“The Forgotten Gateway: Coming to America Through Galveston Island” was an exhibit which was featured at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum in 2009 and is now available for rent and exhibition by Humanities Texas. Overflowing with artifacts, it documents immigration to the United States in the early 20th Century through Galveston Island, here in Texas.
History
Journey to America: True Accounts of Galveston Island Immigration History in Exhibit Form
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Photo: Pinterest/Carol Westbrook
With present display component bookings at The Bryan Museum in Galveston, the Gregg County Historical Museum in Longview, the Benbrook Public Library, and the Dallas Historical Society, the lesser-known port of Galveston (in comparison to Ellis Island’s immigration history) is featured as the great gateway it was, serving millions of immigrants to America, and building the nation that we see today.
Photo: Pinterest/Union County Public Library
In Galveston, quite a number of our immigrants included Italians, Polish Jews, and Greeks, as a majority were of southern and eastern European descent. The “Forgotten Gateway” exhibit illustrates through documents, artifacts, dioramas, and videos, the severe hardships, and sacrifices these people faced in order to come, and be allowed access into the United States. Interrogation, detention, and quarantine were just some of the adversities in their search for a better life. Designated a “We the People” project by the National Endowment for the Humanities, this exhibit traveled to the Ellis Island Museum as well as to Moody Gardens in Galveston and is now available for rent by other such institutions through Humanities Texas for all Texans to see. For exhibit scheduling at each of the museums, libraries, and historical societies noted above, please visit their respective websites. For rental and future booking, or to see upcoming showcasing of “The Forgotten Gateway: Coming to America Through Galveston Island,” please visit the Humanities Texas website link provided here. It’s a very integral component in American history and one which Texas has again played a key role in.
