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Galveston Island is a barrier island on the Texas
Texas

Texas is a U.S. state located in the South Central United States, nicknamed the Lone Star State. Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, spanning , and with a growing population of 24.3 million residents....
 Gulf coast in the United States, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of Houston
Houston, Texas

Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States of America and the largest city within the state of Texas. As of the 2007 U.S. Census estimate, the city has a population of 2.2 million within an area of 600 square miles ....
. The entire island, with the exception of the little Village of Jamaica Beach
Jamaica Beach, Texas

Jamaica Beach is a city in Galveston County, Texas, Texas, United States. As of the census, the city population was 1,075....
, is within the city limits of the City of Galveston
Galveston, Texas

Galveston is a city in and county seat of Galveston County, Texas located on Galveston Island on the Gulf Coast of the United States in the U.S....
.

The island is about 27 miles (43 kilometers) long and no more than 3 miles (5 kilometers) wide at its widest point. The island is oriented generally northeast-southwest, with the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico is the ninth largest body of water in the world. Considered a smaller part of the Atlantic Ocean, it is an oceanic basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba....
 on the east and south, West Bay on the west, and Galveston Bay
Galveston Bay

Galveston Bay is a large estuary located along Texas's upper coast....
 on the north.






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Galveston Island is a barrier island on the Texas
Texas

Texas is a U.S. state located in the South Central United States, nicknamed the Lone Star State. Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, spanning , and with a growing population of 24.3 million residents....
 Gulf coast in the United States, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of Houston
Houston, Texas

Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States of America and the largest city within the state of Texas. As of the 2007 U.S. Census estimate, the city has a population of 2.2 million within an area of 600 square miles ....
. The entire island, with the exception of the little Village of Jamaica Beach
Jamaica Beach, Texas

Jamaica Beach is a city in Galveston County, Texas, Texas, United States. As of the census, the city population was 1,075....
, is within the city limits of the City of Galveston
Galveston, Texas

Galveston is a city in and county seat of Galveston County, Texas located on Galveston Island on the Gulf Coast of the United States in the U.S....
.

The island is about 27 miles (43 kilometers) long and no more than 3 miles (5 kilometers) wide at its widest point. The island is oriented generally northeast-southwest, with the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico is the ninth largest body of water in the world. Considered a smaller part of the Atlantic Ocean, it is an oceanic basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba....
 on the east and south, West Bay on the west, and Galveston Bay
Galveston Bay

Galveston Bay is a large estuary located along Texas's upper coast....
 on the north. The island's main access point from the mainland is the Interstate Highway 45
Interstate 45

Interstate 45 is an Interstate Highway located entirely within the U.S. state of Texas. It connects the cities of Dallas, TX and Houston, TX, continuing southeast from Houston to Galveston, TX on the Gulf of Mexico....
 causeway that crosses West Bay on the northeast side of the island. The far north end of the island is separated from the Bolivar Peninsula by Galveston Harbor, the entrance to Galveston Bay and the Houston Ship Channel
Houston Ship Channel

The Houston Ship Channel in Houston, Texas is part of the Port of Houston?one of the United States's busiest sea ports.The channel is a conduit between the continental interior and the Gulf of Mexico for both petrochemical products and Midwestern United States grain....
. Ferry service is available between Galveston Island and the Bolivar Peninsula. The southern end of the island is separated from the mainland by San Luis Pass
San Luis Pass

San Luis Pass is a strait of water at the south-western end of Galveston Island off the shores of the U.S. state of Texas. It connects the sheltered waters of West Bay to the open Gulf of Mexico....
. The San Luis Pass-Vacek Toll Bridge connects the San Luis Pass Road on Galveston Island with the Bluewater Highway that leads south into the town of Surfside Beach
Surfside Beach, Texas

Surfside Beach is a city in Brazoria County, Texas, Texas, United States that is situated on the Gulf of Mexico just west of Galveston Island. The population was 763 at the 2000 census....
.

Education

All residents are zoned to Ball High School
Ball High School

Ball High School is a public secondary school in Galveston, Texas, Texas, United States. Ball, which covers grades 9 through 12, is a part of Galveston Independent School District....
. Colleges and universities include:
  • Galveston Community College (GCC)
  • Texas A&M University at Galveston
    Texas A&M University at Galveston

    Texas A&M University at Galveston is an ocean-oriented branch campus of Texas A&M University offering courses in marine biology, marine fisheries, marine engineering technology, marine sciences, marine transportation, maritime administration, maritime studies, maritime systems engineering, oceans and coastal resources, and university studies...
     (TAMUG)
  • University of Texas Medical Branch
    University of Texas Medical Branch

    The University of Texas Medical Branch is a component of the University of Texas System located in Galveston, Texas, Texas, United States, about 50 miles southeast of Downtown Houston Houston....
     (UTMB)


History

Originally, Akokisa
Akokisa

The Akokisa were the indigenous tribe that lived on Galveston Bay and the lower Trinity River and San Jacinto River rivers in Texas. They are regarded as a band of the Atakapa Indians, closely related to the Atakapa of Lake Charles, Louisiana....
 and Karankawa
Karankawa

The Karankawa were a group of Native Americans in the United States peoples, now extinct as a tribal group, who played a pivotal part in early Texas History of Texas....
 Indians lived and camped there. The island is believed by some to be the one Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca
Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca

?lvar N??ez Cabeza de Vaca was an early Spain explorer of the New World and is remembered as a protoanthropological author....
 and his party made a brief stop-over in November 1528, during his infamous Odyssey.

Jao de la Porta
Jao de la Porta

Jao de la Porta, along with his brother Morin, financed the first Human settlement by European ethnic groupss on Galveston Island in 1816. Joa de la Porta was born in Portugal of Jewish parentage and later became a Jewish Texan Merchant....
, along with his brother Morin, finance
Finance

The field of finance refers to the concepts of time, money and risk and how they are interrelated. Banks are the main facilitators of funding through the provision of credit, although private equity, mutual funds, hedge funds, and other organizations have become important....
d the first settlement by European
European ethnic groups

The European peoples are the various nations and ethnic groups of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
s on Galveston Island in 1816. Joa de la Porta was born in Portugal of Jewish parentage and later became a Jewish Texan trader
Merchant

Merchants function as professionals who deal with trade, dealing in commodities that they do not produce themselves, in order to produce profit....
. In 1818, Jean Laffite appointed Jao supercargo
Supercargo

Supercargo is a term in admiralty law that refers to a person employed on board a vessel by the owner of cargo carried on the ship. The duties of a supercargo include managing the cargo owner's trade, selling the merchandise at the ports to which the vessel is sailing, and buying and receiving goods to be carried on the return voyage....
 for the Karankawa Indian trade. When Laffite left Galveston Island in 1820, Jao became a full-time trader.

On September 8, 1900, the greatest natural disaster to ever strike the United States occurred at Galveston, Texas. In the early evening hours of September 8, the Galveston hurricane of 1900
Galveston Hurricane of 1900

The Hurricane of 1900 made Landfall on the city of Galveston, Texas, Texas on September 8, 1900. . ; .It had estimated winds of 135 miles per hour at landfall, making it a Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale#Category 4 storm on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale....
 came ashore, bringing with it a great storm surge
Storm surge

Storm surge is an offshore rise of water associated with a low pressure area weather system, typically a tropical cyclone. Storm surge is caused primarily by high winds pushing on the ocean's surface....
 that inundated most of Galveston Island and the city of Galveston. As a result, much of the city was destroyed and at least 6,000 people were killed in a few hours time.

Dr. Isaac M. Cline, the meteorologist in charge of the local Weather Bureau, lived on Galveston Island, just off the Texas coast. Cline was aware of a storm out in the Gulf based on previous reports from Florida. Although weather conditions were relatively calm on September 7, Dr. Cline observed the rough seas and the high waves that seemed to become more ominous by the hour. He sent a telegram to Washington, DC saying he thought a large part of the city was going to be underwater. He predicted a very heavy loss of life.

See also

  • Henry Cohen Community House
  • History of the Jews in Galveston, Texas
    History of the Jews in Galveston, Texas

    The History of the Galveston Jewish Community details over a century of Jewish Texan history in Galveston, Texas, USA.The first known Jewish immigrant to the Galveston area was Jao de la Porta, who, along with his brother Morin, financed the first Human settlement by European ethnic groupss on Galveston Island in 1816....


External links