alternatehistory.com

It's arguable that two events within the first decade of the 20th Century led to the fall of Galveston as the major commercial hub of the Texas Gulf Coast and its replacement by Houston to the north. One of those events was the devastating 1900 hurricane, and the other was the dredging of the Houston Ship Channel in 1909. Now supposing, the hurricane never struck and Galveston survives the decade more or less intact, how would this shake up the economic development of the Gulf Coast? Would there still be incentive to dredge the Houston Ship Channel and shift economic development to the untested wilds of Houston, or would investors simply keep their money in the tried and true shipping and manufacturing industries of Galveston, the "Wall Street of the South"?

Any takers?
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