Houston didn’t have a deep-water port until 1914. For years, the harbor was too shallow to allow anything but barges to pass through. But after a hurricane devastated Galveston in 1900, leaders approved a dredging plan to make way for larger vessels.
Now, the Port of Houston is one of the world’s largest ports and the largest on the Gulf Coast. It has contributed immensely to the growth of the city, the nation’s fourth-most populous.
And 2017 happened to be a record-setting year, as the port handled its highest tonnage in its history – 38.3 million tons.
– Sam Bojarski, The 100 Companies