Forgotten Gateway: Coming to America Through Galveston Island explores the story of Galveston as one of America’s top ten transoceanic ports of entry into Texas and the US from the 19th and early 20th centuries through the lens of individual immigration stories. For many, the history of immigration into America at the turn of the twentieth century begins and ends at Ellis Island; however, around the nation, lesser known ports of entry including those in California, Louisiana, Maryland, Florida, and Texas provided not only access to America, but also a new way of life for millions of immigrants. Now, these untold stories of the promises made, kept, and broken in bustling gateways are told through an array of photographs, film footage, graphics, narratives, hands-on interactive experiences, and historic artifacts brought together for the first time in an exhibition that uses the experience of coming to America through Texas as a lens for public understanding of a shared national history.