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.
The Strand Historic District, also known as the Strand District, in downtown Galveston, Texas (USA), is a National Historic Landmark District of mainly Victorian era buildings that now house restaurants, antique stores, and curio shops. The area is a major tourist attraction for the island city and also plays host to two very popular seasonal festivals. It is widely considered the island's shopping and entertainment center. The district includes properties along the south side of Harborside Drive and both sides of The Strand and Mechanic Street from 20th Street westward to 26th Street.
The tall ship Elissa is a three-masted barque. She is based in Galveston, Texas, and is one of the oldest ships sailing today. Launched in 1877, she is now a museum ship at the Texas Seaport Museum. She was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1990. The Texas Legislature designated Elissa the official tall ship of Texas in 2005.
The Bishop's Palace, also known as Gresham's Castle, is an ornate 19,082 square feet (1,772.8 m2) Victorian-style house, located on Broadway and 14th Street in the East End Historic District of Galveston, Texas.
John Kirby Allen, was a co-founder of the city of Houston and a former member of the Republic of Texas House of Representatives. He was born in Canaseraga Village, New York. He never married. He died of congestive fever on August 15, 1838, and was buried at Founders Memorial Cemetery in Houston, Texas.
St. Mary Cathedral Basilica, also known as St. Mary's Cathedral Basilica, is a Catholic church situated in Galveston, Texas. It is the primary cathedral of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston and the mother church of the Catholic Church in Texas, as well as a minor basilica. Along with the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Houston, St. Mary's serves more than 1.5 million Catholics living in the archdiocese.
The Rice, formerly the Rice Hotel, is an historic building at 909 Texas Avenue in Downtown Houston, Texas, United States. The current building is the third to occupy the site. It was completed in 1913 on the site of the former Capitol building of the Republic of Texas, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The old Capitol building was operated as a hotel until it was torn down and replaced by a new hotel around 1881. Jesse H. Jones built a new seventeen-story, double-winged hotel in 1913, also called "The Rice Hotel." This building underwent major expansions: adding a third wing in 1925, adding an eighteenth floor in 1951, and adding a five-story "motor lobby" in 1958. In addition, there were several renovations during its life as a hotel. It continued to operate as a hotel before finally shutting down in 1977. After standing vacant for twenty-one years, The Rice was renovated as apartments and reopened in 1998 as the Post Rice Lofts. It was sold in 2014 and renamed simply The Rice.
Alfred Charles Finn was an American architect. He started in the profession with no formal training in 1904 as an apprentice for Sanguinet & Staats. He worked in their offices in Dallas, Fort Worth, and Houston. His credits during his tenure residential structures, but firm was a leader in steel-frame construction of skyscrapers.
William Lewis Moody Jr. was an American financier and entrepreneur from Galveston, Texas, who founded a private bank, an insurance company, and one of the largest charitable foundations in the United States. Moody was active in the day-to-day operations of his companies until two days before his death.
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.
Thomas William House Sr. was a merchant and cotton factor in Houston, Texas. He also invested in and organized transportation and utility companies in the Houston area. He was a veteran of the Texas Revolution and provided financial assistance to the Confederacy during the American Civil War. He was mayor of Houston, Texas in 1862.
Ashton Villa is a fully restored, historic home located on the corner of 24th and Broadway in Galveston, Texas, United States. Constructed in 1859, it was one of the first brick structures in Texas built by slaves.
The Samuel May Williams House is a former museum in Galveston, Texas. The second-oldest surviving residence in Galveston, it is now on the National Register of Historic Places. It was designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1964.
Michel Branamour Menard (1805–1856) was a Canadian-born trader and merchant, first active on the upper Mississippi River and later in Texas. He co-founded Galveston, Texas. He represented Galveston County in the Congress of the Republic of Texas.
Eugene Thomas Heiner was an American architect who designed numerous courthouses, county jails, and other public buildings in Texas. He was born in New York City, apprenticed in Chicago, and studied further in Germany. His works includes buildings listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
Samuel May Williams was an American businessman, politician, and close associate of Stephen F. Austin, who was an Anglo-American colonizer of Mexican Texas. As a teenager, Williams started working in the family's mercantile business in Baltimore. He spent time in South America and New Orleans, fleeing the latter because of debts. He landed in Mexican Texas in 1822, having learned French and Spanish. Stephen F. Austin hired Williams for his colony in 1824. Williams first worked as a clerk, and later assumed the title of secretary to the ayuntamiento, a local government established for the colony by the Mexican state of Coahuila and Texas. He worked for Austin for about a decade.
The 1838 Republic of Texas presidential election was the second presidential election. It was held on September 3, 1838. By a provision of the constitution, the term of office of the first president was limited to two years, without his being eligible for re-election; succeeding presidents were to hold their office for three years.
Thomas Freeman McKinney was a trader, merchant, and a co-founder of Galveston, Texas. Living with his family in the western states of Kentucky, Illinois, and Missouri, he started trading in Mexico in 1823. The next year he settled in Stephen F. Austin's Colony, claiming a headright to Texas land while continuing his trading activities. He established a partnership with Samuel May Williams in 1834, and they operated a warehouse at the mouth of the Brazos River. The McKinney & Williams partnership loaned money and vessels to the cause of Texas independence. After Texas gained independence from Mexico, McKinney co-founded Galveston, Texas, and the McKinney & Williams company set up a warehouse and dock in the new town. McKinney later sold his share of the McKinney & Williams partnership and retired to Travis County, Texas.
The George Washington Grover House is a two-story house located at 1520 Market in the East End Historic District of Galveston, Texas. Built in 1859, the house is one of the oldest brick residences in the city.
John H. Sterrett was a ship captain and investor.
