History of the Galveston Bay Area the territory's coastal areas, and therefore continued to allow settlers from the United States into the area with the promise of allegiance to Mexico. Austin's son, Stephen F. Austin, established a colony which extended from east central Texas to Galveston Bay and the Gulf Coast. Some of Austin's original "Old 300" settlers, including John Dickson, William Scott, and John Iiams, established homesteads and commercial enterprises around the bay. The Port of Galveston and a permanent settlement were established on the island in 1825 to spur trade. Communities including Lynchburg, San Jacinto, and Campbell's Bayou (founded by one of Lafitte's former
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