The 1900 Galveston Hurricane | City of Doom
4/22/202638 min
On September 9, 1900, the residents of Galveston, Texas woke up to find their island in ruins. Entire neighborhoods had vanished overnight. Telegraph, telephone, and electrical lines were destroyed, as were the four bridges connecting Galveston to the mainland. Bloodied men, women, and children stumbled through the streets. And thousands of corpses were strewn amongst the wreckage, victims of what remains America’s deadliest natural disaster.
As the survivors reckoned with the challenge of rebuilding their lives, Clara Barton, the 78-year-old founder and president of the American Red Cross, rushed to Galveston to aid with relief.
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsLindsey Graham· Host0:00
Hello, American History Teller listeners. I have an exciting announcement. I'm going on tour and coming to a theater near you. This live show is a thrilling evening of history, storytelling, and music with a full band accompanying me as we look back to explore the days that made America. And they aren't the days that you might think. Sure, everyone knows July fourth, seventeen seventy-six. We'll be hearing a lot about that date this year. But there are many other days that are maybe even more influential. So come out to see me live. More shows to be announced soon. So for information on tickets and upcoming dates, go to americanhistorylive.com. That's americanhistorylive.com. Come see my Days That Made America Tour live on stage. Go to americanhistorylive.com. [drum roll] [panting] Imagine it's the afternoon of Sunday, September ninth, nineteen hundred, somewhere outside of League City, Texas. You and five other men left Galveston on a boat this morning to begin a fifty-mile journey to Houston in order to alert the world about yesterday's devastating hurricane. Since reaching the mainland, you've been pumping your way north in a small rail hand car. Your arms are sore from the work, but the repetitive motion is a helpful distraction from your shock and grief. All right, keep going, boys. Just a few more miles. At first you think the sun is playing tricks on you, but then you see a southbound passenger train rounding a bend ahead. You straighten up and wave your arms. Stop! Stop,