Preview

Events at the turn of the 20th Century Send Two Cities in Opposite Directions

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
3436 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Events at the turn of the 20th Century Send Two Cities in Opposite Directions
Events at the turn of the 20th Century Send Two Cities in Opposite Directions

The combination of three major events going on around the turn of the twentieth century led to a massive change in the trajectories of the cities of Houston and Galveston. Many people are familiar with the death and devastation left behind by the Galveston Hurricane of 1900, less people, though, are familiar with the huge oil field that was found at Spindletop, 90 miles east of Houston near Beaumont, just a few months after the 1900 storm. One other key event that was going on was the clash the city of Houston had been having with Congress since the 1890’s, the city and Congressman Tom Ball had been trying to convince other members of Congress that Texas needed a more protected port, Houston, than Galveston’s exposed position no more than a few feet above sea level. Ball’s pleas did not carry much weight until the disastrous hurricane struck in September of 1900. Taking a closer look at all the players involved will give a better look at just how each of the events affected the towns. The easiest place to start is with the 1900 Storm. The hurricane struck Galveston on the night of September 8, 1900, with estimated winds at the time of around 120 miles per hour, now though it is believed that to cause destruction similar to that night the winds would have to be closer to 140 miles per hour (Lutz). While Galvestonians were aware that a storm was in the Gulf, they had received reports of it crossing over Cuba a few days before on the 4th, there was not much to be done in preparation because there was no ways of telling where a storm was truly heading (Weems). As that Saturday wore on the tide slowly began to rise, the residents were so used to the Gulf encroaching on the island during heavy rains or large storms that many of them paid it no attention at all, many children even playing in it. Local weatherman, Isaac Cline, did his best to warn people of the impending danger of the



Bibliography: Farrar, R. M.. The Story of Buffalo Bayou and the Houston Ship Channel, Book, 1926; digital images, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth46820/ : accessed May 12, 2013), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries, Denton, Texas. First 100 section, http://www.chron.com/default/article/The-birth-of-Houston-backwater-beginnings-to-2054315.php (accessed May 11, 2013). "History." Port of Houston Authority. http://www.portofhouston.com/about-us/overview/ (accessed May 11, 2013). John Edward Weems, "GALVESTON HURRICANE OF 1900," Handbook of Texas Online(http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/ydg02), accessed April 13, 2013. Published by the Texas State Historical Association. Lutz, Heidi. "The 1900 Storm: Tragedy and Triumph." The 1900 Storm. http://www.1900storm.com/ (accessed April 14, 2013). Marilyn M. Sibley, "HOUSTON SHIP CHANNEL," Handbook of Texas Online(http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/rhh11), accessed May 10, 2013. Published by the Texas State Historical Association. Robert Wooster and Christine Moor Sanders, "SPINDLETOP OILFIELD," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/dos03), accessed April 8, 2013. Published by the Texas State Historical Association. Rose, Warren. "Catalyst of an Economy: The Houston Ship Channel." Land Economics 43 (1967), http://www.jstor.org/stable/3145562 (accessed May 11, 2013). Young, Earle. Tracks to the sea: Galveston and western railroad development, 1866-1900. College Station: Centennial Series of theAssociation of Former Students , 1999. http://books.google.com/books?id=oimKcdz8ZcYC&pg=PA144&dq=sibley port of houston&hl=en&sa=X&ei=joqNUcC-CpWu4APZ_YCYDw&ved=0CFcQ6AEwCA

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In late August of 2017, Hurricane Harvey made its landfall on the coast of texas; becoming the first major landfall in the United States since Hurricane Wilma in 2005. Scientists working and studying Hurricane Harvey expected this tropical storm but only transmitted data showing it much weaker than it actually intended on being. Numerous aspects towards why Harvey became so strong are questioned due to its level of destruction. Over the course of the days Harvey became stronger as it advanced its path to land. As Harvey moved inwards onto the coast the tropical storm not only brought winds, but heavy rain. With Harvey's destructive characteristics it was made one of the most catastrophic natural disasters.…

    • 579 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Now, more than ever, there are growing numbers of differences between each region in Texas than there are similarities. Two such regions that have undoubtedly diverged from their common ancestry are the Dallas-Fort Worth “Metroplex” area and the Austin “Hill Country” region. From sports and transportation, to leisure activities and geography, each area boasts its own culture that is neither superior nor lesser to its Lone Star counterpart.…

    • 1198 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Bayou Farewell

    • 946 Words
    • 4 Pages

    References: Tidwell, M. (2003). Bayou Farewell (First Vintage Departures Edition, march 2004 ed.). New York:…

    • 946 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    "Overview of the State of Pre-Revolutionary American Maritime Commerce." The Mariners ' Museum: Birth of the U.S. Navy. 2000. The Mariners ' Museum. 13 Aug. 2005 < http://www.mariner.org/usnavy/02.htm >.…

    • 1223 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hurricane Ike was the third most destructive hurricane to make landfall in U.S. history with an estimated $22 billion in damages to Texas. Ike’s damage started September 12, 2008 with a 12 foot storm surge flooding 75% of Galveston Island and made landfall September 13. Hurricane Ike sustained winds (110mph) were considered a Category Two, only being one mile per hour from a Category Three (111mph). Ike’s storm surge was considered that of a Category Five. Texas Gulf Coastal Communities are devastated by the slow recovery process provided by the Federal Government.…

    • 1760 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Cited: "As Hurricane Ike Lashed Galveston, a Memory of the Great Storm of 1900." New York Times 14 Sept. 2008, Week in Review sec.: n. pag. Academic Search Premier. Web. 26 Oct. 2012.…

    • 1277 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lone Star State Texas

    • 377 Words
    • 2 Pages

    This map is a great learning tool and art piece, and serves as a reminder of some of the best aspect of Texas’ past, as well as an illustration of its surviving history that has shaped Texas into the state that it is…

    • 377 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Texas Myth Analysis

    • 1400 Words
    • 6 Pages

    “The Texas Myth” in history has been created by many Anglo historians in hopes of creating and perpetuating a history that supports the Anglo cause of expansion during early Texas history. Many of the early Texas historians such as Webb, Dobie, Haley, and Webber have provided many historical accounts as told from the Anglo perspective. However, new historians such as Volanto, Goldman and Ginn have provided new perspectives that have begun to challenge the traditionalist views of history. With different views of history, we can then begin to understand how other cultures have contributed to the creation of the Texan Identity and help in moving away from the Myth.…

    • 1400 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Galveston Island, Texas, on September 8, 1900, The Great Galveston hurricane took place. It is considered to be the deadliest hurricane in united states history. As of September 3, 1990 the hurricane began as a tropical storm over Cuba, the storm was first organized in the Mid-Atlantic Ocean near the Cape Verde Islands. Once the storm reached the Florida Keys it became stronger and formed the hurricane. As the hurricane reached the Gulf of Mexico, the hurricane gained its great intensity that caused it to become a category 4 hurricane. This was a great and destructive hurricane with wind speeds at 130-140 miles per hour and a great storm surge that cause many deaths at 15 feet. Because the hurricane occurred at a time where the advanced…

    • 417 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Hurricane Ike hit the Texas Gulf coast on September 13, 2008 near Galveston, Texas. When Hurricane Ike hit it registered as a category 2 hurricane; however, before it hit land the storm went as high as a category 5 hurricane. Even though this hurricane was only a category 2 it still caused major damage. Hurricane Ike came ashore in Texas at 2:10 a.m. CDT, Sept. 13, and brought a wall of water over 13 feet high, sweeping through Galveston Island, and on the mainland. Ike made landfall with sustained winds near 110 mph, just 1 mph short of a Category 3 hurricane…

    • 1153 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Ess Analysis of Hurricanes

    • 1698 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Although scientists began to understand ways to predict hurricanes as early as the 1800’s and have been building on that knowledge ever since, hurricanes continue to cause incredible destruction, such as the Galveston Hurricane in 1900, where approximately 6,000 people died, and Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which caused over $81.2 billion in damage and still affects the city of New Orleans today.…

    • 1698 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    This is a narrative about the hurricane that hit Galveston, Texas in 1900. The perspective of this book is told by Isaac Cline, the senior U.S Weather Bureau official in Galveston at the time. Erik Larson points out the mistakes that led bureau officials to dismiss the warnings of the storm, as barometers drop Mr. Larson cinematically cuts from the eerie eye of the hurricane to the lunchroom moments before it surrenders to the arriving winds.…

    • 715 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Spindletop Story

    • 337 Words
    • 2 Pages

    On January 10th, 1901, 10:30 AM, possibly the biggest and most influential events in all of oil history occurred in Beaumont, Texas. The Texas Oil Company, now known as Texaco, struck oil at a salt dome in southern Beaumont Texas. This was the biggest amount of oil the world had ever seen at the time. These wells on Spindletop would change the way we drilled, collected, used, and sold oil. Spindletop even raised concerns about conserving the oil. This gusher would change the way oil was drilled, collected, used and sold. The Spindletop oil field produced more than 20% of the United State’s oil at that time. Spindletop has an intriguing story that expands before and after the actual gusher, and that story involved many people…

    • 337 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Write An Essay On Houston

    • 778 Words
    • 4 Pages

    If you recently moved to the Houston area or if you are considering moving to the area, you may not yet realize just how lucky you are. Those of us in the “Houston Know” can promise you that you’ll eventually find yourself surprised that so many people never even consider visiting what you’ll someday realize is an amazingly cosmopolitan city. If you’ve got a look of distaste on your face right now, and you think I’m trying to sell you something just keep reading long enough for me to throw a few unarguable facts your way. First, Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States. Second, Forbes has been known to announce Houston to be “the coolest city to live in the United States” – in writing, no less. And third, Texas Monthly once argued that the state…

    • 778 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This exhibit traces the history of early Texas banking and the involvement of the Moody family of Galveston in the expansion of that industry. Colonel William Lewis Moody began the family’s banking heritage by serving as president of the National Bank of Texas, which was the second bank established in the state receiving its charter on March 6, 1866. His son, W. L. Moody, Jr., continued the family tradition with the founding of City National Bank in 1907 and the establishment of W. L. Moody and Company Bankers, Unincorporated in 1916. W. L. Moody, Jr.’s daughter, Mary Moody Northen, and his grandson, Robert L. Moody, Sr., upheld the family banking tradition. Learn about the history of this family and their leadership in the development of the Texas banking industry.…

    • 339 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics