Mosquito Fleet Berth, Pier 19
a.k.a. Galveston Maritime Site
N end of 20th St., Pier 19, Galveston, TXThe Galveston Maritime Site was inhabited by Karankawa Indians when it was first explored by Europeans. The earliest settlement at the Galveston Maritime Site was that of the Jean Laffite Commune, which centered around Laffite's fort "Maison Rouge" from 1817-1821. Because the colorful buccaneer and his men, like old 19th century Galveston Islanders, took much from Creole French-Spanish-Italian-New Orleans lifestyles: not the least being a fondness for smuggling, trading, and especially seafood cookery with fresh fish, oyster and shrimp brought dockside by the schooners and small shore cruisers.
Stephen F. Austin wanted Galveston to become an official port of entry as early as 1825, but a customhouse was not established by the Mexican Government until 1830. During the years Texas was a Republic, 1836-1845, the Texas navy was berthed in the area of the Galveston Maritime Site. The Galveston Maritime Site served as the staging area for the Battle of Galveston on January 1, 1863. As a result of the success of the confederates during this battle, the Galveston Historic District was one of the most important facilities that served in the blockade running of cotton bales and other incoming and outgoing cargoes during the Civil War.
At the end of the Civil War, the Galveston Maritime Site resumed being the berth of primarily small shrimping vessels. In 1880 the shrimping vessels that docked at the Galveston Maritime Site harvested 3,859 million pounds of seafood with a commercial sale value of $128,000. In 1973 the shrimping vessels that docked at the Galveston Maritime Site harvested 6,803 million pounds of seafood with a commercial sale value of over 6.03 million. of course, the thousands of 1880 and the millions of 1973 paid to the isle fishing fleet were compounded many times over through processing, wholesale, exporting and other commercial costs to the ultimate market or institutional customers.
Throughout the history of the Galveston Maritime Site, it has had an integral role in the history of Galveston. The Galveston Maritime Site was developed. along with the first European settlement in the area. When Pier 19 was almost completely destroyed by fire in 1887, the city of Galveston was also virtually destroyed. The hurricane of 1900 that completely destroyed the pier, also leveled almost all the structures of Galveston and from five to seven thousand lives were lost.
The Galveston Maritime Site is most remembered and currently most recognized as being the berth of the colorful Mosquito Fleet. Their name is derived from the appearance of the nets of the small shrimping boats resembling the wings of a mosquito, with the remainder of the small boat resembling the body of a mosquito. The seafarers of the Mosquito Fleet best represent what past and present Galveston is all about, which is people from over 100 national origins. These shrimpers are one of very few groups, like the Louisiana Bayou Cajuns, whose respective cultures and languages have not been eradicated through the process of Americanization. In this connection, the practice of following the trade of the family is in the range of two to five generations. With over 80% of Italian, Greek, French, Mexican, or Serbian-Croatian descent, these fishermen also include descendants of former emigrants of Austria, Canada, China, Cuba, Moravia, Bohemia, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Japan, Lithuania, Holland, Norway, the Phillippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland, the USSR, the United Kingdom or West Indies, and many others of seafaring nations.
The Galveston Maritime Site is probably the oldest known Galveston landmark, in terms of the continual use of man-made structures. The Galveston Maritime Site has been established as a commercial, transportation, and cultural focal point from 1833 to the present not only for Galveston, Texas and the ports of the Gulf of Mexico but also for distant American and foreign ports. Pier 19 is also the annual religious prayer scene for the Catholic, Orthodox and Episcopal priests' "Blessing of the Fleet", a local event similar to the Mardi Gras festival of New Orleans.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.