09/08/2026
Today marks the 126th anniversary of our nation’s deadliest natural disaster.
The 120 mph hurricane that struck Galveston Island on September 8th, 1900, claimed between 8,000 and 12,000 lives and caused upwards of $30 million (in 1900s dollars, $1.15B today) in property damage across the city.
Galveston played a pivotal role in the history of Texas. From Cabeza de Vaca’s encounters with the Karankawa Indians in the early-16th century to Stephen F. Austin recognizing the harbor upon petitioning to the Mexican government in 1825. Galveston was the temporary capital of the Republic in April of 1836.