Galveston

Galveston

(Severin)

Biographies Alf. L. Scott and T. J. Westerberg

This city on the eastern tip of Galveston Island, by the Gulf of Mexico, is the most important port of the South. Trade, fishing and shipping are the most important businesses of the city.

Galveston island was early known for its excellent harbor and was visited as early as explorer times, but it was more recognized by things that happened during Texas’ early days. In the beginning of the eighteenth century it was the haunt of slave-smugglers and pirates. In 1816, Commander Aury had made it his base during smuggling of slaves from Cuba to the United States, and soon thereafter, in 1817 the pirate Lafitte conquered the island and made it his base for three years, until May 1820, when his settlement was burned down and he was driven away by the United States government.

As a port, Galveston was officially first recognized in 1830 when Mexico set up a military post and a customs-house on the island in the same place as Lafitte’s fort had been.

Soon before the Battle of San Jacinto in 1836, President Burnett and his cabinet had been forced to flee from San Felipi to Galveston, so they would not fall in the hands of Santa Anna; something that made Galveston the capital of the new Texas Republic’s government for a time of three weeks.

It was soon noticed that Galveston had an exceptional location and that its harbor was the best on the Texas coast. In December 1836, after much negotiating, a company represented by Michael B. Menard, was successful in buying the eastern part of the island from the government for a sum of $50,000, and the Galveston City Company was organized. The company was liberal to settlers, and did not only give them land to build on, but also harbor privileges. Those who wanted to, could build moorings or docks, and with time their land became very valuable. The first wharf was probably built in 1839. The biggest hindrance against the commercial growth of Galveston was the two miles long bay between the city and the mainland. To develop trade the city would have to be connected with the mainland and the railroad. The first railroad over the Galveston Bay to Houston was finished in 1858, and consisted of a steam-ferry over the bay. In the following year the first bridge was built, but it was destroyed in the storm of 1867. It was rebuilt in 1868 and the railroad companies built other bridges. In 1892-93 Galveston County built a steel bridge over the bay, but all four bridges were destroyed in the big storm in September 1900. They now decided to build a bridge which could not be destroyed, a so-called causeway. This bridge, made of concrete at a cost of one and a half million dollars, was considered quite a masterpiece. It was over two miles long and one hundred fifty-four feet wide.. There were four rail-tracks, one electric track and a highway. Even this bridge was badly damaged during a severe storm.

Galveston, like other cities in Texas, had made good progress during the years of peace, but it suffered great set-backs during the Civil War, when the Union Army blockaded it and stopped all import and export. The occupation started in 1861 and the city was taken over in October 1862, when the Union flag was raised on the customs house. Cannon-boats were moored in the harbor for several months, but were driven away in January 1863. The blockade continued until June 1865.

Nobody could write about Galveston without mentioning the devastating storm which ravaged the island on September 8, 1900, when over five thousand people lost their lives. The city suffered over seventeen million dollars worth of damage, and had to turn its government over to the military police. The following year the city adopted a new kind of government by turning the government over to a commission.

The big sea-wall that was built, and the raising of the city by fifteen to twenty feet to the top of the wall, is considered to be the biggest community project carried out by any city during this century. The immense sea-wall was built to prevent the intrusion of the ocean, and to possibly prevent such a disaster from happening again. This wall is made of concrete, sixteen feet wide at its base, seventeen feet high, and five feet wide at the top. The wall rests on a foundation of pilings, driven down forty feet into the sand. This great project was begun in October 1902 and was finished in September 1905, at a cost to Galveston County of one and a half million dollars, which does not include the part of the wall that the government built. The raising of the level of the city cost the city three million dollars. The work started in 1903 and was finished in 1909-1910. This giant undertaking was accomplished by creating a canal inside the sea-wall, while out in the bay, dredging barges were loaded with sand and then dragged along the canal, where the sand was pumped out of the barges and then carried through pipes to where it was needed. In spite of its set-backs, Galveston has grown to be one of Texas’ most important cities with a population of 52,289 in 1910. Export from Galveston is next to New York, the largest in the United States, and it is the the largest exporter of cotton in the world. This export amounted to a value of fifty million dollars in 1913, and in the same year, more than four million bales of cotton were shipped out.

The city has many beautiful churches and schools. The Catholic Church is particularly strong and Galveston was for a long time the site of the head of that church in Texas. The city has two Swedish churches, one Lutheran and one Methodist.

Among the schools, the Medical School which is a branch of the University of Texas, at Austin is particularly note-worthy. Another building to be mentioned is Seamen’s Bethel, where all Scandinavian sailors usually live during their stay in Galveston. Their chaplain and manager is Pastor J.F. Sarner, who has served in that capacity for many years. This valuable building was donated for its purpose by the father of the present Swedish Consul, Bertrand Adoue, and the beautiful home for the chaplain, near the Bethel, was donated by the son, Consul Louis Adoue. The Swedes in the city take an active part in business and politics. Best known is the City Councilman Carl T. Suderman.

Extracted from: Swedes In Texas In Words and Pictures,

English Translation, 1838 - 1918