Galveston County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas, located along the Gulf Coast adjacent to Galveston Bay. As of the 2020 census, its population was 350,682. The county was founded in 1838. The county seat is the City of Galveston, founded the following year, and located on Galveston Island. The most-populous municipality in the county is League City, a suburb of Houston at the northern end of the county, which surpassed Galveston in population during the early 2000s.
Galveston County is part of the nine-county Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land (Greater Houston) metropolitan statistical area.
History
Sixteenth-century Spanish explorers knew Galveston Island as the Isla de Malhado, the "Isle of Misfortune", or Isla de Culebras, the "Isle of Snakes". In 1519, an expedition led by Alonso Álvarez de Pineda actually sailed past Galveston Island while charting the route from the Florida peninsula to the Pánuco River. The information gathered from the expedition enabled the Spanish government to establish control over the entire Gulf Coast, including Galveston Island. In 1783, José Antonio de Evia, a Spanish navigator, surveyed the area and named the bay "Galveston" to honor Bernardo de Gálvez, who supported the United States in the Revolutionary War.
Galveston County was formally established under the Republic of Texas on May 15, 1838. The county was formed from territory taken from Harrisburg, Liberty, and Brazoria Counties, with governmental organization taking place in 1839. The island and city of Galveston by far formed the most important population center. The city of Galveston was the republic's largest city and its center of commerce and culture. The Galveston County Bar Association, first formed in 1846, is the oldest in Texas. Port Bolivar on the Bolivar Peninsula was a port of secondary importance. Other development in the area was initially mostly ranching interests and small farming communities. Texas soon joined the United States, and Galveston's importance continued to grow as it came to dominate the worldwide cotton trade. As railroads between Galveston, Harrisburg, Houston, and other towns were built during the 19th century, small communities grew up along the rail lines. Nevertheless, Galveston continued to remain a prominent destination for the shipping and trade industries. A bridge was completed in 1859, when the Galveston, Houston, and Henderson Railroad built a wooden trestle that was used by all other railway lines to the island until 1875, when the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway built its own bridge. At the end of the 19th century, a group of investors established Texas City directly across the West Bay from Galveston, with the hope of making it a competing port city. The port began operations just before the start of the 20th century.
The 1900 Galveston Hurricane devastated the county, killing an estimated 6000 people on the island alone and numerous others in the rest of the county. The Port of Galveston was closed for a time during reconstruction, but recovery was swift and profound. By 1910, the county's citizens had developed the commission form of government, constructed the seawall, and raised the merit of the whole city.
Investors had worried that the Texas coast was a dangerous place to establish major commercial operations because of the threat of hurricanes, and the 1900 disaster seemed to prove that. Though Galveston rebuilt its port and other major operations quickly, major investment moved inland, largely to Houston. Soon, Houston and Texas City had outpaced Galveston as major ports.
The oil boom in Texas began in 1901, and pipelines and refineries soon were built in Texas City. Industrial growth blossomed, especially during World War II. Galveston's manufacturing sector, however, was more stagnant during the 20th century.