Chapter 20 Section 1

Galveston, Texas• Galveston is located on Galveston Island,

2 miles off the Texas coast, and 50 SE of Houston

• Galveston has been the home to Native Americans, Pirates, Revolutionary Governments and many Texas residents

• The city of Galveston was begun in April of 1838 and was officially organized in 1839

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Old_map-Galveston-1871.jpg

Galveston, Texas

• Mexico had used Galveston as a point of entry and used it as a port due to its naturally deep harbor.

• During the 1800s Galveston was a center for Cotton shipping for Texas and the United States.

• It grew to be the largest city in Texas by 1870 and remained that way through 1880 with a population of 22,248 people

Loading Cotton in GalvestonLoading Cotton in Galveston

“The Wall Street of the Southwest”

• During the late 1800s Galveston was Texas’ most refined city.

• Beautiful architecture adorned the streets of the city, and Galveston enjoyed its role as the financial center of Texas, a true White-Collar City.

• Galveston was the first Texas city to have electric lights, a telephone and baseball team

Ashton VillaAshton Villa

The Bishops PalaceThe Bishops Palace

The Grand 1894 The Grand 1894 Opera HouseOpera House

September 1900

• By early September, 1900, citizens of Galveston had heard there was a storm in the Gulf of Mexico, but they did not know how powerful it was

• Most citizens disregarded the warnings given by Isaac Cline, the city’s representative of the U.S. Weather Bureau

Dr. Isaac Cline

September 7, 1900• Dr. Cline notices unusual swells in the

gulf as he makes his rounds, but nothing signaling what’s to come.

• Dr. Cline continued to receive messages from the Weather bureau as Galveston had been put under a storm warning as early as Sept 4.

• Galveston’s 38,000 residents go to sleep that night unaware of the fate that awaits them

1900 Storm Path

Hurricane Ike Path

September 8, 1900• Early in the day, water begins to flood

homes blocks from the beach

• Galveston’s highest point above sea level was only 8.7 feet and people begin to move to higher ground and into tall buildings

• As the flood waters rise the bridge to mainland is destroyed by a boat that escapes its moorings

• By the early evening, the winds began to blow the deadly storm surge onto the island

• A storm surge of 15.7 feet swept over the island and completely submerged it. People fled to the second and third stories of high buildings

• The winds estimated at near 130 mph gusts

September 8, 1900

September 8, 1900

• As people fled the storm, many were killed by flying debris from houses that had been destroyed by wind and water

• People clung to anything to keep themselves afloat.

• By night time the city was in utter darkness as the gasworks for city lighting was destroyed.

September 8, 1900• By 11:00 pm, the winds turned from

the south and the storm began to weaken

• By the next morning the storm was gone and devastation was left in its wake:

1. 6,000-8,000 people dead on the island

2. 3,600 building destroyed

3. $20 million in damage done to the island

Causeway before the storm

Causeway after the storm

Aftermath• Galveston had to recover

• Bodies were collected to be identified and then a plan was made to dispose of them

• Bodies were staked on barges and weighted down to be sunk in the gulf. A few days later the bodies washed back onto the island.

Aftermath• The city officials decided to burn all the

bodies, and began to stack them down on the beaches. Many African-American citizens were put in charge of burning the bodies.

• Galveston asked for assistance from the governor to prevent riots in the city

• 125 people were shot for looting from houses and from the dead bodies.

Changes

• Galveston changed its City Government to a commission system to speed up the process of recovering

• A seawall was proposed to block the island from deadly storm surges and the the city planned to raise it’s elevation by bringing in sand from the gulf

The Seawall• Galveston built a 17 foot sea wall that

extends for over three miles of the islands coastline.

• They increased the elevation of the town by 16 feet

• These projects were completed by 1904, causing Galveston to miss out on the oil boom.

Galveston Today

• Galveston resumed its role as a port of entry for Texas immigrants after the Hurricane

• However, Houston overtook Galveston as the most important port city in Texas when the Houston Ship Channel was built.

The Strand Historical District

Galveston Today

• Galveston’s economy today is based largely on tourism.

• It is also the home of two Universities:

– Texas A&M University @ Galveston

– University of Texas Medical Branch

VIEW OF GALVESTON TEXAS

LOOKING TOWARDS THE GULF