Galveston 1915 Hurricane Photographs

Collection

Identifier: 1997-002

Staff Only

The Galveston Hurricane Photograph collection comes from a scrapbook of pictures taken by Rex Dunbar Frazier, a Stone & Webster Engineering representative called in to collect storm damage data and photographs.

Photos were removed from an acidic scrapbook for preservation purposes, yet folder captions were copied exactly from those provided. Folder captions below have been abbreviated as necessary.

The photos date primarily from August 18, 1915, although many are undated. Later photos show repairs. Dated photographs have been filed chronologically, and undated photographs have been loosely grouped into categories of Buildings/Streets, Railroads (general), Interurban Railroad, Causeway/Temporary Trestle, Drifting/Damage, Miscellaneous People, and Miscellaneous.

Dates

1915

Creator

Frazier, Rex Dunbar (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Special Collections owns the physical items in our collections, but copyright normally belongs to the creator of the materials or their heirs. The researcher has full responsibility for determining copyright status, obtaining permission to publish from copyright holders, and abiding by current copyright laws when publishing or displaying copies of Special Collections material in print or electronic form. For more information, consult the appropriate librarian. Reproduction decisions will be made by Special Collections staff on a case-by-case basis.

Extent

0.50 linear feet

Additional Description

Biographical Information

On August 16-19, 1915, Galveston Island was hit by a devastating hurricane. Damage amounted to $50 million, but there were only 275 deaths. The low loss of life is attributed to the protection of the seawall, constructed after the 1900 hurricane which did $40 million worth of damage and killed thousands of people.