The 1900 Galveston Hurricane | Night of Terrors
4/15/202633 min
As a catastrophic hurricane approached Galveston, Texas on the morning of September 8, 1900, residents continued to go about their daily lives, with little warning of what was to come. Children played in the surf at the beach, and workers clocked in for their shifts downtown. But when the full strength of the storm hit, water from the Gulf of Mexico flooded the streets of the island city, and 100 mile-per-hour winds sent bricks, tree branches, and slate roof tiles flying through the air. Between 6 and 8 o’clock that night, a monster storm surge washed over the island, forcing thousands of men, wo...
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First 90 secondsLindsey Graham· Host0:00
Audible subscribers can listen to all episodes of American History Tellors ad free right now. Join Audible today by downloading the Audible app. [instrumental music] Imagine it's lunchtime on Saturday, September eighth, nineteen hundred in Galveston, Texas. You're a steamship agent from New York, and you're sitting down at a corner table in Ritter's Cafe and Saloon. With a bad storm raging outside, you're relieved to be sheltered from the rain, dining with a local grain exporter named Richard. You unfold your napkin as a waiter in a white jacket sets down a platter of shrimp in the middle of your table. Richard takes a hearty swig of his cocktail and then spears a shrimp with his fork. But you're distracted by the sight of the doors and windows rattling from the force of the wind. "This is some storm. You ever see anything like it?" Richard just shrugs. "Oh, it's nothing. Just a little rain. You know, Galveston has weathered plenty of storms before. You should hear my old man talk about the hurricane back in seventy-five." "Hurricane? You think this is a hurricane? I wonder if I might be better off heading out of town early. I mean, there's a train leaving at one-thirty this afternoon. You think I might be able to catch it?" "Oh, don't be such a worrywart. We'll be fine." "How do you know that?" "Because I spent my whole life here, and besides, our local weatherman says it's practically impossible for a storm to do any real damage to the island. Something about coastal shelves or something. I, I don't know. Don't ask me to explain it."