Galveston Island.

The Island of Galveston.

Galveston Island has been occupied since the early 1500's, serving as a home to Akokisa Indians (once thought to be the Karankawa Indians), the infamous pirate Jean Lafitte, "little Ellis Island," "the Wall Street of the Southwest," the richest city in Texas and the site of the worst natural disaster in U.S. history.

Galveston was named for Bernardo de Galvez, a Spanish colonial governor and general. Galvez sent Jose de Evia to chart the Gulf of Mexico from the Texas Coast to New Orleans, and on July 23, 1786 de Evia charted an area near the mouth of a river and named it Galveston Bay. Later the island and city took the same name. Bernardo de Galvez died the same year, never setting foot on his namesake.

In the 1500's, Galveston Island was home to Karankawa Indians who camped, fished and hunted the swampy land and buried their dead here. The Spanish explorer Cabeza de Vaca was stranded on the Island living among the Karankawa for several years as a medicine man and slave.

In the late 1600's French explorer Robert Cavelier La Salle, although he did not reach Galveston Island, claimed this area for King Louis and named it St. Louis.

Galveston overcame the devastation to become a top resort. One of its greatest attractions was the Pulchritude of Beauty Pageants, held annually between 1920 and 1932.

During the 1920's through the 1940's, Sam Maceo's famous nightclubs, the Balinese Room and the Hollywood Dinner Club, were host to such performers as Phil Harris, Paul Whiteman, Guy Lombardo, Duke Ellington and Freddy Martin. Galveston attracted people from all over the nation with great dining, big name entertainment, roulette, blackjack, crap tables and slot machines.

• Galveston Cruises

Information about Galveston.

There is lots of topics to cover about Galveston Information. We have chose a few of the most popular topics.

• The City

• Island

• Attractions

• Recreation

• Directions

We hope you find this information useful and hope you choose us for your one of your next cruises from Galveston.  Remember that we specialize in Galveston Cruises.