two miles off shore on galveston island. ed by our comcast cable partners, c-span city tour staff recently visited many sites showcasing the city's history. learn more about galveston all weekend here on american history tv. ♪ [bagpipes playing] announcer: with the explosion and the growing price of cotton and some of these other commodities, galveston became an extremely wealthy city. the only way that wealth could leave here was on the decks of sailing ships. el,isissa has a vital role in telling the economic story of galveston. [birds cawing] >> take it down! >> aye! [men shouting orders] host: elissa was built in aberdeen scotland. she is classified as a barc. three masts. she carries a sail. she was a merchant ship. she was part of a vast british conglomerate of sailing vessels that sailed around the world. she was a tramp sailor. she was the equivalent of about a ups truck or fedex. she was not a big 18 wheeler. there were a lot of ships larger. her niche was to go into undeveloped potsrts ports without a lot of water d

we estimated the loss of life in galveston alone or galveston island at approximately 8000. e in town in galveston at that time. businessmen conducting their business that weekend, and you had vacationers who wanted to wait in the gulf of mexico see the beachfront and they are included among the several thousand people who we can't account for. there is no accurate or complete list. we only have about 199 official death records. many of those bodies were not identified. most of the people who died in the hurricane were prepared from anecdotal sources, word of mouth. and then there were several thousand more casualties up on around galveston bay up towards houston. this was a storm that was rapidly evolving, rapidly acting, but did a heck of a lot of damage and destruction in its wake. the recovery with a homegrown effort, of course there were physical or i should say technological changes that happened as a consequence of the 1900 storm. thousands upon thousands of workers came to galveston to remove the debris, to burn the bodies, for the bodies pose the threat of disease. a

there is not a lot of immediate drilling around galveston island. s mostly a working port to support the industry offshore. immigration into galveston is one of the overlooked stories of texas history and american history is that without this port and its availability for 150 years, we would not have had settlement in the united states and certainly in texas. early, i'm talking about pre-civil war 1830's, 1840's, you have lots of groups of europeans, mainly germans coming , into the port of galveston and as a group settling a different parts of the state of texas. if you had been here in the 1850's, german was the most common language spoken in galveston. on the streets, that is what people were talking in. you can see in galveston today if you go to the garden, you can see what became the center for german entertainment and social life. you can go to st. joseph's church, the first german catholic church in texas. you can see where they worshiped and where they were educated and how they spent their lives in galveston. but the height of immigration w

we are at the villa the first brick mansion constructed on galveston island.constructed in 1859. this place also served as the residence for the confederate army, then later general garden rangers residence when he arrived on june 18, 1865. we had been having a celebration here for 36 years. a coincided with the state of texas holiday juneteenth. the texas day holiday occurred by an african-american representative, by the name of out and out -- name of al edwards of houston, texas. he remembered growing up the celebration of juneteenth, so he introduced a law making that a paid holiday. there were only a african-american legislators black legislators, in the legislator. his bill passed. it was signed into law. it went into effect june 13, 1979. it was mainly here in the south where the celebration was -- you had major celebration. today, you have big celebrations in milwaukee, los angeles, washington, dc, new york, san antonio. there are a lot -- over 40 states. we had been told that there are at least five foreign countries that even celebrate the juneteenth

galveston. but it is the earliest known rendering of the island, the harbor, and the natural bay. some of the other items we are going to look at today are documents from the collections of some of the founders of galveston. since galveston was already a major port, they wanted to start a city here. so a group of men were entrusted with the task of setting up basically a city on the island. the next document is actually from the james morgan papers. it was also an early founder of galveston. it actually lists the original stockholders of the galveston city company. here you can see mckinney and williams, who actually were in partnership together and had their own business. mckinney and williams were actually businessman, and they were cotton traders. and they really wanted to establish themselves as the primary route for cotton growers in texas to transport their cotton out of the republic of texas. they pretty much wanted to have, be the primary transporters of that. so, they are businessman merchants, primarily. the next letter we are going to look at is a letter written from and

today's edition galveston island texas. it's been overrun by prerchts.em up with an encouraging note and putting them places for anyone to find. 240 much them so far. >> wow. >> this is term. why is this happening? >> kindness. when you feel that kindness you go out and you do something kind for someone else. it's brought me so much joy. >> isn't that nice? the only catch, the people who get the gifts are supposed to post their stories on the artist's facebook page and they have been inspiring. one little girl finding the gift on the anniversary of her grandmother's death and it made her feel better. another man receiving the gift on his birthday and it was his only one. >> leave gifts around for people to find. wow. just amazing. >> i think it kind of gives you hope in people because you're like well, that's really nice. >> that is really nice. >> so many people actively trying to make the world a bad place. it's great to hear that there are other people on the other end saying no, i won't stand for it. let's see it. >> especially bejewelled. >> you hav

the 1900 storm for galveston is a major event in the island's history. there has been a lot written about it and said about it, but it still lingers today. it is still very much a part of galveston tony and's history and lives today. this letter is a frequent -- this letter is a recent acquisition and it is from francis lister who was a railroad agent. it was written to his two sons. it is a letter basically describing what happened to him and his family during the storm and it goes into great detail about the water rising and the wind picking out. what happened to them through the night of september 8. it is basically letting the boys know that they are ok. he had already sent them telegrams, but i guess he wanted to go into more detail and let them know what happened during that night. it is very poignant. the detail is very descriptive and it really gives you a good idea of the horrors these people suffered. just give you an idea of how horrible the night was, we can read about the water rising and the wind taking up and houses being moved off of their

galveston. but it is a drawing of the island, the harbor and the natural bay. of the other items we going to look at today are documents from the collection of some of the founders of galveston. again, they are the earliest collection that we have here. we will head on out to the reading room and take a look at the documents out there. the city was began in -- around 1836, 1837 after texas won its independence from mexico. since galveston was already a major port, they wanted to start a city or. a group of men were entrusted with the task of setting up basically a city on the island. next document is actually from the james morgan papers, also an early founder of galveston. it's actually lists these stockholders of the company. you can see mckinney and williams, who actually were in partnership together. mckinney and williams were actually businessmen and they were cotton traders. and they were really the ones who establish themselves as the primary routes or cotton growers in texas to transport their cotton out of the republic of texas. they pretty much wanted

>> welcome to galveston on booktv. located in an island off the gulf coast texas is the main port for the texas navy during the texas revolution and served as provisional capital of the state of texas. is visited by 6 million tourists experiencing beaches and other attractions. with the help of comcast partners we will learn about the history of this city from local waters. we begin with casey green -- casey greene undone 1900on the 1900 storm that devastated galveston. >> the 1900 storm struck galveston in 1900 on september 8th, a saturday. the storm began at noon and raised in dramatic intensity and finally when it tapered off that evening. this hurricane was and still is the deadliest natural event in the history of the united states. the destruction pull 28 to $30 million certainly the destructive hurricane. many buildings did survive with major damage but the death toll is why we remember this event more than anything. it can happen again. saturday, september 1900, people went to the beach, the rising tides, the rising wind certainly

galveston, texas on american history tv. located 50 miles from houston, the city sits on a barrier island just off the texas coast facing the mexico. large container ships utilizing the port of galveston can be seen navigating galveston bay. the port was established in 1825 by the congress of mexico, while the land known as texas still belonged to that country. with help from our cable partners, in the next hour, we will explore the history of this south texas city of 47,000. coming, visit the rosenberg library museum, the repository for much of galveston's historical heritage. >> we have so many items related to the history of galveston. we are the keeper of the history. >> later, step aboard the tall ship elissa, a ship that once delivered goods to the city. >> she sailed and arrived here in galveston about 100 yards from where we are standing out in 1883 with a cargo full of bananas. >> we begin our visit off its shores and into the surrounding waters. the fort is a major reason why the island city exists today and plays a dominant role in its economy. >> the first land grant for galveston came about in the 1830's, and it

island's history. there has been a lot written about it and set about it, but it still lingers today, though it is still very much a part of galveston the in history and life today. this letter is a requested -- recent acquisition. it is from frances lister, who is a real estate agent. it is to his two sons. it starts out, "dear boys." basically it is what happened to him and his family during the storm. it goes into great detail about the water rising and the wind picking up and what happened to them through the night of september 8. and it is basically let the boys know -- he had sent them tell a brand's, but i guess he wanted to go into more detail and let them know what happened that night. the detail is very descriptive and gives you an idea of the horrors these people suffered. just to give you an idea how horrible the night was we can read about the water rising in the wind picking up and things being moved off their foundations, but mr. let -- mr. lister in his letter said, you need to send his wife and daughter off the island. he was afraid of disease. he was afraid of an epidemic. -- as soon as i can get them out of here.

. >> give me -- >> welcome to galveston on booktv. located in an islandf coast texas is the main port for the texas navy during the texas revolution and served as provisional capital of the state of texas. is visited by 6 million tourists experiencing beaches and other attractions. with the help of comcast partners we will learn about the history of this city from local waters. we begin with casey green -- casey greene undone 1900on the 1900 storm that devastated galveston. >> the 1900 storm struck galveston in 1900 on september 8th, a

where we are at is ashton villa which was the first brick mansion constructed on galveston island.constructed in 1859. this place also served as the residence for the confederate army and later gordon granger's residence when he arrived on june 18, 1865. we have been having a celebration here at ashton villa for 36 years. it coincided with the state of texas holiday. the texas state holiday occurred by an african-american representative by the name of al edwards of houston, texas who remembered as a kid the celebration of juneteen so he introduced a lawmaking that a paid holiday. there were only eight african-american black legislators in the legislature. this bill passed. it was signed into law. it went into effect june 13, 1979. it was mainly here in the south where the celebration -- where you had major celebrations. today, you have big celebrations in mill walk he, washington, d.c., new york, san antonio -- there are a lot -- over 40 states. we have been told there are at least five foreign countries that even celebrate the june teenth this update is very important because it s

we estimated the loss of life in galveston alone or galveston island at approximately 8000.ny people were in town at that time. conduct their business you had the occasion merits who wanted to wait in the gulf of mexico. they are included among the several and we can't account for. there is no accurate or complete 1900 storm's calculus. we only have about 199 official death records. many of those bodies were identified. most of the people who died in the hurricane were from anecdotal sources, word-of-mouth. and then there were several more casualties around galveston towards houston. this is a storm that was rapidly evolving, rapidly acting. we did a heck of a lot of damage. the recovery was a home-grown effort. of course there were two to logical changes that happen as a consequence of the 1900 storm. but thousands upon thousands of workers came to galveston to remove the debris, buried the bodies for the bodies pose the threat of pestilence. they had to provide housing for the survivors were the people couldn't take refuge in their homes and i also had to secure food water

but there is not a lot of immediate drilling around galveston island. it is mostly a working port to support the industry that is offshore. immigration into galveston is one of the overlooked stories of our texas history and early american history is that without this port and its availability for 150 years we would not had settlement in the united states and early in texas. the early, i am talking about pre civil war, 1830's, 1840's, you had groups of europeans, mainly germans coming into the port of galveston and as a group settling in different parts of the state of texas. if you had been here in the 18450's german was the most popular line which. it is hard for people to think about that -- german was the most popular language. you can see in galveston if you go to the garden, you can see what became the center for the german entertainment and social life. you can go to st. joseph church, the first german catholic church in texas and you can see where they worshiped and where they actually were educated and how they spent their lives in galveston. bu