County Map of Texas

Attractive county map of Texas published shortly after the end of the Civil War.

Soft hand color adorns this detailed map of Texas, published by Samuel Augustus Mitchell in 1872. The eastern half of the state is shown with its largely current county configuration, prompted by population growth encouraged by the several regional railroads in operation. The west is dominated by the enormous El Paso and Presidio counties and the Young and Bexas Territories.

A small note identifies one reason behind the lack of apparent growth – the Staked Plains were “destitute of both woods and water.” Another reason for earlier hesitation was the presence of local Cherokees, which are omitted entirely from the image and had been largely relocated to the Indian Territory to the north.

An inset in the lower left reflects Galveston’s status as the state’s primary port. It was also a popular center for immigration in the 19th century, sometimes called “the Ellis Island of the West.”