CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A hundred years ago, a hurricane struck the Coastal Bend killing hundreds of people. The storm is referred to as the 1919 Hurricane.
A new exhibit commemorating the event opened up Monday at the Nueces County Courthouse.
The Category 3 hurricane made landfall on September 14, 1919 between Corpus Christi and Baffin Bay according to Weather.gov. Winds reportedly got above 100 miles per hour and a storm surge was as high as 12 feet. The official number of dead was 284, but it's believed by many historians that many more people actually died. The reconstruction following the hurricane led to the development of the current sea wall in the 1940's.
The new exhibit features photographs and postcards that tell the story of Corpus Christi before, during and after the storm.
"It's really interesting to see that human element of it, so like really see the postcards kind of represented like this, this was a vacation destination and it was a thriving town." said Andrea Hempstead with Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.
The exhibit which was prepared by the Nueces County Historical Commission features items from local residents and libraries.
It's located on the first floor of the Nueces County Courthouse and is free and open to the public.
