Part Six

of

A Shared Experience

Cartography of the Lower Rio Grande

by Nancy A. Kenmotsu, Ph.D.

Section of a map, showing Texas/Mexico [from the map by cartographer, Henry Popple, "Map of British Empire in America", London, 1733]

photographed by M. Sirois, Summer 1996 at the Franklin Museum; Philadelphia, PA

Part Six---Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Navigating Through History: Trails of the Lower Rio Grande
  • Links to maps can be made from within the link [Navigating Through History], or from the list of maps below. Some of these maps are huge, so all map pages begin with a cropped sample of the map. Clicking on the cropped image will load another page which contains the full image.
• Figure 1: Spanish Map of the 1750's.
• Figure 2: 1935 Texas State Highway Map.
• Figure 3: U.S. Topographic Map, 1857.
• Figure 4: U.S. Topographic Map, 1895.
• Figure 5: Stephen F. Austin Map, 1836.
• Figure 6: William H. Emory Survey Map, 1857 [Rio Bravo del Norte Section].
• Figure 7: Spanish Map, 1773.
• Figure 8: U.S. Map, 1861?
• Figure 9: Map of San Patricio District, 1870.
• Figures 10 and 11: Two Maps of El Sal del Rey, 1750's and 1874.
• Figure 12: Maps of River Crossings at Rancho Dolores and Pueblo de Laredo.
• Figures 13 and 14: Stephen F. Austin's Sketch of River Crossings, and Notes Attached to the Sketch.
• Figure 15: Tracing of an 1820's Map of River Hazards, 1846.
• Figure 16: William H. Emory Survey Map, 1857 [Rio Grande Details Near Brownsville].
• Figure 17: Road Map, Made for General Canalizo, 1838.
• Figure 18: Arrowsmith Map of Texas, 1841 [Lower Rio Grande Section].
• Figure 19: Richardson Map of Texas, 1859 [Lower Rio Grande Section].
• Figure 20: Pressler Map of Texas, 1867 [Lower Rio Grande Section].
• Figure 21: The Cameron County Map of 1884.
• Endnotes.
• Bibliography.

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Send historical or architectural comments or questions to the editor of A Shared Experience, Mario Sanchez, at the Texas Historical Commission at this e-mail address: mario.sanchez@thc.state.tx.us

All materials at this website are the property of and copyright ^© 1996 by the Texas Historical Commission.  Any questions regarding fair use rights of images or text should be addressed to Mr. Sanchez.

Comments about the construction of this website should be addressed to Michael Sirois at: msirois@rice.edu

...or to Don Perkins at:  armadillo@rice.edu

This page was last updated on January 02, 2000
URL=http://www.rice.edu/armadillo/Past/Book/Part6/part6.html

Introduction

We have all used maps. A map
provides an opportunity for traveling
efficiently from one place to another.
They enable us to verify distances and relationships between two or more locations. Maps can also serve another purpose. Assembled into a collection covering a specific area, they are a device to understand history.

Title Block of Stephen F. Austin's map of Texas, 1829
Courtesy of the Texas General Land Office

The series of maps in this section present a graphic illustration of the history of the Lower Rio Grande region. Individually, the maps illustrate who settled here and where they settled; they also indicate the destinations of persons or groups traveling through this region. Collectively, the maps highlight the cohesive unity of the Lower Rio Grande. They underscore the historical themes associated with this river corridor: Spanish exploration and settlement, military campaigns, river travel, commerce and irrigation. Equally important, the maps confirm that this border area is not now, and has never been, isolated from events and decisions taking place elsewhere. Rather, the Lower Rio Grande is now, and has always been, part of the larger history of Texas, of Mexico and of their borderlands.

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