Skip to content

Hitchcock, Texas

Everything Hitchcock is known for

1 song mention this city

RoadyGoat plays music like this when you drive through Hitchcock. It's free on iPhone, and full songs play through Apple Music.

Sign up for the free newsletter Get the iPhone app

Music in Hitchcock

Songs About Hitchcock

the ballad of lavern and captain flint
guy clark
10%

Artists From Hitchcock

No artists from Hitchcock in the database yet.

Know one? Add it →

Rivers & Roads in Song near Hitchcock

Songs written about the waterways and highways that run near Hitchcock.

Interstate 45 8 songs FM 3005 2 songs Trinity River 11 songs Brazos River 43 songs Interstate 10 36 songs US Route 90 9 songs

History of Hitchcock

Blimps Over the Gulf: Hitchcock's Giant Hangar and the U-Boat War RoadyGoat

1942

In 1942-43, 24 German U-boats slipped into the Gulf of Mexico and sank 56 merchant ships, damaging 14 more, with tankers burning within sight of the coast; on June 1, 1942 Galveston ordered dimouts so ships offshore wouldn't be silhouetted for U-boat periscopes. The Navy's answer at Hitchcock: a roughly 3,000-acre lighter-than-air base commissioned May 22, 1943, built around a $10 million timber hangar 1,000 feet long, about 300 feet wide and over 200 feet tall, with 300,000+ square feet of unobstructed floor, room for six helium K-ships. It was framed almost entirely in wood to save wartime steel, one of 17 giant timber airship hangars the Navy erected nationwide and among the largest wooden buildings ever raised in Texas. Blimp Squadron ZP-23 flew slow, low patrols over Galveston Bay and the Gulf escorting tankers and hunting periscopes (no Gulf U-boat kill is credited to the blimps; the only U-boat sunk in the Gulf, U-166, fell to a patrol craft). The base closed in October 1944; during the Korean War the hangar floor was used to remanufacture WWII tanks. Hurricane Carla wrecked the great wooden hangar in 1961 and it was demolished in 1962; today only the four massive concrete corner towers and the foundation remain. (Sources: TSHA; Naval Aviation News; BOEM; Wikipedia.)

RoadyGoat → · 4.0 mi away

When Blimps Flew Over Hitchcock RoadyGoat

During World War II, this quiet farming town became a critical part of America's coastal defense. Just south of here, the U.S. Navy built a massive base for a fleet of blimps. At the Hitchcock Naval Air Station, you would have seen K-class airships floating in and out of a colossal wooden hangar, one of the largest wooden structures in the world at the time. Their mission was to patrol the Gulf of Mexico, hunting for German U-boats that were preying on Allied shipping. These 'ghosts of the coast' could hover for hours, using radar and magnetic detectors to find submarines. At the same time, the Army operated Camp Wallace, a huge anti-aircraft training center right in town. For a few short years, the skies over Hitchcock weren't filled with birds, but with blimps and the sounds of artillery practice, as thousands of young service members trained to defend the nation.

RoadyGoat → · 4.1 mi away

The Engineering of the Ghost Fleet RoadyGoat

The blimps that flew from Hitchcock during World War II were impressive, but the engineering that supported them was astounding. The centerpiece was the blimp hangar, a structure so vast it could have held several football fields. Because steel was needed for the war effort, it was built almost entirely of wood. Imagine a massive, arched structure a thousand feet long, three hundred feet wide and two hundred feet tall, framed with giant timber trusses — for a time the largest wooden structure in the world, built for ten million dollars and able to shelter six airships at once. Its doors alone stood a hundred and fifty feet tall and rolled on their own rails. Inside, the K-class airships were technological marvels themselves. Filled with non-flammable helium, their fabric envelopes housed advanced electronics for the time, including early radar and magnetic anomaly detectors used to locate submerged German U-boats. The entire operation, from the structural engineering of the hangar to the physics of lighter-than-air flight and submarine detection, made this small Texas town a hub of advanced military technology.

RoadyGoat → · 4.1 mi away

Hitchcock Naval Air Station

1943

Hitchcock Naval Air Station was a World War II naval air station for lighter-than-air craft—semirigid airships, also known as blimps. The mission of the LTA craft at Hitchcock was to protect shipping facilities and ship traffic along the Texas coast from possible Axis submarine attacks. The base was located thirty-five miles south of Houston and fifteen miles northwest of Galveston, within the boundaries of the small community of Hitchcock in Galveston County. It was on approximately 3,000 acres of coastal plain procured by a government "Declaration of Taking" in April 1943. The construction of the $10 million blimp hangar, which was designed to hold six of the giant airships, was actually begun in 1942. The hangar was 1,000 feet long, 300 feet wide and more than 200 feet high; it had more than 300,000 square feet of unobstructed floor space. Other necessary buildings included warehouses, dormitories, shops, vehicle garages, administration and office buildings, and a recreation building containing an auditorium, a gymnasium, a stage, dressing rooms, kitchen facilities, and an Olympic-size swimming pool. All of the buildings were of wood and painted gleaming white. The station was commissioned on May 22, 1943, by navy captain Arthur D. Ayrault. At the time 143 officers and men were attached to it. The base was struck by a hurricane on June 27 but suffered only minimal damage. As the Axis powers were brought toward their ultimate defeat, the threat of U-boat attack on the Texas coast subsided, and the LTA stations were closed down. Hitchcock was redesignated a naval air facility, to be used primarily for the storage of inactive aeronautical material. In 1949 the General Services Administration sold the installation to H. L. Harvey for $143,777. The Commodity Credit Corporation used the hangar for storing rice; it has been noted that the entire rice harvest of Texas could have been stored in the immense building. In 1950 the site was sold to John W. Mecom. In 1951, during the Korean War, the facility was leased to Bowen-McLaughlin, Incorporated, and the hangar was converted to remanufacture half-tracks and army tanks. In 1961 the hangar suffered such major damage from Hurricane Carla that it was considered too expensive to repair and was demolished in 1962. John Mecom continued to use the site for his various business interests in 1990. The station had a lasting impact on the community of Hitchcock. Many of the civilians and military personnel who came to live and work there either stayed or later returned to the area.

Tsha Handbook →

Hitchcock, Lent Munson

1838

Lent Munson Hitchcock, naval officer and Galveston civic leader, was born in Southington, Connecticut, on October 15, 1816, the son of Lent Munson Hitchcock, a seaman. He sailed as a cabin boy at the age of fourteen and continued in the merchant marine and United States naval service for a number of years; he visited Galveston Island-then still a desert isle-for the first time in 1828. He enlisted in the Texas Navy , apparently at New Orleans, on May 2, 1836, and was appointed midshipman on the Independence . He was second lieutenant on the Brutus before he resigned his commission in April 1837. Hitchcock established residence in Galveston, where he was appointed branch pilot on May 6. In August 1838 he helped to organize the town's government. He was named Galveston's first harbor master, a post that he held for thirty years. By 1840 he owned four town lots, one slave, and a saddle horse. Early in 1838 the Texas Navy purchased the merchant brig Potomac , named for a United States warship on which Hitchcock once served as a mate, from Hitchcock for $8,000. At that time the Potomac was the only ship in the navy. In May 1842, while the Texas government was preparing for an offensive move into Mexico in response to the raids of Rafael Vásquez and Adrián Woll , Hitchcock took charge of the steamer Merchant , lent to the republic by L. M. H. Washington and Edwin Ward Moore to transport volunteers to Galveston. Hitchcock owned a schooner that he occasionally chartered to the Texas government. In 1850 he owned $3,500 in real estate. His business interests included a grocery store, a ship's chandlery, and the Tremont Hotel. He acquired extensive real estate in Galveston County, including the land on which the town of Hitchcock, named in his honor, is located. In addition he served on the board of directors of the Union Fire and Marine Insurance Company, said to be the oldest insurance company in Texas; the Galveston, Houston and Henderson Railroad; and the Galveston Navigation Company. By 1860 Hitchcock's wealth was estimated at $60,000 in real estate and $60,000 in personal property. He served eight terms as alderman of Galveston and four terms as treasurer; he was several times acting mayor and clerk of council. He was also a charter member of Hook and Ladder Company Number One, reputedly the oldest fire house in Texas. Although his wealth was diminished by the Civil War , he remained quite wealthy after it. He was a Mason, an Odd Fellow, and an active member of Trinity Episcopal Church in Galveston. Hitchcock married Emily Sarah Elizabeth Ann Clifford in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1839. They had four children, two of whom lived to adulthood. He died in Galveston on February 28, 1869, and was buried in the Episcopal Cemetery there.

Tsha Handbook →

Lorraine Crosby School

1914

Opening in 1914, the Lorraine Crosby School served as an educational stepping stone for the African American children of Hitchcock. In 1903, the first school was held in the home of Louis Brown. Later, the Galilee Baptist Church offered a small annex on “Little Ben’s Farm” over the bayou and then the church auditorium. In 1910, four members of the church home missionary society discussed a more permanent home for the school near the Santa Fe Railroad. The school board agreed to build a school if the community purchased the lot. To purchase the property, citizens sponsored fish fries and other fundraisers. In 1914, the lot at 7801 Burns Street was purchased. The city built a school and it opened as Hitchcock Colored School. One notable teacher and principal of the school was Mrs. Lorraine Crosby. She instilled high standards and strength in her students and, in 1949 after her death, the school was named in her honor. By 1952, the school footprint expanded with additional facilities for the growing school and again in 1959. Prior to 1956, students wishing to continue their education in high school had to transfer to Galveston or La Marque. Even though funds were limited or non-existent for supplies and activities, staff, parents and community members helped meet the needs of the students. As a result, Lorraine Crosby School had a football team, track team, basketball team and a boy scout troop. The first graduating class was in 1960 and the last was in May 1965. In 1966, the schools integrated and the Lorraine Crosby School became a middle school for a short time. At a time when African American schools had few resources, Lorraine Crosby School was an integral part of the community and will live on in the community’s memory as their educational beginning.

Historical Marker → · 3.9 mi away

Stringfellow Orchards

1883

Nationally and internationally recognized horticulturist Henry Martyn Stringfellow (1839-1922) started an experimental garden and orchard at this location in 1883. In 1890 he published a treatise containing inovative organic gardening methods that were adopted by Japanese, German, and many American fruit and vegetable growers. Silver medals garnered at two world fairs and world-wide acclaim for additional publications solidified his stature as a premier experiemental horticulturist of his time. Vestiges of his handiwork were evident here over 100 years later. (1992) [NOTE: Stringfellow's correct death date is 1912]

Historical Marker → · 4.6 mi away

Hitchcock, TX

1873

Hitchcock, also known as Hitchcock's and as Highland, is an incorporated community fourteen miles northwest of Galveston on State Highway 6, Farm roads 519 and 2004, and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe line in southwestern Galveston County. The area was settled around 1846. On May 31, 1848, Jonas Butler acquired a league of land on Highland Bayou and built a house, part of which still stood in the 1940s. Butler was followed by a group of French settlers, who established homes on the bayou. The community was originally known as Highland for its location on the bayou's high banks. Travelers used the bayou to reach Galveston until the 1870s, when the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway built through the settlement. The town was renamed around 1873, when Emily Hitchcock, widow of Galveston civic leader Lent M. Hitchcock , offered a 450-foot-wide tract from Cow Gully east to the section house for a townsite if the railroad would name the community for her husband. Local farmers shipped cattle and vegetables. A post office was established in 1884 under the name Hitchcock's, later shortened to Hitchcock. Thomas King platted the townsite around 1891, and by 1892 the community reported a population of 275, two grocers, and several fruit growers and commission merchants. Farmers later marketed their vegetables through a cooperative association. A local public school opened in 1894, and by 1907 the town had two schools, one with eighty-nine White pupils and two teachers and one with thirty-seven Black pupils and one teacher. In 1914 Hitchcock had a bank, a hotel, a blacksmith, three general stores, and a population of 550. The town began to decline with the end of local truck farming after 1920. Most local packing houses closed, many residents moved to find work in Texas City, and by 1925 Hitchcock's population had fallen to 350. During the early 1930s the town grew slightly, but declined again by the eve of World War II to 350 residents and seventeen businesses. In the 1940s the Hitchcock population level remained steady because of local oil and gas development, the establishment of Camp Wallace , and Navy construction of a local blimp base for surveillance of enemy submarines ( see HITCHCOCK NAVAL AIR STATION ). The camp and base were used as discharge centers after the war, and some of those who passed through became local residents. During the postwar boom, Hitchcock developed a chamber of commerce, sewers, improved roads, natural gas service, a phone system, and three White and two Black churches. In 1948 Hitchcock was made an independent school district. The community benefited from proximity to petrochemical industry centers at Texas City, Chocolate Bayou, and Freeport. Hitchcock's population jumped to 1,105 after 1954 and increased steadily after 1960, when the town incorporated. In 1968 Hitchcock's population reached a high of 6,954, served by thirty-six businesses. The number of residents fell during the 1970s. Hitchcock became a residential suburb with the development, only twenty minutes away, of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Project Apollo Space Laboratory Project at Clearwater. Hitchcock grew from 5,565 residents and twenty-five businesses in 1972 to 6,405 residents and sixty-seven businesses by 1988. The town offers a yacht basin and resort facilities and celebrates a Christmas Parade each December and a Good Ole Days Parade in August. In 2000 Hitchcock reported 214 businesses and a population of 6,386.

Tsha Handbook →

Texas City Disaster

1947

The worst industrial accident in American history began when the cargo ship SS Grandcamp, loaded with ammonium nitrate fertilizer, exploded at the Texas City docks on April 16, 1947.

Historical Marker → · 9.4 mi away

Things to Do in Hitchcock

historical 19.3 mi away
NASA Johnson Space Center

Houston we have a problem. Where Mission Control guided Apollo 11 to the moon.
historical 19.7 mi away
Space Center Houston

Houston we have a problem. Every word spoken between Apollo astronauts and Earth came through Mission Control at NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston. The…
historical 13.1 mi away
Galveston Seawall

The 1900 Galveston Hurricane killed at least eight thousand people and remains the deadliest natural disaster in American history. In response Galveston built…
spooky 13.3 mi away
Hotel Galvez Ghost Bride

The Queen of the Gulf opened in 1911 after the Great Storm. Room 501 is haunted by a jilted bride who hanged herself after falsely believing her fiance died at…
nature 22.0 mi away
Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge

More than 40,000 acres of coastal marsh and prairie on the Central Flyway — one of the top birding spots in the U.S., with 320+ recorded species. Drive the…

Sports in Hitchcock

🏆 STATE CHAMPIONS Class 3A · Boys Basketball · 2023–2024

Hitchcock — UIL 3A Boys Basketball State Champions — 2 titles

Most recent: 2024 3A

Hitchcock High School, a familiar name in Class 3A boys basketball, has firmly established itself on the state stage. The Bulldogs have brought home consecutive UIL State Championships, securing the 3A title in both 2023 and 2024. This impressive back-to-back achievement highlights a period of sustained excellence for the Hitchcock program, reflecting dedication and skill within the community.

The success of Hitchcock basketball shines brightly in the coastal air, giving fans in Galveston County plenty to cheer about. While no specific alumni are listed as moving on to professional or major-college careers, the recent state championships speak volumes about the quality of basketball played right here in Hitchcock, Texas.

State titles
2 (2023–2024)
Most recent
2024
Class
3A
The moment

The 2024 Class 3A UIL State Championship marked a significant moment for Hitchcock High School.

Sources: UIL State Championship Archives · SI High School (ScoreBook Live)
🏆 STATE CHAMPIONS Class 3A · Girls Basketball · 2026

Hitchcock — 2026 UIL 3A Division 1 Girls Basketball State Champions

Most recent: 2026 3A Division 1

Hitchcock High School, a Class 3A competitor in the heart of Texas, has a distinguished record in girls' basketball. The Lady Bulldogs have secured a UIL State Championship, a significant achievement that stands out in the school’s athletic history. This accomplishment reflects the dedication and hard work within the program.

The community of Hitchcock takes pride in its high school sports, and the success of the girls' basketball team provides a notable highlight. The championship season brought considerable excitement to the area, underscoring the spirit of competition and local support for the team's endeavors on the court.

State titles
2026
Most recent
2026
Class
3A
The moment

The Hitchcock Lady Bulldogs achieved a State Championship in 2026 in 3A Division 1.

Sources: UIL State Championship Archives · SI High School (ScoreBook Live)

Everything Near Hitchcock

856 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the nearest 200 are listed here — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.

  • Hitchcock Naval Air Station · Tsha Handbook

    Hitchcock Naval Air Station was a World War II naval air station for lighter-than-air craft—semirigid airships, also known as blimps. The mission of the LTA craft at Hitchcock was to protect shipping facilities and ship…

  • Hitchcock, Lent Munson · Tsha Handbook

    Lent Munson Hitchcock, naval officer and Galveston civic leader, was born in Southington, Connecticut, on October 15, 1816, the son of Lent Munson Hitchcock, a seaman. He sailed as a cabin boy at the age of fourteen and…

  • Hitchcock, TX · Tsha Handbook

    Hitchcock, also known as Hitchcock's and as Highland, is an incorporated community fourteen miles northwest of Galveston on State Highway 6, Farm roads 519 and 2004, and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe line in…

  • Lorraine Crosby School · 3.9 mi · Historical Marker

    Opening in 1914, the Lorraine Crosby School served as an educational stepping stone for the African American children of Hitchcock. In 1903, the first school was held in the home of Louis Brown. Later, the Galilee…

  • Blimps Over the Gulf: Hitchcock's Giant Hangar and the U-Boat War · 4.0 mi

    In 1942-43, 24 German U-boats slipped into the Gulf of Mexico and sank 56 merchant ships, damaging 14 more, with tankers burning within sight of the coast; on June 1, 1942 Galveston ordered dimouts so ships offshore…

  • When Blimps Flew Over Hitchcock · 4.1 mi

    During World War II, this quiet farming town became a critical part of America's coastal defense. Just south of here, the U.S. Navy built a massive base for a fleet of blimps. At the Hitchcock Naval Air Station, you…

  • The Engineering of the Ghost Fleet · 4.1 mi

    The blimps that flew from Hitchcock during World War II were impressive, but the engineering that supported them was astounding. The centerpiece was the blimp hangar, a structure so vast it could have held several…

  • Hitchcock, TX · 4.1 mi

    Hurricane Harvey hit Hitchcock hard in 2017, and while the water receded, its impact still ripples through the community. Folks remember the eerie silence before the storm, the wind howling across the coastal prairie,…

  • The Cucumber Capital of Texas · 4.1 mi

    Around the turn of the twentieth century, if you were eating fresh vegetables up north in winter, there is a decent chance they came through here. Hitchcock was a produce-shipping powerhouse, and the town exists because…

  • Galilee Missionary Baptist Church · 4.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of Galilee Missionary Baptist Church, a cornerstone of the African American community in Hitchcock. Organized in 1901 by some of the first Black families to settle here, the congregation…

  • Camp Wallace: Anti-Aircraft Gunners, Then German Prisoners · 4.6 mi

    On the open ground between Hitchcock and Alta Loma, the U.S. Army built a small wartime city almost overnight. Camp Wallace opened on February 1, 1941, spread across more than 3,300 acres, and was named for Col. Elmer…

  • The Widow Who Bought a Town Its Name · 4.6 mi

    Before there was a Hitchcock, there was Highland, a settlement named for the high banks above Highland Bayou where Jonas Butler claimed a league of land in 1848 and French families followed, using the slow bayou as…

Show all 200 nearby places
  • When Hitchcock Shipped Its Vegetables by the Trainload · 4.6 mi

    For a stretch around the turn of the 20th century, the rich, moist coastal soil around Hitchcock made this little railroad stop a serious produce town. Local farmers worked truck patches, raised cattle, and shipped…

  • From Hitchcock High to the Baltimore Ravens · 4.6 mi

    Randy Hymes grew up playing his high-school football right here in Hitchcock before turning into one of the area's standout pro athletes. Born in 1979, he starred at Hitchcock High School, then went on to Grambling…

  • The County Fair That Moved to Hitchcock · 4.6 mi

    Every spring, Hitchcock fills up for the Galveston County Fair & Rodeo, an event older than most of the people who attend it. The fair was founded back in 1938, originally held at Runge Park over in Arcadia, built…

  • The Mathematics of Shooting at Something That Won't Hold Still · 4.6 mi

    The gunners trained at Camp Wallace near Hitchcock were learning one of the hardest physics problems the Army had: how to put a shell where an airplane is going to be, not where it is. A target moving at 200 miles an…

  • Stringfellow Orchards · 4.6 mi · Historical Marker

    Nationally and internationally recognized horticulturist Henry Martyn Stringfellow (1839-1922) started an experimental garden and orchard at this location in 1883. In 1890 he published a treatise containing inovative…

  • Buy Your Bait, Then Sit Down for a Po-Boy · 4.6 mi

    If you want to eat somewhere that still smells like working Galveston County water, Louis' Bait Camp & Restaurant at 3510 State Highway 6 in Hitchcock is the kind of place the coast keeps making and rarely improves on.…

  • The Storm That Changed Everything · 5.1 mi

    In September 2008, Bayou Vista faced an existential threat. As Hurricane Ike roared toward the coast, it pushed a catastrophic storm surge into Galveston Bay. Here in Bayou Vista, the water rose with terrifying speed,…

  • Engineering a Waterfront Dream · 5.1 mi

    The very existence of Bayou Vista is a story of civil engineering. The technique used to create this town is called 'finger-fill' or 'cut-and-fill' canal construction. Imagine a giant dredge floating in the marsh. It…

  • Bayou Vista, TX · 5.1 mi · Local history

    Bayou Vista, a community built on canals and the allure of waterfront living, has navigated a shifting landscape in recent years, one marked by both the physical threat of rising waters and the economic currents that…

  • The Man Who Built a Town from Mud · 5.1 mi

    As you look at the homes and canals of Bayou Vista, imagine this place as it was before the bulldozers: a soggy, mosquito-bitten salt marsh on the edge of Jones Bay. To most people it was worthless land. To a developer…

  • Hitchcock · 5.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through Hitchcock, a town with roots stretching back to the 1870s. Originally home to the Karankawa people and later cattle ranchers, this area boomed when the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway arrived.…

  • The Island That Drowned and Rebuilt · 5.5 mi

    In September 2008, Tiki Island faced its toughest test. Hurricane Ike wasn't a direct hit, but it pushed a catastrophic surge into the bay — ten to twelve feet of water, first off the Gulf across Galveston Island, then…

  • An Island Made by Machine · 5.5 mi

    You're driving on land that didn't exist a human lifetime ago. Tiki Island is a testament to 20th-century earthmoving — a largely man-made island, and the machine that made it was the dredge. In the 1960s, developers…

  • Tiki Island, TX · 5.5 mi

    Tiki Island's history began in the 1960s when developers transformed the area by digging canals and using the fill to elevate the land to between four and ten feet above sea level. Initially a small fishing camp, it…

  • The Vote to Become an Island Nation · 5.5 mi

    Almost none of the ground under Tiki Island is natural. In the 1960s developers dug canals into a low spit in Jones Bay, five miles west of Galveston, and piled the fill up to make dry land four to ten feet above the…

  • U. S. Naval Air Station (Blimp Base) · 5.7 mi · Historical Marker

    Hey road trippers! You're cruising past the site of a unique World War II operation. Just south of here, the U.S. Navy built a blimp base to patrol our coastlines for German submarines. These giant airships, with their…

  • Camp Wallace · 5.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of Camp Wallace, a massive World War II training facility. Established in 1940, this place consumed over 3,300 acres. Imagine: 17 miles of new roads, 29 miles of electrical lines, and a spur…

  • From Billboards Back to Marsh · 5.8 mi

    Along Interstate Forty Five near the Galveston causeway, between about mile marker five and mile marker seven, lies the John M. O'Quinn I Forty Five Scenic Estuarial Corridor. It is a stretch of restored wetlands, and…

  • La Marque, TX · 6.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through La Marque, a community with a name that literally means 'the mark' in French. But before it was La Marque, it had a wartime nickname: Buttermilk Station. During the Civil War, soldiers traveling…

  • The Day the Sky Exploded · 6.2 mi

    On the morning of April 16, 1947, the people of La Marque felt the world shake. A few miles away in Texas City, a ship full of ammonium nitrate fertilizer, the SS Grandcamp, had caught fire and exploded, creating one of…

  • The Chemistry of a Catastrophe · 6.2 mi

    From parts of La Marque, you can see the industrial skyline of Texas City. It’s a reminder of a powerful STEM lesson learned just a few miles from here. On April 16, 1947, the ship SS Grandcamp was loaded with ammonium…

  • The Pride of Lincoln High · 6.2 mi

    To understand community pride in La Marque, you have to know about the Lincoln Eagles. From 1945 until 1970, Abraham Lincoln High School was the city's all-Black high school, and for the African American community here…

  • Junction City, TX · 6.2 mi

    Junction City was founded in 1876 after the organization of Kimble County earlier that year. The original town site was named 'Denman' after Marcellus Denman, who had surveyed and platted the new community. The name was…

  • La Marque, TX · 6.2 mi

    La Marque, Texas, experienced significant growth in the 1950s, providing a workforce for the petrochemical complex in nearby Texas City. The city, once known as Highlands and Buttermilk Station, was renamed in the 1890s…

  • The Black Cowboys Who Bought Their Own Land · 6.3 mi

    Immediately beside La Marque, in what is now west Texas City, sits the 1867 Settlement, a community whose origins are tied directly to La Marque's early history. After emancipation, formerly enslaved cowboys and ranch…

  • Texas's First County Park for Black Children · 6.3 mi

    The park you're near carries a piece of Texas history that's easy to drive past without knowing it. Carver Park began with a local leader named Frank Bell Jr., who worked to bring electricity, running water, and…

  • The Wall, the Pumps, and Two Feet of Margin · 6.3 mi

    That grassy embankment running beside the road is not just a hill. It's part of the Texas City Hurricane Flood Protection System, a decades-long piece of engineering that wraps around portions of the Texas City-La…

  • The Buttermilk Stop a French Nun Renamed · 6.3 mi

    The flat coastal city you're entering started life along Highland Bayou as a settlement plainly called Highlands. During the Civil War, soldiers moving between Houston and Galveston reportedly pulled off here to buy and…

  • Four Railroads Through a Town of 500 · 6.3 mi

    For such a small place, La Marque was once astonishingly well connected by rail. The Galveston, Houston and Henderson Railroad first put the settlement on the map as a stop on the line between Houston and Galveston. By…

  • The City That Incorporated to Survive · 6.3 mi

    By the early 1950s, La Marque had a peculiar distinction: it was reportedly the largest unincorporated residential community in all of Texas, a sprawling settlement with no city government of its own. That made it a…

  • La Marque, TX · 6.3 mi

    The name 'La Marque' has an interesting origin. The community was originally known as Highlands, likely due to its location near Highland Creek. However, in the 1890s, residents learned of another mainland community…

  • Bell, Frank, Jr. · 6.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of a true La Marque legend: Frank Bell Jr. Born in 1893, Bell achieved incredible business success despite limited formal education. He served in World War I, then built a career in the oil…

  • Bayou Fest: Music and a Cook-Off on the Coast · 6.3 mi

    If your timing is right, La Marque throws one of its biggest parties of the year right here. Bayou Fest is the city's annual concert series paired with a barbecue cook-off, a combination that says a lot about what this…

  • Highland Bayou Park, Where the City Started · 6.3 mi

    This big bayou-side green space, Mac McGaffey Highland Bayou Park, sits along the same Highland Bayou where La Marque first took root as the settlement once called Highlands. The park is the city's window onto its…

  • Barcenas: La Marque's Family Tex-Mex Since 1998 · 6.3 mi

    When you want a meal with real local roots rather than a chain off the interstate, Barcenas Mexican Restaurant is La Marque's most easily verified longtime option. This family-owned Mexican and Tex-Mex spot has been…

  • The World's Biggest Greyhound Track, Now Going Quiet · 6.3 mi

    Where a big retail development is now rising, La Marque once had something it billed as a world record. Gulf Greyhound Park opened in 1992 and was promoted as one of the largest greyhound-racing facilities on the…

  • Stewart Property · 6.3 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the Stewart Property, a place that's seen centuries of Texas history unfold on Galveston Island. Long before settlers arrived, this ridge was a campsite for the Karankawa Indians. Then, in 1856,…

  • Paul's Union Church · 6.4 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Paul's Union Church in La Marque, a place with a history as varied as its congregations. Established around 1895, this church has always been about community. It's seen Methodist, Presbyterian, and…

  • Six Straight Decembers Playing for State · 6.5 mi

    The Cougars of La Marque High School built one of the great dynasties in Texas high-school football, and the home field still anchors that pride. From 1993 through 1998, La Marque reached six consecutive state…

  • Site of Landmark Campbell's Bayou · 6.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of Campbell's Bayou, a place with a story as wild as the Texas coast itself. It was settled back in 1821 by James Campbell, a U.S. Navy veteran and friend of the infamous pirate Jean…

  • Lafitte's Grove · 6.5 mi · Historical Marker

    Keep your eyes peeled as you drive through Galveston! You're passing the site of Lafitte's Grove. In <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1817</say-as>, the notorious pirate Jean Lafitte set up his headquarters right…

  • Civil War Fortifications at Virgina's Point · 6.5 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past Virginia Point, a place that held the key to Texas during the Civil War. This railroad bridge was the only link between the mainland and Galveston Island. In 1861, Confederate forces knew its…

  • The Town That Ike Couldn't Wash Away · 6.6 mi

    In September 2008, Hurricane Ike sent a wall of water surging across Galveston Island. Jamaica Beach, being low-lying, was directly in its path. The storm surge, reaching over 12 feet in some areas, flooded virtually…

  • Engineering a Waterfront Paradise · 6.6 mi

    The very layout of Jamaica Beach is a feat of mid-century civil engineering. When developers bought this land in the 1950s, it was mostly flat, marshy, and not particularly valuable. Their solution was to create value…

  • Jamaica Beach, TX · 6.6 mi

    Jamaica Beach, a small city on Galveston Island, has a rich history that dates back to its days as a burial ground for the Karankawa people. The area was later developed in the mid-20th century by Johnny Goyen and Earl…

  • Kelley's Country Cookin' and the Texas-Sized Potato · 6.6 mi

    For a plate that lives up to every Texas cliche in the best way, Kelley's Country Cookin' is the La Marque stop. The place is known for oversized chicken-fried steak, hearty breakfasts that arrive at all hours, and…

  • The Little Town That Said 'No' · 6.6 mi

    For its first twenty years, Jamaica Beach was an unincorporated community, essentially a subdivision governed by Galveston County. But by the mid-1970s, the city of Galveston was expanding westward, annexing land as it…

  • La Marque · 6.7 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving through La Marque, a town that grew up around railroads and then reinvented itself with industry. It started as Highland Bayou, part of a land grant back in 1838. By 1860, the railroad arrived, bringing…

  • West Galveston Island · 6.8 mi

    You're driving past West Galveston Island, a place with a wild past and a feathered future. Long before it became a resort, this was home to the Karankawa Indians — a people colonists painted as monstrous man-eaters,…

  • Karankawa Campsite · 6.8 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past what was once a Karankawa campsite, right here near Jamaica Beach. These nomadic people lived along the Texas coast, surviving on the Gulf's bounty. They even helped Spanish explorer Cabeza de Vaca…

  • Hitchcock Depot · 6.8 mi · Historical Marker

    You're cruising past the site of the old Hitchcock Depot. Legend has it, back in 1875, the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railroad needed land. They struck a deal with Emily Hitchcock: a vital right-of-way through her…

  • Alta Loma Cemetery · 6.8 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past what was once the town of Alta Loma, a place that means 'High Land' in Spanish. Established in 1893 by a Colorado investment company, it was meant to be a thriving community. William Skirvin, buried…

  • Juneteenth · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, a city forever marked by a pivotal moment in Texas history. Right here, on June 19th, 1865, Union General Gordon Granger arrived and issued General Order Number 3. This order declared…

  • Galveston Hurricane of 1900 · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, right now, where on September 8th, <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1900</say-as>, a massive hurricane struck. Many residents, used to occasional high tides, didn't fully grasp…

  • Cattle Drives Built the 1867 Settlement · 7.1 mi

    South of League City, near present-day Texas City, formerly enslaved people bought land from William Jefferson Jones of Virginia Point and founded what became known as the 1867 Settlement, the only Reconstruction-era…

  • A. H. Belo Corporation · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Texas, and right here, you're passing through the birthplace of the state's oldest continuously operating business. It all started back on April 11, 1842, in Galveston, with the very first edition…

  • Galveston County · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston County, home to a city that's seen its share of hardship and resilience. In <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1900</say-as>, the deadliest natural disaster in American history…

  • Galveston, Battle Of · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving past Galveston, a city that saw fierce fighting during the Civil War. On New Year's night, January 1, 1863, Confederate forces launched a daring surprise attack to retake the vital port from Union…

  • Granger, Gordon · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Texas, perhaps near Galveston, and right here is where a pivotal moment in American history unfolded. On June 19, 1865, Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston. He read General Order No.…

  • Laffite, Jean · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving past Galveston, a place that was once the pirate kingdom of Jean Laffite. Born in France around 1780, Laffite and his brother Pierre became notorious smugglers and privateers in the Gulf of Mexico. They…

  • Strand · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, and right here is The Strand, once called the 'Wall Street of the Southwest.' In the 1800s, this five-block stretch was the heart of Texas commerce. Imagine it: hundreds of ships…

  • Galveston, TX · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving past Galveston, a city that's seen its share of triumphs and tragedies. In 1900, this island city faced the nation's deadliest natural disaster: a hurricane with 120-mile-an-hour winds. It flooded the…

  • Allen, John M. · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, a city with a colorful past, and a man named John M. Allen played a big role in it. Before coming to Texas, Allen even served with Lord Byron in Greece! He arrived in Texas in 1830,…

  • Ashton Villa · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving down Broadway in Galveston, and right here stands Ashton Villa. Built in 1859 by hardware magnate James Moreau Brown, this stunning brick mansion was named for his wife's ancestor, a hero of the…

  • Aury, Louis Michel · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving past Galveston Island, and right here, in 1816, this was a pirate's nest. Louis Michel Aury, a French privateer, set up shop here after falling out with Simón Bolívar. He was commissioned by Mexican…

  • Avenue L Baptist Church · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, and right here is the site of the Avenue L Baptist Church, one of the oldest Black churches in Texas. It started way back in 1840, growing out of the slave membership of the First…

  • Barnett, Herman Aladdin III · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, a place where history was made in the halls of the University of Texas Medical Branch. Right here, in 1949, Herman Aladdin Barnett III broke the color barrier, becoming the first…

  • Bowie, Anna Mary · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, a city that faced a terrifying outbreak of bubonic plague back in 1920. Right here, a dedicated physician named Anna Mary Bowie was working in the pathology lab. While performing an…

  • Carter, Barry Eugene [Barry White] · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, Texas, the birthplace of a voice that would become legendary. Born Barry Eugene Carter on September 12, 1944, he’d later be known to the world as Barry White. Believe it or not, this…

  • Catholic Health Care · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, a city that owes a huge debt to a group of determined nuns. Back in 1867, Bishop Claude M. Dubuis and the newly formed Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, fresh from France,…

  • Clayton, Nicholas Joseph · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, a city that was once called the 'Clayton Era.' That's because Nicholas Joseph Clayton, an Irish immigrant architect, designed so many of its major buildings in the late 1800s. He…

  • Collinsworth, James · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Texas, and right here, in what was once Brazos Municipality, James Collinsworth was a key player in the Texas Revolution. He signed the Texas Declaration of Independence in 1836, helped make Sam…

  • Commission Form of City Government · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, a city forever changed by the devastating hurricane of 1900. Right here, in the wake of that unimaginable loss, a new form of city government was born. Fearful that the old ways…

  • Cuney, Norris Wright · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, a city where one of Texas's most influential Black leaders rose to prominence. Norris Wright Cuney, born near Hempstead in 1846, became a powerhouse in late 19th-century Texas politics.…

  • Dallmer, Mary [Mother Mary Joseph] · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, a city forever marked by the devastating hurricane of September 8, 1900. Amidst the chaos and destruction, Mother Mary Joseph Dallmer, the superior of the Ursuline Academy, became a…

  • Davis, Edmund Jackson · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Texas, and right here, you might be passing through territory once commanded by Edmund J. Davis. A Union officer during the Civil War, Davis refused to swear loyalty to the Confederacy, fleeing…

  • Elissa · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're sailing into Galveston right now, and you might see a grand old lady of the sea: the Elissa. This three-masted barque was built in Scotland in 1877 and spent her early years as a British merchantman, carrying…

  • Galveston Island · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving along the Texas coast, approaching Galveston Island. This long, narrow strip of sand has been a crucial gateway for centuries. In 1816, French pirate Louis Michel Aury established a base here, soon…

  • Galveston Longshoremen's Strike of 1920 · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, a city that saw a dramatic showdown in the spring of 1920. It started March 12th, when 1,600 longshoremen walked off the job, joining a nationwide strike. But this wasn't just about…

  • Galveston National Laboratory · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving by Galveston, home to a state-of-the-art facility built in response to national emergencies. Following 9/11 and anthrax attacks, the U.S. government needed a place to study our deadliest threats. Right…

  • Galveston Wharves · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving past Galveston, a city whose very existence owes a debt to its harbor. Pirates like Jean Laffite used this natural port as early as 1818. Stephen F. Austin himself recognized its potential, calling it the…

  • Gálvez y Madrid, Bernardo Vicente Apolinar de · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Texas, and you might just be near the namesake of one of its most famous cities: Gálvez. Bernardo de Gálvez, the Spanish governor of Louisiana, was a key player in the American Revolution, even…

  • Gibson, John Rufus · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, a city forever changed by the devastating hurricane of 1900. Right here, John Rufus Gibson, a remarkable educator and activist, played a crucial role in the aftermath. Clara Barton of…

  • Hatteras · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving near Galveston, and just offshore lies a piece of Civil War history. Right here, in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1863</say-as>, the USS Hatteras, a Union steamship, met its end just twenty miles…

  • Kirwin, James Martin · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, a city that faced unimaginable devastation. Right here, in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1900</say-as>, a massive hurricane struck, wiping out much of the city. But amidst the…

  • Levy, William Taylor · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving past Galveston, a city forever marked by tragedy. Right here, in 1896, William Taylor Levy was appointed the very first U.S. Immigration Officer at this port. He saw Galveston as a gateway for nearly…

  • Long, Jane Herbert Wilkinson · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what was once Spanish Texas, near Galveston Bay. Right here, on Bolivar Peninsula, in December of <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1821</say-as>, Jane Long gave birth to her third daughter,…

  • McKinney, Williams and Company · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Right here in Galveston, you're driving past the heart of what was once known as the 'Barings of Texas.' In 1834, McKinney, Williams and Company began as a mercantile firm, but they quickly became the largest commission…

  • Menard, Michel Branamour · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, the city that Michel Menard practically willed into existence. He was a fur trader, an entrepreneur, and by 1834, he had his sights set on this island. The catch? Mexico forbid…

  • Nelson, Richard · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston right now, the birthplace of Texas's first Black-owned and operated newspaper. <break time="400ms"/> In 1871, Richard Nelson, a former commission merchant and justice of the peace,…

  • Phillips, Esther Mae [Little Esther] · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, the birthplace of Esther Mae Jones, who became the legendary jazz singer Little Esther Phillips. Born right here in 1935, she was discovered by Johnny Otis at just fourteen. By 1950,…

  • Reedy, Houston · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, and right here at Twentieth and Broadway stands Reedy Chapel. This church has a remarkable history, starting as the first organized African Methodist Episcopal Church in Texas. It was…

  • Rosenberg, Henry · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, a city shaped by the vision of Henry Rosenberg. He arrived here from Switzerland with little more than ambition, starting as a clerk in a dry-goods store. But Rosenberg didn't just sell…

  • Sealy, John Hutchings · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, a city forever changed by a devastating hurricane in 1900. Right here, John Sealy II, one of the wealthiest men in Texas, stepped up. Though only thirty, he led relief efforts and was…

  • Shannon, Alexander May · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what is now Galveston, or perhaps the surrounding area, and you're passing through the territory once commanded by Colonel Alexander May Shannon. During the Civil War, Shannon was a daring…

  • Shriners Hospitals for Crippled Children, Galveston Burns Institute · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving past Galveston, home to a pioneering burn center that changed the lives of thousands. Back in 1963, there were no specialized facilities for severely burned children. The Shriners saw this need and poured…

  • St. Mary's Hospital, Galveston · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, the site of Texas's first Catholic hospital, St. Mary's. Opened in April 1867 by Bishop Claude Dubuis, it began as a thirty-bed charity hospital run by French nuns. It quickly filled…

  • St. Mary's Orphanage, Galveston · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, and right here is a place that saw unimaginable tragedy. St. Mary's Orphanage, operated by the Sisters of Charity, was a beacon of hope for children for decades. But in 1900, the…

  • Temple B'nai Israel, Galveston · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, home to the oldest Reform Jewish congregation in Texas, Temple B'nai Israel. Services likely began in a private home way back in 1856, but by 1868, the community was formally…

  • University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, and right here is the University of Texas Medical Branch. It all started in 1881 when Texas voters decided where to put the new University of Texas. Galvestonians, proud of their city's…

  • Waugh, Beverly · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, and right here is where a major moment in Texas Methodism unfolded. In December of <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1840</say-as>, Beverly Waugh, the first Methodist bishop of…

  • Wigfall, Louis Trezevant · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, a place that was home to Louis T. Wigfall, a man who truly believed Texas should lead the charge for the South. Arriving in Texas in 1846, Wigfall quickly became a firebrand, railing…

  • Williams, Samuel May · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what was once the heart of Stephen F. Austin's Texas, and right here, you're passing through the territory where Samuel May Williams made his fortune. Arriving in Texas in 1822 under an assumed…

  • Mitchell, George Phydias · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through the heart of Texas, and right here, George Mitchell changed the world of energy forever. Born in Galveston in 1919, Mitchell was a visionary engineer who saw potential where others saw only rock.…

  • Dent, Jessie May McGuire · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, a city forever shaped by the devastating 1900 hurricane. Right here, Jessie May McGuire Dent survived that storm as a child. Years later, she became a founding member of Delta Sigma…

  • Riles, Josephine Williams [Mama Honey] · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what is now Polk County, but back in the 1850s, this was the domain of Thomas Snow, a plantation owner who held dozens of enslaved people. Among them was young Josephine Williams, later known as…

  • Moore, Mary Susan Smith · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, and right here is where Dr. Mary Susan Smith Moore, one of the first Black women physicians in Texas, fought to open the Hubbard Sanitarium. She poured $15,000 of her own money into…

  • Dietzel, Marie Phelomene Delalondre · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, where right here, in 1894, a young woman named Marie Delalondre defied expectations. At just fifteen, she enrolled in the University of Texas Medical Department, one of only two women…

  • Coggeshall, Janice Reddig · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, Texas, a city with a rich history, and right now, you're passing through the legacy of Janice Coggeshall. She moved here in 1971, and quickly became a force for change. Coggeshall…

  • Helmond, Katherine Marie · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, Texas, the birthplace of Katherine Helmond, the actress you might know as Jessica Tate from the sitcom "Soap" or Mona Robinson from "Who's the Boss?". Born in 1929, Helmond started her…

  • Burleson, May Jane Walker [Jennie May] · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, a city forever marked by the devastating 1900 hurricane. Imagine a young Jennie May Walker, just eleven years old, surviving that storm. She later wrote of the horror, the 'awful stench…

  • Pabst, Frederick Christian · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, and right here, you're passing through a city that owes a lot to a man named Frederick Pabst. He arrived by train in 1885, just as a massive fire was engulfing the island. Pabst,…

  • Settlement Community · 7.1 mi · Historical Marker

    You're driving past the site of a community with a powerful story, born right after the Civil War. This was "Our Settlement," founded by freed slaves on land purchased specifically for them. Many of the first settlers…

  • Bubonic Plague, Galveston (1920) · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, and right here, in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1920</say-as>, the city faced a terrifying threat: the bubonic plague. <break time="400ms"/> It was part of a global pandemic,…

  • Yellow Fever · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Texas, and right now, you're passing through a place that knows the terror of yellow fever. This disease, turning skin yellow with jaundice and causing horrific symptoms like black vomit and…

  • Bache, Richard · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, a place that saw some real history, and maybe even a bit of scandal. Richard Bache, grandson of Benjamin Franklin himself, arrived in Texas in 1836. He'd already served in the War of…

  • Backofen, Heinrich · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through the Texas Hill Country, and right here, you're passing through the site of Bettina, a German utopian community founded in 1847. It was established by a group called the Darmstädters, or 'The…

  • Bagby, Arthur Pendleton · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Texas, and right here, in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1863</say-as>, Arthur Pendleton Bagby led his men in the fierce Battle of Galveston. Bagby, a lawyer turned Confederate colonel,…

  • Ballinger, Betty Eve · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, and right here is where Betty Eve Ballinger helped start a movement. In 1891, she and her cousin decided to form an organization to honor Texas heroes after finding neglected graves in…

  • Banks and Banking · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Texas, a state that loves its independence. Well, guess what? Texas also had some of the earliest banks in the West! Back in 1822, a Mexican governor established the Banco Nacional de Texas, the…

  • Bartholf, Marjorie · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, and right here at the University of Texas Medical Branch, you're passing the birthplace of modern nursing education in Texas. Marjorie Bartholf arrived in 1942, becoming the first dean…

  • Beers, Iola Barns · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, a city that knows how to rebuild and remember. Right here, Iola Barns Beers was a force for culture and compassion. In 1890, she founded the Girl's Musical Club, nurturing young talent…

  • Brown, Rebecca Ashton [Bettie] · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, and right here is Ashton Villa, a place that belonged to Bettie Brown. She was known for her lavish parties, where she'd lay out a red carpet from the door to the street. Bettie also…

  • Carson, James W. · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving past Galveston, Texas, where a pivotal moment in the Civil War unfolded. Right here, on January 1, 1863, James W. Carson, then a private in the Fifth Texas Cavalry, made history. He was the very first to…

  • Carter, William Spencer · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, and right here is where a medical pioneer shaped modern healthcare. William Spencer Carter arrived in 1897 to teach at the University of Texas Medical Branch. He didn't just teach; he…

  • Catholic Congregations of Women · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Texas, and right here, you're passing through a legacy of faith and education. Back in 1847, the Ursuline Sisters arrived in Galveston, the very first religious order to set foot in Texas. Imagine…

  • Catholic Education · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Texas, and right here, you're passing through a land shaped by faith and learning. Back in 1682, the first mission schools were established near El Paso, teaching not just religion, but reading,…

  • Cherry, Wilbur H. · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, a city that owes much of its early press to a runaway teenager. Wilbur Cherry was just fifteen when he hopped a train from New York and joined the fight for Texas independence in 1835.…

  • Clarke and Courts Printing · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, and right here is a place that dominated Texas printing for over a century. Clarke and Courts started way back in 1857 as M. Strickland and Company. By the time George Courts joined…

  • Cooper, Oscar Henry · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what is now Panola County, Texas, and just think about this: right here, a young man named Oscar Henry Cooper was shaping the future of education across the entire state. Born in 1852, Cooper was…

  • Dominican Sisters · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Texas, and right here, you're passing through a place that made history for Catholic education. In 1882, Mother Mary Agnes Magevney arrived in Galveston with twenty Dominican Sisters, the very…

  • Forshey, Caleb Goldsmith · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Texas, and right here, you're passing through a place that played a key role in the Civil War's naval battles. Caleb Goldsmith Forshey, a brilliant engineer, arrived in Texas in 1853 to build…

  • Gallagher, Nicholas Aloysius · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, a city that knows a thing or two about rebuilding. Back in 1886, Bishop Nicholas Gallagher, a man with a vision for Texas, opened a school for Black children right here. It was the very…

  • Galveston Bay · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving along the Texas coast, and right here is Galveston Bay. This vast estuary, the largest on the Texas coast, was once the headquarters for notorious pirates. Between 1817 and 1820, Jean Laffite and his…

  • Galveston Custom House · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, and right here, at Twentieth and Post Office streets, stands the Old Customhouse. Built between 1858 and 1861, this Greek Revival structure was meant to be a symbol of federal…

  • Galveston Historical Foundation · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, a city that knows how to remember its past. Back in 1871, a group of twenty-five folks got together to form what might have been Texas's very first historical society. They wanted to…

  • Galveston Movement · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving past Galveston, a port that served as a unique gateway for thousands of Jewish immigrants fleeing persecution in Eastern Europe. Between 1907 and 1914, the Galveston Movement aimed to divert these…

  • Galveston News · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, and right here, the story of Texas journalism unfolds. The Galveston News claims a start way back in April of <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1842</say-as>, making it one of the…

  • Galveston Seminary · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, and right here on Nineteenth Street, you're passing the site of the Galveston Female Collegiate Institute. Founded in 1849, this impressive three-story building was financed by a man…

  • Gibson, Fenton Mercer · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, and right here, Fenton Mercer Gibson was serving as chief justice in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1838</say-as>. But Gibson wasn't just a judge. He was a soldier in the Texas…

  • Gonzales, Thomas · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, a city with a rich history, and right here, Thomas Gonzales played a key role in defending it during the Civil War. Born in Mexico, Gonzales became a successful cotton broker in Port…

  • Graham, George · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving along the Texas coast, perhaps near Galveston, and right here, in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1818</say-as>, a secret mission landed. George Graham, sent by the U.S. government, arrived in a…

  • Gresham, Walter · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, a city that owes much of its modern harbor and skyline to Walter Gresham. After fighting for the Confederacy and graduating law school, Gresham landed in Galveston in 1866. He became a…

  • Haden, John Miller · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, a city that owes its life to a doctor's strict orders. In 1878, yellow fever was sweeping the Gulf Coast, killing thousands. But right here, Dr. John Miller Haden, president of the…

  • Hall, Warren D. C. · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what's now Galveston, and you're passing through the final resting place of Warren D. C. Hall, a man who saw more Texas history than most. Hall fought in the Mexican Republican Army of the North…

  • Harby, Levi Charles Meyers · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, Texas, and right here is where Levi Charles Meyers Harby spent his final years. This naval officer had a career spanning decades and wars. He fought in the War of 1812, sailed for South…

  • Holy Rosary Parish, Galveston · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, and right here, you're passing the site of Holy Rosary Parish. It began in 1886, not as a church, but as a one-room schoolhouse serving Black Catholics. Bishop Nicholas Gallagher saw…

  • Huckins, James · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston right now, a city that was home to one of the very first Baptist churches in Texas. It was organized way back on February 3, 1840, by James Huckins, a missionary sent to Texas to see…

  • Invincible · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving along the Texas coast, maybe near Galveston, and you're passing through a place where naval history was made. Back in 1836, Texas needed ships to fight the Mexican navy. They bought a schooner called the…

  • Jack, Thomas McKinney · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Texas, and right here, you're passing through the story of Thomas McKinney Jack. He was a lawyer, a soldier, and a congressman, born near San Felipe de Austin in 1831. But Jack's most dramatic…

  • Jenkins, James Robert, Jr. · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Washington County, and right here, in Washington-on-the-Brazos, in 1837, a small group of Baptists gathered for a prayer meeting. From that humble start, they organized the very first Missionary…

  • John Sealy Hospital · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, and right here, the story of John Sealy Hospital begins with a generous gift. John Sealy, a wealthy Galveston citizen, died in 1884, leaving $50,000 for a public charity. In 1887, his…

  • Jones, Louis Prince, Jr. [Blues Boy] · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, a city that remembers one of its own: Louis Prince Jones, Jr., better known as 'Blues Boy.' Born right here in 1931, Jones found his passion early, singing in church and later mastering…

  • Jones, William Jefferson · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, a city with a rich history, and right here lived William Jefferson Jones. He arrived in Texas in 1837, quickly becoming a key player. Jones managed Mirabeau B. Lamar's campaign, raised…

  • Kopperl, Moritz · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through what was once the bustling port of Galveston, a city transformed into a global coffee hub thanks to the vision of Moritz Kopperl. Born in Moravia, Kopperl arrived in Texas in 1857. After his…

  • Labuzan, Augustine · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, a city that saw its share of Civil War action. Right here, Augustine Labuzan was organizing the Texas Third Artillery Battalion. He rose to Major, commanding coastal defenses for the…

  • Lasker Home for Homeless Children · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, a city that knows a thing or two about resilience. Right here, in 1894, a group of eight women founded the Society for the Help of Homeless Children. They created a safe haven for kids,…

  • Lasker, Albert Davis · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Right here in Galveston, you're driving past the birthplace of Albert Lasker, a titan of 20th-century advertising. Even before he was old enough to vote, Lasker was making waves. At just twelve years old, he launched…

  • League, Edith Hinkle · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Texas, and right here, the story of Edith Hinkle League unfolds. She survived the devastating 1900 Galveston hurricane, a tragedy that claimed thousands of lives, including her nieces. But Edith…

  • Leon and H. Blum · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, a city that became the heart of a Texas business empire. It all started back in 1855 when Leon Blum arrived from France. He joined his brother Alexander, and together they built a dry…

  • Love, James · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, a city that was home to James Love, a man who found himself on the opposite side of some of the biggest names in Texas history. Love was a bitter enemy of Sam Houston, and the two men…

  • Maas, Isabella Offenbach · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, a city that faced a devastating yellow fever epidemic in 1844. Right here, Isabella Offenbach Maas, sister of the famous composer Jacques Offenbach, arrived with her new husband. Just…

  • Maas, Samuel · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through East Texas, maybe near Nacogdoches. Back in 1836, a German immigrant named Samuel Maas made his first attempt to reach Texas. He loaded a schooner with lumber, but a storm wrecked the ship off the…

  • McComb, Joseph Seaborn · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through West Texas, maybe near Fort Griffin, and right here is where Joseph Seaborn McComb staged the first commercial buffalo hunt in Texas. In December of <say-as interpret-as="date"…

  • Moody, William Lewis · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Texas, maybe near Galveston, and you're passing through the story of William Lewis Moody. He wasn't just a businessman; he was a Civil War captain who organized a company of the Seventh Texas…

  • Moody, William Lewis, Jr. · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, a city built on commerce and resilience. Right here, William Lewis Moody Jr. built an empire. Born in Fairfield in 1865, Moody's journey took him from a sickly child to a financial…

  • Morgan, Jean Coventree Scrimgeour · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, a city forever changed by the devastating hurricane of 1900. Right here, women like Jean Morgan were leading the charge to rebuild. As president of the Women's Health Protective…

  • Mower, Joseph Anthony · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, Texas, where a determined Union general arrived right after the Civil War. General Joseph Anthony Mower, a decorated combat veteran called the 'boldest young soldier' by Sherman…

  • Plumly, Benjamin Rush · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, a city that owes a significant part of its early modern infrastructure to Benjamin Rush Plumly. Arriving here in 1866, this writer and legislator quickly became a leading citizen.…

  • Rosenberg Library · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, and right here is the Rosenberg Library, Texas's oldest public library still in operation. It all started with a bequest from Henry Rosenberg, and in 1900, the Rosenberg Library…

  • Runge, Julia · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving past Galveston, a city with a rich history, and right here is a name you should know: Julia Runge. Born in Galveston in 1877, Runge was a pioneer educator who established 'kindergarten training schools'…

  • Runge, Julius · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, a city that owes much of its booming 19th-century economy to men like Julius Runge. Born in New Braunfels, Runge moved to Galveston in 1867 and quickly became a powerhouse. In 1874, at…

  • Sealy, John · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, a city built on commerce and banking. Right here, John Sealy arrived in 1846, starting as a clerk. He quickly rose, co-founding Ball, Hutchings, and Company, which became the…

  • Sealy, Magnolia Willis · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, a city forever changed by the hurricane of 1900. Right here, Magnolia Willis Sealy, wife of a prominent businessman, demonstrated incredible resilience. After the storm devastated the…

  • Shaw, Michael W. · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, a city with a rich history of commerce. Right here, in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1848</say-as>, a young German immigrant named Michael Shaw began learning the jeweler's…

  • Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, Houston · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through the Upper Gulf Coast, and right here in Galveston, you're passing through history made by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word. Back in 1867, they founded St. Mary's Infirmary. This wasn't…

  • Sorley, James · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, a city that played a crucial role in the Confederacy. Right here, James Sorley was the collector of customs for the Confederate States of America. He was so influential that when the…

  • St. Mary's Cathedral, Galveston · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, and right here stands St. Mary's Cathedral. It became the mother church for the entire state of Texas in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1847</say-as>, with the first bishop,…

  • St. Mary's University, Galveston · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    Right here in Galveston, you're driving past the site of Texas's first Catholic seminary and college: St. Mary's University. Bishop Jean Marie Odin opened its doors in 1855, hoping to train local priests and offer…

  • Sydnor, John Seabrook · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, a city that owes much of its early development to John Seabrook Sydnor. He arrived here in 1840, not just with his family, but with an entire house, pre-fabricated in Virginia and…

  • Texas Navy · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through the heart of the Texas Revolution, and right here, the young Republic of Texas needed to protect its vital sea lanes. On November 25, 1835, they decided to build a navy from scratch. They bought…

  • Tucker, Philip Crosby, Jr. · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, a city with a rich history, and right here, Philip Crosby Tucker, Jr. made his mark. He wasn't just a lawyer and a Confederate major; he was the man who brought the Scottish Rite of…

  • Ursuline Academy, Galveston · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, a city that's seen its share of storms and struggles. Right here, the Ursuline Academy stood as a beacon of education for over a century. Established in 1847 by Ursuline Sisters, it was…

  • Vincentian Fathers · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Texas, and right here, you're passing through a bit of its Catholic history. Back in <say-as interpret-as="date" format="y">1838</say-as>, Father John Timon arrived in Galveston around Christmas,…

  • Smith, William R. · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, a city that owes a lot to Dr. William R. Smith. He wasn't just a doctor, but a major player in this city's growth. In 1849, he became the collector of customs for the port, overseeing…

  • Runge, Johanna · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, and right here is where Johanna Runge founded Texas's first free kindergarten in 1893. She saw working families struggling to care for their children while earning a living, so she…

  • Galveston (CL-19) · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, a city that gave its name to a whole class of warships. The USS Galveston, a 'peace cruiser,' was launched in 1903. Unlike heavily armored battleships, these ships had protected decks…

  • Galveston Medical College (1865–1873) · 7.1 mi · Tsha Handbook

    You're driving through Galveston, and right here, you're passing the site of Texas's very first medical school. The Galveston Medical College opened its doors in November of 1865, just as Reconstruction was getting…

Explore Hitchcock on the Map
All music from Texas → Find another town Vote on city songs

Sign up for the free newsletter

Longer stories, research notes, photos, videos, and where the road goes next. Free, and no iPhone needed.

Subscribe free