Texas Heritage, Volume 19, Number 1, Winter 2001 Page: 20
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A Cartographic History of Texas
States General Land Office as well as information
gathered by the United States Army, the
boundaries surveys, the United States Coast
Survey, and various railroad surveys to produce
timely maps and charts.
Colton's is the first map of Texas from a
major mapmaker depicting the new-and current-boundaries
of the state established by the
Compromise of 1850. The map depicts an
extensive road system in the northeastern, eastern,
and southern portion of the state. In addition,
Colton included the route used by
Captain William Marcy from Fort Washita in
Indian Territory to El Paso in 1849.
1866 (Fig. 9, p. 22) Richardson's New Map of the
State of Texas Corrected for the Texas Almanac.
[New York: G. W. & C. B. Colton, 1866].
Copyrighted by the Coltons in 1866, the
map was probably attached to the "Texas
Almanac" of 1867. The "Almanac" resumed
printing in 1867 after the Civil War and was
published by Richardson and Company in
Galveston, Texas.
The map shows county development from
about the 100th meridian eastward. The only
western counties indicated are El Paso in Far
West Texas, and Presidio in the Big Bend area,both west of the Pecos River, as well as Bexar,
south of the Panhandle. Young Territory is designated
in the Panhandle. Some limited railroad
development is shown, mostly along the
coast. Prominent on the western edge of county
development is the line of forts with the roads
connecting them.
1867 (Fig. 6, p. 18) Pressler, Charles W. Travellers'
Map of the State of Texas, 1867. New York:
American Photo-Lithographic Company, 1868.
Born in Prussia, Pressler was a trained surveyor
who was first employed by Jacob De Cordova
and later the Texas General Land Office. As a
foreigner, he was aware of the potential maps
held for immigration. The map depicted here is
a third edition of an outstanding large scale
map, which by this time was labeled a
"Travellers Map."
Measuring 40 x 38 inches, the map was a
major improvement in depiction of the state,
especially the western portions. In addition, the
map accurately showed the natural features as
well as the developing transportation system of
roads and railroads. It was compiled from not
only information available in the General Land
Office, but Pressler notes that he used the maps
of the Coast Survey, the reports of the
Boundary Commission, and various other military
surveys and reconnoissances.
1873 (Fig. 16, p. 30) Texas and Pacific
Railway. Map of the State of Texas showing the
Line and Lands of the Texas and Pacific Railway
Reserved and Donated by the State of Texas. New
York: G. W. Colton & Co., 1873.
The map was part of a prospectus touting a
southern trans-continental route of the Texas
and Pacific Railway across Texas. In the introduction
of the prospectus, the company stated
that its objective was to point out the advantages
of the line through northern and northwestern
Texas as well as New Mexico and
southern California. The company had an
agreement with Texas, which had kept its public
lands when annexed to the United States,
for 20 sections of land for each mile of track laid
in the state. The prospectus and map were part
of the promotion by the company to entice
potential investors.
The map, based on a standard state map by
G.W. Colton, depicted the projected route, but
also displayed in red the region in which the
company proposed to locate the vast subsidiesprovided by Texas. The map also includes an
inset of the United States and Mexico showing
the route and connecting railroad lines across
the nation. There are panels with table of distances
and population figures, as well as an
advertisement for 14,000,000 acres of land in
Texas. It is also interesting that the larger portions
of land in the western part of the state
offered by the company later developed into a
large oil field that today helps fund the state's
university systems.
1857, 1880 (Fig. 4, p. 17) United States,
Army Corps of Engineers. Map of Texas and Part
of New Mexico Washington: Government
Printing Office, 1880.
The original map was part of a report by
General Nathaniel P. Banks, commander of the
Union Department of the Gulf, which was sent
to Washington in 1862. The map had been prepared
from various sources before the Civil War
but was clearly focused on military matters. The
map was published in the 1880s when it
became part of the "Atlas to Accompany the
Official Records of the Union and Confederate
Armies." (Washington, D.C., 1880).
Roads are shown in great detail with notes
on resources available along the routes; the terrain
and topography are also detailed. There are
two insets revealing sites of Civil War engagements
and an extensive set of notes that
describe the major rivers and their tactical
advantages. The map portrays both the status of
the frontier in Texas before the war as well as
some of the battlefields during the Civil War.
1914 (Fig. 13, p. 28) Mexico in "Atlas of the
Mexican Conflict." Chicago: Rand McNally &
Company, 1914.
Rand McNally, the premier map and atlas
publisher in the United States, published a
small paper atlas in which this map appeared,
documenting the tumultuous and bloody
Mexican Revolution of the early 20th century.
Public opinion in both the United States and
Europe called for the enactment of the Monroe
Doctrine to establish peace and safety in
Mexico, and the atlas was produced in response
to this unrest. The atlas included eight maps
and two full pages of text referencing the
"Mexican Situation."
The map depicts the southern portion of the
United States and Texas in addition to Mexico.
Rand McNally used several techniques to
(TEXT CONTINUED ON PAGE 29)HERITAGE * 20 * WINTER 2001
GArkl^ HISTORIC
i' GALVESTON ISLAND
X 0N= 77 X 0 i oRElissa, an 1877 square-rigged barque.
TEXAS SEAPORT MUSEUM
1859 ASHTON VILLA
1839 WILLIAMS HOME
PIER 21 THEATER
GALVESTON COUNTY HISTORICAL MUSEUM
1838 MENARD HOME
For information, contact:
Galveston Historical Foundation
502 20th Street
Galveston, Texas 77550-2014
409-765-7834
foundation@galvestonhistory.org
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Texas Historical Foundation. Texas Heritage, Volume 19, Number 1, Winter 2001, periodical, Winter 2001; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth45384/m1/20/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas Historical Foundation.