Galveston << GAL vih stuhn >>, Texas (pop. 53,695), is a seaport on the Gulf of Mexico. The city lies on Galveston Island, about 2 miles (3 kilometers) off the Texas mainland. Two bridges, a rail line, and a ferry link Galveston Island and the mainland. Galveston is part of the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metropolitan area.
The Port of Galveston is the oldest deepwater port on the Gulf of Mexico west of the Mississippi River. It began operating in the 1830’s. A channel connects Galveston Harbor with the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, which extends between Brownsville, Texas, and Carrabelle, Florida. Galveston’s port handles all types of cargo and acts as a service center for the offshore oil and gas industry.
Galveston is a popular convention and resort city. Galveston Island has 32 miles (51 kilometers) of beaches. Moody Gardens, an entertainment complex, features a re-created rain forest housed in a giant glass pyramid. The Texas Seaport Museum includes a restored 1870’s sailing ship and a computerized listing of immigrants who arrived in the United States at Galveston’s port.
Galveston is the home of a campus of Texas A&M University, the University of Texas Medical Branch, and Galveston College. Galveston’s Rosenberg Library owns an impressive collection of books and other materials on the history of Texas.
The Karankawa people were the first inhabitants of Galveston Island. In 1785, Spanish surveyors named the island for Bernardo de Gálvez, the Spanish governor of Cuba, Louisiana, and Florida. The pirate Jean Laffite ran a smuggling operation there from 1817 to 1821. Galveston was founded in 1836 and received a city charter in 1839.
In the decades before the American Civil War (1861-1865), Galveston prospered as a port in the illegal trade of enslaved Africans. It was through an announcement made in Galveston on June 19, 1865, that enslaved people in Texas learned they were free. They marked the event with a festival called Juneteenth. Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021.
By 1880, Galveston was the largest city in Texas. But a hurricane struck the city in 1900 and killed more than 6,000 people. After the hurricane, the people of Galveston built a sea wall to protect the city and raised the island’s elevation. However, Galveston never regained its role as a major port, losing out to nearby Houston. In 1915, a hurricane killed dozens of people on Galveston Island. In 2008, Hurricane Ike struck the island, causing serious flooding and much property damage.
Galveston is the seat of Galveston County. The city has a council-manager government.
