Aerial survey · USDA NAIP · public domainSeven historic burial grounds established between 1839 and 1939 along Broadway, containing an estimated 36,000+ burials — including 900+ 1900 Great Storm victims — with nightly ghost tours operated by multiple companies.
4100 Broadway Ave, Galveston, TX 77550
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$
Ghost tour tickets typically $20-30 per person; check individual operators for current pricing. Daytime self-guided access to grounds may be free.
Access
Limited Access
Uneven ground, gravel paths, and grass between historic burial sections; evening tours require careful footing
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1839 · Seven burial grounds spanning 1839-1939 · 900+ documented 1900 Great Storm victims interred in two dedicated sections · Yellow fever epidemic victims from Galveston's recurring 19th-century outbreaks · Confederate deserters executed by firing squad during Civil War · Oldest sections predate Galveston's formal incorporation
Galveston's Broadway Cemetery complex stretches along the Broadway corridor and encompasses seven distinct burial grounds organized by religious affiliation, municipal function, and historical era. The oldest sections date to 1839, predating Galveston's formal incorporation. Texas Highways documents the complex as containing an estimated 36,000 or more burials, a figure complicated by the post-1900 storm grade-raising of Galveston Island, which buried earlier markers and surface graves under fill.
The 1900 Great Storm — the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history, which struck on September 8, 1900, killing between 6,000 and 12,000 people in Galveston — left two cemetery sections within the complex dedicated to storm victims. Ghost City Tours' documentation of the complex notes over 900 confirmed storm victims interred in these sections; many other victims of the 1900 storm were swept out to sea or disposed of through emergency mass cremations during the immediate disaster response.
The complex also contains burial sections for victims of Galveston's recurring yellow fever epidemics, which struck the island repeatedly from the 1830s through the early twentieth century. Confederate deserters executed by firing squad during the Civil War occupation of Galveston are also interred within the complex.
A documented 1894 case noted in Ghost City Tours' cemetery records involves a woman who poisoned her four children and was convicted of murder; she is buried in the complex. The Galveston Historical Foundation has managed organized ghost tour programming at the Broadway Cemetery complex for multiple years, running alongside independent commercial operators including Ghost City Tours and Walk with the Dead.
Sources
The Broadway Cemetery complex has been a center of Galveston's ghost tour industry for decades. Ghost City Tours, the Galveston Historical Foundation, and Walk with the Dead all operate evening tours here, each citing overlapping documented history and paranormal claims from multiple independent sources.
Reported activity concentrates in the oldest sections of the complex — the 1839-era burials — and in the two sections dedicated to 1900 Great Storm victims. Ghost City Tours' documentation of the complex records reports of apparitions seen moving between markers after dark, unexplained cold spots concentrated near the 1900 storm sections, and orbs captured in photography. EVP (electronic voice phenomenon) claims have been documented by independent investigators.
The complexity of the burial record — seven sections spanning a century, including epidemic victims, storm victims, executed military personnel, and murder victims — provides a documented historical density that distinguishes this complex from single-era or single-cause burial grounds. Texas Highways' coverage of Galveston's ghost tour tradition positions the Broadway complex as the most extensively documented paranormal site on the island.
Media Appearances
Ghost City Tours operates nightly guided tours through the Broadway Cemetery complex, covering the seven distinct burial grounds, documented notable interments, and 1900 storm history. Tours depart from the cemetery entrance.
The Galveston Historical Foundation runs guided ghost tours and Haunted History events at the Broadway Cemetery complex, with emphasis on documented historical interments and the post-1900 storm burial sections.
The Broadway Cemetery complex is accessible during daylight hours for self-guided exploration. The seven sections date from 1839 to 1939 and include the two 1900 storm victim sections, Confederate deserter burial sites, and yellow fever epidemic mass burial areas.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
Ferndale, CA
Established in 1868 on a steep hillside above Ferndale's Eel River Valley, the cemetery served the Victorian dairy-farming and lumber community through its founding generations. Its moss-covered stonework and rhododendron canopy drew the production crew for Stephen King's 1979 Salem's Lot miniseries, which used the site as the fictional Harmony Hill Cemetery.
Galveston, TX
The Old City Cemetery was established in 1839 as part of Galveston's original town charter, making it one of the oldest continuously operating burial grounds in Texas. It holds victims of nine yellow fever epidemics that struck Galveston between 1839 and 1867, 1900 hurricane casualties, Civil War soldiers, Texas Republic founders, and the founder of Galveston himself. The Broadway Cemetery Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014.
Galveston, TX
The Broadway Cemetery Historic District is a seven-cemetery complex in midtown Galveston, established between 1839 and 1939. It holds an estimated 36,000 burials across six city blocks, with the actual body count far exceeding the approximately 12,000 visible markers due to three-layer interment created by twentieth-century grade raises.