Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston–Houston ""Mother Church of Texas"". The prefecture was elevated to a vicariate apostolic on July 10, 1841. On May 4, 1847, the vicariate became the Diocese of Galveston in the Province of New Orleans and St. Mary Cathedral Basilica was designated the cathedral. In 1926, the then-diocese was placed in the newly created Province of San Antonio. After the devastating Galveston Hurricane of 1900, Houston began to expand after the Port of Houston was completed. At the request of Wendelin J. Nold, fifth bishop of Galveston, Pope John XXIII authorised the construction of a co-cathedral of convenience in Houston, and on
Free State of Galveston nephew of Sam and Rose, claimed that most of the equipment was shipped to Las Vegas before authorities ever discovered it. As the vice industries crashed, so did tourism, and the rest of the Galveston economy declined with it. The economy stagnated during the 1950s, and after 1957 the "Free State" was effectively gone. Fort Crockett, which had been used as an Army recreation center following the war, was shut down in 1955. Many of the island's most important entertainment business leaders left the city and set up shop in Las Vegas. Neither the economy nor the culture of the