1900 STORM – BODIES

The 1900 Storm remains the nation’s deadliest recorded natural disaster. Its destructive effects were of such magnitude that even today no complete accounting of its victims exists. Immediately after the Storm, the city’s Mayor, Walter C. Jones, estimated that 500 lives had been lost. The estimated toll quickly jumped to 5,000 and even 6,000. How should the bodies be disposed? On Monday, September 10, 1900, a barge loaded with approximately 700 bodies carried them into the Gulf of Mexico, where workers dropped them overboard. In the next several days, many of the bodies floated back to Galveston Island’s West End, posing a threat of pestilence. The Island’s high water table following the hurricane precluded their burial, so decaying bodies were burned on pyres. The stench that permeated Galveston over the next weeks can only be imagined. Workers removing piles of debris up to 10 feet high found hundreds of bodies. These were recognizable only by personal effects, such as watches or jewelry. Men were impressed in gangs to dispose of the dead. Despite rumors that circulated throughout the city and were published in popular accounts after the Storm, only a handful of people were executed for despoiling bodies of their valuables.

7^th Street:  BO3-3
18^th Street:  BO2-6
20^th Street:  BO1-13
21^st Street:  BO2-12, BO3-13
22^nd Street:  BO1-13, BO3-9, BO3-11
23^rd Street:  BO3-7, BO4-10
African Americans:  BO3-11, BO3-15
Avenue B:  BO1-13
Avenue F:  BO3-15, BO4-10
Avenue M:  BO3-3
Avenue N:  BO2-6
Avenue O:  BO2-12
Barges:  BO1-1, BO2-10, BO2-14, BO3-1, BO3-5, BO3-8, BO3-9, BO3-11, BO4-11, BO4-14, BO4-15
Beachfront:  BO2-1, BO2-13, BO3-3, BO3-6, BO3-7, BO3-12
Caskets:  BO1-15
Churches – Catholic:  BO2-4
Downtown Views:  BO1-13, BO3-13, BO4-1, BO4-13, BO4-14
East Beach:  BO3-12
Galveston Bay:  BO1-2
Galveston Harbor:  BO2-5, BO2-10, BO3-5, BO3-11, BO4-11, BO4-15
Galveston Island:  BO1-3, BO1-4, BO1-5, BO1-6, BO1-7, BO1-8, BO1-9, BO1-10, BO1-11, BO1-14, BO2-3, BO4-2, BO4-3, BO4-4, BO4-5, BO4-6, BO4-7
Graves:  BO2-8, BO3-6, BO4-7
Gulf of Mexico:  BO2-5, BO2-14, BO3-1
Harbor Views:  BO2-5, BO2-10, BO3-5, BO3-9, BO3-11, BO4-11, BO4-15
Horses:  BO4-1
Houses:  BO1-12, BO2-1, BO2-11, BO2-12, BO3-6
Jewelry:  BO3-2, BO3-12
Morgues:  BO2-2, BO3-15
Pavement – Brick:  BO3-15, BO4-10
Pensacola  (steamship):  BO2-5
People:  BO1-1, BO1-8, BO1-13, BO2-4, BO2-6, BO2-10, BO2-14, BO2-15, BO3-2, BO3-4, BO3-5, BO3-7, BO3-8, BO3-9, BO3-11, BO3-12, BO3-13, BO3-15, BO4-7, BO4-10, BO4-11, BO4-13, BO4-14, BO4-15
Pyres:  BO2-13, BO2-15, BO3-12, BO3-13, BO3-15, BO4-7, BO4-10, BO5-1
Railroads:  BO1-2
Sacred Heart Church:  BO2-4
Steamships:  BO2-5, BO3-1
Street Scenes:  BO3-15, BO4-10
Tugboats:  BO2-5, BO3-1
Wagons:  BO3-9, BO3-11, BO3-12, BO3-15, BO4-1, BO4-10, BO4-11, BO4-14, BO4-15  
Water:  BO1-4, BO1-8, BO1-9, BO1-10, BO1-11, BO1-13, BO1-14, BO3-9, BO3-13, BO4-1, BO4-2, BO4-3, BO4-4, BO4-13
Workmen:  BO1-1, BO1-13, BO2-4, BO2-6, BO2-10, BO2-14, BO2-15, BO3-4, BO3-5, BO3-7, BO3-8, BO3-9, BO3-11, BO3-12, BO3-13, BO3-15, BO4-7, BO4-10, BO4-11, BO4-13, BO4-14, BO4-15

Galveston and Texas History Center, Rosenberg Library, 2310 Sealy Avenue, Galveston TX 77550
Voice (409) 763-8854 ext. 127- Fax (409) 763-0275

GTHC WebTeam GTHC, Rosenberg Library.