Port of Galveston Port Arthur. Some businesses threatened to pull out of Galveston completely if the port wasn't reopened. Governor William P. Hobby declared martial law and sent the Texas National Guard to take control of the city and the port. The city was under martial law until January 1921, when the longshoreman agreed to return to work for a salary increase that was less than they had sought. Later that decade, the port of Galveston became a major sulphur exporter. As the oil industry expanded in Texas, no pipelines were built to Galveston. The Intracoastal Canal opened in 1933. For several years
Port of Galveston than expected pace, requiring more dredging in 2016. The western part of the port will be dredged from a dept of to , at a cost of $12-15 million. To accommodate cruise ships, the area where the ships turn around is routinely dredged every four years. During the late 19th century, the port was the busiest on the Gulf Coast and considered to be second busiest in the country, next to the port of New York City. In the 1850s, the port of Galveston exported approximately goods valued almost 20 times what was imported. The main export was cotton. The