The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 70, July 1966 - April, 1967 Page: 46
728 p. : maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
in improving rivers and harbors by 1858,5 the period between the
war for Texas independence and the Civil War saw little or no
port development.
In the 187o's and 188o's, the Grange agitated for a deep water
harbor on the gulf. Joint resolutions were pushed through the
seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth Texas legislatures setting
forth the needs and advantages of such a deep, water port and
instructing the state's representatives in congress to urge the pas-
sage of a bill that would provide it.6
The first federal appropriation to improve the port of Gal-
veston came in 187o. It was not, however, until 1889 that con-
gress decided to make Galveston into a deep water port at federal
expense. The first phase of that work was completed in 1896,
and Texas had its first deep water harbor.
It has long been provided by federal policy that, where sub-
stantial benefits accrue to the immediate locality in which an im-
provement is made, the local community should aid in the project.
The local unit usually undertaking those tasks and contracting
with the federal government is a navigation district.
Navigation districts were first provided for in 1909. As units
of government, such districts were authorized to construct canals
and waterways for navigation purposes.8 After forming such a dis-
trict, Houston, in 1915, proposed to congress to pay half the cost
of the project to make its harbor into a deep water seaport. Con-
gress accepted that proposal for improving the port of Houston,
and that became the pattern for harbor development in the other
Texas coastal cities.9
Because of the dangers of coastal shipping, canals were much
in the minds of persons navigating coastal waters. As early as 1876,
the state passed an act to encourage navigation by granting land to
companies undertaking the building of canals. Private interests
5Corpus Christi Caller-Times, January 18, 1959, 14-1; Texas: A Guide to the Lone
Star State (New York, 1940), 11.
6Roscoe C. Martin, "The Grange as a Political Factor in Texas," Southwestern
Social Science Quarterly, VI, 38o-381.
7The Port of Galveston: Handbook of Information on the Port (Galveston, 1925),
6-9.
8Units of Local Government in Texas (Austin, 1941), 62-63.
9Texas: A Guide to the Lone Star State, 71.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 70, July 1966 - April, 1967, periodical, 1967; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101199/m1/64/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.