1900 Storm Memorial

Along the Galveston Seawall, a 10-mile circuit of beautiful beaches, bars, and restaurants, the 1900 Storm Memorial serves as a somber reminder of the Texas island’s strength. On September 8, 1900, a Category 4 hurricane swept through Galveston, destroying most of what was a prosperous port city. Between 10,000 and 12,000 residents died and thousands more were left homeless. Known as the Great Storm, it remains the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history.

The seawall was a response to prevent future hurricanes. An engineering marvel unlike any other construction that came before it, the seawall was built over six years by hand. Today, it provides robust protection for over 2,000 structures that have been raised around Galveston since.

Especially in the years after the tragedy, the seawall was an important symbol of resilience for locals who had lost everything. After the once-booming port city had been reduced to rubble, three engineers were given the monumental task of ensuring such a catastrophe would never happen again.

Military engineer Brigadier General Henry Martyn Robert (best known as the author of the parliamentary procedure “Robert’s Rules of Order”), working together with civil engineer Alfred Noble and German-born local engineer H. C. Ripley, designed a structure that would not withstand nature’s force, and also the test of time.

The construction comprised wooden pilings backed by a sand embankment and protected by stone riprap. The most crucial feature, though, was an outward curve on the outer Gulf-facing side of the wall, deflecting incoming waves and preventing water from washing overtop. Beyond the Seawall, the entire southern portion of Galveston Island was elevated by 17 feet, hindering flood damage but also allowing for the development of restaurants, hotels, and more.

Though the seawall is now a bustling tourist strip, the Great Storm is never to be forgotten. On the 100-year anniversary of the disaster in 2000, a bronze statue was erected against the seawall to commemorate the victims.

Created by local sculptor David W. Moore, the 10-foot-tall monument of a man, woman, and child clung together against the storm is a solemn reminder of Galveston’s loss but also its persevering spirit. Often, you’ll see visitors paying their respects here by leaving flowers at the statue’s base.