memory of the victims of the 1900 Storm
The Strand:
Outstanding collection of cast iron buildings from the 19th Century.
Broadway
Boulevard (Old Photos)
Ft. Crockett:
Built as part of the coastal defense in 1897 - many cement bunkers
were built and some are still visible between 45th and 53rd streets.
The fort was deactivated in 1947.
Grand Opera
House: c. 1894: 2020 Post Office Street
Galveston
County Historical Museum: In the former Moody Bank (c. 1919)
- 2219 Market Street
Galveston
Island Beach: 32 miles stretch. Gulf of Mexico.
Galveston
Island State Park
14901 FM 3005 Galveston TX 77554 409/737-1222
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/park/galvesto/
Lone Star
Flight Museum: At the airport
The Railroad
Museum: Rosenberg at the foot of the Strand - 35 cars and engines
in a circa 1932 depot
The Texas
Heroes' Monument: Broadway and Rosenberg Avenue. Erected in
1900 (just five months before the storm) this 74 foot monument with
a 22-foot bronze Victory was sculpted by Louis Amateis. $50,000
bequeathed by Henry Rosenberg paid for the Monument that was just
recently restored in 1991.
Crystal
Beach
8 miles NE of Port Bolivar,
a free ferry ride from Galveston
Galveston
Hotels - Book Here
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Galveston Island
Pleasure Pier
https://unsplash.com/photos |
History
in a Sea Shell
It is difficult to come up with an abbreviated version of Galveston's
fascinating history. It has loomed large on the pages of Texas History
and has even taken center stage for events of national interest. From
the time when Jean Lafitte
called it Campeche to its use as the homeport for the Texas Navy,
involvement in the Civil War, the
Great Storm, its gambling heyday and WWII
involvement - Galveston has kept an interesting diary. Galveston
is also one of the rarest of American cities - one that was once on
the ropes economically and came back a champion. Galveston's
architecture alone has been the subject of many books.
Galveston's Namesake
Bernardo de Galvez
by C. F. Eckhardt
"If it hadn’t been for a Spaniard named Bernardo de Galvez—and
yes, Galveston is named for him—the United States might not exist."
A very simplified time-line of events
1528: Cabeza de Vaca is shipwrecked nearby
1685: LaSalle visits
1815: Jean Lafitte
settles here and builds his combination house/fort Maison Rouge
1836: becomes homeport for the Texas Navy
1839: Galveston is incorporated
1850s: Stagecoach service established to Freeport
1860s: Site of several battles during the Civil War - several
sunken vessels remain in the channel.
1897: Ft. Crockett established.
1900: The
great storm - One of America's worst natural disasters. No exact
figures are known, but the death number has been given as well over
5,000. |
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The
Galveston Storm by Archie P. McDonald, PhD
From "All Things Historical" Column
Because it occurred before petulant females -- and later males --
lent their names to hurricanes, this one will always be known simply
as the Galveston storm, or hurricane. Galveton has been the bullseye
for many of them, but the one that struck on September 8, 1900, still
reigns as the worst natural disaster in United States history because
an estimated 10,000 people lost their lives. more
Galveston
1900 by Mike Cox
From "Texas Tales" Column
An important coastal city is devastated by a powerful hurricane. Thousands
are believed dead. Bewildered survivors are left with no water, food,
electricity, transportation or communication. Looters prowl the ruined
community, stealing anything they can carry away. Fires rage out of
control, frustrated firefighters helpless to put them out. Survivors
swelter in the heat and humidity as they slosh through mosquito-infested
quagmires. Local officials plead for assistance as those who can leave
town... more
The Secret
Hurricane by Mike Cox
From "Texas Tales" Column
The Secret Hurricane of 1943
Hurricane
Carla, 1961 by Marlene Bradford |
Norris
Wright Cuney by Archie P. McDonald
Norris Wright Cuney, though born in 1846 on a plantation located
near Hempstead, became a powerful figure in Texas' Republican circles,
especially in Galveston. ......
Cuney died in 1889, and is buried in Galveston. He was the most
remarkable African American leader in Texas in the nineteenth century.
more
Rabbi
Cohen by Archie P. McDonald
Rabbi Henry Cohen (1863-1952) - Rabbi of Galveston's Temple B’nai
Israel, provided a place for thousands of Jewish immigrants routed
through the port of Galveston. more
Heavyweight
Champ Jack Johnson by Bob Bowman
Johnson, who was born in Galveston and honed his physical skills
by lifting cotton bales as a youngster in the Newton County river
port of Belgrade, became the heavyweight title in 1910 when he defeated
Jim Jeffries. But eight years earlier, Johnson was thrown in jail
in Galveston for violating a state law banning boxing. more
Celebrating
New Year 1819 by Mike Cox
Long before Galveston had a well-deserved reputation as a party
town, French buccaneers under Jean
Lafitte celebrated the arrival of 1819 on the sparsely populated
island by imbibing numerous tankards of potent punch. But that wasn’t
all. more
How
an Underweight Underdog became The Mighty Atom by Mike Cox
“Kid Greenstein Stops Bullet with His Forehead.”
Taylor's
Submarine Armor by Mike Cox
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The
Beachfront Drive-In by Clint Skinner
History of drive-in theaters and the short lived beachfront drive-In
Short Reel Theater in Galveston, Texas
Solar
Eclipse in Galveston by Mike Cox
The total solar eclipse on July 29, 1878
Remembering
When it Really Got Cold by Mike Cox
"The first known Galveston Bay freeze came during the winter
of 1821, when Jane Long, the wife of then-absent filibusterer Dr.
James Long, was alone on Bolivar Peninsula with her five-year-old
daughter and a slave girl... more"
Snowfall
in Galveston by Mike Cox
"During the snowfall of 1895... Many ships were frozen in their
docks and bales of cotton awaiting loading were covered in snow.
Hack drivers got $20 a ride to take sightseers around town. To make
transportation easier, some enterprising locals mounted their buggies
and wagons on runners."
Galveston
Firsts by Mike Cox
Balinese
Room by Wanda Orton
Texas
Navy vs The Press by Mike Cox
A war of words that could have escalated into real violence broke
out in the spring of 1840 between the Texas Navy and a Galveston
newspaper editor.
What
happened to Charles Francis Coghlan by Mike Cox
His story is either one of the most incredible tales ever told,
pure legend or a mixture of fact and fiction.
Balinese
Room Cashiered by Mike Cox ("Texas Tales")
The Texas Rangers finally succeeded in eliminating gambling at Galveston’s
famed Balinese Room in 1957, but it took a Category 2 hurricane
to cashier the old casino-on-a-pier once and for all. Coming ashore
on Galveston Island in the predawn hours of Sept. 13, Hurricane
Ike...
The
Last Voyage of the Hotspur by W. T. Block, Jr. ("Cannonball's
Tales")
"For three centuries Spain ignored Galveston Island... On many
of the oldest maps, the 25-mile-long sliver of sand did not even
have a name until about 1775... Others called it "Isla de Serpientes,"
or Snake Island, because of the countless cotton-mouth snakes that
slithered across its beaches. Elsewhere on the island, verdant marsh
grasses waltzed in rhythm with the crisp ocean breezes, providing
excellent forage for the large herds of deer that had swum over
from the mainland... more"
A
Steamboat’s Tale by Bob Bowman ("All Things Historical")
"... The A.S. Ruthven, weighing 144 tons and measuring 127
feet long, was built at Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1860 by a shipyard
that turned out 288 steamboats.
While most of the steamboats were placed in service on the Ohio,
Mississippi and Missouri rivers, the Ruthven came to Texas, where
she was placed in service hauling cotton down the Trinity River
to Galveston...
more"
Poker
by Mike Cox ("Texas Tales")
"No matter the infrastructure that tied the island to the mainland,
the residents of the city believed the bay separated them from the
rest of Texas in other ways. Certain laws, particularly those dealing
with gambling and prostitution, were not taken seriously in Galveston
for a long time... more"
Juneteenth
by Archie P. McDonald ("All Things Historical")
"Most East Texans who have lived here more than at least a
month of Sundays know that African Americans claim June 19, or Juneteenth,
as their own special day to celebrate freedom. ...
June 19, 1865, is the day Union General Gordon Granger arrived in
Galveston with the first federal troops after the Confederate Department
of the Trans-Mississippi had been surrendered nearly three weeks
earlier. On that day, then, Granger proclaimed the Civil War ended
in Texas and all wartime proclamations in effect. This included
the freeing of slaves of all persons who had remained in rebellion
against the United States after January 1, 1863, which included
every slave owner in Texas... more"
Ghost
of Nicaragua Smith Still Haunts Graveyard by W. T. Block, Jr.
("Cannonball's Tales")
If you should ever pass near the Old City Cemetery in Galveston
on the night of January 8th, you might hear a screaming voice out
of the ocean mists...
High
Seas Adventures by Mike Cox
The
1893 Pedestrian Journey from Galveston to Chicago
by Mike Cox
Beaching
with Teens-and other Hazards
Humor column by Jase Graves
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"Galveston,
Texas, The First Cotton Export Port of the World"
Postcard
courtesy rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/
See Cotton |
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View
of the paddlewheel and refineries from Moody Gardens
Photo courtesy of Lou Ann Herda |
Galveston,
Texas Forum
Galveston
Memories
Subject: Galveston's All Day Indoor Outings
My dad worked at Todds Drydock on Pelican Island. He would have
to catch the ferry at 22nd street to ride over to Pelican Island
since the Pelican Island bridge wasn't built till the 1950's. On
Saturdays my mother would give me and my sister fifty cents apiece
to ride the State Theater (on 21st and Post Office Streets). We
lived at 53rd and Q 1/2. We could pay admission, buy a bag of popcorn,
a Coca-Cola and even candy. We'd stay all day watching cartoons,
serials. and cowboy shows. Back in the late 1940's and 1950's you
didn't have to worry about your safety. When we'd return from our
all-day outing we would still have ten cents left over. - Margie
Bennett Hill, Galveston, April 09, 2007
Subject:
Texas City Explosion
Dear TE, I attended 1st grade in Galveston at the Rosenberg school
on 10th Street. One morning about 9:00 the whole school shook. We
had a fire drill and had to go outside. Mama had made me a nice
Easter dress and while we waited outside it became spattered with
oil. We went back into the school and classes were dismissed for
the day. I had to walk to 7th street where we lived and I found
Mama in the bathroom washing clothes on a scrub board, In the afternoon
we stood on the porch and looked towards Texas City where the sky
was red and glowing. We lived close to St. Marys hospital where
the emergency people were bringing in the injured from Texas City
in the back of trucks. Later we found out [about the] explosion.
That's all I remember about that terrible day. - Margie Bennett
Hill, Manvel, Texas, April 09, 2007
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VINTAGE MAPS
Showing Galveston, Galveston Island & Galveston Bay
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Galveston
County County 1907 postal map
From Texas state map #2090
Courtesy
Texas General Land Office |
Galveston
County County 1920s map
From Texas state map #10749
Courtesy
Texas General Land Office |
Galveston
County County 1940s map
From Texas state map #4335
Courtesy
Texas General Land Office |
| Texas
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Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories,
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