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Galveston Flood of 1900
Introduction

DALLAS, Tex., Sept. 8 -- All Texas is in the keenest state of doubt and
uncertainty to-night concerning the fate of Galveston Island and city. There is
a suspicion that an awful calamity rests behind the lack of information from the
Gulf coast. It is rumored here that immense destruction has befallen Galveston
and other places.
It is said that the bridges leading from the mainland to the island have
been swept away by the terrible force of the wind and the rolling up of the
water in the bay. The bridges are four in number, three for railroad use and one
the Galveston County public wagon and pedestrian bridge. It seems hardly
credible that all these bridges could be swept away without the city suffering
tremendously in the loss of buildings, general property, and lives.
Not a wire is working late Galveston, either telegraph or telephone, and
as all bridges carried wires, the fears that all these structures is gone is
strengthened....
Extracted from: The New York Times, September 9,
1900
National History Standards

Materials compiled in this document can be used by educators to fulfill the
following National
History Standards for Grades 5-12:
Era 7: The Emergence of Modern America (1890-1930)
STANDARD 3: How the United States changed from the
end of World War I to the eve of the Great Depression.
Standard 3B: The student understands how a modern capitalist
economy emerged in the 1920s.
5-12: Explain how principles of scientific management and
technological innovations, including assembly lines, rapid transit,
household appliances, and radio, continued to transform production, work,
and daily life. [Examine the influence of ideas]
9-12: Analyze the new business downtowns, the development of suburbs,
and the role of transportation in changing urban life. [Explain historical
continuity and change]
Primary Resources

DESCRIPTION: Handwritten
letter unsigned, not addressed, written during the beginning and
height of the Storm
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED: [Sep 8, 1900]
SOURCE: 1900
Storm Online Manuscript Exhibit
REPOSITORY: Galveston and Texas History Center at the Rosenberg
Library
DESCRIPTION: Galveston
May Be Wiped Out by Storm
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED: September 9, 1900
SOURCE: Historical New York Times
DESCRIPTION: Great
Disaster at Galveston
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED: September 10, 1900
SOURCE: Historical New York Times
DESCRIPTION: Panoramic
view of Tremont Hotel, Galveston
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED: Filmed ca. September 11-19, 1900, in
Galveston, Texas. United States : Edison Manufacturing Co., 1900
SUMMARY FROM AMERICAN MEMORY: From Edison films catalog: This
picture shows several buildings which were wrecked and also shows a rear
view of this hotel, which is on the highest point of land in Galveston, and
in which several thousand people were saved.
PLAYBACK: Information
about Video Playback
REPRODUCTION: How to Order Copies of Films
| Sound Recordings
COPYRIGHT: Copyright
and Other Restrictions
SOURCE: Inventing
Entertainment: The Motion Pictures and Sound Recordings of the Edison
Companies
REPOSITORY: Library of Congress Motion Picture,
Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division Washington, D. C.
DESCRIPTION: Bird's-eye
view of dock front, Galveston
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED: United States : Edison Manufacturing Co.,
1900
SUMMARY FROM AMERICAN MEMORY: From Edison films catalog: Showing
dismantled cars, wrecked warehouses, schooners and tugs that had been
stranded on the docks; also the tents that had been rigged up for the poor
people who had been left entirely homeless.
PLAYBACK: Information
about Video Playback
REPRODUCTION: How to Order Copies of Films
| Sound Recordings
COPYRIGHT: Copyright
and Other Restrictions
SOURCE: Inventing
Entertainment: The Motion Pictures and Sound Recordings of the Edison
Companies
REPOSITORY: Library of Congress Motion Picture,
Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division Washington, D. C.
DESCRIPTION: Panorama
of wreckage of water front
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED: United States : Edison Manufacturing Co.,
1900.
SUMMARY FROM AMERICAN MEMORY: From Edison films catalog: This
picture shows the remains of one of the docks, several freight cars being
piled one upon the other, while the most interesting part of the picture
shows two schooners literally smashed one into the other, forming a most
picturesque mass of wreckage.
PLAYBACK: Information
about Video Playback
REPRODUCTION: How to Order Copies of Films
| Sound Recordings
COPYRIGHT: Copyright
and Other Restrictions
SOURCE: Inventing
Entertainment: The Motion Pictures and Sound Recordings of the Edison
Companies
REPOSITORY: Library of Congress Motion Picture,
Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division Washington, D. C.
DESCRIPTION: Panorama
of orphans' home, Galveston
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED: United States : Edison Manufacturing Co.,
1900
SUMMARY FROM AMERICAN MEMORY: From Edison films catalog: This is
the building in which so many of the poor orphans met their death. The place
is completely dismantled. In addition to the orphanage is shown one of the
principal streets in Galveston blocked with overturned houses and other
materials.
PLAYBACK: Information
about Video Playback
REPRODUCTION: How to Order Copies of Films
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COPYRIGHT: Copyright
and Other Restrictions
SOURCE: Inventing
Entertainment: The Motion Pictures and Sound Recordings of the Edison
Companies
REPOSITORY: Library of Congress Motion Picture,
Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division Washington, D. C.
DESCRIPTION: Panorama
of Galveston power house
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED:
SUMMARY FROM AMERICAN MEMORY:
PLAYBACK: Information
about Video Playback
REPRODUCTION: How to Order Copies of Films
| Sound Recordings
COPYRIGHT: Copyright
and Other Restrictions
SOURCE: Inventing
Entertainment: The Motion Pictures and Sound Recordings of the Edison
Companies
REPOSITORY: Library of Congress Motion Picture,
Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division Washington, D. C.
DESCRIPTION: Launching
a stranded schooner from the docks
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED: United States : Edison Manufacturing Co.,
1900
SUMMARY FROM AMERICAN MEMORY: From Edison films catalog: During
the terrific storm all of the light craft along the dock front was lifted
out of the water and washed up into the streets, many of them being carried
for miles inland. This subject shows a number of boatmen who have banded
together to get their craft back into the water, a panoramic view being
taken of the schooner as she glided sideways down the improvised ways,
forming a very interesting subject.
PLAYBACK: Information
about Video Playback
REPRODUCTION: How to Order Copies of Films
| Sound Recordings
COPYRIGHT: Copyright
and Other Restrictions
SOURCE: Inventing
Entertainment: The Motion Pictures and Sound Recordings of the Edison
Companies
REPOSITORY: Library of Congress Motion Picture,
Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division Washington, D. C.
DESCRIPTION: Damage
caused by the hurricane and storm surge
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED: 1900, September 1-10
COPYRIGHT: About
the images
SOURCE: Historic NWS Collection
REPOSITORY: National Oceanic &
Atmospheric Adminstration (NOAA)
DESCRIPTION: A
Street After the Flood
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED: 1900, September 1-10
COPYRIGHT: About
the images
SOURCE: Historic NWS Collection
REPOSITORY: National Oceanic &
Atmospheric Adminstration (NOAA)
DESCRIPTION: Removing
Dead Bodies to the Barges for Burial at Sea
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED: 1900, September 1-10
COPYRIGHT: About
the images
SOURCE: Historic NWS Collection
REPOSITORY: National Oceanic &
Atmospheric Adminstration (NOAA)
DESCRIPTION: Damage
caused by the hurricane and storm surge
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED: 1900, September 1-10
COPYRIGHT: About
the images
SOURCE: Historic NWS Collection
REPOSITORY: National Oceanic &
Atmospheric Adminstration (NOAA)
DESCRIPTION: The
track of the Galveston Hurricane
COPYRIGHT: About
the images
SOURCE: Historic NWS Collection
REPOSITORY: National Oceanic &
Atmospheric Adminstration (NOAA)
DESCRIPTION: Ruined
Homes
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED: 1900, September 1-10
COPYRIGHT: About
the images
SOURCE: Historic NWS Collection
REPOSITORY: National Oceanic &
Atmospheric Adminstration (NOAA)
DESCRIPTION: Houses
Destroyed by the Flood
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED: 1900, September 1-10
COPYRIGHT: About
the images
SOURCE: Historic NWS Collection
REPOSITORY: National Oceanic &
Atmospheric Adminstration (NOAA)
DESCRIPTION: Ruin
caused by the Flood
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED: 1900, September 1-10
COPYRIGHT: About
the images
SOURCE: Historic NWS Collection
REPOSITORY: National Oceanic &
Atmospheric Adminstration (NOAA)
DESCRIPTION: Destruction
caused by the water
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED: 1900, September 1-10
COPYRIGHT: About
the images
SOURCE: Historic NWS Collection
REPOSITORY: National Oceanic &
Atmospheric Adminstration (NOAA)
DESCRIPTION: Number
of Dead May Reach 10,000
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED: September 11, 1900
SOURCE: Historical New York Times
DESCRIPTION: Martial
Law in Galveston
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED: September 12, 1900
SOURCE: Historical New York Times
DESCRIPTION: Horrors
Increase in Stricken City
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED: September 13, 1900
SOURCE: Historical New York Times
DESCRIPTION: Galveston
Begins to Recover Slowly
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED: September 14, 1900
SOURCE: Historical New York Times
DESCRIPTION: [Light
house tender Arbutus lying along side a wharf].
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED: 1900, Sept. 22
SUMMARY FROM AMERICAN MEMORY: Photograph of the the light house
tender Arbutus (Steamship). Taken September 22, the Arbutus is being loaded
with supplieswhich are intended for Galveston, Texas hurricane relief. Photo
also shows dock and river views
REPRODUCTION: How
to Order Reproductions
COPYRIGHT: Copyright
and Other Restrictions
SOURCE: Westward
by Sea: A Maritime Perspective on American Expansion, 1820-1890
REPOSITORY: Mystic Seaport Museum, Inc., G. W. Blunt White Library,
P.O. Box 6000, Mystic, CT 06355
DESCRIPTION: Dr.
Isaac Monroe Cline, meteorologist in charge at Galveston during the 1900
Galveston Hurricane, meteorologist in charge at New Orleans during the great
Mississippi River flood of 1927, and author of "Tropical Cyclones."
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED:
NOTES: Cline was a meteorologist who gain fame for accurately
predicting the 1900 Galveston flood.
SOURCE: NOAA People Collection
REPOSITORY: National Oceanic &
Atmospheric Adminstration (NOAA)
SEE ALSO: Isaac Monroe Cline, Storms, Floods, and Sunshine: Isaac Monroe
Cline : An Autobiography With a Summary of Tropical Hurricanes. Pelican
Publishing Company, 1999.
DESCRIPTION: Galveston
Flood, Coney Island, N.Y.
DATE CREATED/PUBLISHED: [between 1902 and 1906]
NOTES: Amusement attraction at New York's Coney Island where visitors
could watch a simulation of the Galveston flood.
REPRODUCTIONS: How
to Order Photographic Reproductions
COPYRIGHT: Copyright
and Other Restrictions
SOURCE: Touring
Turn-of-the-Century America: Photographs from the Detroit Publishing
Company, 1880-1920
REPOSITORY: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division
Washington, D.C.
See also:
Additional Media Resources

Disasters,
Devastation and Destruction. From the Library of Congress
In Focus: Floods!
From PBS
Additional Instructional Resources

Talking
Points for Educators: In the Aftermath of a Hurricane. From the American Red
Cross
Hurricane
Watch! From Education World
Blowing
Through History (Grades 6-8 , 9-12 ) Examining the History of
Hurricanes in the United States to Create a Library Reference Guide. From the
New York Times on the Web Learning Network.
Secondary Resources

Larson, Erik. Isaac's Storm : A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest
Hurricane in History. Knopf Publishing Group,
2000.
Lester, Paul. The Great Galveston Disaster:
Containing a Full and Thrilling Account of the Most Appalling Calamity of Modern
Times. Pelican Publishing Company, 2000.
Turner, Elizabeth Hays. "Clara
Barton and the Formation of Public Policy in Galveston, 1900." The
Rockefeller Archive Center Publications Conference Proceedings, September 2000.
Turner, Elizabeth Hays and Patricia Bellis Bixel. Galveston and the 1900
Storm: Catastrophe and Catalyst. University of Texas Press, 2000.
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Credits
Teaching
American History in Maryland is a collaborative partnership of the Maryland State Archives and the Center for History Education (CHE), University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), and the following sponsoring school systems: Anne Arundel County Public Schools, Baltimore City Public School System, Baltimore County Public Schools, and Howard County Public Schools.
Other program partners include the Martha Ross Center for Oral History, Maryland Historical Society, State Library Resource Center/Enoch Pratt Free Library, with assistance from the National Archives and Records Administration and the Library of Congress. The program is funded through grants from the U.S. Department of Education.
This document packet was researched and developed by Nancy Bramucci.
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