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Galveston ( ) is a
coastal The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in ...
resort city and
port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...
off the
Southeast Texas Southeast Texas is a cultural and geographic region in the U.S. state of Texas, bordering Southwest Louisiana and its greater Acadiana region to the east. Being a part of East Texas, the region is geographically centered on the Greater Houston ...
coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
of
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the
county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...
of surrounding
Galveston County Galveston County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas, located along the Gulf Coast adjacent to Galveston Bay. As of the 2020 census, the population was 350,682. The county was founded in 1838. The county seat is the City of Galveston, ...
and second-largest municipality in the county. It is also within the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan area at its southern end on the northwestern coast of the
Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...
. Galveston, or Galvez' town, was named after 18th-century Spanish military and political leader
Bernardo de Gálvez y Madrid, Count of Gálvez Bernardo is a given name and less frequently an Italian, Portuguese and Spanish surname. Possibly from the Germanic "Bernhard". Given name People * Bernardo the Japanese (died 1557), early Japanese Christian convert and disciple of Saint Fran ...
(1746–1786), who was born in
Macharaviaya Macharaviaya is a municipality in the province of Málaga in the mountains of the autonomous community of Andalusia in the south of Spain. It is located in the comarca of La Axarquía. The village was built upon the ruins of an old Moorish sett ...
,
Málaga Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most po ...
, in the
Kingdom of Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...
. Galveston's first
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
an settlements on the Galveston Island were built around 1816 by
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
pirate
Louis-Michel Aury Louis-Michel Aury (1788 – August 30, 1821) was a French privateer operating in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean during the early 19th century. Early life Louis Michel-Aury was born in Paris, France, around 1788. French Navy Louis Aury se ...
to help the fledgling empire of Mexico fight for independence from
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...
, along with other colonies in the
Western Hemisphere The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the antimeridian. The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Politically, the te ...
of the
Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America, North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. ...
in
Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...
and
South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...
in the 1810s and 1820s. The
Port of Galveston The Port of Galveston is the port of the city of Galveston, Texas. It was established by a proclamation issued by the Congress of Mexico on October 17, 1825, while the land known today as Texas was still part of Mexico. The Port of Galveston is ...
was established in 1825 by the
Congress of Mexico The Congress of the Union ( es, Congreso de la Unión, ), formally known as the General Congress of the United Mexican States (''Congreso General de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos''), is the legislature of the federal government of Mexico cons ...
following its independence from Spain. The city was the main port for the fledgling
Texas Navy The Texas Navy, officially the Navy of the Republic of Texas, also known as the Second Texas Navy, was the naval warfare branch of the Texas Military Forces during the Republic of Texas. It descended from the Texian Navy, which was established ...
during the Texas Revolution of 1836, and later served temporarily as the new national capital of the
Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas ( es, República de Tejas) was a sovereign state in North America that existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846, that bordered Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande in 1840 (another breakaway republic from Me ...
. In 1865, General
Gordon Granger Gordon Granger (November 6, 1821 – January 10, 1876) was a career U.S. Army officer and a Union general during the American Civil War, where he distinguished himself at the Battle of Chickamauga. Granger is best remembered for his part in the ...
arrived at Ashton Villa and announced to some of the last enslaved
African Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
that slavery was no longer legal. This event is commemorated annually on June 19, the
federal holiday Federal holidays in the United States are the eleven calendar dates that are designated by the U.S. government as holidays. On U.S. federal holidays, non-essential federal government offices are closed and federal government employees are paid ...
of
Juneteenth Juneteenth is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans. Deriving its name from combining "June" and "nineteenth", it is celebrated on the anniversary of General Order No. 3, i ...
. During the 19th century, Galveston became a major U.S. commercial center and one of the largest
port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...
s in the United States. It was, for a time, Texas' largest city, known as the "Queen City of the Gulf". It was devastated by the unexpected
Galveston Hurricane of 1900 Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galv ...
, whose effects included massive flooding and a storm surge which nearly wiped out the town. The natural disaster on the exposed
barrier island Barrier islands are coastal landforms and a type of dune system that are exceptionally flat or lumpy areas of sand that form by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything from a ...
is still ranked today as the deadliest in United States history, with an estimated death toll between 6,000 and 12,000 people. The city subsequently reemerged during the
Prohibition era Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic be ...
of 1919–1933 as a leading tourist hub and a center of illegal gambling, nicknamed the Free State of Galveston until this era ended in the 1950s with subsequent other economic and social development. Much of Galveston's economy is centered in the
tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...
,
health care Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health pr ...
,
shipping Freight transport, also referred as ''Freight Forwarding'', is the physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it has been ...
, and
financial Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of f ...
industries. The
University of Texas Medical Branch The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) is a public academic health science center in Galveston, Texas. It is part of the University of Texas System. UTMB includes the oldest medical school in Texas, and has about 11,000 employees. In Febr ...
campus with an enrollment of more than 2,500 students is a major economic force of the city. Galveston is home to six
historic districts A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from cer ...
containing one of the largest historically significant collections of 19th-century buildings in the U.S., with over 60 structures listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
, maintained by the
National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational properti ...
in the
United States Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the ma ...
.


History


Exploration and 19th-century development

Indigenous inhabitants of Galveston Island called the island ''Auia''. Though there is no certainty regarding their route and their landings,
Cabeza de Vaca In Mexican cuisine, ''cabeza'' (''lit.'' 'head') is the meat from a roasted head of an animal, served as taco A taco (, , ) is a traditional Mexican food consisting of a small hand-sized corn- or wheat-based tortilla topped with a filling ...
and his crew were shipwrecked at a place he called "Isla de Malhado" in November 1528. This could have referred to Galveston Island or San Luis Island. During his charting of the Gulf Coast in 1785, the Spanish explorer José de Evia labeled the water features surrounding the island "Bd. de Galvestown" and "Bahia de Galvestowm" ic He was working under the orders of Bernardo de Gálvez. In his early chart, he calls the western end of the island "Isla de San Luis" and the eastern end "Pt. de Culebras". Evia did not label the island itself on his map of 1799. Just five years later
Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 17696 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister ...
borrowed the place names Isla de San Luis, Pte. De Culebras, and Bahia de Galveston. Stephen F. Austin followed his predecessors in the use of "San Luis Island", but introduced "Galveston" to refer to the little village at the east end of the island. Evidence of the name Galveston Island appears on the 1833 David H. Burr. The island's first permanent European settlements were constructed around 1816 by the
pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
Louis-Michel Aury Louis-Michel Aury (1788 – August 30, 1821) was a French privateer operating in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean during the early 19th century. Early life Louis Michel-Aury was born in Paris, France, around 1788. French Navy Louis Aury se ...
to support Mexico's rebellion against Spain. In 1817, Aury returned from an unsuccessful raid against Spain to find Galveston occupied by the pirate
Jean Lafitte Jean Lafitte ( – ) was a French pirate and privateer who operated in the Gulf of Mexico in the early 19th century. He and his older brother Pierre spelled their last name Laffite, but English language documents of the time used "Lafitte". Th ...
. Lafitte organized Galveston into a pirate "kingdom" he called "Campeche", anointing himself the island's "head of government". Lafitte remained in Galveston until 1821, when the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
forced him and his raiders off the island. In 1825 the
Congress of Mexico The Congress of the Union ( es, Congreso de la Unión, ), formally known as the General Congress of the United Mexican States (''Congreso General de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos''), is the legislature of the federal government of Mexico cons ...
established the
Port of Galveston The Port of Galveston is the port of the city of Galveston, Texas. It was established by a proclamation issued by the Congress of Mexico on October 17, 1825, while the land known today as Texas was still part of Mexico. The Port of Galveston is ...
and in 1830 erected a
customs house A custom house or customs house was traditionally a building housing the offices for a jurisdictional government whose officials oversaw the functions associated with importing and exporting goods into and out of a country, such as collecting ...
. Galveston served as the capital of the
Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas ( es, República de Tejas) was a sovereign state in North America that existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846, that bordered Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande in 1840 (another breakaway republic from Me ...
when in 1836 the interim president David G. Burnet relocated his government there. In 1836, the French-Canadian
Michel Branamour Menard Michel Branamour Menard (1805–1856) was a Canadians, Canadian-born trader and merchant, first active on the upper Mississippi River and later in Texas. He co-founded Galveston, Texas. He represented Galveston County, Texas, Galveston County i ...
and several associates purchased of land for $50,000 to found the town that would become the modern city of Galveston. As Anglo-Americans migrated to the city, they brought along or purchased enslaved
African-Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of enslav ...
, some of whom worked domestically or on the waterfront, including on riverboats. In 1839, the City of Galveston adopted a charter and was incorporated by the Congress of the
Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas ( es, República de Tejas) was a sovereign state in North America that existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846, that bordered Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande in 1840 (another breakaway republic from Me ...
. The city was by then a burgeoning
port of entry In general, a port of entry (POE) is a place where one may lawfully enter a country. It typically has border security staff and facilities to check passports and visas and to inspect luggage to assure that contraband is not imported. Internat ...
and attracted many new residents in the 1840s and later among the flood of German immigrants to Texas, including Jewish merchants. Together with ethnic Mexican residents, these groups tended to oppose slavery, support the Union during the Civil War, and join the Republican Party after the war. During this expansion, the city had many "firsts" in the state, with the founding of institutions and adoption of inventions: post office (1836), naval base (1836), Texas chapter of a
Masonic Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
order (1840); cotton compress (1842), Catholic
parochial school A parochial school is a private primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathematics and language arts. The wo ...
(Ursuline Academy) (1847), insurance company (1854), and gas lights (1856). During the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...
, Confederate forces under
Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...
John B. Magruder attacked and expelled occupying Union troops from the city in January 1863 in the
Battle of Galveston The Battle of Galveston was a naval and land battle of the American Civil War, when Confederate forces under Major Gen. John B. Magruder expelled occupying Union troops from the city of Galveston, Texas on January 1, 1863. After the loss of ...
. On June 19, 1865, two months after the end of the war and almost three years after the issuance of the
Emancipation Proclamation The Emancipation Proclamation, officially Proclamation 95, was a presidential proclamation and executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War, Civil War. The Proclamation c ...
, General
Gordon Granger Gordon Granger (November 6, 1821 – January 10, 1876) was a career U.S. Army officer and a Union general during the American Civil War, where he distinguished himself at the Battle of Chickamauga. Granger is best remembered for his part in the ...
of the Union Army informed the enslaved people of Texas that they were now free. This news was transmitted via General Order No. 3, an event now commemorated on the
federal holiday Federal holidays in the United States are the eleven calendar dates that are designated by the U.S. government as holidays. On U.S. federal holidays, non-essential federal government offices are closed and federal government employees are paid ...
of
Juneteenth Juneteenth is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans. Deriving its name from combining "June" and "nineteenth", it is celebrated on the anniversary of General Order No. 3, i ...
. In 1867 Galveston suffered a
yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. ...
epidemic; about 1800 people died in the city. These occurred in waterfront and river cities throughout the 19th century, as did
cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium '' Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting an ...
epidemics. The city's progress continued through the
Reconstruction era The Reconstruction era was a period in American history following the American Civil War (1861–1865) and lasting until approximately the Compromise of 1877. During Reconstruction, attempts were made to rebuild the country after the bloo ...
with numerous "firsts": construction of the opera house (1870), and orphanage (1876), and installation of telephone lines (1878) and electric lights (1883). Having attracted
freedmen A freedman or freedwoman is a formerly enslaved person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, enslaved people were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their captor-owners), emancipation (granted freedom ...
from rural areas, in 1870 the city had a black population that totaled 3,000, made up mostly of former slaves but also by persons who were free men of color and educated before the war. Blacks comprised nearly 25% of the city's population of 13,818 that year. During the post–Civil War period, leaders such as George T. Ruby and Norris Wright Cuney, who headed the
Texas Republican Party The Republican Party of Texas (RPT) is the affiliate of the United States Republican Party in the state of Texas. It is currently chaired by Matt Rinaldi, succeeding Allen West who resigned prior to the expiration of his term to run for governo ...
and promoted
civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life ...
for
freedmen A freedman or freedwoman is a formerly enslaved person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, enslaved people were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their captor-owners), emancipation (granted freedom ...
, helped to dramatically improve educational and employment opportunities for blacks in Galveston and in Texas. Cuney established his own business of stevedores and a union of black dockworkers to break the white monopoly on dock jobs. Galveston was a cosmopolitan city and one of the more successful during Reconstruction; the
Freedmen's Bureau The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, usually referred to as simply the Freedmen's Bureau, was an agency of early Reconstruction, assisting freedmen in the South. It was established on March 3, 1865, and operated briefly as a ...
was headquartered here. German families sheltered teachers from the North, and hundreds of freedmen were taught to read. Its business community promoted progress, and immigrants stayed after arriving at this port of entry. By the end of the 19th century, the city of Galveston had a population of 37,000. Its position on the natural harbor of
Galveston Bay Galveston Bay ( ) is a bay in the western Gulf of Mexico along the upper coast of Texas. It is the seventh-largest estuary in the United States, and the largest of seven major estuaries along the Texas Gulf Coast. It is connected to the Gulf of ...
along the Gulf of Mexico made it the center of trade in Texas. It was one of the nation's largest cotton ports, in competition with
New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
. Throughout the 19th century, the port city of Galveston grew rapidly and the Strand was considered the region's primary business center. For a time, the Strand was known as the "Wall Street of the
South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...
". In the late 1890s, the government constructed
Fort Crockett Fort Crockett is a government reservation on Galveston Island overlooking the Gulf of Mexico originally built as a defense installation to protect the city and harbor of Galveston and to secure the entrance to Galveston Bay, thus protecting the c ...
defenses and coastal artillery batteries in Galveston and along the Bolivar Roads. In February 1897, the (nicknamed Old Hoodoo), the first commissioned
battleship A battleship is a large armour, armored warship with a main artillery battery, battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1 ...
of the United States Navy, visited Galveston. During the festivities, the ship's officers were presented with a $5,000 silver service, adorned with various Texas motifs, as a gift from the state's citizens.


Hurricane of 1900 and recovery

On September 8, 1900, the island was struck by a devastating
hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Dep ...
. This
event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of ev ...
holds the record as the United States' deadliest
natural disaster A natural disaster is "the negative impact following an actual occurrence of natural hazard in the event that it significantly harms a community". A natural disaster can cause loss of life or damage property, and typically leaves some econ ...
. The city was devastated, and an estimated 6,000 to 8,000 people on the island were killed. Following the storm, a long, high
seawall A seawall (or sea wall) is a form of coastal defense constructed where the sea, and associated coastal processes, impact directly upon the landforms of the coast. The purpose of a seawall is to protect areas of human habitation, conservation ...
was built to protect the city from floods and hurricane storm surges. A team of engineers including Henry Martyn Robert (
Robert's Rules of Order ''Robert's Rules of Order'', often simply referred to as ''Robert's Rules'', is a manual of parliamentary procedure by U.S. Army officer Henry Martyn Robert. "The object of Rules of Order is to assist an assembly to accomplish the work for which ...
) designed the plan to raise much of the existing city to a sufficient elevation behind a seawall so that confidence in the city could be maintained. The city developed the city commission form of
city government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...
, known as the " Galveston Plan", to help expedite recovery. Despite attempts to draw investment to the city after the hurricane, Galveston never returned to its levels of national importance or prosperity. Development was also hindered by the construction of the
Houston Ship Channel The Houston Ship Channel, in Houston, Texas, is part of the Port of Houston, one of the busiest seaports in the world. The channel is the conduit for ocean-going vessels between Houston-area terminals and the Gulf of Mexico, and it serves a ...
, which brought the
Port of Houston The Port of Houston is one of the world's largest ports and serves the metropolitan area of Houston, Texas. The port is a 50-mile-long complex of diversified public and private facilities located a few hours' sailing time from the Gulf of Mexico. ...
into competition with the natural harbor of the
Port of Galveston The Port of Galveston is the port of the city of Galveston, Texas. It was established by a proclamation issued by the Congress of Mexico on October 17, 1825, while the land known today as Texas was still part of Mexico. The Port of Galveston is ...
for sea traffic. Finally, the
Seawall A seawall (or sea wall) is a form of coastal defense constructed where the sea, and associated coastal processes, impact directly upon the landforms of the coast. The purpose of a seawall is to protect areas of human habitation, conservation ...
itself created an insurmountable problem: passive erosion resulting in the gradual disappearance of the once-wide beach and the resort business with it. "Within twenty years, the city had lost one hundred yards of sand. People who once watched auto racing on a wide beach were left with a narrow strip of sand at low tide and a gloomy vista of waves on rocks when the tide was high." To further her recovery, and rebuild her population, Galveston actively solicited
immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, ...
. Through the efforts of Rabbi Henry Cohen and Congregation B'nai Israel, Galveston became the focus of an immigration plan called the Galveston Movement that, between 1907 and 1914, diverted roughly 10,000
Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whi ...
an
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
immigrants from the usual destinations of the crowded cities of the
Northeastern United States The Northeastern United States, also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast, is a geographic region of the United States. It is located on the Atlantic coast of North America, with Canada to its north, the Southe ...
. Additionally numerous other immigrant groups, including
Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, ot ...
,
Italians , flag = , flag_caption = The national flag of Italy , population = , regions = Italy 55,551,000 , region1 = Brazil , pop1 = 25–33 million , ref1 = , region2 ...
and
Russian Jews The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest pop ...
, came to the city during this period.Hardwick (2002), p. 13 This immigration trend substantially altered the ethnic makeup of the island, as well as many other areas of Texas and the western U.S. Though the storm stalled economic development and the city of Houston developed as the region's principal metropolis, Galveston economic leaders recognized the need to diversify from the traditional port-related industries. In 1905
William Lewis Moody, Jr. William Lewis Moody Jr. (January 25, 1865 – July 21, 1954)Who Was Who In America, Vol. 3, 1951-1960. Library of Congress number 43-3789. was an American financier and entrepreneur from Galveston, Texas, who founded a private bank, an insurance ...
and Isaac H. Kempner, members of two of Galveston's leading families founded the
American National Insurance Company American National Insurance Company (ANICO) is a major American insurance corporation based in Galveston, Texas. The company and its subsidiaries operate in all 50 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Company description American National was founded in ...
. Two years later, Moody established the City National Bank, which would become the
Moody National Bank Moody National Bank (MNB) is a nationally chartered bank, founded in 1907, that is based in Galveston, Texas. With assets of nearly $1 billion, Moody Bank is one of the oldest and largest privately owned Texas-based banks. Its trust department, e ...
. During the 1920s and 1930s, the city re-emerged as a major tourist destination. Under the influence of
Sam Maceo Salvatore V. "Sam" Maceo (; March 1, 1894 – April 16, 1951) was an American business entrepreneur, power broker and racketeer in Galveston, Texas, who controlled both the government and organized crime in the city for almost 30 years. During ...
and
Rosario Maceo Rosario Maceo (Sr.) ( June 8, 1887 – March 29, 1954), also known as Papa Rose or Rose Maceo, was an Italian-American businessman, power broker and crime boss in Galveston, Texas in the United States. Because of his efforts and those of his br ...
, the city exploited the
prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholi ...
of liquor and gambling in clubs like the
Balinese Room The Balinese Room was a famous nightclub in Galveston, Texas, United States built on a pier stretching 600 feet (183 m) from the Galveston Seawall over the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. For decades a dance hall and illegal casino, the Ba ...
, which offered entertainment to wealthy Houstonians and other out-of-towners. Combined with prostitution, which had existed in the city since the Civil War, Galveston became known as the "sin city" of the Gulf. Galvestonians accepted and supported the illegal activities, often referring to their island as the " Free State of Galveston". The island had entered what would later become known as the "open era". The 1930s and 1940s brought much change to the Island City. During World War II, the Galveston Municipal Airport, predecessor to
Scholes International Airport Scholes International Airport at Galveston is three miles southwest of Galveston, in Galveston County, Texas, United States. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a ''reliever airport''. The airport ...
, was re-designated a U.S. Army Air Corps base and named "Galveston Army Air Field". In January 1943, Galveston Army Air Field was officially activated with the 46th Bombardment Group serving an
anti-submarine An anti-submarine weapon (ASW) is any one of a number of devices that are intended to act against a submarine and its crew, to destroy (sink) the vessel or reduce its capability as a weapon of war. In its simplest sense, an anti-submarine weapo ...
role in the Gulf of Mexico. In 1942, William Lewis Moody, Jr., along with his wife Libbie Shearn Rice Moody, established the
Moody Foundation The Moody Foundation is a charitable foundation incorporated in Texas and based in the island city of Galveston. It was chartered in 1942 by William Lewis Moody Jr. and his wife Libbie Rice Shearn Moody ''"to benefit, in perpetuity, present and ...
, to benefit "present and future generations of Texans". The foundation, one of the largest in the United States, would play a prominent role in Galveston during later decades, helping to fund numerous civic and health-oriented programs.


After World War II

The end of the war drastically reduced military investment in the island. Increasing enforcement of gambling laws and the growth of
Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...
, as a competitive center of gambling and entertainment put pressure on the gaming industry on the island. Finally in 1957,
Texas Attorney General The Texas attorney general is the chief legal officer
of the
Will Wilson and the Texas Rangers began a massive campaign of raids that disrupted gambling and prostitution in the city. As these vice industries crashed, so did tourism, taking the rest of the Galveston economy with it. Neither the economy nor the culture of the city was the same afterward. In 1947, buildings in the city were damaged when a ship carrying 2,200 tons of
ammonium nitrate Ammonium nitrate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is a white crystalline salt consisting of ions of ammonium and nitrate. It is highly soluble in water and hygroscopic as a solid, although it does not form hydrates. It is ...
exploded at the nearby
Port of Texas City The Port of Texas City is a major deepwater port in Texas City, Texas at Galveston Bay, United States. Its location on the bay, which is used by the Port of Houston and the Port of Galveston, puts Texas City in the heart of one of the world's most ...
, in what became known as the Texas City disaster. The island's economy began a long stagnation. Many businesses relocated off the island during this period, but health care, insurance, and financial industries continue to be strong contributors to the economy. By 1959, the city of Houston had long outpaced Galveston in population and economic growth. Beginning in 1957, the Galveston Historical Foundation began its efforts to preserve historic buildings. The 1966 book ''The Galveston That Was'' helped encourage the preservation movement. Restoration efforts financed by motivated investors, notably Houston businessman
George P. Mitchell George Phydias Mitchell (May 21, 1919 – July 26, 2013) was an American businessman, real estate developer and philanthropist from Texas credited with pioneering the economic extraction of shale gas. According to ''The Economist,'' "few busine ...
, gradually developed the Strand Historic District and reinvented other areas. A new, family-oriented tourism emerged in the city over many years. In September 1961,
Hurricane Carla Hurricane Carla ranks as the most intense U.S. tropical cyclone landfall on the Hurricane Severity Index. It was the ninth most intense hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. The third named storm of the 1961 Atlantic hurricane season, Carla d ...
struck the city, generating an F4 tornado that killed eight and injured 200. With the 1960s came the expansion of higher education in Galveston. Already home to the University of Texas Medical Branch, the city got a boost in 1962 with the creation of the Texas Maritime Academy, predecessor of Texas A&M University at Galveston; and by 1967, a
community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior s ...
, Galveston College, had been established. In the 2000s, property values rose after expensive projects were completed, and demand for second homes by the wealthy increased. It has made it difficult for middle-class workers to find affordable housing on the island.
Hurricane Ike Hurricane Ike () was a powerful tropical cyclone that swept through portions of the Greater Antilles and Northern America in September 2008, wreaking havoc on infrastructure and agriculture, particularly in Cuba and Texas. Ike took a sim ...
made landfall on Galveston Island in the early morning of September 13, 2008, as a category-2 hurricane with winds of 110 miles per hour. Damage was extensive to buildings along the seawall. After the storm, the island was rebuilt with investments in tourism and shipping, and continued emphasis on higher education and health care, notably the addition of the Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier and the replacement of the bascule-type
drawbridge A drawbridge or draw-bridge is a type of moveable bridge typically at the entrance to a castle or tower surrounded by a moat. In some forms of English, including American English, the word ''drawbridge'' commonly refers to all types of movea ...
on the railroad causeway with a vertical-lift-type drawbridge to allow heavier freight.


Geography

The city of Galveston is situated on Galveston Island, a
barrier island Barrier islands are coastal landforms and a type of dune system that are exceptionally flat or lumpy areas of sand that form by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything from a ...
off the
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
Gulf coast near the mainland coast. Made up of mostly sand-sized particles and smaller amounts of finer mud sediments and larger gravel-sized sediments, the island is unstable, affected by water and weather, and can shift its boundaries through erosion. The city is about southeast of downtown Houston. The island is oriented generally northeast-southwest, with the
Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...
on the east and south, West Bay on the west, and
Galveston Bay Galveston Bay ( ) is a bay in the western Gulf of Mexico along the upper coast of Texas. It is the seventh-largest estuary in the United States, and the largest of seven major estuaries along the Texas Gulf Coast. It is connected to the Gulf of ...
on the north. The island's main access point from the mainland is the Interstate Highway 45 causeway that crosses West Bay on the island's northeast side. A deepwater channel connects Galveston's harbor with the Gulf and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...
, the city has an area of , of which are land and , or 80.31%, are water. The island is southeast of
Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...
. The western portion of Galveston is referred to as the "West End". Communities in eastern Galveston include Lake Madeline, Offats Bayou, Central City, Fort Crockett, Bayou Shore, Lasker Park, Carver Park, Kempner Park, Old City/Central Business District, San Jacinto, East End, and Lindale. As of 2009 many residents of the west end use
golf carts A golf cart (alternatively known as a golf buggy or golf car) is a small motorized vehicle designed originally to carry two golfers and their golf clubs around a golf course with less effort than walking. Over time, variants were introduced t ...
as transportation to take them to and from residential houses, the Galveston Island Country Club, and stores. In 2009, Chief of Police Charles Wiley said he believed golf carts should be prohibited outside golf courses, and West End residents campaigned against any ban on their use. In 2011
Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...
released a study, "Atlas of Sustainable Strategies for Galveston Island", which argued the West End of Galveston was quickly eroding and the city should reduce construction and/or population in that area. It recommended against any rebuilding of the West End in the event of damage from another hurricane.


Historic districts

Galveston is home to six historic districts with over 60 structures listed representing architectural significance in the National Register of Historic Places. The Silk Stocking National Historic District, between Broadway and
Seawall Boulevard Seawall Boulevard is a major road in Galveston, Texas in the United States. The boulevard is conterminous with Farm to Market Road 3005 south of 61st Street. It runs along the Gulf coast waterfront of the island near the main parts of the city. I ...
and bounded by Ave. K, 23rd St., Ave. P, and 26th St., contains a collection of historic homes constructed from the Civil War through World War II. The East End Historic District on both sides of Broadway and Market Streets, contains 463 buildings. Other historic districts include Cedar Lawn, Denver Court and
Fort Travis Fort Travis Seashore Park is also the historic Fort Travis, a military site with bunkers. The park is located in an area known as ''Bolivar Point'', on the extreme west side of the Bolivar Peninsula in Galveston County, Texas. Early history M ...
. The Strand National Historic Landmark District is a
National Historic Landmark District National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ...
of mainly
Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwa ...
buildings that have been adapted for use as restaurants, antique stores, historical exhibits, museums and art galleries. The area is a major
tourist attraction A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or an exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural ...
for the island city. It is the center for two very popular seasonal
festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...
s. It is widely considered the island's shopping and entertainment center. Today, "the Strand" is generally used to refer to the five-block business district between 20th and 25th streets in downtown Galveston, near the city's wharf.


Oleander City

Since the early 20th century, Galveston has been popularly known as the 'Oleander City' because of a long history of cultivating Nerium oleander, a
subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical and climate zones to the north and south of the tropics. Geographically part of the temperate zones of both hemispheres, they cover the middle latitudes from to approximately 35° north a ...
evergreen shrub which thrives on the island. Oleanders are a defining feature of the city; when flowering (between April and October) they add masses of color to local gardens, parks, and streets. Thousands were planted in the recovery following the Hurricane of 1900 and Galvestonians continue to treasure the plant for its low water needs, tolerance of heat, salt spray and sandy soils. This makes them especially resistant to the after-effects of hurricanes and tropical storms. Galveston is reputed to have the most diverse range of Oleander cultivars in the world, numbering over 100, with many varieties developed in the city and named after prominent Galvestonians. In 2005 the month of May was declared "Oleander Month" by the City of Galveston and there are also Oleander-themed tours of the city exploring the history of the plant on the island. Since 1967 the International Oleander Society has operated in Galveston, which promotes the cultivation of the plant, organizes an Oleander festival every spring and maintains a commemorative Oleander garden in the city.


Architecture

Galveston contains a large and historically significant collection of 19th-century buildings in the United States. Galveston's architectural preservation and revitalization efforts over several decades have earned national recognition. Located in the Strand District, the
Grand 1894 Opera House The Grand 1894 Opera House in Galveston, Texas is currently operated as a not-for-profit performing arts theatre. The Romanesque Revival style Opera House is located at 2020 Post Office Street in Galveston's Historic Downtown Cultural Arts District ...
is a restored historic
Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...
style Opera House that is currently operated as a not-for-profit
performing arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Perfo ...
theater. The Bishop's Palace, also known as Gresham's Castle, is an ornate Victorian house located on Broadway and 14th Street in the East End Historic District of Galveston, Texas. The
American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to s ...
listed Bishop's Palace as one of the 100 most significant buildings in the United States, and the
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The libra ...
has classified it as one of the fourteen most representative Victorian structures in the nation. The Galvez Hotel is a historic hotel that opened in 1911.Carmack, Liz
''Historic Hotels of Texas''
, Texas A&M University Press: College Station, Texas, 2007. pp. 47–49.
The building was named the Galvez, honoring
Bernardo de Gálvez y Madrid, Count of Gálvez Bernardo is a given name and less frequently an Italian, Portuguese and Spanish surname. Possibly from the Germanic "Bernhard". Given name People * Bernardo the Japanese (died 1557), early Japanese Christian convert and disciple of Saint Fran ...
, for whom the city was named. The hotel was added to the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
on April 4, 1979. The Michel B. Menard House, built in 1838 and the oldest surviving structure in Galveston, is designed in the
Greek revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but a ...
style. In 1880, the house was bought by Edwin N. Ketchum who was police chief of the city during the 1900 Storm. The Ketchum family owned the home until the 1970s. Ashton Villa, a red-brick Victorian
Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian ...
home, was constructed in 1859 by James Moreau Brown. One of the first brick structures in Texas, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a recorded Texas Historic Landmark. The structure is also the site of what was to become the holiday known as
Juneteenth Juneteenth is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans. Deriving its name from combining "June" and "nineteenth", it is celebrated on the anniversary of General Order No. 3, i ...
, where on June 19, 1865, Union General Gordon Granger, standing on its balcony, read the contents of "General Order No. 3", thereby emancipating all slaves in the state of
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
. St. Joseph's Church was built by German immigrants in 1859–1860 and is the oldest wooden church building in Galveston and the oldest German Catholic Church in Texas. The church was dedicated in April 1860, to St. Joseph, the patron saint of laborers. The building is a wooden
gothic revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
structure, rectangular with a square bell tower with
trefoil A trefoil () is a graphic form composed of the outline of three overlapping rings, used in architecture and Christian symbolism, among other areas. The term is also applied to other symbols with a threefold shape. A similar shape with four ring ...
window. The U.S. Custom House began construction in 1860 and was completed in 1861. The
Confederate Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighti ...
occupied the building during the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...
, In 1865, the Custom House was the site of the ceremony officially ending the Civil War. Galveston's modern architecture include the
American National Insurance Company American National Insurance Company (ANICO) is a major American insurance corporation based in Galveston, Texas. The company and its subsidiaries operate in all 50 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Company description American National was founded in ...
Tower (
One Moody Plaza One Moody Plaza is a 23 floor skyscraper at 1902 Market Street in Downtown Galveston, Texas, Galveston, Texas, United States. The building was designed by the architectural firm of Neuhaus & Taylor. At its completion in 1972, One Moody Plaza was t ...
), San Luis Resort South and North Towers, The Breakers Condominiums, The Galvestonian Resort and Condos, One Shearn Moody Plaza, US National Bank Building, the Rainforest Pyramid at Moody Gardens,
John Sealy Hospital __NOTOC__ John Sealy Hospital is a hospital that is a part of the University of Texas Medical Branch complex in Galveston, Texas, United States. History Sealy opened on January 10, 1890. It was founded by the widow and brother of one of the rich ...
Towers at UTMB and Medical Arts Building (also known as Two Moody Plaza).


Climate

Galveston's climate is classified as humid subtropical (''Cfa'' in Köppen climate classification system), and is part of USDA Plant
hardiness zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...
9b. Prevailing winds from the south and southeast bring moisture from the
Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...
. Summer temperatures regularly exceed and the area's humidity drives the
heat index The heat index (HI) is an index that combines air temperature and relative humidity, in shaded areas, to posit a human-perceived equivalent temperature, as how hot it would feel if the humidity were some other value in the shade. The result is al ...
even higher, while nighttime lows average around . Winters in the area are temperate with typical January highs above and lows near . Snowfall is generally rare; however, of snow fell in February 1895, making the 1894–95 winter the snowiest on record. Annual rainfall averages well over a year with some areas typically receiving over . Temperatures reaching or are quite rare, having last occurred on December 23, 1989, and June 25, 2012, respectively. Record temperatures range from on February 12, 1899, up to on September 5, 2000; the record cold maximum is on February 7, 1895, and again on the date of the all-time low, while, conversely, the record warm minimum is set on August 31September 3, 2020. On average, the warmest night is at , seldom straying far from averages.
Hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Dep ...
s are an ever-present threat during the summer and fall season, which puts Galveston in Coastal Windstorm Area. Galveston Island and the
Bolivar Peninsula Bolivar Peninsula ( ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Galveston County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,417 at the 2010 census. The communities of Port Bolivar, Crystal Beach, Caplen, Gilchrist, and High Island are located on B ...
are generally at the greatest risk among the communities near the Galveston Bay. However, though the island and peninsula provide some shielding, the bay shoreline still faces significant danger from storm surge. Talks of building a coastal storm barrier with a mix of federal and state funding to protect Galveston and Houston have been ongoing for years. Notes:


Demographics


2020 census

As of the
2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to off ...
, there were 53,695 people, 21,683 households, and 11,368 families residing in the city.


2019

The
U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
estimated the city of Galveston had a population of 50,446 in 2019, a 5.7% increase from the 2010 census. The racial makeup of Galveston was 46.8%
non-Hispanic white Non-Hispanic whites or Non-Latino whites are Americans who are classified as "white", and are not of Hispanic (also known as "Latino") heritage. The United States Census Bureau defines ''white'' to include European Americans, Middle Eastern Am ...
, 18.3% Black or African American, 0.5% American Indian or Alaska Native, 3.2% Asian, 2.5% from two or more races, and 30.2% Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were an estimated 20,920 households in 2018 with an average of 2.20 persons per household. Galveston had an owner-occupied housing rate of 43.6% and the median value of an owner-occupied dwelling unit was $170,100. The city had a median gross rent of $936. From 2014-2018 the city had a median household income of $44,902 and per capita income of $29,733. Roughly 20.8% of the population lived at or below the poverty line.


2010 census

At the
census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...
of 2010, there were 47,743 people, 19,943 households, and 10,779 families residing in the city. d, the city had a total population of 50,550. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...
was 1,159 people per square mile (447/km2). There were 32,368 dwelling units at an average density of 786 per square mile (303/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 62.5%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...
, 19.2%
Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...
or
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.9% Native American, 3.2% Asian, <0.1%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...
, 11.0% from
other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 3.3% from two or more races. 31.3% of the population were
Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...
or Latino of any race. There were 19,943 households, out of which 20.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.4% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...
living together, 14.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.0% were non-families. 36.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 3.02. In the city, the population was 23.4% under the age of 13, 11.3% from 13 to 24, 29.8% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 88, and 13.7% who were 89 years of age or older in 2010. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.4 males. For every 100 females age 13 and over, there were 90.4 males. The median income for a household in the city was $28,895, and the median income for a family was $35,049. Males had a median income of $30,150 versus $26,030 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...
for the city was $18,275. About 17.8% of families and 22.3% of the population were below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 32.1% of those under age 13 and 14.2% of those age 89 or over.


Economy


Port of Galveston

The
Port of Galveston The Port of Galveston is the port of the city of Galveston, Texas. It was established by a proclamation issued by the Congress of Mexico on October 17, 1825, while the land known today as Texas was still part of Mexico. The Port of Galveston is ...
, also called Galveston Wharves, began as a trading post in 1825. Today, the port has grown to of port facilities. The port is located on the Gulf
Intracoastal Waterway The Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) is a inland waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United States, running from Massachusetts southward along the Atlantic Seaboard and around the southern tip of Florida, then following t ...
, on the north side of Galveston Island, with some facilities on Pelican Island. The port has facilities to handle all types of cargo including
containers A container is any receptacle or enclosure for holding a product used in storage, packaging, and transportation, including shipping. Things kept inside of a container are protected on several sides by being inside of its structure. The ter ...
, dry and liquid bulk,
breakbulk In shipping, break-bulk, breakbulk, or break bulk cargo, also called general cargo, refers to goods that are stowed on board ship in individually counted units. Traditionally, the large numbers of items are recorded on distinct bills of lading ...
,
Roll-on/roll-off Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or using ...
, refrigerated cargo and project cargoes. The port also serves as a passenger cruise ship terminal for cruise ships operating in the Caribbean. The terminal was home port to two
Carnival Cruise Lines Carnival Cruise Line is an international cruise line with headquarters in Doral, Florida. The company is a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc. Its logo is a funnel shaped like a whale's tail, with a red, white, and blue color scheme. Thi ...
vessels, the ''
Carnival Conquest ''Carnival Conquest'' is a cruise ship owned and operated by Carnival Cruise Line. She is the first of her namesake class, whose design is derived from the ''Destiny''-class of cruise ships. Sixty percent of her staterooms have ocean views, and ...
'' and the ''
Carnival Ecstasy ''Carnival Ecstasy'' (formerly ''Ecstasy'') was a operated by Carnival Cruise Line. Built by Kværner Masa-Yards at its Helsinki New Shipyard in Helsinki, Finland, she was floated out on January 6, 1991, and christened by television hostess, ...
''. In November 2011 the company made Galveston home port to its 3,960-passenger mega-ships '' Carnival Magic'' and ''
Carnival Triumph ''Carnival Sunrise'' (formerly ''Carnival Triumph'') is a operated by Carnival Cruise Line. As she and her three younger sisters (, , and ) are each a redesigned version of the lead ship in the class, she is sometimes referred to as the first ...
'' as well. In 2015, ''
Carnival Freedom ''Carnival Freedom'' is a operated by Carnival Cruise Line. She is the 22nd operating vessel in the fleet, and the last of the ''Conquest''-class ships. The ship was built as part of a four-ship deal with Fincantieri's Marghera shipyard and wa ...
'' relocated to Galveston, sailing seven-day cruises. Carnival replaced ''Carnival Magic'' and ''Carnival Triumph'' in the first half of 2016 with '' Carnival Breeze'' and '' Carnival Liberty'', respectively, but replaced ''Liberty'' with ''
Carnival Valor ''Carnival Valor'' is a post-Panamax operated by Carnival Cruise Line. The vessel was built by Fincantieri at its Monfalcone shipyard in Friuli-Venezia Giulia (northern Italy). She was floated out on March 27, 2004, and christened by America ...
'' later in the year due to mechanical issues. ''Carnival Breeze'' and ''Carnival Freedom'' sail seven-day Caribbean cruises, and ''Carnival Valor'' sails four- and five-day Caribbean cruises from Galveston. Carnival planned on replacing ''Breeze'' with '' Carnival Vista'' in 2018, and ''Valor'' with '' Carnival Dream'' in 2019. Galveston is the home port to
Royal Caribbean International Royal Caribbean International (RCI), also formerly known as Royal Caribbean Cruise Line (RCCL), is a cruise line brand founded in 1968 in Norway and organised as a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Caribbean Group since 1997. Based in Miami, Flo ...
's, MS ''Liberty of the Seas'', which is the largest cruise ship ever based here and one of the largest ships in the world. In September 2012
Disney Cruise Line Disney Cruise Line is a cruise line operation that is a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. The company was incorporated in 1996 as Magical Cruise Company Limited, through the first vessel, ''Disney Magic'' and is domiciled in London, Englan ...
's '' Disney Magic'' also became based in Galveston, offering four-, six-, seven-, and eight-day cruises to the Caribbean and the Bahamas.


Finance

American National Insurance Company American National Insurance Company (ANICO) is a major American insurance corporation based in Galveston, Texas. The company and its subsidiaries operate in all 50 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Company description American National was founded in ...
, one of the largest life insurance companies in the United States, is based in Galveston. The company and its subsidiaries operate in all 50 U.S. states, the
District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle (Washington, D.C.), Logan Circle, Jefferson Memoria ...
,
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
, and
American Samoa American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the Internatio ...
. Through its subsidiary, American National de México, Compañía de Seguros de Vida, it provides products and services in
Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...
.
Moody National Bank Moody National Bank (MNB) is a nationally chartered bank, founded in 1907, that is based in Galveston, Texas. With assets of nearly $1 billion, Moody Bank is one of the oldest and largest privately owned Texas-based banks. Its trust department, e ...
, with headquarters in downtown Galveston, is one of the largest privately owned Texas-based banks. Its trust department, established in 1927, administers over 12 billion dollars in assets, one of the largest in the state. In addition, the regional headquarters of Iowa-based United Fire & Casualty Company are located in the city.


Tourism

In the late 1800s Galveston was known as the "Playground of the South" Today, it still retains a shared claim to the title among major cities along the Gulf Coast states. Galveston is a popular tourist destination which in 2007 brought $808 million to the local economy and attracted 5.4 million visitors. The city features an array of lodging options, including hotels such as the historic
Hotel Galvez The Grand Galvez Resort & Spa is a historic 226-room resort hotel located in Galveston, Texas, United States that opened in 1911 as the Hotel Galvez. It was named to honor Bernardo de Gálvez, 1st Viscount of Galveston, for whom the city was name ...
and Tremont House, vintage bed and breakfast inns, and beachfront condominiums. The city's tourist attractions include the Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier, Galveston
Schlitterbahn Schlitterbahn is an American brand of water parks and resorts owned by Cedar Fair. It was previously a company family-owned-and-operated by the Henry family that was based in New Braunfels, Texas. Schlitterbahn opened its first location, Schlitt ...
waterpark,
Moody Gardens Moody Gardens is an educational tourist destination, with a golf course and hotel in Galveston, Texas which opened in 1986. The non-profit destination uses nature to educate and excite visitors about conservation and wildlife. Moody Gardens featu ...
botanical park, the Ocean Star Offshore Drilling Rig & Museum, the Lone Star Flight Museum,
Galveston Railroad Museum The Galveston Railroad Museum is a railroad museum housed in the former Santa Fe Railroad station, at 25th and Strand in Galveston, Texas. The Museum is owned and operated by the Center for Transportation and Commerce, a non-profit organization. ...
, a downtown neighborhood of historic buildings known as The Strand, many historical museums and mansions, and miles of beach front from the East End's Porretto Beach, Stewart Beach to the West End pocket parks. Previously Galveston had a aquarium theme park called Sea-Arama Marineworld, which opened in 1965, closed in January 1990, and was demolished in 2006. The Strand plays host to a yearly
Mardi Gras Mardi Gras (, ) refers to events of the Carnival celebration, beginning on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany (Three Kings Day) and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday, which is known as Shrove Tuesday. is French for "Fa ...
festival, Galveston Island Jazz & Blues Festival and a Victorian-themed
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...
festival called
Dickens on the Strand Dickens on the Strand is an annual Christmas festival organized by the Galveston Historical Foundation in Galveston, Texas occurring the first weekend in December. Established in 1974 and set against the historical backdrop of Galveston's Strand, ...
(honoring the works of novelist
Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...
, especially ''A Christmas Carol'') in early December. Galveston is home to several historic ships: the tall ship ''Elissa'' (the official Tall Ship of Texas) at the Texas Seaport Museum and USS ''Cavalla'' and , both berthed at
Seawolf Park Seawolf Park is a memorial to , a United States Navy mistakenly sunk by U.S. Navy forces in 1944 during World War II. It is located on Pelican Island (), just north of Galveston, Texas, in the United States. The park has two museum ships, submar ...
on nearby Pelican Island. Galveston is ranked the number one cruise port on the Gulf Coast and fourth in the United States. The Galveston Summer Musicals was a professional summer stock theater company performing at Galveston's Moody Gardens. Prior to 2004, they performed at the Mary Moody Northen Amphitheater in West Galveston Island.


Arts and culture


Galveston Arts Center

Incorporated in 1986, Galveston Arts Center (GAC) is a non-profit, non-collecting arts organization. The center exhibits contemporary art, often by Texas-based artists, and offers educational and outreach programs. Notably, GAC organizes and produces Galveston ArtWalk. Museum entry is free to the public. Galveston Arts Center is located in the historic 1878 First National Bank Building on the Strand. This Italianate-style 1900 Storm survivor was extensively damaged during Hurricane Ike in 2008, forcing the center to temporarily relocate to a nearby facility on Market Street. After a lengthy fundraising campaign, the total restoration of the original building was completed and Galveston Arts Center returned to the Strand in 2015.


Galveston ArtWalk

ArtWalk takes place approximately every six weeks on Saturday evenings throughout the year. ArtWalk is organized by Galveston Arts Center, which releases an ArtWalk brochure featuring a map of participating venues as well as descriptions of shows and exhibits. Venues include GAC, Galveston Artist Residency and artist's studios and galleries. Additionally, art is shown in "other walls"—for example MOD Coffeehouse or Mosquito Cafe—or outdoors at Art Market on Market Street. Musicians perform outdoors and at venues such as the Proletariat Gallery & Public House or Old Quarter Acoustic Cafe. While most ArtWalk events are concentrated downtown, there are a number or participants elsewhere on the island.


Music and performing arts


Galveston Symphony Orchestra

Galveston is home to the Galveston Symphony Orchestra, an ensemble of amateur and professional musicians formed in 1979 under the direction of Richard W. Pickar, Musical Director-Conductor.


Galveston Ballet

The Galveston Ballet is a regional pre-professional ballet company and academy serving Galveston county. The company presents one full-length classical ballet in the spring of each year and one mixed repertory program in the fall, both presented at the Grand 1894 Opera House.


Artist Residency and artist housing


Galveston Artist Residency

Galveston Artist Residency (GAR) grants studio space, living space and a stipend to three visual artists each year. Resident artists work in a variety of mediums and exhibit their work in the GAR Gallery and Courtyards. Located in renovated industrial structures on the west side of downtown, GAR also hosts performances and other public events.


The National Hotel Artist Lofts

The National Hotel Artist Lofts (NHAL) is an Artspace-developed property featuring twenty-seven live/work units designated as affordable housing for artists. The project brought new life to the historic E.S. Levy Building, which was left abandoned for twenty years. Originally built as the Tremont Opera House in 1870, the structure was extensively renovated to serve various functions, from offices and stores to the National Hotel. The building also housed the U.S. National Weather Bureau's Galveston office under Isaac Cline during the 1900 Storm. Under Property Manager/Creative Director Becky Major, the unused retail space in the front of the building found a new purpose as a DIY art and music venue, despite its gutted and undeveloped state. In May 2015, the newly renovated space reopened as the Proletariat Gallery & Public House. This bar and gallery provides a common area for NHAL and neighborhood residents and a cultural hub for the broader community. Visual art, events and live music are regularly hosted in the space.


Sculpture

Notable statues and sculptures in Galveston include: * ''1900 Storm Memorial'', by David W. Moore * ''Birth'', by Arthur Williams * ''Dignified Resignation'' by
Louis Amateis Louis Amateis, American sculptor born in Turin, Italy on December 13, 1855. Studying architecture at Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia and sculpture at the Royal Academy of Fine Art. He also studied in Milan and Paris before moving to New York City ...
at the Galveston County Courthouse. With his back turned to the US flag while carrying a
Confederate flag The flags of the Confederate States of America have a history of three successive designs during the American Civil War. The flags were known as the "Stars and Bars", used from 1861 to 1863; the "Stainless Banner", used from 1863 to 1865; and ...
, it is the only memorial in Texas to feature a Confederate sailor. * ''Dolphins'' by David W. Moore * ''High Tide'', by Charles Parks * ''Jack Johnson'', by Adrienne Isom * Pink Dolphin Monument, by Joe Joe Orangias * Texas Heroes Monument, by
Louis Amateis Louis Amateis, American sculptor born in Turin, Italy on December 13, 1855. Studying architecture at Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia and sculpture at the Royal Academy of Fine Art. He also studied in Milan and Paris before moving to New York City ...
* ''Hope'', by Doug McLean


Government


City government

After the hurricane of 1900, the city originated the city commission form of
city government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...
(which became known as the " Galveston Plan"). The city has since adopted the council-manager form of government. Galveston's city council serves as the city's legislative branch, while the city manager works as the chief executive officer, and the municipal court system serves as the city's judicial branch. The city council and mayor promote ordinances to establish municipal policies. The Galveston City Council consists of six elected positions, each derived from a specified
electoral district An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...
. Each city council member is elected to a two-year term, while the mayor is elected to a two-year term. The city council appoints the city manager, the city secretary, the city auditor, the city attorney, and the municipal judge. The city's Tax Collector is determined by the city council and is outsourced to Galveston County. The city manager hires employees, promotes development, presents and administers the budget, and implements city council policies. Craig Brown is Mayor.


County, state, and federal government

Galveston is the
seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense. Types of seat The following are examples of different kinds of seat: * Armchair, a chair ...
and second-largest city (after
League City, Texas League City is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, in Galveston County, within the metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 112,129. The city of League City has a small portion north of Clear Creek within Harris C ...
) of
Galveston County Galveston County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas, located along the Gulf Coast adjacent to Galveston Bay. As of the 2020 census, the population was 350,682. The county was founded in 1838. The county seat is the City of Galveston, ...
in population. The Galveston County Justice Center, which houses all the county's judicial functions as well as jail, is located on 59th street. The Galveston County Administrative Courthouse, the seat of civil and administrative functions, is located near the city's downtown. Galveston is within the County Precinct 1; Patrick Doyle serves as the Commissioner of Precinct 1. The Galveston County Sheriff's Office operates its law enforcement headquarters and jail from the Justice Center. The Galveston County Department of Parks and Senior Services operates the Galveston Community Center. Galveston is located in District 23 of the
Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abo ...
. , Mayes Middleton represents the district. Most of Galveston is within
District 17 A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivision ...
of the
Texas Senate The Texas Senate ( es, Senado de Texas) is the upper house of the Texas State Legislature. There are 31 members of the Senate, representing single-member districts across the U.S. state of Texas, with populations of approximately 806,000 per co ...
; Joan Huffman represents the district. A portion of Galveston is within
District 11 District 11 can refer to: * District 11 (Ho Chi Minh city), Vietnam * District 11 (Zürich), Switzerland * District 11, an electoral district of Malta *Colorado Springs School District 11, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States * District 11 ...
of the
Texas Senate The Texas Senate ( es, Senado de Texas) is the upper house of the Texas State Legislature. There are 31 members of the Senate, representing single-member districts across the U.S. state of Texas, with populations of approximately 806,000 per co ...
;
Larry Taylor Samuel Lawrence Taylor (June 26, 1942 – August 19, 2019) was an American bass guitarist, best known for his work as a member of Canned Heat from 1967. Before joining Canned Heat he had been a session bassist for The Monkees and Jerry Lee L ...
represents the district. Galveston is in
Texas's 14th congressional district Texas's 14th congressional district for the United States House of Representatives stretches from Freeport to Beaumont. It formerly covered the area south and southwest of the Greater Houston region, including Galveston, in the state of Texas ...
and is represented by
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
Randy Weber .


Education


Colleges and universities

Established in 1891 with one building and fewer than 50 students, today the
University of Texas Medical Branch The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) is a public academic health science center in Galveston, Texas. It is part of the University of Texas System. UTMB includes the oldest medical school in Texas, and has about 11,000 employees. In Febr ...
(UTMB) campus has grown to more than 70 buildings and an enrollment of more than 2,500 students. The campus includes schools of
medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...
,
nursing Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ...
, allied health professions, and a
graduate school Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and ...
of biomedical sciences, as well as three institutes for advanced studies & medical humanities, a major medical library, seven hospitals, a network of clinics that provide a full range of primary and specialized medical care, and numerous research facilities. Galveston is home to two post-secondary institutions offering traditional degrees in higher education. Galveston College, a junior college that opened in 1967, and Texas A&M University at Galveston, an ocean-oriented branch campus of
Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M Unive ...
.


Primary and secondary schools

The city of Galveston is served by
Galveston Independent School District Galveston Independent School District is a school district headquartered in Galveston, Texas, United States. In 2013, the school district was rated as having "Met Standard" by the Texas Education Agency. Catchment area Galveston ISD tak ...
, which includes six elementary schools, two
middle schools A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...
and one high school,
Ball High School Ball High School is a public secondary school in Galveston, Texas, United States. Ball, which covers grades 9 through 12, is a part of Galveston Independent School District. Ball High School serves the cities of Galveston and Jamaica Beach and ...
. There is also one magnet middle school, Austin Middle School, serving grades 5 through 8. Galveston has several state-funded
charter schools A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of autono ...
not affiliated with local school districts, including kindergarten through 8th grade Ambassadors Preparatory Academy and pre-kindergarten through 8th Grade Odyssey Academy. In addition KIPP: the Knowledge Is Power Program opened KIPP Coastal Village in Galveston under the auspices of GISD. Several private schools exist in Galveston. The
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
operates two Roman Catholic private schools, including Holy Family Catholic School (K through 8th) and
O'Connell College Preparatory School O'Connell College Preparatory School (formerly O'Connell Consolidated High School) is a 4-year coeducational parochial/private high school in Galveston, Texas, United States that offers university-preparatory programs. It was founded in 1968 as a ...
(9-12). Other private schools include Satori Elementary School, Trinity Episcopal School, Seaside Christian Academy, and Heritage Christian Academy. File:Galveston College Regent Hall.jpg, Galveston College File:Lovenberg Admin Building GISD.jpg, Galveston Independent School District Administration Building File:BHSGalvEntrance.jpg,
Ball High School Ball High School is a public secondary school in Galveston, Texas, United States. Ball, which covers grades 9 through 12, is a part of Galveston Independent School District. Ball High School serves the cities of Galveston and Jamaica Beach and ...
File:Central_Middle_School_Galveston_Texas.jpg, Central Middle School, formerly Central High School


Media

The '' Daily News'' (previously ''The Galveston County Daily News'') founded in 1842, is the city's primary newspaper and the oldest continuously printed newspaper in Texas. It currently serves as the
newspaper of record A newspaper of record is a major national newspaper with large circulation whose editorial and news-gathering functions are considered authoritative and independent; they are thus "newspapers of record by reputation" and include some of the ...
for the city and the ''Texas City Post'' serves as the newspaper of record for the county. Radio station
KGBC KGBC (1540 AM, 101.7 FM) is a terrestrial American brokered time AM radio facility, paired with an FM relay translator. KGBC is licensed to serve the City of Galveston, Texas. K269GS is licensed to serve Houston, broadcasting from a location n ...
, on air from 1947 to 2010, has previously served as a local media outlet. Television station
KHOU KHOU (channel 11) is a television station in Houston, Texas, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Conroe-licensed Quest station KTBU (channel 55). Both stations share studios on Westheimer Road near Uptow ...
signed on the air as KGUL-TV on March 23, 1953. Originally licensed in Galveston, KGUL was the second television station to launch in the Houston area after
KPRC-TV KPRC-TV (channel 2) is a television station in Houston, Texas, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Graham Media Group. Its studios are located on Southwest Freeway (I-69/US 59) in the Southwest Management District (formerly Greater ...
. One of the original investors in the station was actor
James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality ...
, along with a small group of other Galveston investors. In June 1959, KGUL changed its
call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally ass ...
to KHOU and moved their main office to Houston. The local hip hop name for Galveston is "G-town".


Infrastructure


Healthcare

Galveston is the home of several of the largest
teaching hospitals A teaching hospital is a hospital or medical centre that provides medical education and training to future and current health professionals. Teaching hospitals are almost always affiliated with one or more universities and are often co-locate ...
in the state, located on the campus of the
University of Texas Medical Branch The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) is a public academic health science center in Galveston, Texas. It is part of the University of Texas System. UTMB includes the oldest medical school in Texas, and has about 11,000 employees. In Febr ...
at Galveston. Prior to
Hurricane Ike Hurricane Ike () was a powerful tropical cyclone that swept through portions of the Greater Antilles and Northern America in September 2008, wreaking havoc on infrastructure and agriculture, particularly in Cuba and Texas. Ike took a sim ...
, the University employed more than 12,000 people. Its significant growth in the 1970s and 1980s was attributable to a uniquely qualified management and medical faculty including: Mr. John Thompson; Dr. William James McGanity, Dr. William Levin, Dr. David Daeschner and many more. Ike severely damaged the 550-bed
John Sealy Hospital __NOTOC__ John Sealy Hospital is a hospital that is a part of the University of Texas Medical Branch complex in Galveston, Texas, United States. History Sealy opened on January 10, 1890. It was founded by the widow and brother of one of the rich ...
causing the
University of Texas System The University of Texas System (UT System) is an American government entity of the state of Texas that includes 13 higher educational institutions throughout the state including eight universities and five independent health institutions. The UT ...
Board of Regents In the United States, a board often governs institutions of higher education, including private universities, state universities, and community colleges. In each US state, such boards may govern either the state university system, individual c ...
to cut nearly one-third of the hospital staff. Since the storm, the regents have committed to spending $713 million to restore the campus, construct new medical towers, and return John Sealy Hospital to its 550-bed pre-storm capacity. In 2011, the UT Board of Regents approved the construction of a new 13 story hospital that will be located next to John Sealy Hospital. Construction will begin in the fall of 2011, with the demolition of the old Jennie Sealy and Shriners hospitals, and continue until completion in 2016. The facility will have 250 room, 20 operating suites and 54 intensive care beds. When the new hospital is complete, along with the renovations at John Sealy, both complexes will have around 600 beds. The university reopened their
Level I Trauma Center A trauma center (or trauma centre) is a hospital equipped and staffed to provide care for patients suffering from major traumatic injuries such as falls, motor vehicle collisions, or gunshot wounds. A trauma center may also refer to an emergen ...
on August 1, 2009, which had been closed for eleven months after the hurricane and, , had reopened 370 hospital beds. The city is also home to a 30-bed
acute Acute may refer to: Science and technology * Acute angle ** Acute triangle ** Acute, a leaf shape in the glossary of leaf morphology * Acute (medicine), a disease that it is of short duration and of recent onset. ** Acute toxicity, the adverse ef ...
burn A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, cold, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ultraviolet radiation (like sunburn). Most burns are due to heat from hot liquids (called scalding), solids, or fire. Burns occur ma ...
s hospital for children, the Shriners Burns Hospital at Galveston. The Galveston hospital is one of only four in the chain of 22
non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
Shriners hospitals, that provides acute burns care. Although the Galveston Hospital was damaged by Hurricane Ike, the Shriners national convention held in July 2009 voted to repair and reopen the hospital.


Fire department

The Galveston Fire Department provides
fire protection Fire protection is the study and practice of mitigating the unwanted effects of potentially destructive fires. It involves the study of the behaviour, compartmentalisation, suppression and investigation of fire and its related emergencies, as we ...
services through six fire stations and 17 pieces of apparatus. Th
Galveston Police Department
has provided the city's
police protection The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...
for more than 165 years. Over 170 authorized officers serve in three divisions.


Library

The city is served by the
Rosenberg Library Rosenberg Library, a public library located at 2310 Sealy Street in Galveston, Texas, United States, is the oldest continuously operating library in Texas. It serves as headquarters of the Galveston County Library System and its librarian also f ...
, successor to the Galveston Mercantile Library, which was founded in 1871. It is the oldest public library in the State of Texas. The library also serves as headquarters of the
Galveston County Library System Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galves ...
, and its librarian also functions as the Galveston County Librarian.


Courts

The Galveston Division of the
United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas (in case citations, S.D. Tex.) is the federal district court with jurisdiction over the southeastern part of Texas. The court's headquarters is in Houston, Texas and has six ...
, the first federal court in Texas, is based in Galveston and has jurisdiction over the counties of Galveston, Brazoria, Chambers and Matagorda. It is housed in the United States Post Office, Customs House and Court House federal building in downtown Galveston. The
United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the ...
operates several post offices in Galveston, including the Galveston Main Post Office and the Bob Lyons Post Office Station. In addition the post office has a contract postal unit at the Medical Branch Unit on the campus of the
University of Texas Medical Branch The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) is a public academic health science center in Galveston, Texas. It is part of the University of Texas System. UTMB includes the oldest medical school in Texas, and has about 11,000 employees. In Febr ...
and the West Galveston Contract Postal Unit, located on the west end of Galveston Island in the beachside community of Jamaica Beach.


Transportation


Sea

Galveston is home to several historic ships: the tall ship ''Elissa'' (the official Tall Ship of Texas) at the Texas Seaport Museum and USS ''Cavalla'' and USS ''Stewart'', both berthed at Seawolf Park on nearby Pelican Island. Galveston is ranked the number one cruise port on the Gulf Coast and fourth in the United States.


Air

Scholes International Airport at Galveston Scholes International Airport at Galveston is three miles southwest of Galveston, in Galveston County, Texas, United States. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a '' reliever airport''. The airpor ...
is a two-runway airport in Galveston; the airport is primarily used for general aviation, offshore energy transportation, and some limited military operations. The nearest commercial airline service for the city is operated out of Houston through William P. Hobby Airport and
George Bush Intercontinental Airport George Bush Intercontinental Airport is an international airport in Houston, Texas, United States, serving the Greater Houston metropolitan area. Located about north of Downtown Houston between Interstate 45 and Interstate 69/U.S. Highway 5 ...
. The
University of Texas Medical Branch The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) is a public academic health science center in Galveston, Texas. It is part of the University of Texas System. UTMB includes the oldest medical school in Texas, and has about 11,000 employees. In Febr ...
has two heliports, one for Ewing Hall and one for its emergency room.


Railroad

The Galveston Railway, originally established and named in 1854 as the Galveston Wharf and Cotton Press Company, is a Class III terminal switching railroad that primarily serves the transportation of cargo to and from the Port of Galveston. The railway operates of yard track at Galveston, over a facility. The Galveston Railroad today owned Rail Link Inc. interchanges with the Union Pacific Railroad Company and BNSF Railway Company on Galveston Island. The two class one Railroads reach Galveston by way of a new vertical lift railroad causeway bridge that crosses Galveston Bay next to the Interstate-45 bridge. The city last had direct intercity
passenger train A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) hauled by one or more locomotives, or may be self-propelled; self p ...
service in 1967 with the
Santa Fe Railroad The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison and Topeka, Kansas, and ...
's ''
Texas Chief The ''Texas Chief'' was a passenger train operated by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway between Chicago, Illinois, and Galveston, Texas. It was the first Santa Fe "Chief" outside the Chicago–Los Angeles routes. The Santa Fe conveyed the ...
'' from
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
. Galveston is served by
Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach Amtrak Thruway is a system of through-ticketed transportation services to connect passengers with areas not served by Amtrak trains. In most cases these are dedicated motorcoach routes, but can also be non-dedicated intercity bus services, trans ...
service at Galveston Amtrak bus stop, with service to Houston for
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. ...
's ''
Sunset Limited The ''Sunset Limited'' is an Amtrak passenger train that for most of its history has operated between New Orleans and Los Angeles, over the nation's second transcontinental route. However, up until Hurricane Katrina in 2005, it operated betw ...
'', continuing further north to Longview for Amtrak's ''
Texas Eagle The ''Texas Eagle'' is a daily passenger train route operated by Amtrak between Chicago and San Antonio in the central and western United States. Prior to 1988, the train was known as the ''Eagle''. Trains #21 (southbound) and 22 (northbound) ...
''.


Roads

John D. Groesbeck surveyed and mapped the town in 1837 and 1838 on behalf of the Galveston City Company. A new Galveston resident most recently from New York City, he laid out the streets based on a gridiron, and named the east–west avenues according to letters of the alphabet, with Avenue A running along the back bay on the north side of the island. He assigned numbers to names of north–south streets, with First Street on the far eastern side of the grid, and the numbered street names increased as they progressed westward. The names of some of the avenues changed over the years. Most notably, Avenue B became known as The Strand, and Avenue J became known as Broadway, a major thoroughfare which runs from the Interstate-45 viaduct to Seawall Boulevard.
Interstate 45 Interstate 45 (I-45) is a major Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of Texas. While most Interstate routes which have numbers ending in "5" are cross-country north–south routes, I-45 is comparatively short, with the ...
has a southern terminus in Galveston and serves as a main artery to Galveston from mainland Galveston County and
Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...
. US Route 75 used to reach Galveston before it was decommissioned in 1987 from Dallas.
Farm to Market Road 3005 A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used f ...
(locally called
Seawall Boulevard Seawall Boulevard is a major road in Galveston, Texas in the United States. The boulevard is conterminous with Farm to Market Road 3005 south of 61st Street. It runs along the Gulf coast waterfront of the island near the main parts of the city. I ...
) connects Galveston to
Brazoria County Brazoria County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the county was 372,031. The county seat is Angleton. Brazoria County is included in the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land metropolitan statis ...
via the San Luis Pass-Vacek Toll Bridge. State Highway 87, known locally as Broadway Street, connects the island to the
Bolivar Peninsula Bolivar Peninsula ( ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Galveston County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,417 at the 2010 census. The communities of Port Bolivar, Crystal Beach, Caplen, Gilchrist, and High Island are located on B ...
via the Bolivar Ferry. A project to construct the proposed Bolivar Bridge to link Galveston to Bolivar Peninsula was cancelled in 2007. * * * * * *


Transit

Island Transit, which operates the
Galveston Island Trolley The Galveston Island Trolley is a heritage streetcar network in Galveston, Texas, United States. As of late 2006, the total network length was 6.8 miles (10.9 km) with 22 stations. The Galveston Island Trolley is operated by Island Transit. ...
manages the city's public transportation services. Intercity bus service to Galveston was previously operated by Kerrville Bus Company; following the company's acquisition by Coach USA, service was operated by
Megabus Megabus may refer to: * Megabus (Europe), a low-cost coach service with services in Europe owned by ComfortDelGro. * Megabus (North America), a low-cost bus service in the United States and Canada owned by Variant Equity Advisors. * Megabús, a ...
.


Sports

Galveston was home to minor league baseball from 1888–1955. The
Galveston White Caps Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galves ...
(1950–1955),
Galveston Buccaneers The Galveston Buccaneers were a Minor League Baseball team that existed from 1931 to 1937. Based in Galveston, Texas, United States, they played in the Texas League. Their home ballpark was Moody Stadium. Notable players include Del Pratt, Beau Be ...
(1931–1937)
Galveston Sand Crabs The Galveston Sand Crabs were a professional baseball team based in Texas. The team competed in the South Texas League and Texas League, and was an active baseball team from the 1903 season until the 1912 season and from 1922 to 1924. The team l ...
(1889–1890, 1892, 1897–1899, 1907–1911, 1922–1924) Galveston Pirates (1912–1917, 1919–1921) and
Galveston Giants Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...
(1888) all called Galveston home. Galveston was a member of the
Big State League The Big State League was a mid-level, Class B level circuit in American minor league baseball that played for 11 seasons, from 1947 through 1957. Its member clubs were exclusively based in Texas. The Corpus Christi Clippers (1955-1956), Texark ...
(1954–1955),
Gulf Coast League The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the l ...
(1950–1953) and
Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...
(1888–1890, 1892, 1897–1899, 1907–1917, 1919–1924, 1931–1937). The teams played at Moody Stadium/White Cap Stadium (1931–1937, 1950–1955), Gulfview Park (1921–1924)/Pirate Field (1915–1920) and Beach Park (1888–1915).


Notable people

Galveston has been home to many important figures in Texas and U.S. history. During the island's earliest history it became the domain of
Jean Lafitte Jean Lafitte ( – ) was a French pirate and privateer who operated in the Gulf of Mexico in the early 19th century. He and his older brother Pierre spelled their last name Laffite, but English language documents of the time used "Lafitte". Th ...
, the famed
pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
and American hero of the
War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...
. Richard Bache, Jr. who represented Galveston in the Senate of the Second Texas Legislature in 1847 and assisted in drawing up the Constitution of 1845 was another. He was also the grandson of
Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading int ...
, one of the
Founding Fathers of the United States The Founding Fathers of the United States, known simply as the Founding Fathers or Founders, were a group of late-18th-century American revolutionary leaders who united the Thirteen Colonies, oversaw the war for independence from Great Britai ...
of America and Deborah Read. In 1886, the
African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...
Galveston civil rights leader Norris Wright Cuney rose to become the head of the
Texas Republican Party The Republican Party of Texas (RPT) is the affiliate of the United States Republican Party in the state of Texas. It is currently chaired by Matt Rinaldi, succeeding Allen West who resigned prior to the expiration of his term to run for governo ...
and one of the most important
Southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...
black leaders of the century. The president of
Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...
Blake R. Van Leer also played an important role during the civil rights movement in the 1950s. Van Leer grew up in an orphanage on the Island. Noted portrait and landscape artist
Verner Moore White Verner Moore White (October 5, 1863 - August 30, 1923), born Thomas Verner Moore White but informally known as Verner White, was an American landscape and portrait painter. White painted works for many of the business and political leaders of h ...
moved from Galveston the day before the 1900 hurricane. While he survived, his studio and much of his portfolio were destroyed. A survivor of the hurricane was the
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...
director
King Vidor King Wallis Vidor (; February 8, 1894 – November 1, 1982) was an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter whose 67-year film-making career successfully spanned the silent and sound eras. His works are distinguished by a vivid, ...
, who made his directing debut in 1913 with the film ''
Hurricane in Galveston ''Hurricane in Galveston'' is a 1913 American short documentary directed by King Vidor. It was Vidor's debut film as a director. Production King Vidor and Ray Clough produced and photographed the film using a homemade camera borrowed from a ...
''. Later Jack Johnson, nicknamed the "Galveston Giant", became the first black world heavyweight boxing champion. During the first half of the 20th century, William L. Moody Jr. established a business empire, which includes
American National Insurance Company American National Insurance Company (ANICO) is a major American insurance corporation based in Galveston, Texas. The company and its subsidiaries operate in all 50 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Company description American National was founded in ...
, a major national insurer, and founded the
Moody Foundation The Moody Foundation is a charitable foundation incorporated in Texas and based in the island city of Galveston. It was chartered in 1942 by William Lewis Moody Jr. and his wife Libbie Rice Shearn Moody ''"to benefit, in perpetuity, present and ...
, one of the largest charitable organizations in the United States.
Sam Maceo Salvatore V. "Sam" Maceo (; March 1, 1894 – April 16, 1951) was an American business entrepreneur, power broker and racketeer in Galveston, Texas, who controlled both the government and organized crime in the city for almost 30 years. During ...
, a nationally known
organized crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...
boss, with the help of his family, was largely responsible for making Galveston a major U.S. tourist destination from the 1920s to the 1940s. John H. Murphy, a Texas newspaperman for seventy-four years, was the longtime executive vice president of the Texas Daily Newspaper Association.
Douglas Corrigan Douglas Corrigan (January 22, 1907 – December 9, 1995) was an American aviator, nicknamed "Wrong Way" in 1938. After a transcontinental flight in July from Long Beach, California, to New York City, he then flew from Floyd Bennett Field in Brook ...
became one of the early transatlantic aviators, and was given the nickname "Wrong Way" for claiming to have mistakenly made the ocean crossing after being refused permission to make the flight. Grammy-award-winning singer-songwriter
Barry White Barry Eugene Carter (September 12, 1944 – July 4, 2003), better known by his stage name Barry White, was an American singer and songwriter. A two-time Grammy Award winner known for his bass voice and romantic image, his greatest success came ...
was born on the island and later moved to Los Angeles. Cody Lynn Boyd, Texas singer-songwriter was raised as a child in Galveston, Texas until Hurricane Rita. He moved to the North Texas area after. A portion of his music has some influence from the ghost culture in Galveston, Texas.
George P. Mitchell George Phydias Mitchell (May 21, 1919 – July 26, 2013) was an American businessman, real estate developer and philanthropist from Texas credited with pioneering the economic extraction of shale gas. According to ''The Economist,'' "few busine ...
, pioneer of
hydraulic fracturing Fracking (also known as hydraulic fracturing, hydrofracturing, or hydrofracking) is a well stimulation technique involving the fracturing of bedrock formations by a pressurized liquid. The process involves the high-pressure injection of "fra ...
technology and developer of
The Woodlands, Texas The Woodlands is a special-purpose district and census-designated place (CDP) in the U.S. state of Texas in the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan statistical area. The Woodlands is primarily located in Montgomery County, with p ...
, was born and raised in Galveston.
Anita Martini Anita Marie Martini (March 3, 1939 - July 10, 1993) was an American sports journalist and broadcaster. She was the first woman to cover a Major League Baseball (MLB) All-Star Game (1973) and the first female journalist allowed into a baseball loc ...
, pioneering female sports journalist who was the first woman allowed in a major league locker room for a post-game press conference, was born in Galveston. Surfer
Dorian "Doc" Paskowitz Dorian "Doc" Paskowitz (March 3, 1921 – November 10, 2014) was an American surfer and physician, who gave up practicing medicine for a living and decided to become a professional surfer. In 1972, he founded a surf camp run by his family, wh ...
was born in Galveston. Professional baseball pitcher Sig Jakucki made Galveston his home after joining the
Galveston Buccaneers The Galveston Buccaneers were a Minor League Baseball team that existed from 1931 to 1937. Based in Galveston, Texas, United States, they played in the Texas League. Their home ballpark was Moody Stadium. Notable players include Del Pratt, Beau Be ...
in 1934. He is best remembered for defeating the
New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one ...
in the final game of the 1944 MLB season, giving the St. Louis Browns their only pennant.
Terran Petteway Terran Petteway (born October 8, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for Hapoel Eilat of the Israeli Basketball Premier League. He played college basketball for Texas Tech University and the University of Nebraska. Petteway led ...
, a basketball player in the
Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl ( he, ליגת העל, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is the top-tier level league of professional competition in Israeli club basketball, making it Israel's primary basketball c ...
, was born in Galveston. More recently
Tilman J. Fertitta Tilman Joseph Fertitta (born 1957) is an American billionaire businessman and television personality. He is the chairman, CEO, and owner of Landry's, Inc. He also owns the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s Houston Rockets. Fertitta is ch ...
, part of the Maceo bloodline, established the Landry's Restaurants corporation, which owns numerous restaurants and entertainment venues in Texas and Nevada.
Kay Bailey Hutchison Kay Bailey Hutchison (born Kathryn Ann Bailey; July 22, 1943) is an American attorney, television correspondent, politician, diplomat, and was the 22nd United States Permanent Representative to NATO from 2017 until 2021. A member of the Republic ...
was the senior
senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
from Texas and the first female Texas senator. Gilbert Pena, former Republican member of the
Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abo ...
from Pasadena, was born in Galveston in 1949 and lived there in early childhood. Jonathan Pollard, who spied for
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
and was convicted in the US and sentenced to life in jail, was born in Galveston. The film and television actor Lee Patterson, a native of
Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...
, lived in Galveston and died there in 2007. Other notable people include Matt Carpenter of the
New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one ...
, Mike Evans, wide receiver for the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...
, 1998
Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and har ...
runner-up and pro quarterback Michael Bishop, Pittsburgh Steelers great
Casey Hampton Casey Hampton Jr. (born September 3, 1977) is a former American football nose tackle who played twelve seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Texas, and recei ...
, comedian
Bill Engvall William Ray Engvall Jr. (born July 27, 1957) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and television host. Engvall has released a number of stand-up comedy albums through Warner Records and the defunct BNA Records. His most commercially success ...
, actresses
Valerie Perrine Valerie Ritchie Perrine (born September 3, 1943) is an American actress. For her role as Honey Bruce in the 1974 film ''Lenny'', she won the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles, the Cannes Film Festival Award for Bes ...
and
Katherine Helmond Katherine Marie Helmond (July 5, 1929 – February 23, 2019) was an American actress. Over her five decades of television acting, she was known for her starring role as Jessica Tate on the sitcom ''Soap'' (1977–1981) and her co-starring role as ...
, painter
Ethel Fisher Ethel Fisher (née Blankfield; 1923–2017) was an American painter whose career spanned more than seven decades in New York City, Miami and Los Angeles.Preston, Stuart ''The New York Times'', February 20, 1960, p. 21. Retrieved May 5, 2020.Alf, ...
,
Tina Knowles Tina may refer to: People * Tina (given name), people and fictional characters with the given name ''Tina'' Places *Tina, Iran, a village in Khuzestan Province, Iran *Tina, Tunisia, a town in Sfax Governorate, Tunisia *Tina, Guadalcanal, Solomon ...
fashion designer and creator of
House of Deréon House of Deréon was a ready-to-wear fashion line introduced by singer and actress Beyoncé and her mother/stylist Tina Lawson. The style and concept is inspired by three generations of women in their family, with the name "Deréon" paying tribut ...
, mother of
Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...
and
Solange Knowles Solange Piaget Knowles (; born June 24, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter, performance artist, and actress. Expressing an interest in music from an early age, Knowles had several temporary stints as a backup dancer for Destiny's Child, whi ...
, and Grammy award-winning R&B and Jazz legend
Esther Phillips Esther Phillips (born Esther Mae Jones; December 23, 1935 – August 7, 1984) was an American singer, best known for her R&B vocals.Santelli, Robert (2001). ''The Big Book of Blues: A Biographical Encyclopedia''. Penguin Books. p. 376. . She ...
, born in Galveston in 1935 * Brandon Backe (born 1978), former
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...
pitcher for the
Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home ve ...
and
Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after s ...
who played in the
2005 World Series The 2005 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2005 season. The 101st edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Chicago White Sox and the National ...


Galveston in media and literature

*"
Galveston Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Ga ...
" is the name of a popular song written by
Jimmy Webb Jimmy Layne Webb (born August 15, 1946) is an American songwriter, composer, and singer. He has written numerous platinum-selling songs, including " Up, Up and Away", " By the Time I Get to Phoenix", " MacArthur Park", " Wichita Lineman", " Wo ...
and sung by
Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor and television host. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting '' The Glen Campbell Good ...
. * ''
4 for Texas ''4 for Texas'' is a 1963 American comedy Western film starring Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Anita Ekberg, and Ursula Andress, and featuring Charles Bronson and Mike Mazurki, with a cameo appearance by Arthur Godfrey and the Three Stooges (Larr ...
'' (1963), a motion picture set in Galveston. *
Sheldon Cooper Sheldon Lee Cooper, Ph.D., Sc.D., is a fictional character in the CBS television series '' The Big Bang Theory'' and its spinoff series '' Young Sheldon'', portrayed by actors Jim Parsons and Iain Armitage respectively (with Parsons as the la ...
, one of the main characters from the CBS
sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...
''
The Big Bang Theory ''The Big Bang Theory'' is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, both of whom served as executive producers on the series, along with Steven Molaro, all of whom also served as head writers. It premiered on CBS ...
'', was born in Galveston. * The
Walter M. Miller Jr. Walter Michael Miller Jr. (January 23, 1923 – January 9, 1996) was an American science fiction writer. His fix-up novel, ''A Canticle for Leibowitz'' (1959), the only novel published in his lifetime, won the 1961 Hugo Award for Best Novel. Pr ...
novella '' Dark Benediction'' (1951) takes place partly in Galveston during the outbreak of a mysterious plague. *
Donald Barthelme Donald Barthelme (April 7, 1931 – July 23, 1989) was an American short story writer and novelist known for his playful, postmodernist style of short fiction. Barthelme also worked as a newspaper reporter for the ''Houston Post'', was managing ...
's 1974
short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...
"I bought a little city" is about an unnamed man who invests his fortune in buying Galveston, only to sell it thereafter. * Galveston is the setting of Sean Stewart's 2000 fantasy novel ''Galveston'', in which a Flood of Magic takes over the island city, resulting in strange and carnivalesque adventures. It tied in 2001 with '' Declare'', by
Tim Powers Timothy Thomas Powers (born February 29, 1952) is an American science fiction and fantasy author. Powers has won the World Fantasy Award twice for his critically acclaimed novels '' Last Call'' and ''Declare''. His 1987 novel ''On Stranger Tide ...
, for the
World Fantasy Award for Best Novel In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...
. It also won the 2001
Sunburst Award The Sunburst Award for Canadian Literature of the Fantastic is an annual award given for a speculative fiction novel or a book-length collection. History The name of the award comes from the title of the first novel by Phyllis Gotlieb, ''Sunburs ...
and was a preliminary nominee for the
Nebula Award for Best Novel The Nebula Award for Best Novel is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) for science fiction or fantasy novels. A work of fiction is considered a novel by the organization if it is 40,000 words or longer; a ...
. * ''The Drowning House'', a novel by Elizabeth Black (2013), is an exploration of the island of Galveston, Texas, and the intertwined histories of two families who reside there. * ''Galveston'' (2010) is the first novel by
Nic Pizzolatto Nicholas Austin Pizzolatto (born October 18, 1975) is an American writer, producer and director. He is best known for creating the HBO crime drama series ''True Detective''. Early life Pizzolatto was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is of Ita ...
, the creator of the
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
series ''True Detective''. * '' The Jinx'' (2015), an
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
miniseries, features Galveston as the location of one of Robert Durst's murders which took place in 2001. * The 2018 criminal thriller ''
Galveston Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galvesto ...
'', directed by
Mélanie Laurent Mélanie Laurent (; born 21 February 1983) is a French actress, filmmaker, and singer. The recipient of two César Awards and a Lumières Award, she is an accomplished actress in the French film industry. Globally, she is best known for her rol ...
, and starring
Ben Foster Ben Foster may refer to: *Ben Foster (actor) (born 1980), American actor *Ben Foster (footballer) (born 1983), English goalkeeper *Ben Foster (composer) (born 1977), British composer, orchestrator and conductor * Ben Foster (director) (born 1984), ...
,
Beau Bridges Lloyd Vernet "Beau" Bridges III (born December 9, 1941) is an American actor and director. He is a three-time Emmy, two-time Golden Globe and one-time Grammy Award winner, as well as a two-time Screen Actors Guild Award nominee. Bridges was a ...
and
Elle Fanning Mary Elle Fanning (born April 9, 1998) is an American actress. She made her film debut as the younger version of her sister Dakota Fanning's character in the drama film '' I Am Sam'' (2001). As a child actress, she appeared in several films, i ...
, was set in and around the city of Galveston. *
Magnolia Network Magnolia Network is an American basic cable network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and Chip and Joanna Gaines. It broadcasts personality-based lifestyle programs related to topics such as home construction, renovation, and cuisine. The channe ...
's programming includes ''Restoring Galveston'' (formerly known as ''Big Texas Fix'') which shows local Galveston homes being restored and remodeled.


Sister cities

Galveston's
sister cities A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...
are: *
Macharaviaya Macharaviaya is a municipality in the province of Málaga in the mountains of the autonomous community of Andalusia in the south of Spain. It is located in the comarca of La Axarquía. The village was built upon the ruins of an old Moorish sett ...
, Spain * Niigata, Japan *
Stavanger Stavanger (, , American English, US usually , ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the fourth largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the a ...
, Norway *
Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...
, Mexico


See also

* Galveston Movement * History of the Jews in Galveston, Texas *
Juneteenth Juneteenth is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans. Deriving its name from combining "June" and "nineteenth", it is celebrated on the anniversary of General Order No. 3, i ...
*'' Isaac's Storm''


Notes


References

* Larson, Erik. '' Isaac's Storm'', New York: Vintage Books, 2000. * 7799766866800-08
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External links

*
Galveston Island Convention and Visitors Bureau
(commercial)
Galveston Chamber of Commerce
{{Pirates Capitals of former nations Cities in Galveston County, Texas Cities in Texas County seats in Texas
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
Galveston Bay Area Greater Houston Pirate dens and locations Populated coastal places in Texas Port cities and towns in Texas Populated places established in the 1830s Seaside resorts in Texas