Where is Galveston County?
Galveston County is on the upper Texas Gulf Coast. The Handbook of Texas places it east of Brazoria County and west of Chambers County, with the Gulf of Mexico on the southeast. The county is made up of mainland, Galveston Bay and Galveston Island. Galveston Bay makes up nearly half of the county’s area. Clear Creek forms the boundary with Harris County. The county seat is the city of Galveston. The 2020 Census counted 350,682 residents. The Census Bureau lists its land area as 379.29 square miles.
How is Galveston County governed?
Galveston County is governed by a commissioners court, the structure every Texas county uses. The court has five members. The county judge is elected countywide and presides. Each of the four commissioners is elected from one precinct. The court adopts the budget and sets the county tax rate. The county courthouse is at 722 Moody Avenue in Galveston.
The Galveston Central Appraisal District appraises property for the county’s taxing units. Its office is in Texas City.
How did Galveston County develop?
Stephen F. Austin urged the Mexican government in 1825 to open a provisional port at Galveston. In April 1836, the ad interim government of the Republic of Texas made Galveston its temporary capital. The Congress of the Republic created Galveston County on May 15, 1838, from parts of Harrisburg, Liberty and Brazoria counties. The county was organized in 1839.
A hurricane struck Galveston Island on September 8, 1900. The American Society of Civil Engineers puts the death toll at 6,000 or more. The Rosenberg Library estimates about 8,000. The first section of the Galveston seawall was built from 1902 to 1904, and the city’s grade was raised in the years that followed. In the 1960s, the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center was built at Clear Lake on the Galveston-Harris county line. League City, across the lake, incorporated in 1960.
Which cities and communities are in Galveston County?
The Galveston Central Appraisal District lists these cities as taxing units: Galveston, Texas City, La Marque, Hitchcock, Jamaica Beach, Dickinson, Friendswood, Kemah, League City, Clear Lake Shores, Santa Fe, Bayou Vista and the Village of Tiki Island.
What should property owners know about flooding and drainage in Galveston County?
The Handbook of Texas notes that drainage districts handle flooding problems throughout the county. The appraisal district lists Galveston County Drainage District No. 1, Galveston County Drainage District No. 2 and the Galveston County Consolidated Drainage District among its taxing units. In 2019, Community Impact reported on Consolidated Drainage District projects along Clear Creek, Cowart Creek and Mary’s Creek in Friendswood.
Storm surge is the county’s other major flood risk. The National Weather Service reports that the eye of Hurricane Ike came ashore in Galveston County in September 2008. Storm tide reached 10 to 13 feet along most of Galveston Island and Galveston Bay. Eleven of the 12 direct deaths the weather service recorded for Ike were drownings in Galveston County.