The Emancipation Proclamation was issued in 1863, yet freedom truly arrived for many enslaved people on this day in history, June 19, 1865, originating in Galveston, Texas.
Electric trolleys first made their debut in Galveston back in 1891 and remained in service until 1938. Fifty years later in 1988, a heritage streetcar system, the Galveston Island Trolley, was opened and continued to operate downtown until September 13, 2008, when Hurricane Ike severely damaged all four of the vintage trolley cars.