1. The Twentieth Century Dawns Chapter 20 - 1

2. Disaster Strikes Galveston September 8, 1900 Galveston was hit by a hurricane of winds reaching 120 mph and giant tidal waves. 6,000 Galvestonians died in the storm. Half of the city lay in ruins. Thousands were left homeless.

3. Survivors search the debris of a destroyed house.

4. A home lies in ruins.

5. Houses lie together in a mountain of timber on 19 th Street.

6. A body lies half buried among the ruins.

7. After the Storm To cope with the emergency, Galvestonians created a new form of city government in which a 5 member commissioner runs the city. The U.S. Corps of Engineers built a seawall to provide protection from future hurricanes. All of Galveston behind the seawall had to be raised 10 - 15 feet, and sand was pumped in from Galveston Bay to go underneath the buildings.

8. Construction of the Galveston Seawall Galveston Seawall, 1908

9. Galveston Seawall 1905

10. Galveston Seawall today

11. Dredge material is pumped into the island during the grade raising after the 1900 hurricane. Residents endured years of pumps, sludge, canals, stench and miles of catwalks during the project. Photo courtesy of Rosenberg Library.

12. Galveston Storm of 1900 Built a seawall New form of city government Houston became an important seaport Galveston was raised 10 – 15 feet Built a causeway connecting Galveston to the mainland

13. OIL! On January 10, 1901 oil was discovered on a small mound called Spindletop, south of Beaumont. In 1901 the Spindletop Oil Field produced 4 times as much oil as had been produced the year before in the entire state of Texas.

14. In 1902, Spindletop production quadrupled.

16. Effects of Spindletop Oil operators began drilling all over Southeast Texas Houston became the center of oil business activities. Petroleum companies needed the banking, insurance, transportation, and legal services that Houston could provide. Congressman Thomas Ball (Tomball) persuaded Congress to provide funds to deepen Buffalo Bayou into the Houston Ship Channel.

17. Buffalo Bayou circa 1905 Houston Ship Channel today

18. Houston Cotton Exchange Building, 1885 Houston Cotton Exchange Building, today

19. Houston, 1885 Houston 1928

20. Houston today

21. Lumber Booms in East Texas The oil boom created a demand for products needed by the oil industry. Lumber was needed for oil derricks, homes, offices, etc. The early 1900s saw the lumber industry expand in the Piney Woods of east Texas.

22. Lumbering in the Piney Woods Circa 1910

23. Dallas Dominates Central Texas By 1900 Dallas was the leading retail center of Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. The Neiman-Marcus Department Store was established in 1907 by Carrie Marcus Neiman, her husband A.L. Neiman, and her brother Herbert Marcus. Sears Roebuck, a Chicago mail order company, chose Dallas as its southwestern distribution center. The population of Dallas doubled from 1900 to 1910.

24. Dallas, 1910 Dallas, 1913 Dallas today