News & Events

Galveston’s First “Big Circus…in Years”

Galveston’s Rotary Club sponsored two appearances by Ray Bros. Circus in the mid-1940s. The first performance took place at City Auditorium. February 15-19, 1944. An advertisement in the Galveston Daily News, February 13, 1944, billed the event as “The Colossus of Indoor Shows” and “The Only Big Circus to Show in Galveston in Years.”
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Juneteenth Celebrations Past and Present

By Kevin KinneyThis article was originally published in the Galveston County Daily News on June 17, 2020: https://www.galvnews.com/lifes...
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Handling the Multitudes: Traffic Control on Seawall Boulevard, 1911-1949

By Casey Edward GreeneSince the early twentieth century, the Seawall and Seawall Boulevard have defined Galveston’s beachfront. Each tourist season, multitudes trek to Galveston for beaches and Gulf bathing. They come mostly in cars, creating a constant challenge for authorities to ensure orderly traffic flow without endangering pedestrians. During earlier decades, city commissioners implemented a variety of methods, which drew…
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First Color Film of Galveston’s Pageant of Pulchritude Restored and Released Online

Austin/Galveston, Texas, May 15, 2020 — The earliest color film of Galveston’s 1931 Pageant of Pulchritude, and one of the oldest extant color films of Texas, is now viewable at TexasArchive.org. The Texas Archive of the Moving Image (TAMI) and the Rosenberg Library partnered to receive a National Film Preservation Foundation (NFPF) grant to restore the film, originally shot on…
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Internship at Rosenberg

By Mia SorrellsFor my last semester at Texas A&M University at Galveston, I had the opportunity to internship at the Special Collections Department located on the fourth floor of the Rosenberg library. On my first day, I was introduced to the different collections that the Galveston and Texas History Center has, as well as the kind of work that an…
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Online Workshop: Searching the Galveston Tribune Newspaper

Watch a recording of the workshop below:___Join the Galveston & Texas History Center in exploring the 1900 Storm, the construction of the Seawall, or even your family’s history through this vital newspaper with the University of North Texas’ Portal to Texas History, one of the many valuable research databases available at the Rosenberg Library.May 16, 2020 from 11 am –…
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Those Who Fell: Part 2 of Profiles of Selected 1900 Storm Victims

By Casey Edward GreenePart 2 examines more Galveston and Galveston Island victims. The profiles include discussion of archival sources and their limitations. Victim lists often contain incorrect, incomplete, and contradictory information, making any effort to identify hurricane casualties a major undertaking.
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History Now: Galveston and the COVID-19 Pandemic

En español History begins with you! Our grandchildren and great-grandchildren will one day ask how we responded to the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic. They will look for letters, diaries, photographs, posters, and other items that shed light on how the pandemic affected our lives. The Rosenberg Library’s Special Collections Department welcomes Galvestonians to contribute to the historical record today. Questions? Email…
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The Bearcat, 1945-46: Central High School's First Yearbook

The Galveston and Texas History Center collects and preserves yearbooks from the island's public and private schools. Among our most treasured yearbooks are those from Galveston's Central High School, the first Black high school in the state of Texas. Until recently, our holdings of The Bearcat only went back to 1955. Thanks to a generous donor, we can now preserve…
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Those Who Fell: Profiles of Selected 1900 Storm Victims

Part ICasey Edward Greene, Rosenberg ScholarThe 1900 Storm is recognized as the deadliest natural disaster in the history of the United States. Approximately eight thousand people died on Galveston Island. Several thousand more were lost on the mainland. It is impossible to provide a full accounting of the victims. In September 1900, Galveston’s population was much larger than the 37,78…
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Dale Carnegie's Visit to Galveston

By Casey Edward GreeneDale Carnegie (1888-1955) was a widely recognized author and lecturer on public speaking, salesmanship, and self-improvement. A Missouri native, he worked as a salesman and then in acting before teaching public speaking in New York. His first book, The Art of Public Speaking, appeared in 1915. In 1936, Carnegie authored How to Win Friends and Influence People…
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