Map of the Republic of Texas returns to official hands after 173 years

Maps of the Republic of Texas are rare and are very expensive artifacts from when Texas was its own country.

Flemming’s map, very detailed from the time when Texas reached what are now Colorado and New Mexico before its borders were redrawn in the Compromise of 1850, is considered a historic prize.

Bush’s office did not disclose the value of the card or how it ended up with the law firm, although historic Texas maps are often displayed as valuables in company offices.

“I am happy that Carol and Morris McIntyre … have helped us save Texas history by donating this rare card,” Bush said in a statement. “The GLO Archives will be the permanent home of this map, where it will be stored, digitized and made available for study and reproduction.”

Carol McIntyre said she saved the historic map to ensure it “would have a safe, protected and permanent home.”

“I acquired this card during the liquidation of a large Dallas law firm where I was employed as a legal assistant on the liquidation team,” she said in a statement via the office of Bush. “Throughout my commercial and legal career, I have seen a ‘throwaway’ mindset to keep up with the rapid pace of technological change. I have learned that items of historical significance should be given the highest level of consideration.

“It is extremely gratifying to place a historic object in the permanent preservation environment to which it belongs,” said Ms. McIntyre, now retired.

The map shows the northern limit of Texas extending to the Arkansas River, encompassing the territory in the Rocky Mountains and parts of New Mexico, including Santa Fe.

The map appeared both as a separate issue and in some Flemming atlases.

Flemming published his German 1842 edition of a famous 1841 Arrowsmith map scaled down for circulation among the many potential German immigrants to Texas in the mid-1800s, according to Bush. As a result, the map is sometimes referred to as “German Arrowsmith” due to the similar cartography.

Arrowsmith’s 1841 map was probably the first to show the full extent of Texas’ claim to the upper Rio Grande, whose northern border terminated at the Arkansas River.

“Flemming retained the sprawling Republic of Texas borders from Arrowsmith in subsequent editions, even though the borders changed with the Compromise of 1850,” Bush said in a statement.

“Flemming even withheld an erroneous statement describing the arid region of West Texas which stated that” this part of the country explored by LeGrande in 1833 is naturally fertile, well wooded, and with a fair proportion of water. “

“Houston and New Washington are shown on the map, although New Washington was burnt down by Santa Anna in 1836. Thirty counties are numbered and identified by a key at the top right of the sheet.”

Additionally, the Commissioner noted that Flemming followed Arrowsmith’s model for his maps, there is an inset plan of Galveston Bay in the lower left. The continental version of Flemming has the distinction of being among the last maps showing the extended border of the Republic.

Some sources say the map is known to have been published until 1853 without modifications, according to Bush.

The map includes the county boundaries in bold. Major towns and villages are labeled, including New Washington, which had been burned down by Mexican forces under Santa Anna in 1836.

In recent years, the GLO has received several map donations, ranging from early North American maps, a large 1854 map of North America, and an “Incredibly Rare 1848 Map of Stephen F. Austin” of Texas.

Texas became a state in 1845.

The Texas General Land Office Archives, which houses 36 million documents and over 45,000 maps and sketches detailing the history of Texas public lands from the Republic Era to the present day, is one of the primary mapping resources. from Texas.

Bush said reproductions of the Flemming map of Texas are now available for $ 20 each. All funds raised from sales of reproductions of maps are directed to the preservation of the GLO archival collection.