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GALVESTON, TEXAS
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Galveston, Texas (Photo courtesy of Wes Keller at http://www.pbase.com/wyk/galveston_texas)
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| Galveston Island was occupied for thousands of years by local Native Americans. Once, the richest city in Texas, it was known as the Wall Street of the Southwest. Among other names, it was also known as the Ellis Island of the West. It was named for Spanish general and colonial governor, Bernardo Galvez. From 1817 to 1821 the pirate, Jean Lafitte had his base of operations there and called it Campeche. Following an attack by his men on an American ship, he was forced to leave. | ||||||
| The disasterous hurricane of 1900 brought the prosperity of Galveston to an end. The storm destroyed one-third of the city's structures and left a minimum extimated number of 6,000 dead. Following the greatest natural disaster in US history, Galveston started a massive project of making the island safer from storms. Most of the city was raised to a higher elevation and a seawall was built. | ||||||
| Today, Galveston is one of those secrets of tourism that may not be well known, but is certainly a surprise to visit. Beachgoers, surfers and fishermen love the place. Historians love it, as do those who simply want to get away for awhile and enjoy the serenity that a shoreline can bring. A visitor to Galveston will find a lot to see and a lot of entertaining things to do. | ||||||
| Accomodations: | ||||||
| Texas on Sale - Galveston Hotels up to 30% off! Book by 9/30 for travel from 8/4 to 9/30/08. | ||||||
| Activities | ||||||
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The Bishop's Palace (Shown in Photo) The Strand - (Galveston's historic district) For a photographic tour of the Strand, click here. Click here to see more of Wes Keller's Galveston photos. Click here to read the story of the Saint Mary's Orphans Asylum. |
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© Copyright 2007 Wilson Jay
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