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 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