Galveston is the county seat of Galveston County located along the Gulf Coast region in the U.S. state of Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. As of the 2005 U.S. Census estimate, the city had a total population of 57,466. Galveston is accessible by a causeway linking Galveston Island to the mainland on the north end of the city, a toll bridge on the western end of the island, and by ferry boat service on the east end of the city. Houston and Galveston were linked from 1911 to 1936 by a high-speed interurban line, whose cars covered the 50-mile distance, downtown to downtown, in as little as 75 minutes. The Galveston-Houston Electric Railway was a separate operation from the Houston Electric (the city streetcar lines), although it was under the same corporate umbrella and consequently there was some sharing of tracks and facilities. Although it cannot be compared to such great interurban systems as the Pacific Electric or the Illinois Terminal, as a single-line company it ranks among the very best ever operated, both in terms of physical facilities and quality of service.

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Galveston The Mardi Gras Island
Galveston, Texas is home to a large Mardi Gras Galveston festival, the Island tradition begun in 1867, and which is held in the historic Strand District on Galveston Island on the Texas Gulf Coast.

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The first year that Mardi Gras was celebrated on a grand scale in Galveston was 1871 with the emergence of two rival Mardi Gras societies, or "Krewes" called the Knights of Momus (known only by the initials "K.O.M.") and the Knights of Myth, both of which devised night parades, masked balls, exquisite costumes and elaborate invitations. The Knights of Momus, led by some prominent Galvestonians, decorated horse-drawn wagons for a torch lit night parade. Boasting such themes as "The Crusades," "Peter the Great," and "Ancient France," the procession through downtown Galveston culminated at Turner Hall with a presentation of tableaux and a grand gala. The annual event draws 250,000 revelers from all over Texas (predominately the Houston metro) to Galveston Island each year.

Galveston is known for its historic neighborhoods and a ten-mile long seawall designed to protect the city from floods. It is also home to the infamous Balinese Room, a historic nightclub and former illegal gambling hall located on a 600-foot pier extending into the Gulf of Mexico.

The city houses many tourist attractions. The attractions include the Galveston Schlitterbahn waterpark, Moody Gardens, the Lone Star Flight Museum, a downtown neighborhood of historic buildings known as "The Strand," many historical museums and mansions, and miles of beach front. The Strand plays host to a yearly Mardi Gras festival, Galveston Island Jazz & Blues Festival, Texas Beach Fest, Lone Star Bike Rally, and a Victorian-themed Christmas festival called "Dickens on the Strand" (honoring the works of novelist Charles Dickens, especially A Christmas Carol) in early December.

Galveston is the second-largest city in Galveston County after League City; League City surpassed Galveston between 2000 and 2005. Galveston is the site of over 60 of Texas' "firsts": electric lights, electric street cars, post office, naval base, newspaper, public library, hospital and many more. Rich in history, Galveston was home to many colorful characters such as the pirate Jean Lafitte and explorers like LaSalle. The 1894 Grand Opera House, museums, shops and eateries make up the "Strand" district once known as the "Wall Street of the Southwest." This barrier island boasts one of the country's largest bird migratory flyway, beautiful beaches and amazing salt marshes.

Galveston Bay is a large estuary located along Texas's upper coast. The Galveston Bay system consists of five subbays: Christmas Bay, West Bay, Lower Galveston Bay, Upper Galveston Bay, East Bay, and Trinity Bay. The bay is fed by the Trinity River and the San Jacinto River, numerous local bayous and incoming tides from the Gulf of Mexico. The bay covers approximately 600 square miles (1,500 km²), and is 30 miles (50 km) long and 17 miles (27 km) wide. Galveston Bay is on average 7-9 feet (3 m) deep. The bay has three inlets at the Gulf of Mexico: Bolivar Roads (the exit of the Houston Ship Channel) between Galveston Island and the Bolivar Peninsula, San Luis Pass to the West, and Rollover Pass to the East.

The Houston Ship Channel, connecting the Port of Houston to the Gulf, passes through Galveston Bay. Houston, Texas is the largest city on the bay, while smaller ones include Galveston, Pasadena, Baytown, Texas City, and Anahuac. Four counties border the bay; Brazoria, Chambers, Harris, and Galveston County.

The bay provides nursery and spawning grounds for large amounts of marine life, and is important for both commercial and recreational fishing.

Galveston's founding
Galveston island was originally inhabited by members of the Karankawa and Akokisa tribes. The Spanish explorer Cabeza de Vaca was shipwrecked on the island in 1528 and there began his famous trek to Mexico. In the late 1600s French explorer Robert Cavelier La Salle, although he did not reach Galveston Island, claimed this area for King Louis and named it St. Louis.

The island was named in honor of Bernardo de Gálvez y Madrid, Count of Gálvez, in 1785 by Spanish explorer José de Evia, who charted the Gulf Coast. The first permanent European settlements on the island were constructed around 1816 by the pirate Louis-Michel Aury as a base of operations to support Mexico's rebellion against Spain.

Bernardo de Gálvez y Madrid, Viscount of Galveston and Count of Gálvez (Spanish: Bernardo de Gálvez y Madrid, vizconde de Gálveztown y conde de Gálvez) (July 23, 1746, Málaga, Spain—November 30, 1786, Mexico City) was a Spanish military leader and the general of Spanish forces in New Spain who served as governor of Louisiana and governor of Cuba. He spent the last two years of his life as viceroy of New Spain, succeeding his father Matías de Gálvez y Gallardo, who had been viceroy before him. Gálvez is remembered for aiding the United States in its quest for independence in the American Revolutionary War. Galveston, Texas and several other places are named for him.

In 1817 Aury returned from an unsuccessful raid against Spain to find Galveston occupied by the pirate Jean Lafitte, who took up residence there after having been driven from his stronghold in Barataria Bay off the coast of New Orleans, Louisiana. Lafitte organized Galveston into a pirate "kingdom" he called "Campeachy" (or "Campeche"), anointing himself the island's "head of government." Lafitte remained in Galveston until 1821 when he and his raiders were given an ultimatum by the United States Navy: leave or be destroyed. Lafitte burned his settlement to the ground and sailed under cover of night for parts unknown. There are still rumors that Lafitte's treasure is buried somewhere between Galveston Island, Bolivar Peninsula and High Island.

Following its successful revolution from Spain, Mexico designated Galveston a port of entry in 1825, erecting a customs house in 1830. During the Texas Revolution, Galveston served as the main port for the Texas navy. Galveston also served briefly as the capital of the Republic of Texas in 1836.

In 1836, Michel B. Menard, a native of Canada, along with several associates purchased 4,605 acres (18.64 km²) of land for $50,000 from the Austin Colony to found the town that would become the modern city of Galveston. Menard and his associates began selling plots on April 20, 1838. In 1839, the City of Galveston adopted a charter and was incorporated by the Congress of the Republic of Texas.

Juneteenth, which is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States, owes its origins to the island city.

THE PIRATE JEAN LAFITTE

JEAN LAFITTE maintained control of Galveston Island in the years 1818-1821. Lafitte was one of the most daring and colorful filibusters of his time. He flew a solid, blood red flag from his masts and from time to time flew the Venezuelan yellow, blue and red tri-color shown above. It is thought that he displayed, as did Aury, the Venezuelan colors with permission of the government whose aim was to disrupt Spanish shipping in the Gulf and Caribbean. The Ghost of Jean Lafitte and the Phantom Pirates of Galveston.

The Battle of Galveston

The Battle of Galveston occurred on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War when Confederate forces under Major General John B. Magruder attacked and expelled occupying Union troops from the city of Galveston, Texas.

ATTACK OF THE REBELS UPON OUR GUN-BOAT FLOTILLA AT GALVESTON, TEXAS, JANUARY 1, 1863. http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/civil-war/1863/january/battle-of-galveston.htm

The Union force consisted of three Massachusetts companies of 260 men and seven warships in Galveston Bay. Facing a fortified enemy supported by naval gunfire, the Confederates were forced to retreat an hour after their initial attack at dawn..

The 1900 Storm
In 1900, the island was struck by a devastating hurricane, an event that still holds the record as the United States' deadliest natural disaster. Read more on The Great Storm Of Galveston Island Here!

On the evening of September 7, 1900, high winds arose, heralding the arrival of a hurricane that struck the island in the early morning of September 8 and lasted until the next day. Wind speeds reached up to 135 mph (an estimate, since the anemometer was blown off the U.S. Weather Bureau building). The island's infrastructure was devastated, and an estimated 6,000 to 12,000 people were killed.

THE GREAT STORM OF 1900, bodies of the victims laying in rows in a make shift morgue.

After the storm cleared, the city decided to shore up its defenses against future inclement weather — the entire grade of the city was raised and a permanent concrete seawall was built along a large portion of the beach front. Just after the hurricane, the city originated the City Commission form of city government (which became known as the "Galveston Plan"), although the city has since adopted the Council-Manager form of government.

A four block radius of the effects of the hurricane.

Despite attempts to draw new investment to the city after the hurricane, Galveston never fully returned to its former importance or prosperity. Development was also hindered by the construction of the Houston Ship Channel, which brought the Port of Houston into direct competition with the natural harbor of Galveston Bay for sea traffic. To further her recovery, and rebuild her population, Galveston actively solicited immigration. Through the efforts of Rabbi Henry Cohen and Congregation B'nai Israel, Galveston became the focus of a 1907 immigration plan called the Galveston Movement that in the following years diverted roughly 10,000 Eastern European Jewish immigrants from the crowded cities of the Northeastern United States. Galveston, Texas also is famous for museums and its tourist attractions.

Though the storm stalled economic development and the city of Houston grew into the region's principal metropolis, Galveston has regained some of its former glory. Today it is considered a major tourist destination and remains a port of entry and a destination for cruise ships, and a port of call and repairs for cargo ships. Galveston is currently ranked the no. 1 cruise port on the Gulf Coast and no. 5 in North America (2006).

Previous Storms

Hurricanes struck Galveston at least 11 times during the 19th century. In 1818, the entire island was flooded to a depth of four feet, leaving only six buildings habitable.

After a storm inundated the city in 1837, a local carpenter, Joseph Ehlinger, suggested rebuilding the destroyed customshouse on four-foot pilings to raise it above the flood level. After that time, many structures in Galveston, residences included, were built on stilts. A storm in 1867 tore up all but one of the docks and flooded the business area.

One of the federal government's earliest weather stations was established in Galveston in 1871 for reporting local weather data to the national weather office.

The 1875 hurricane that heavily damaged the port town of Indianola, about 120 crow's-flight miles southwest, also hit Galveston. Following that storm, Galveston asked the state to construct a breakwater. The state refused. In 1878, the city planted salt cedars atop some of the sand dunes, hoping that the trees' root network would hold the dunes in place and create a natural breakwater. A little sand was brought in to raise some areas, but even after that, the highest point in the city was less than nine feet above sea level.

The hurricane that finished off Indianola in 1886 produced more discussions in Galveston of building a seawall, but no action. Mary G. Ramos and first published in the 1998-1999 Texas Almanac

Galveston Today

Galveston's historic downtown and abundant beaches are major tourist destinations. Houstonians and visitors from around the world purchase beach homes and condominiums and make Galveston their second home.

Other attractions in Galveston include Moody Gardens, the Galveston Railroad Museum, Schlitterbahn, the Strand and the Lone Star Flight Museum. Galveston is also home to several historic ships: the tall ship Elissa at the Texas Seaport Museum and USS Cavalla and USS Stewart, both berthed at Seawolf Park on nearby Pelican Island. Galveston is also home to a symphony orchestra and a small ballet company.

The Galveston County Daily News, the city's main newspaper, is the oldest continuously printed newspaper in Texas since 1842.

Galveston has been the home of the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), a major teaching and indigent-care hospital which now encompasses 84 acres (340,000 m²), since 1891. UTMB is the largest employer in Galveston CountyGR6, creating over 15,000 jobs and bringing about $300 million into the local economy. The Shriners Hospital adjacent to UTMB is a 30-bed pediatric burn hospital providing comprehensive acute care and reconstructive and rehabilitative care to children who have been burned. American National Insurance Company, one of the larger life insurance companies in the United States, and Moody National Bank are headquartered in Galveston.

The Jimmy Buffett song, "Who's the Blonde Stranger?" and Glen Campbell's "Galveston" are set in Galveston, as are ZZ Top's "Balinese", Austin Webber and Scott Clare's "Straight From the Island" and Gene Autry's "Gallivantin' Galveston Gal."

Buildings in Galveston notable for their architecture include many in the Historic Strand District, The Hotel Galvez, the Moody Mansion, Ashton Villa and Bishop's Palace.

Tallest Buildings in Galveston

Palisade Palms Trade Winds Tower (Under construction)
Palisade Palms Beach Club (Under construction)
The Emerald Condominiums (Under construction)
Ocean Grove Condominiums (Under construction)
East Beach Resort & Spa (Under construction)
American National Insurance Company Tower (One Moody Plaza)
San Luis Resort South Tower
San Luis Resort North Tower
The Breakers Condominiums
The Galvestonian Resort and Condos
One Shearn Moody Plaza
US National Bank Building
By The Sea Condominiums
John Sealy Hospital Towers at UTMB
Medical Arts Building (aka Two Moody Plaza)

The city is home to three post-secondary institutions: Galveston College (a junior college opened in 1967), Texas A&M University at Galveston, and University of Texas Medical Branch.

Galveston Island, one and one-half to three miles wide and 27 miles long, was part of the Karankawa Indians' territory before Europeans arrived. The first European to see the island was probably Spanish explorer Alonso Alvarez de Pineda, who in 1519 surveyed the entire Gulf Coast from the Florida Keys to Veracruz for the Spanish government.

When Cabeza de Vaca was shipwrecked on a Gulf island that he called Isla de Malhado (Island of Misfortune) in 1528, he may have been on Galveston Island. Other Spanish visitors called it San Luís or Isla de Culebras (Island of Snakes).

In 1785, José Antonio de Evia charted the coastline, naming the bay between island and mainland for Bernardo de Gálvez Gallardo, the viceroy of Mexico. Map makers later also applied the name to the island.

In 1816, Frenchman Louis Michel Aury became the first European to inhabit the island, and he attempted to establish a government. He was displaced by French pirate Jean Lafitte in mid-1817; Lafitte hung around the island until about 1820.

Probably the primary attraction to pirates and to the settlers who followed them was that the eastern end of Galveston Island was the best natural port between New Orleans and Veracruz. The government of Mexico built a small customshouse on the island in 1825 to create a port of entry. The Texas revolutionaries used the port of Galveston during the Texas war for independence from Mexico in 1835-36. After that war, Michel B. Menard, the French-Canadian for whom Menard County was named, acquired more than 4,000 acres at the harbor for a town. Menard and his associates in the venture called the town "Galveston" and began selling lots on April 20, 1838.

Not surprisingly, Galveston's economy developed around shipping. Its wharves and warehouses moved cotton, sugar, molasses, cattle, pecans and hides from Texas to the rest of the world via New Orleans, New York and Great Britain. Galveston reported shipment of 82,000 bales of cotton in 1854. The importance of cotton to Galveston increased steadily, with Galveston ranking third among U.S. ports in cotton shipments in 1878.

Before the Civil War, small factories made iron parts, soap, furniture and rope. After the war, cottonseed oil, flour, ice and textiles were manufactured, and cotton compresses operated. There was virtually no major manufacturing at Galveston, however. Investors were reluctant to put their money into an area that was so vulnerable to destructive storms.

Realizing that the economic health of their shipping business depended on railroads to transport goods to and from the port, the City of Galveston financed the construction of a railroad bridge to the mainland in 1860. Shipworms ate much of it, and the remainder blew away in a storm in 1867. A replacement was built in 1868. Another followed in 1877, and a bridge for wagons was constructed in 1893. A third railroad bridge was completed in 1896.

For Further Reading:

• "Building the Lone Star: An Illustrated Guide to Historic Sites" by T. Lindsay Baker; Texas A&M University Press, College Station, 1986.

• "Galveston: A History," by David G. McComb; University of Texas Press, Austin, 1986.

• "Galveston in Nineteen Hundred," edited by Clarence Ousley; Wm. C. Chase, Atlanta, 1900.

• "Report of the Central Relief Committee for Galveston Storm Sufferers"; Galveston, May 2, 1902.

• "The Galveston Plan of City Government by Commission: The Birth of a Progressive Idea" by Bradley R. Rice; Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Vol. 78, No. 4; Texas State Historical Association, Austin, April 1975.

• "The Galveston Storm of 1900" by John Edward Weems; Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Vol. 61, No. 4; Texas State Historical Association, Austin, April 1958.

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