Galveston, Texas

USA / Texas / Galveston /
 city, county seat
The city of Galveston is the county seat of Galveston County, located approximately 45 miles south of Houston, Texas on Galveston Island, a barrier island along the Texas Gulf Coast. It is the southernmost point of the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown Metropolitan Area. As of the 2005 U.S. Census estimate, the city had a total population of 57,466, making it the the second-largest city in the county after League City.

It was originally inhabited by the Karankawa and Akokisa Native Americans who called the island Auia. Europeans first visited it in 1528, when the Spanish explorer Cabeza de Vaca was shipwrecked here with his crew. In 1785 the city was charted and named Galveztown, after the Count of Galvez. Settlements were first built here in 1816 as support bases for pirates fighting for the Mexicans during the Mexican War of Independence. In 1817 the pirate Jean Lafitte conquered the island and turned it into a pirate kingdom he called Campeche. In 1821 the US Navy threatened to destroy the settlement and the pirates left. In 1825 the Mexican Congress established the port of Galveston here. It was the staging location of the Texas Navy during the Texas War of Independence, and briefly served as the national capital of Texas in 1836. In 1839 the Texas government chartered Galveston as a city.

Union forces occupied the city at the beginning of the Civil War, but were expelled at the Battle of Galveston in 1863. When the Union forces returned to Galveston in 1865 they proclaimed the Emancipation Proclamation on June 19th, an event that is still celebrated as Juneteenth in the United States. The city grew in the late 19th century. The Galveston Hurricane of 1900 killed most of the city's inhabitants and destroyed much of the city. The city never fully recovered its pre-hurricane size or prominence.

Galveston is accessible by a causeway (IH-45) linking the island to the mainland on the north end of the city, a toll bridge on the western end of the island at San Luis Pass, and by ferry boat service on the east end of the city at the Bolivar Peninsula.

Galveston is known for its historic neighborhoods and a ten-mile long seawall designed to protect the city from floods. It was also home to the infamous Balinese Room, a historic nightclub and former illegal gambling hall located on a 600-foot pier extending into the Gulf of Mexico that was destroyed by Hurricane Ike in September 2008.

The city houses many tourist attractions, including the Galveston Schlitterbahn waterpark, Moody Gardens, the Lone Star Flight Museum, a downtown neighborhood of historic buildings known as "The Strand," many historical museums and mansions, and miles of beach front. The Strand plays host to a yearly Mardi Gras festival, Galveston Island Jazz & Blues Festival, Texas Beach Fest, Lone Star Bike Rally, and a Victorian-themed Christmas festival called "Dickens on the Strand" (honoring the works of novelist Charles Dickens)in early December.
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galveston,_Texas
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   29°17'49"N   94°48'10"W

Comments

  • Best of Luck and God Bless as you handle this disaster of Hurricane Ike.
  • ^^ Yes, enjoy this aerial view while you can, there are only a few hours left of Galveston Island being in the state as it is in the aerial view. After those few hours pass, well, just pan over to New Orleans suburbs, you'll see what I mean.
  • Goodbye, Galveston.
  • Galveston will recover and will again be the Wonder of the Gulf Coast it was before Hurricane Ike.
  • Galveston has been hit hard. no power no gas no communications
  • No one can enter the island for at least a month I heard. GOD BLESS YOU ALL!
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This article was last modified 13 years ago