| From
its founding in 1836 until 1900, Houston was a bustling but largely
backwater agriculture and transportation center. As the 20th century
dawned, two events shaped the rest of the Houston century: the
Galveston hurricane of 1900 destroyed that city's status as the
dominant port in the area, leaving Houston an opportunity to fill
the vacuum; and the discovery of oil 100 miles east of Houston
at Spindletop spurred the industry that continues to dominate
the city's economy and much of its culture. |
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| Sept.
1, 1900: A ferocious hurricane
devastated Galveston, the leading port on the Gulf Coast. The
disaster, which claimed an estimated 8,000 lives, opened the way
for Houston to surpass Galveston and grow into a major American
city. |
| 1900:
Jesse H. Jones, a native of Tennessee,
came to Houston to work for an uncle. In time he became the city's
most eminent and influential citizen and earned the title Mr. Houston.
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1901:
Oil wells that gushed at Spindletop,
near Beaumont, followed by important strikes at Humble and Goose
Creek, welded Houston's economy to the oil business and made the
city an oil capital. |
| 1901:
Marcellus E. Foster, best known by
his nick-name, Mefo, used money he made in an oil venture to found
the Houston Chronicle and became a crusading editor.
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1905:
Oil magnate Joseph S. Cullinan
moved his Texas Co. headquarters to Houston and became an important
figure in the city's development. His company became Texaco.
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| Houstonians
wear costumes for the Notsuoh — Houston spelled backwards —
celebration in the early 1900s. The annual event, designed to rival
Mardi Gras, didn't last past World War I. |
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Operators
work the boards at the Houston Telephone Exchange, around 1909. |
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The original Rice Hotel being razed
in 1911.
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The
new Rice Hotel in 1913. |
| The
restored building in 1998. |
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