Galveston

Galveston (pop. 217,399), city in southeastern Texas and seat of Galveston County. Located on the Gulf of Mexico, the city is an important seaport, commercial fishing center, and the world's largest cotton-shipping port. Meat packing, shipbuilding, oil refining, and the manufacture of wire, nails, textiles, and chemicals are important industries. Michel Menard, a Canadian civil engineer, laid out the town in 1836. That same year the city became the temporary capital of the Republic of Texas. During the Civil War it was a major supply port for the Confederacy, although it was occupied by the Union troops for several months.

See also: Texas.