Galveston is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of 209.3 square miles (542 km2), with a population of 53,695 in 2020, is the county seat of surrounding Galveston County and second-largest municipality in the county. It is also within the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan area at its southern end on the northwestern coast of the Gulf of Mexico.
Galveston County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas, located along the Gulf Coast adjacent to Galveston Bay. As of the 2020 census, its population was 350,682. The county was founded in 1838. The county seat is the City of Galveston, founded the following year, and located on Galveston Island. The most-populous municipality in the county is League City, a suburb of Houston at the northern end of the county, which surpassed Galveston in population during the early 2000s.
Bacliff is a census-designated place (CDP) in north-central Galveston County, Texas, United States, 16 miles (26 km) northwest of Galveston. The population was 8,619 at the 2010 census. Bacliff, originally called Clifton-by-the-Sea, began as a seaside resort town. Located on the western shore of Galveston Bay, Bacliff, along with San Leon and Bayview, are the largest unincorporated communities on the Galveston County mainland.
Dickinson is a city in Galveston County, Texas, United States, within Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan area. The population was 20,847 at the 2020 census.
La Marque is a city in Galveston County, Texas, United States, south of Houston. The city population in 2020 was 18,030. La Marque experienced considerable growth in the 1950s, during which the city provided a general administrative and trades and crafts workforce helping to support the petrochemical complex in adjoining Texas City. It is the hometown of U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and Norman Bulaich.
League City is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, in Galveston County, within the Greater Houston metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 112,129.
The Balinese Room was a famous nightclub in Galveston, Texas, United States built on a pier stretching 600 feet (183 m) from the Galveston Seawall over the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. For decades a dance hall and illegal casino, the Balinese Room was remodeled and reopened in 2001 without a casino. During the early morning hours of September 13, 2008, the structure was destroyed by Hurricane Ike.
Dickinson Independent School District is a school district based in Dickinson, Texas, United States in Greater Houston.
Salvatore V. "Sam" Maceo was an American business entrepreneur, power broker and racketeer in Galveston, Texas, who controlled both the government and organized crime in the city for almost 30 years. During the 1920s and 1930s, Galveston emerged as a nationally known resort city, because of the gambling, prostitution and free flowing liquor, vices that were offered at the backrooms of restaurants and nightclubs, a period known as Galveston's Open Era. His organization, often called the Maceo Syndicate or the Maceo Organisation, was involved in illegal gambling, prostitution, numbers racket and bootlegging and he received substantial income from these activities.
The Free State of Galveston was a satirical name given to the coastal city of Galveston in the U.S. state of Texas during the early-to-mid-20th century. Today, the term is sometimes used to describe the culture and history of that era.
Rosario Maceo (Sr.), also known as Papa Rose or Rose Maceo, was an Italian-American businessman, power broker and crime boss in Galveston, Texas in the United States. Because of his efforts and those of his brother Sam, Galveston Island became a nationally known resort city during the early and mid 20th century, during a period known as Galveston's Wide-Open Era. They owned various restaurant and casino venues including the now-vanished Hollywood Dinner Club and the Balinese Room. He became an Al Capone-like figure in the city. Sometimes known as the "Iron Glove", Rose was the top enforcer for the empire he and his brother formed.
The history of Galveston, Texas, begins with the archaeological record of Native Americans who used the island. The first European settlements on the island were constructed around 1816. The Port of Galveston was established in 1825 by the Congress of Mexico following its successful revolution from Spain. The city served as the main port for the Texas Navy during the Texas Revolution. Galveston was founded in 1836 by Michel Menard, Samuel May Williams, and Thomas F. McKinney, and briefly served as the capital of the Republic of Texas. The Battle of Galveston was fought in Galveston Bay during the American Civil War when Confederate forces under Major General John B. Magruder attacked and expelled occupying Union troops from the city.
Johnny Jack Nounes, also known as the "Beau Brummell of Galveston", was a mob boss in Galveston, Texas, United States, during the 1920s and 1930s. He, with one-armed George Musey, led the Downtown Gang, one of the two gangs which controlled most of the Galveston Crime Syndicate until the early 1930s. They fought for control of the island against the rival Beach Gang led by Ollie Quinn and Dutch Voight, and later their successors, the Maceo Crime Syndicate. As the prohibition era began, his gang came to be one of the dominant forces in the Galveston Crime Syndicate. Galveston became the main port of entry for liquor supply in Texas and many parts of the Midwest. Nounes' flamboyance attracted the attention of federal authorities, leading to his conviction in 1924 and sentencing to Leavenworth Penitentiary. His prison term was short but only two years after being released he was again sentenced to prison after being caught with a shipment of liquor in Seabrook. Frank Nitti, a business partner of Nounes, was the "enforcer" for Al Capone's crime organization in Chicago as well as the future boss of the Chicago Outfit.
Ollie Johnson Quinn was a mob boss in Galveston, Texas in the United States, who was involved in bootlegging, illegal gambling, numbers racket, prostitution and other criminal activities from the 1910s up until the 1930s. He, with Dutch Voigt, led the Beach Gang, one of the two criminal organisations which controlled most of the Galveston underworld until the mid-1920s.
Oscar Ernest "Dutch" Voigt was an American mob boss in Galveston, Texas in the United States, who was involved in bootlegging, illegal gambling, numbers racket, prostitution and other criminal activities during the early 1900s. Voight was called Dutch for Deutsch meaning German. He, with Ollie Quinn, led the Beach Gang, one of the two criminal organisations which controlled most of the Galveston underworld until the mid-1920s. He was of German descent.
The history of vice in the U.S. state of Texas has been an important part of the state's past and has greatly influenced its development. Vice activities, such as gambling and prostitution, have historically been a significant facet of both the state's culture and its economy.
Legal forms of gambling in the U.S. state of Texas include the Texas Lottery; parimutuel wagering on horse and greyhound racing; limited charitable bingo, limited charitable raffles, and three Native American casinos. Other forms of gambling are illegal in Texas.
The Downtown Gang was one of the two gangs that dominated the organized crime world in Galveston, Texas, United States, mainly during prohibition. The gang was founded by Johnny Jack Nounes around 1920. The gang became a large profiteer and leader in the Galveston's crime syndicate while fighting for control of the island. The gang operated many night clubs, gambling establishments, and speakeasies along the island.
George Musey, also known as "one-armed George Musey", was a mob boss in Galveston, Texas, during the Prohibition era. Along with Johnny Jack Nounes, he led the Downtown Gang, one of two gangs which controlled the Galveston underworld until the early 1930s. He was convicted on conspiracy liquor charges in 1929 and sent to Atlanta Penitentiary. Musey was shot and killed in 1935, eight days after his 35th birthday.
The Maceo Organization, also known as the Maceo Syndicate, was a criminal organization, that ran Galveston, Texas politically and criminally throughout most of Galveston's open era. The organization's bosses, Sam and Rosario Maceo, operated illegal gambling, prostitution, bootlegging and racketeering activities.
