We trace how Michel B. Menard leveraged law, alliances, and risk to transform a barren island into Galveston, while confronting the exploitation that powered its rise. Vision meets cost, and a port city emerges through treaties, title fights, and hard truths.

• Menard’s journey from Canadian fur trader to Texas entrepreneur
• Mexican-era land laws and Juan Seguin’s proxy role
• Neutrality treaties with Shawnee, Delaware, and Kickapoo
• Texas Revolution pivots and failed Washington loan bid
• From muddy encampment to city grid and port plan
• Enslaved labor and POW exploitation on the island
• $50,000 title validation and investor network
• The Menard House as home, legend, and operations hub
• Galveston City Company legacy and Stewart Title records
• Wharf Company, rivalry with Houston, and port dominance
• Financial fall, preservation of the house, and nuanced legacy
• Reflection on power, mythmaking, and ethical context

Galveston Unscripted on video!

What is Galveston Unscripted?

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This episode follows the rise, collapse, and rebirth of the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway, from flooded bridges and financial ruin to George Sealy’s bold rescue and the line’s explosive expansion across the state. It’s a story of ambition, civic pride, and the stubborn determination that connected Galveston to the nation on its own terms.

Galveston Unscripted on video!

What is Galveston Unscripted?

Follow Galveston Unscripted on Spotify or Apple Podcasts! More history content on Visit Galveston!

We trace how three families—Sealy, Moody, and Kempner—turned business success into civic power that still shapes Galveston’s health care, education, and arts. From the 1900 storm to modern foundations, the story shows how philanthropy functions like infrastructure.

Galveston Unscripted on video!

What is Galveston Unscripted?

Follow Galveston Unscripted on Spotify or Apple Podcasts! More history content on Visit Galveston!

The Battleship Texas, a century-old World War Dreadnought turned museum ship, is truly part of world history. She will be calling Galveston home for the foreseeable future! We trace Battleship Texas from dreadnought legend to a revived future at Pier 15. Kandace Trujillo Gilman shares the hard engineering, funding strategy, and education plans that turn preservation into a sustainable mission for the last surviving dreadnought.

• defining a dreadnought and Texas’s big-gun design
• World War I service and five major World War II operations
• Why Galveston: attendance growth and sustainability
• Pier 15 dredging, monopiles, gangway, and ticketing
• historic deck restoration in longleaf yellow pine
• five-inch gun removal and heavy-lift logistics
• drainage fixes, interior restoration
• HNSA collaboration and sharing methods across fleets
• dry dock tours as fundraising and public education
• future programs: guided tours, overnights, special events

Galveston Unscripted on video!

What is Galveston Unscripted?

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We open with a groan-worthy oyster joke, then dive into how reefs shaped Galveston Bay’s ecology, history, and seafood economy. We trace the move from open harvest to science-based management and examine restoration, recycling, and aquaculture as tools for a fragile, working bay.

• scale and role of Galveston Bay
• indigenous shell middens and cultural roots
• oysters as keystone reef builders
• growth rates, filtration, and habitat benefits
• industry history and economic impact
• regulation by TPWD
• license buybacks and private leases
• storm, flood, and drought threats
• partnerships in reef restoration and shell recycling
• hatcheries, resilient strains, and emerging aquaculture
• sustaining a wild fishery with clear rules

Galveston Unscripted on video!

What is Galveston Unscripted?

Follow Galveston Unscripted on Spotify or Apple Podcasts! More history content on Visit Galveston!

Two concrete tankers, the SS Selma and SS Durham, turn a wartime shortcut into coastal legend. We trace how steel shortages sparked bold builds, why those ships failed at sea, and how their wrecks still shape fishing, folklore, and engineering lessons.

• concrete ship origins during WWI steel shortage
• how reinforced concrete hulls promised speed and savings
• the Selma’s specs, accident, failed repairs, and scuttling
• the wreck as reef, prohibition liquor smash, local lore
• Frenchy LeBlanc’s hermitage and media spectacle
• the Durham’s whale-back design and underpowered engine
• miserable Tampico voyage, sales, towlines, collisions
• conversion to storage and Sportsman’s Pier, storm damage
• where to spot remains near Pelican Island and North Jetty
• why the fleet ended and what engineers learned about durability

Galveston Unscripted on video!

What is Galveston Unscripted?

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A vivid portrait of Betty Brown emerges: a bold Galveston socialite who turned privilege into service, steered a women’s home with hands-on grit, and shaped civic life before and after the 1900 storm. We trace the woman behind the legend, separating folklore from the record while honoring the force of her will.

• family roots, Ashton Villa, and early wealth
• European art study and expanding worldview
• public image, gossip, and social daring
• the 1900 hurricane and relief efforts
• leadership at the Letitia Rosenberg Home
• inventive fundraising and Angora cats
• defense of the tango and cultural pushback
• health decline, resignation, and tributes
• folklore, hauntings, and enduring legacy

Galveston Unscripted on video!

What is Galveston Unscripted?

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Two Galveston originals reshaped American rhythm and blues: Camille Howard with boogie-woogie fire and Esther Phillips with a deep, briny voice that bent genres. We trace their arcs from island roots to national stages, through reinvention, withdrawal, and lasting legacy.

• R&B’s rise
• Camille Howard’s piano power and Los Angeles breakthrough
• partnership with Roy Milton and Specialty Records era
• hits, changing industry, and a faith-led exit from the spotlight
• Esther Phillips’ early discovery by Johnny Otis and chart ascent
• addiction, return to Houston, and a patient comeback
• Release Me, Atlantic years, and BBC performance
• cross-genre mastery and late recognition in the Blues Hall of Fame
• shared island roots and distinct paths shaping modern American music

Galveston Unscripted on video!

What is Galveston Unscripted?

Follow Galveston Unscripted on Spotify or Apple Podcasts! More history content on Visit Galveston!