The original Murdoch’s Bathhouse opened in Galveston during the late 19th century. Situated directly on the beach near 23rd Street, Murdoch’s offered bathing suit rentals, changing rooms, and shower facilities. The beach-side bathhouse was completely destroyed by the 1900 Storm before the Seawall was constructed.
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The first bridge connecting Galveston Island to the mainland was a railroad bridge completed in 1860. This bridge was lost during a subsequent hurricane, but additional railroad bridges were built in 1869 and in 1877. All of these bridges were simple timber trestles. In 1893, a new bridge was constructed - but this one was for the use of horse-drawn wagons.
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But the real attraction of leap years past was the unusual set of social privileges offered to young ladies, allowing them to send Valentines, extend social invitations, and even propose marriage to young men - all of which would have been considered overly forward in a normal year.
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Anyone who has lived in or visited Galveston in the last 50 years has most likely seen skaters on the seawall. The popularity of the sport comes and goes, but its history on the island goes back surprisingly further than one might think. America’s first roller skating rink opened on the East Coast in 1866, and the craze quickly spread west. George Plimpton’s invention of a four-wheeled “rocker” design that made it easier for people to turn by leaning left or right, added to the popularity.
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For more than a century, Galveston has been an on-again, off-again home to oceanfront amusements, complete with rides, souvenir shops, carnival confections, and happy children. Because of a combination of hurricanes and tough economic times throughout its history, Galveston has had many bathhouses, amusement facilities and pleasure piers come and go. Among Galveston’s most famous and storied amusement facilities now lost to time was the legendary Crystal Palace, dating back nearly 108 years.
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This row of five two-story townhouses was typical of the homes constructed in the east end of Galveston in the years following the Great Fire of 1885, a devastating disaster in which hundreds of homes across 40 city blocks burned down, displacing thousands of residents. Many of these homes offered rooms for rent, no doubt serving the nearby Galveston County Courthouse.
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In the decades prior to the widespread popularity of automobiles, Galveston had benefitted greatly from the Texas cotton industry which had verifiably boomed after the Civil War. The small island city became one of the most successful and dominant commercial ports in the world, a reputation that lasted well into the 20th Century.
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Are you looking for a unique and luxurious living experience that also immerses you in local history? Look no further than the U.S. Customs House in downtown Galveston. This stunning building, constructed in 1861 with imported brick and structural wrought iron, offers a rare opportunity to own a piece of history while enjoying modern amenities.
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The Turnverein Movement was first brought to the United States in 1848 by a group of political refugees from Germany who were keen enthusiasts of gymnastics and physical exercise. The name turnverein refers to a type of athletic club. Texas Turnvereins were established in Galveston in 1851, and by 1858 its Turn Verein Lodge had erected a building at 2109-2011 Sealy named Turner Hall that became one of the first public halls in Galveston.
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I was curious if you knew anything about the Galveston City Stock company that was issued soon after Texas won its independence. My wife restores furniture and we found two Galveston City Stock certificates in an old desk she bought. I started doing some research and it’s an incredible story…
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Along the eastern edge of Bolivar Peninsula, just past the point where Highway 87 ends and veers left into Highway 124 towards I-10, sits the unincorporated community of High Island--which is not really an island at all. This brief coastal expanse is attached to the mainland, but it is located atop a salt dome that gives it an elevation of 38 feet, the highest elevation on the Gulf Coast between Mobile, Alabama, and the Yucatan Peninsula. Primarily known today as a birdwatcher’s paradise, High Island experienced a brief run of infamy in the national news during the 1970s.
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Amid the controversy this past August concerning a certain statue that stands in front of the 1966 Galveston County Courthouse on 21st Street, another historical discrepancy came to light albeit significantly less contentious. “I kept hearing everyone refer to the location as ‘courthouse square,’” says Mike Doherty, President of the Rosenberg Library. “And I would think, ‘No, that’s Central Park.’”
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A map at the Rosenberg Library shows a large, two-story residence with another two-story house offset in the rear, and three small outbuildings on the north side of the property. There is no record of the condition of these buildings which may have sustained damage in the hurricanes of 1871 and 1875. The Darraghs moved to the property in 1884 or 1885 and undertook a major renovation two years later.
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Witnesses reported that a howling north wind had blown the sparks from a furnace that had exploded in the Vulcan Foundry located between 16th and Strand streets, igniting an inferno unlike anything since the Great Chicago Fire in 1871. “The scene was sublime in its awfulness,” continued the same Daily News report, published the next day. “The combined efforts of every fire department in all of Texas would have been ineffective against this blaze.”
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Abner Doubleday’s arrival to Galveston in 1866 did, however, certainly lead to the first recorded game in the state and subsequently the first official baseball diamond drawn on Texas soil. On January 8, 1867, the Galveston Daily News announced and advocated for plans to establish a permanent baseball club in the city.
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Unbeknownst to many who today seek the shores of Galveston for respite and relaxation, Texas’ sunniest city was not recognized nor promoted as an entertainment destination until the first section of the seawall was built between 1902-1904.
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This month marks a milestone—the 120th anniversary of The Great Storm of 1900. Which also means that 120 years-worth of history has been written about it, and almost all of it is about Galveston. But why would it not be?
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In October 1900 just a month after the Great Storm, newspaperman William Randolph Hearst organized a benefit for the Galveston orphans to be held at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York. Artists and sculptors were invited to submit artwork to be auctioned during the benefit, and renowned sculptor Pompeo Luigi Coppini donated a small maquette of a design he titled the “Victims of the Galveston Flood.”
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Children growing up on Galveston Island in the 1920s had heard of Jean Lafitte. They’d been enthralled by legends of the swashbuckling pirate, so when news came out of the construction at 22nd and Seawall of a new luxury hotel called the Buccaneer, many small children said they truly believed they would go to the fancy new hotel and meet a real pirate.
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Galveston is one of those places that will try anything once. As evidenced by the continual evolution of entertainment on the seawall throughout the 20th century on up until today, anything that is trendy is welcome for as long as it is trendy.
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People lined up outside the theaters to see the newest moving pictures featuring the shimmering Rita Hayworth, the amazing dance sequences of Gene Kelly, and the synchronized swimming “aquamusical” performances of Esther Williams. Like the rest of the country, Galvestonians dreamed of lounging luxuriously by a magnificent pool, basking in the sun, wearing nothing but the perfect bathing suit, a dark suntan, and a big smile.
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The beautiful, four-and-a-half story, wood-framed hotel was located between 23rd and 24th Streets just south of where the Seawall is today.
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Despite a common assumption, Galveston was not always a destination for beachgoers. In fact, early measures taken to promote the booming commercial port city as such were met with staunch opposition from those who sought to maintain an elevated reputation as an island of commerce and industry. This was before the seawall was constructed, and long before the words “short term rental” became a regular part of the local dialect.
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Galveston is often heralded for its survivor spirit. Yet even this lofty (and well-deserved) label, given for the community’s ability to overcome seemingly insurmountable forces of nature, underplays the fact that time after time, this island city has done far more than merely survive. Even the mainstream narrative of island history often reaches its dramatic climax on September 8, 1900, lazily crediting The Great Storm with a consequent economic devastation that instantly transformed Broadway mansions into museums.
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Galveston Island is rich with history — The Strand, the 1892 Bishop’s Palace, hundreds of examples of meticulously restored Victorian architecture — and one relic that has been all but lost to the sands of time. An authentic horse-drawn American LaFrance Metropolitan steam fire engine that served Galveston for almost a half century is the latest addition to the Galveston County Museum’s growing collection of artifacts.
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By Kathleen Maca

In 1893 Swiss-born banker and philanthropist Henry Rosenberg presented Galvestonians with a way to quench their thirst for water and beauty at the same time. In his will, he bequeathed $30,000 - the equivalent of almost $860,000 today - for the “creation of not less than 10 drinking fountains for man and beast in various portions of the city of Galveston.”
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At the bleakest moment in Galveston’s history, when the stench of death was covered only by the smoke of funeral pyres, when a 20-foot-high, 8-mile-long debris wall - all that remained of the southern half of the island - loomed over downtown, at a time when the joy of reuniting with a loved one was cruelly tempered by the loss of a dozen others, news outlets around the country were quick to proclaim that “Galveston was finished.” No city could survive the magnitude of the destruction left behind by that September storm.
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The humble granite block- it sits silently, faithfully serving this island city. For most people these blocks are little more than convenient platforms extending into the surf, places to enjoy the sights and sounds of crashing waves. They benefit fishermen on sunny mornings and the aquatic sea life living in their crevasses. They tend to blend into the scenery, and little thought is given to them.
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Galveston Island is now home to the beautiful new Bryan Museum at 1315 21st Street, but the walls of the museum building hold stories from a very different past. For over 100 years, the halls echoed with the voices of orphaned children who made their home in the grand building which is estimated to have housed nearly 6,000 over that century.
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Today, when we hear about a tragedy or major news event, we don’t need to go any further than our televisions, computers or phones to find endless details and videos of the occurrence. People in years past were no less inquisitive, but with motion pictures still in their infancy and limited newspaper photographs, their curiosity was often less than satisfied.
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According to the Handbook of Texas, the cornerstone of what would become Ball High School - believed to be the oldest public school in Texas - was laid on Feb. 15,1884, at the southwest corner of the main portion of the building on Avenue H at 21st Street. The inscription on the cornerstone read: “George Ball to the Children of Galveston.”
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According to the Handbook of Texas, the cornerstone of what would become Ball High School - believed to be the oldest public school in Texas - was laid on Feb. 15,1884, at the southwest corner of the main portion of the building on Avenue H at 21st Street. The inscription on the cornerstone read: “George Ball to the Children of Galveston.”
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In 1927, when the 10-story Jean Lafitte Hotel opened its doors at 2101 Church Street In Galveston, it was an astounding accomplishment. Designed by Scottish architect Andrew Fraser, the island’s first high-rise structure was called a “striking architectural beauty.”
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In the mid-19th century, Catholic Bishop Claude M. Dubuis charged the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word to care for the orphans of Galveston. From 1867 until 1968, the Sisters not only provided a safe haven for the children but also educated them.
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In 1839, Tremont House, a posh two-story hotel -designed by the firm of McKinney & Williams (Thomas McKinney, Samuel May Williams) - opened at the corner of Postoffice and Tremont Streets.
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Organized and led by Saint Angela Merici, the Order of St. Ursula was canonically instituted by Pope Paul III (1534-1549) for the education of girls and the care of the ill and underprivileged.
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