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Galveston (pronounced /ˈɡælvɨstən/) is a city in and seat of Galveston County located on Galveston Island on the Gulf Coast in the U.S. state of Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. As of the 2005 U.S. Census estimate, the city had a total population of 57,466. Galveston is accessible by the Galveston Causeway linking Galveston Island to the mainland on the north end of the city, a toll bridge on the western end of the island, and by ferry boat service on the east end of the city. Galveston is the second-largest city in Galveston County in population after League City.
Galveston is known for the hurricane that struck it in 1900. The natural disaster that followed still counts as the most deadly in American history. A 10-mile (16-km) long, 17-foot (5.18 m) high seawall protects the city from floods and hurricane storm surge.
History
Exploration and settlement
Galveston island was originally inhabited by members of the Karankawa and Akokisa tribes, who used the name "Auia" for the island. The Spanish explorer Cabeza de Vaca and his crew were shipwrecked on the island (or nearby) in November 1528, calling it "Isla de Malhado" ("Isle of Doom"), and there began his famous trek to Mexico.
During his charting of the Gulf Coast in 1785, the Spanish explorer José de Evia named the island Gálvez-town or Gálveztown in honor of Bernardo de Gálvez y Madrid, Count of Gálvez. The first permanent European settlements on the island were constructed around 1816 by the pirate Louis-Michel Aury as a base of operations to support Mexico's rebellion against Spain. In 1817 Aury returned from an unsuccessful raid against Spain to find Galveston occupied by the pirate Jean Lafitte, who took up residence there after having been driven from his stronghold in Barataria Bay off the coast of New Orleans, Louisiana. Lafitte organized Galveston into a pirate "kingdom" he called "Campeachy" (or "Campeche"), anointing himself the island's "head of government." Lafitte remained in Galveston until 1821 when he and his raiders were given an ultimatum by the United States Navy: leave or be destroyed. Lafitte burned his settlement to the ground and sailed under cover of night for parts unknown. There are still rumors that Lafitte's treasure is buried somewhere between Galveston Island, Bolivar Peninsula and High Island.
Following its successful revolution from Spain, the Congress of Mexico issued a proclamation on October 17, 1825, establishing the Port of Galveston, and in 1830 erected a customs house. During the Texas Revolution, Galveston served as the main port for the Texas navy. Galveston also served as the capital of the Republic of Texas when in 1836 interim president David G. Burnet relocated his government there. In 1836, Michel B. Menard, a native of Canada, along with several associates purchased 4,605 acres (18.64 km²) of land for $50,000 from the Austin Colony to found the town that would become the modern city of Galveston. Menard and his associates began selling plots on April 20, 1838. In 1839, the City of Galveston adopted a charter and was incorporated by the Congress of the Republic of Texas.
The Battle of Galveston was fought in Galveston Bay and on the island on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War when Confederate forces under Major General John B. Magruder attacked and expelled occupying Union troops from the city, which remained in Confederate hands for the duration of the war. In May 1865, the Lark successfully evaded the Union blockade off of Galveston Harbor and headed for Havana, becoming the final Confederate ship to slip through the blockade from any Southern port. In the late 1890s, the Fort Crockett defenses and coastal artillery batteries were constructed in Galveston and along the Bolivar Roads.
Juneteenth, which is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States, owes its origins to the announcement of the Emancipation Proclamation upon the return of Union forces to Galveston in 1865.
Growth
At the end of the 19th century, the city of Galveston was a booming metropolis with a population of 37,000. Its position on the natural harbor of Galveston Bay along the Gulf of Mexico made it the center of trade in Texas, and one of the largest cotton ports in the nation, in competition with New Orleans. Between 1838 and 1842, 18 newspapers were started to serve the island's rapidly growing population (The Galveston County Daily News is the sole survivor). A causeway linking the island with the mainland was finished in 1860, which paved the way for railroad expansion.
During this era, Galveston was also home to a number of state firsts, including: the first post office (1836), the first naval base (1836), the first Texas chapter of a Masonic order (1840); the first cotton compress (1842), the first parochial school (Ursuline Academy) (1847), the first insurance company (1854), the first gas lights (1856), first Jewish Reform Congregation (Congregation B'nai Israel) (1868), the first opera house (1870), the first orphanage (1876), the first telephone (1878), the first electric lights (1883), the first medical college (now the University of Texas Medical Branch) (1891), and the first school for nurses (1890).
Galveston was also home to the first Roman Catholic Cathedral in Texas. In 1839 Rome created the prefecture apostolic of Texas, which was later elevated to a vicariate apostolic on July 10, 1841. Then, on May 4, 1847 Pope Pius IX approved the creation of the Diocese of Galveston and named St. Mary's Church the Cathedral for the entire state of Texas.
Storm of 1900
Main article: Galveston Hurricane of 1900In 1900, the island was struck by a devastating hurricane. Even post-Hurricane Katrina, this event holds the record as the United States' deadliest natural disaster.
In the early morning of September 8, high surf despite prevailing winds out of the north heralded the oncoming storm. By noon low-lying areas near the Gulf and the Bay side of the city were taking on water and the winds increased. Near 4 p.m. a storm surge approximately 15 feet (5 m) high slammed into the coast. According to many personal accounts, the storm subsided before midnight. Wind speeds reached up to 125 mph (an estimate, since the anemometer was blown off the U.S. Weather Bureau building). Isaac Cline was the bureau's chief meteorologist. An account of the events surrounding the hurricane based on his personal records is given in Isaac's Storm by Erik Larson. The city was devastated, and an estimated 6,000 to 8,000 people on the island were killed.
After the storm cleared, the city decided to shore up its defenses against future storms: a permanent concrete seawall was built along a large portion of the beach front (1902–1904) and the entire grade of the city was raised some 17 feet (5 m) behind the wall to a few feet near the Bay (1904–1910). Just after the hurricane, the city originated the City Commission form of city government (which became known as the "Galveston Plan"), although the city has since adopted the Council-Manager form of government.
Post-1900s
Despite attempts to draw new investment to the city after the hurricane, Galveston never fully returned to its previous levels of national importance or prosperity. Development was also hindered by the construction of the Houston Ship Channel, which brought the Port of Houston into direct competition with the natural harbor of the Port of Galveston for sea traffic. To further her recovery, and rebuild her population, Galveston actively solicited immigration. Through the efforts of Rabbi Henry Cohen and Congregation B'nai Israel, Galveston became the focus of a immigration plan called the Galveston Movement that, between 1907 and 1914, diverted roughly 10,000 Eastern European, Jewish immigrants from the crowded cities of the Northeastern United States.
Though the storm stalled economic development and the city of Houston grew into the region's principal metropolis, Galveston has regained some of its former glory. Recognizing the need for Galveston to diversify from the traditional port-related industries, in 1905 William Lewis Moody, Jr., a member of one of Galveston's leading families, founded the American National Insurance Company. Two years later, Mr. Moody would further invest in Galveston by establishing the City National Bank, which would later become the Moody National Bank.
The 1930s and 1940s brought much change to the Island City. During the World War II, the Galveston Municipal Airport, predecessor to Scholes International Airport, was redesignated a U.S. Army Air Corps base and named "Galveston Army Air Field". The United States Army Corps of Engineers, using fun
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