History of Galveston, Texas 1825, establishing the Port of Galveston, and, in 1830, erected a customs house. During the Texas Revolution, Galveston served as the main port for the Texas Navy. Galveston also served as the capital of the Republic of Texas when, in 1836, interim president David G. Burnet relocated his government there. In 1836, Michel Branamour Menard, a native of Canada, along with several associates, purchased of land for $50,000 from the Austin Colony to found the town that would become the modern city of Galveston. The Congress of the Republic of Texas hired Robert C. Trimble and William Lindsey to survey
Port of Galveston to export on the city's lack of an adequate water supply. However, when the city water project finished in the early 1890s, industrialization still did not occur. In reality, many companies were hesitant to invest in machinery on an island prone to floods. The nearby city of Houston was able to better attract industry and began positioning themselves as a viable alternative to Galveston. The port survived the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 relatively unscathed, but the railroad connecting the island to the mainland suffered significant damage. In response to the hurricane, city leaders dredged the ship channel to raise the