 This immigration trend substantially altered the ethnic makeup of the island, as well as many other areas of Texas and the western U.S.Though the storm stalled economic development and the city of Houston grew into the region's principal metropolis, Galveston regained some of its former glory.Recognizing the need for Galveston to diversify from the traditional port-related industries, in 1905, William Lewis Moody, Jr., a member of one of Galveston's leading families, founded the American National Insurance Company.