Texas General Land Office

Holdings

The Archives of the Texas General Land Office consists of approximately 35.5 million land grant records dating back to 1720 and approximately 80,000 maps, sketches and plat maps of Texas, dating back to 1753.

Digital Collections

To date, the GLO has posted more than 2 million documents and 80,000 maps, sketches and drawings on their own website, only a small portion of which are represented here. Map reproductions are available for purchase from the GLO website: https://historictexasmaps.com/.

Portal Collections

GLO has contributed three collections to the Portal:

Historic County Maps - 926 maps, c. 1838-1939.

The historic county maps are cadastral (land ownership) maps, showing original surveys, usually made by virtue of a land grant, within a particular county in Texas. In many ways these maps represent the foundation of the GLO archival map holdings, as they tie directly into the original land grant documents that are also housed at the GLO. As land was patented by settlers, meaning title was issued from the sovereign government, more surveys were shown on GLO maps. Successive versions of these maps reflect those changes. In short, these maps show the development and expansion as settlement progressed throughout each county in Texas.

Formats represented include manuscripts, lithographs, some early photographs, and blueprints/bluelines. The scale is generally 1 inch to 4000 varas. Most of the maps were compiled and drawn by draftsmen at the GLO. Most are manuscript maps, meaning original hand-drawn works. On many maps, draftsmen drew intricate designs and added whimsically detailed art, adding character to many maps in this collection. Some of the earliest maps were created by District or County Surveyors in Texas, before the GLO began to employ its own draftsmen for this purpose, due to the generally poor quality of maps sent to the GLO by County and District Surveyors. A few maps are lithographs that were privately issued by railroad companies and title companies.

Several well-known individuals worked as draftsman at the GLO and their work is represented here, including the famous short story writer and satirist O. Henry (William Sydney Porter), Texas artist Hermann Lungkwitz, Old Land Office Building architect Conrad C. Stremme and well-known Texas cartographer Charles W. Pressler.

Lorenzo de Zavala Online - 13 items.

The Texas General Land Office contributes select items for the Lorenzo de Zavala Online: Empresario, Statesman and Texas Revolutionary collection. See the Expediente of de Zavala's 1829 colonization contract, as well as correspondence to or from Jose Angel Navarro, Jose Domingo Ugartechea, Jose Maria Falcon, Martin Perfecto de Cos, Stephen F. Austin, Manuel de Mier y Teran, and Ramon Musquiz.

O. Henry Collection - 11 items.

As part of a collaborative project entitled, "William Sydney Porter in Austin: From Surprising Beginnings to the O. Henry Ending," the Texas General Land Office contributes its collection of Ohenryana to the O. Henry Collection. See the Maps of Kent County and Webb county for examples of O. Henry's work at the General Land Office; the Receivera's Memorandum and Roster of Employees for administrative evidence of his work there; newspaper articles and "My Recollections of O. Henry" by later employer and Texas land agent Frank Maddox for interpretations of O.Henry's life in Austin; and Bexar Scrip 2692 and Patent 87, Volume 40-A for inspiration for the short story "Bexar Scrip 2692."

Contact

James Harkins

(512) 463-5277

archives@glo.texas.gov

Address

Texas General Land Office
1700 North. Congress Avenue.
Suite 130
Austin, Texas 78701-1495

URL

https://historictexasmaps.com/


At a Glance



Cite This Partner

Here is our suggested citation. Consult an appropriate style guide for conformance to specific guidelines.

Texas General Land Office, partner contributing to The Portal to Texas History. University of North Texas Libraries. https://texashistory.unt.edu/explore/partners/GLO/ accessed March 29, 2024.


Explore Holdings

Start browsing this partner's items in one of the following ways:

Counties (expand list)

Travis County, TX
22
Bexar County, TX
20
Tom Green County, TX
20
Dallas County, TX
17
Webb County, TX
17
Potter County, TX
16
Wilbarger County, TX
16
Harris County, TX
15
Wichita County, TX
15
Parker County, TX
14
Callahan County, TX
13
Childress County, TX
13
Jefferson County, TX
13
Erath County, TX
12
Goliad County, TX
11
Hardeman County, TX
11
La Salle County, TX
11
Mason County, TX
11
Nacogdoches County, TX
11
Palo Pinto County, TX
11
Tarrant County, TX
11
Victoria County, TX
11
Colorado County, TX
10
Eastland County, TX
10
Hall County, TX
10
Mitchell County, TX
10
Coleman County, TX
9
Cottle County, TX
9
Donley County, TX
9
Hale County, TX
9
Jones County, TX
9
Kimble County, TX
9
Lampasas County, TX
9
Liberty County, TX
9
McCulloch County, TX
9
Sterling County, TX
9
Taylor County, TX
9
Wharton County, TX
9
Concho County, TX
8
Dickens County, TX
8
Dimmit County, TX
8
Gillespie County, TX
8
Hardin County, TX
8
Haskell County, TX
8
Hemphill County, TX
8
Jack County, TX
8
Jasper County, TX
8
Kinney County, TX
8
Knox County, TX
8
McLennan County, TX
8
Menard County, TX
8
Nolan County, TX
8
Nueces County, TX
8
Polk County, TX
8
Red River County, TX
8
Uvalde County, TX
8
Archer County, TX
7
Bastrop County, TX
7
Blanco County, TX
7
Bosque County, TX
7
Brown County, TX
7
Caldwell County, TX
7
Cass County, TX
7
Coke County, TX
7
Comal County, TX
7
Coryell County, TX
7
Fannin County, TX
7
Floyd County, TX
7
Frio County, TX
7
Grayson County, TX
7
Hamilton County, TX
7
Hopkins County, TX
7
Hunt County, TX
7
Irion County, TX
7
Kerr County, TX
7
Leon County, TX
7
Lipscomb County, TX
7
Matagorda County, TX
7
Maverick County, TX
7
Montague County, TX
7
Montgomery County, TX
7
Pecos County, TX
7
Refugio County, TX
7
Runnels County, TX
7
Rusk County, TX
7
Wilson County, TX
7
Wise County, TX
7
Zavala County, TX
7
Austin County, TX
6
Baylor County, TX
6
Bowie County, TX
6
Brazoria County, TX
6
Brewster County, TX
6
Carson County, TX
6
Chambers County, TX
6
Collin County, TX
6
Crosby County, TX
6
DeWitt County, TX
6
Ellis County, TX
6
Fort Bend County, TX
6
Galveston County, TX
6
Garza County, TX
6
Hill County, TX
6
Jackson County, TX
6
Karnes County, TX
6
Kent County, TX
6
Lamar County, TX
6
Llano County, TX
6
Medina County, TX
6
Orange County, TX
6
Randall County, TX
6
Reeves County, TX
6
San Augustine County, TX
6
Starr County, TX
6
Van Zandt County, TX
6
Washington County, TX
6
Williamson County, TX
6
Anderson County, TX
5
Brazos County, TX
5
Burleson County, TX
5
Clay County, TX
5
Collingsworth County, TX
5
Comanche County, TX
5
Denton County, TX
5
Edwards County, TX
5
Glasscock County, TX
5
Guadalupe County, TX
5
Hood County, TX
5
Houston County, TX
5
Johnson County, TX
5
Lavaca County, TX
5
Limestone County, TX
5
Lubbock County, TX
5
Midland County, TX
5
Motley County, TX
5
Panola County, TX
5
Scurry County, TX
5
Shackelford County, TX
5
Shelby County, TX
5
Smith County, TX
5
Stephens County, TX
5
Swisher County, TX
5
Young County, TX
5
Armstrong County, TX
4
Atascosa County, TX
4
Bailey County, TX
4
Bee County, TX
4
Bell County, TX
4
Borden County, TX
4
Briscoe County, TX
4
Calhoun County, TX
4
Cherokee County, TX
4
Cooke County, TX
4
Deaf Smith County, TX
4
Duval County, TX
4
Falls County, TX
4
Fayette County, TX
4
Fisher County, TX
4
Freestone County, TX
4
Gonzales County, TX
4
Gregg County, TX
4
Harrison County, TX
4
Hartley County, TX
4
Henderson County, TX
4
Jeff Davis County, TX
4
Kaufman County, TX
4
Lamb County, TX
4
Madison County, TX
4
McMullen County, TX
4
Moore County, TX
4
Ochiltree County, TX
4
Presidio County, TX
4
Rains County, TX
4
Roberts County, TX
4
Sabine County, TX
4
San Patricio County, TX
4
San Saba County, TX
4
Stonewall County, TX
4
Titus County, TX
4
Trinity County, TX
4
Upshur County, TX
4
Wheeler County, TX
4
Wood County, TX
4
Aransas County, TX
3
Bandera County, TX
3
Burnet County, TX
3
Castro County, TX
3
Cochran County, TX
3
Delta County, TX
3
El Paso County, TX
3
Gray County, TX
3
Grimes County, TX
3
Hansford County, TX
3
Hays County, TX
3
Hockley County, TX
3
Hutchinson County, TX
3
Kendall County, TX
3
King County, TX
3
Marion County, TX
3
Milam County, TX
3
Navarro County, TX
3
Newton County, TX
3
Oldham County, TX
3
Sutton County, TX
3
Terrell County, TX
3
Throckmorton County, TX
3
Tyler County, TX
3
Val Verde County, TX
3
Ward County, TX
3
Zapata County, TX
3
Andrews County, TX
2
Angelina County, TX
2
Crane County, TX
2
Crockett County, TX
2
Dallam County, TX
2
Dawson County, TX
2
Ector County, TX
2
Franklin County, TX
2
Hidalgo County, TX
2
Howard County, TX
2
Jefferson County, KY
2
Live Oak County, TX
2
Morris County, TX
2
Parmer County, TX
2
Pettis County, MO
2
Sherman County, TX
2
Somervell County, TX
2
Terry County, TX
2
Walker County, TX
2
Waller County, TX
2
Winkler County, TX
2
Yoakum County, TX
2
Addison County, VT
1
Barber County, KS
1
Cameron County, TX
1
Camp County, TX
1
Carter County, OK
1
Chaves County, NM
1
Christian County, KY
1
Culberson County, TX
1
Dallas County, AR
1
Dawson County, MT
1
De Baca County, NM
1
DeKalb County, IL
1
Foard County, TX
1
Fulton County, GA
1
Gaines County, TX
1
Hamilton County, OH
1
Hudspeth County, TX
1
Jackson County, MO
1
Jefferson County, OK
1
Laramie County, WY
1
Lee County, TX
1
Loving County, TX
1
Lynn County, TX
1
Mills County, TX
1
Mobile County, AL
1
Muskogee County, OK
1
Osage County, KS
1
Real County, TX
1
Robertson County, TX
1
Rock Island County, IL
1
Rockingham County, NC
1
Rockwall County, TX
1
Roger Mills County, OK
1
San Jacinto County, TX
1
Schleicher County, TX
1
Stanislaus County, CA
1
Upton County, TX
1

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