This week, a few weeks shy of our anniversary date, I took my bride on a road trip to the forgotten island of Galveston, TX. What an enjoyable surprise it turned out to be.
We have heard a mixed bag of comments about Galveston over the years and never bothered to learn much about its rich history. Compared to other historic trips, like Savannah, Charleston or St. Augustine, Galveston may have as much or more to offer if you enjoy history.
The Port of Galveston was established by Mexico in 1825, following its independence from Spain. Galveston is home to six historic districts containing one of the largest and historically significant collections of 19th-century buildings in the U S, with over 60 structures listed on the National Register of Historic Places, maintained by the National Park Service in the United States Department of the Interior. In 1836 Galveston served as the capitol of the Republic of Texas.
Today Galveston is home of the largest cruise ship port on the Gulf Coast. Galveston is the home of several of the largest teaching hospitals in the state, located on the campus of the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.
Galveston was almost totally wiped out by the Hurricane of 1900. Prior to the great hurricane Galveston was considered the second richest city in the United States.
Galveston is the location that is responsible for the now national holiday of Juneteenth. Following the Emancipation Proclamation by President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War.
In 1863, during the American Civil War, Pres. Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared more than three million enslaved people living in the Confederate states to be free. (Chattel slavery remained legal in border states loyal to the Union—such as Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, Missouri, and West Virginia—and was not officially abolished in the United States until the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment.) More than two years passed, however, before enslaved African Americans living in Texas (some 250,000) were freed. It was not until Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, and were able to enforce the edict that the state’s residents finally experienced freedom. For some—enslavers and the enslaved alike—it was through Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger’s General Order No. 3 that they first learned that slavery had been abolished in the Confederate states.
What we found on our visit to Galveston is one of the most denseley packed historic towns with beautiful homes and commercial buildings from the 19th Century. A well-restored historic district with teeming shops and easy walking to enjoy your visit.
Galveston also has a well-visited public beach area. Having lived in Alabama nothing compares to the Alabama Gulf Coast but Galveston is an enjoyable beach trip, just not an Alabama beach.
For your next adventure don’t leave Galveston out of your consideration. Its a long drive, at least 12 hours, but worth the trip. And by the way, you might meet the ghost of Alfred Hitchcock if you stay at the Mansion on 17th.
