News & Events

Edward Cotham, Jr., author of Juneteenth: the Story Behind the Celebration, will join us online for the virtual Museum Book Club on Wednesday, November 17th at 12 pm. Participants may pick up a FREE copy of the book from the 2nd floor reference desk while supplies last. REGISTER AT: https://bit.ly/2W4eAxs Questions? Contact Sean by email or call 409-763-8854 x127. …

En españolHistory begins with you! Our grandchildren and great-grandchildren will one day ask how we responded to the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic. They will look for letters, diaries, photographs, posters, and other items that shed light on how the pandemic affected our lives. The Rosenberg Library’s Special Collections Department welcomes Galvestonians to contribute to the historical record today.Questions? Email us at…

I’m Ivy Albright and I started as the Museum Curator at the Rosenberg Library in September 2021. I am excited to be part of the greater Galveston community and I am quickly settling into island life. I am a Native Texan originally from Taylor, Texas. I graduated from Sam Houston State University with a B.A. in History. Thereafter, I attended…

Join the Galveston and Texas History Center for the annual Genealogy Lock-In, held virtually this year. A series of seven video programs recorded specifically for this event will be presented online. The programs are provided by the Genealogy Network of Texas (GNT), a state-wide initiative to connect libraries/genealogical societies and provide educational and research opportunities that is spearheaded by the…

Recordings of all three programs are available on the Rosenberg Library's YouTube channel:Making it Last: Preserving Your Family's Papers and PhotographsI Just Bought an Old House - Now What?Your History Matters - To Your Family and To Your Community ------ Please join us for Saving Your History, a series of virtual workshops hosted by the Galveston and Texas History Center…

Join the Galveston and Texas History Center for a virtual screening of the new Juneteenth documentary by Sam Collins III and Sam Addington. A conversation with the filmmakers will follow the screening. This virtual event is FREE and open to the public. Please register in advance at http://rosen-lib.org/juneteenth or call 409-763-8854 x117. Contact Lauren Martino Henry for more information…

Casey Edward Greene, Rosenberg Scholar The time: 1906. The place: Galveston, Texas. Throngs of tourists have arrived here by train and taken streetcars from Union Depot to the Seawall. They’ve come to relax at the beach and bathe in the Gulf. As dusk approaches, night becomes day at Electric Park on the Boulevard. Beneath the moon, hundreds of vacationers and…

A recording of this program is available on the Rosenberg Library's YouTube channel. Click here to watch it online! ----- Join Galveston and Texas History Center in researching the 1900 Storm, the 1885 Fire, the Seawall, or even your family's history through the Galveston Tribune, a valuable newspaper freely available for use on the Portal to Texas History. May 15…

The Galveston and Texas History Center is excited to announce the upcoming digitization of Galveston Isle magazine and local labor newspapers! These collections will be digitized at the University of North Texas Libraries and made freely available for access on the Portal to Texas History. Galveston Isle magazine (1947-1951) was published by Sam Maceo and covers Galveston entertainment, including the…

The Galveston and Texas History Center's oral history collection is about to be much more accessible. 312 cassette tapes have been sent to the Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC) for audio preservation. Once they are digitized, the files will be uploaded to the Archives Catalog where they will be freely available for listening. The cassette tapes contain interviews with notable…

By Sean McConnell, Senior Archivist Staff at the Galveston and Texas History Center continue to digitize manuscripts and photographs that document Galveston’s and Texas’ rich history. Digitization provides patrons both local and remote access to historically valuable material. Digital access remains especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic because many patrons cannot visit the collections on site. Staff at the GTHC…

Casey Edward Greene, Rosenberg Scholar Roller bathhouses were small wood bathhouses on wheels. These picturesque, portable structures graced Galveston’s beaches beginning in the late 1870s. They lasted until the early years of the 20th century. Jesse A. Ziegler (1857-1947), a local historian and author, recalled the bathhouses in the Galveston Daily News, March 26, 1944. They had two rooms intended…