Completed in 1861, the Old Galveston Customhouse in front of you once held the custom house, the post office, and the federal courts. This building once housed the custom house, the post office, and the court facilities of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas and, later, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. Completed in 1861, it was a tangible symbol of Galveston’s importance and prosperity when the city was Texas’ leading seaport and commercial city during the nineteenth century.
This port handled most of the imported commercial goods that entered the state, and the city’s business community was primarily concerned with wholesale commerce, furnishing trade goods for all of Texas, the Indian Territory, and parts of Louisiana and New Mexico. With rising revenue from customs receipts, the United States Congress approved funds in 1855 and in that year appropriated $100,000 to build a custom house for Galveston, with plans and specifications prepared by the supervising architect of the office. Today the structure is owned and operated by The Hodge Law Firm.
Picture the customs receipts that funded this façade, and follow the street down toward the port that once brought Galveston's imported goods ashore.