Galveston in the 1900s In the late 1800s, Galveston had grown to be the largest and most modern city in Texas. Named for the American Revolutionary War hero Benardo de Galves. Galveston’s success was based on its location and geography. Located along the Texas coast in the Gulf of Mexico, Galveston was the center of Texas trade. The natural port at Galveston had developed into a major exporter of cotton. By the 1890s the population of Galveston had grown to 37,000 inhabitants. Galveston was the first Texas city with electric lights, and telephone service.

Danger Ignored The same geography that made Galveston an economic success also felt it vulnerable to storms. Galveston laid only 8 feet above sea level, and lacked any natural or man made defense against strong storms coming from the Gulf of Mexico. In 1875, and again in 1886 the near by town of Indianola was severally damaged by hurricanes. After the second storm the citizens abandoned the town. Many residents of Galveston saw the destruction of Indianola as a warning for Galveston. They urged the city to construct a sea wall to protect the citiy. These pleas were ignored, and in fact the head of the Galveston Weather Bureau stated that a sea wall was unnecessary. He as stated that it was impossible for a storm grow strong enough to threaten Galveston. As a result no sea wall was built to protect Galveston.

Hurricane of 1900 On September 8 th, 1900, Galveston was hit by a Category 4 hurricane. Wind speeds were estimated to be between mph. A storm surge of 15 feet washed over the entire island. Over 3,600 homes were destroyed, and 6,000 to 12,000 people were killed. Most either drowned or were crushed by debris. The 1900 Galveston hurricane is the deadly hurricane in U.S. history, and the 2 nd costliest after 2005 hurricane Katrina.

Aftermath As protection from future hurricanes Galveston constructed a sea wall 3 miles long and 17 feet tall. The island of Galveston was also raised 17 feet by pumping sand from the ocean floor under buildings. 2,100 building were raised with this process. Galveston were never recover from the hurricane of The discovery of oil in Beaumont just five months after the hurricane and the opening of the Houston Ship Channel in 1914 ended Galveston’s hopes of recovering it’s position as the major commercial center of Texas.