Galveston in 1900 was the most modern city in Texas. It was the first city to have electric lights and telephones. They also had a boast-worthy opera house that hosted world-class performers. Unfortunately, on September 8th 1900, Galveston was struck with a tremendous hurricane. 6,000 to 8,000 people had died. To keep Galveston alive, they formed a commission type of government. They elected five people to handle something specific. Later, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built a six-mile-long seawall to prevent future hurricanes from destroying Galveston again.