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In 1838, Michel B. Menard founded the Galveston City Company on “one league and a labor of land” on the eastern end of Galveston Island. With this company the first citizens of Galveston issued deeds to plots of land to investors, and the City of Galveston was chartered in 1839. As the principal port and gateway to the Southwest, Galveston ...
The City of Galveston was officially chartered in 1839. Galveston, the principal port and immigration gateway to the American Southwest during the 19th century, has placed the entire Island in a unique position regarding the history of Texas and the Southwest. The City of Galveston furnished shipping, goods, money, and transportation necessary ...
During this golden era of Galveston's history, the city was home to a number of state firsts that include: 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 Roman Catholic ...
On May 15, 1838, Galveston County was formed from territory taken from Harrisburg, Liberty, and Brazoria counties, with governmental organization taking place in 1839. The island city of Galveston was by far the most important population center. The city of Galveston was the republic's largest city and its center of commerce and culture.
- Pirates
- Immigration
- Wall Street of The South
- The Birthplace of Juneteenth
Later visitors included corsairs, like the French Jean Lafitte, who built the small colony of Campeche in 1817. Ever the privateer, he used this as a base to raid Spanish merchant ships that passed through the Gulf. He fled after a decade, burning down the community he built (his treasures are rumored to be buried on the Island).
Founded in 1838, Galveston established prosperity through a natural deep-water port, expansion of trade routes throughout the region, and development of industry, such as cotton, in the decades leading up to the Great Storm of 1900. The people of Galveston Island would find themselves as a fundamental piece of the state and region's growth and dive...
In 1836, Canadian fur trader Michel B. Menard purchased seven square miles of land, which became the City of Galveston. It was the same year Texas gained independence from Mexico and became a republic. Other great changes followed, business flourished, and Galveston became a major U.S. commercial center and one of the largest ports in the United St...
Juneteenth is a national holiday that signifies the celebration of the end of slavery for southern slaves in Galveston two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed. This historic event holds a special place in the United States and African American history, but the richness of Juneteenth or June 19, 1865 goes well beyond celebrating Ema...
He helped organize the Galveston City Company in 1838. From 1840 to 1870, the city was a major immigration port for over a quarter million Europeans. Texas' secession from the Union and the Civil War halted development temporarily. The mid 1870s to the mid 1890s was the apex of Galveston's prosperity.
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The city's slave trade was a significant source of economic and political power in the years leading up to the Civil War. The history of slavery and the Civil War in Galveston is important to understanding the broader history of race relations and civil rights in the United States. 3. The Great Storm of 1900, one of the deadliest natural ...
