I published this article in Western and Eastern Treasure May'1982
Ghost Towns of Galveston Island
Galveston Island is 32 miles long, average of two miles wide, and is almost all part of the city of Galveston,, Texas. But at one time there were at least two other settlements on the island.
The first is Nottingham; a small m centered around a lace factory built in 1892. The original owners of the factory were W.H. Pollard and E.E. Danna, who employed around 200 Irish girls.
The town grew rapidly and soon had several stores and a good number of residences. There was a narrow gauge railroad which ran from the City of Galveston through Nottingham on down the island a short way. The grade on which the rails were is still visible and can be followed several miles.The 1900 storm completely wiped the town and damaged the factory so bad it was dismantled and the machinery moved out. It is interesting note that the school house floated away and was later recovered and moved closer to Galveston, where it was used for many years. All that is now left of Nottingham is the foundation of the lace factory and two large vats used for dyeing the lace.
The town is now just a cow pasture which old Stewart Road runs through. Most of the town is now on private property, but permission to hunt can be received from the owner.
A mile west of Nottingham is South Galveston, which was a resort started in 1895. The main event seems to had been a race track where people carried a lot of money and lost a lot of coins, rings, and jewelry. There was also a picnic ground located at the end of the railroad, which saw many a family reunion and church social. At its peak, South Galveston had several stores, saloons, and a population of about 3000 people. But like Nottingham and many other early towns on the Gulf, South Galveston was wiped out in the storm of 1900.
Part of South Galveston is located in Galveston Island State Park,were the use of a detector is forbidden.
although not on the island, but across the San Luis Bridge, the town of San Luis was laid out in 1832. Within a few years she had ships calling from all over the world at her 1000 foot dock. The town quickly grew to a population of about 1500 to 2000 people, with several hotels, stores, saloons, and two news?papers.
High tides and storms, along with sand filling and channel, soon had San Luis on the decline, and by 1844 the site was completely abandoned. The many years of storms, winds, and rains, have taken their toll on San Luis. All that remains is an old brick cistern which is about 35 feet across.
Although not ghost towns, there are a number of army forts and out?posts located on and around Galveston Island.
On the west end of the island in 1835 and 1836, there was an army outpost called West End Galveston Station.
During the Civil War the Confederate Army had many forts and outposts on the island. At the foot of the old railroad bridge stood Eagle Grove Fort, and at the head of Offatts Bayou, on Taichman Point, was Fort Moore. There was also Fort Point, Fort Macruder, Fort Sidney Sherman, Fort Bankhead and many others.
During World War II, there were several forts along the beach front used by our soldiers, and many good finds 'have been and are still being made in and around then.
Across the causeway from Galveston Island, is Virginia Point. During the Civil War there were three forts on the point; Fort Hebert, Fort Nelson, and Fort Cook. There was also a town laid out named Virginia Point, but it too was wiped out by a storm. There has also been a number of ship?wrecks on her shore; some were pirate, some merchants, and several Civil War ships.
There has been many home sites on the point, and a lot of them have not been completely hunted. I person?ally have been hunting on the point since 1969, and know of people who have hunted there since 1954, and have made some great finds.
Most of these places are easy to get to. Nottingham has a road running right through it, where Virginia Point is easily reached by boat, but can also be reached after a hike of about two miles. Most of the sites are on private property, and you must ask permission to search.
The Rosenberg Library in Galveston has a very good archives department where maps of all these places can be found. The people who run it are a very helpful bunch.
Galveston is a treasure hunter's dream, with ghost towns, pirate treasure, Civil War relics, bottle dumps, and 32 miles of beach to coin shoot.
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