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Charles Morgan introduces steamship service to Texas
On this day in 1837, the steamship Columbia arrived at New
Orleans in the first recorded voyage of the Morgan Lines, the first
steamship line in Texas. The Columbia made its inaugural voyage
to Galveston a week later. Originated by shipping and railroad magnate
Charles Morgan, the Morgan Lines introduced Morgan's economic influence
into the Gulf region. In 1849, rebelling against port charges at Lavaca,
Morgan built Powderhorn, which grew into Indianola and was for a time a
chief port of the line. In 1858 the Morgan Lines had three sailings a
week from Galveston and two from New Orleans, and by 1860 the company
had a monopoly on coastal shipping. During the Civil War all of the
vessels of the line were commandeered, either by the United States or by
the Confederate States. The Morgan Steamship Company took an active part
in building railroads after the war to feed the ship lines. In the 1870s
pooling agreements were worked out among Morgan's Louisiana and Texas
Railroad and Steamship Company, the Louisiana Western Railroad Company,
and the Texas and New Orleans Railroad. In the late 1870s Morgan worked
with E. W. Cave to make Houston an inland port with better facilities
for the line. In the late 1870s or early 1880s the Morgan Lines were
sold to C. P. Huntington of the Southern Pacific Railroad. The fleet was
sold to the United States Maritime Commission in 1941.
- Links to Related Handbook of Texas Online Articles
- MORGAN LINES
- MORGAN, CHARLES
- CAVE, EBER WORTHINGTON
- INDIANOLA, TX
- SOUTHERN PACIFIC SYSTEM
- Other Texas Day by Day Articles for This Date
- National Women's Conference begins in Houston (1977)
- Cavalry column launched against Panhandle Indians (1868)
- Wharton promoted to brigadier general (1862)
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