Galveston, TX news and local guide

Mexico established the Port of Galveston in 1825 and built a customs house in 1830. In 1836 interim president David G. Burnet moved the Republic of Texas government there, and Michel Branamour Menard and his associates bought 4,605 acres for $50,000 to found the town. The city was chartered and incorporated in 1839 and became a busy port of entry, drawing German immigrants, including Jewish merchants. It was the site of many Texas firsts, among them the first post office and naval base in 1836, cotton compress in 1842 and gas lights in 1856. In 1860 it had 7,300 people, nearly 1,200 of them enslaved. Confederate forces under General John B. Magruder drove Union troops from the city in the Battle of Galveston in January 1863. On June 19, 1865, General Gordon Granger announced in Galveston that the enslaved people of Texas were free, the event now commemorated as Juneteenth. A yellow fever epidemic killed about 1,800 people in 1867. The hurricane of 1900, which killed an estimated 6,000 to 12,000 people, remains the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history. Sources Wikipedia: Galveston, Texas