Bringing Historic Documents to Life through GLO StoryMapping
Regardless of their age, documents carry a story within them. Their historical significance may not always be immediately apparent when viewed in isolation. However, an observer can uncover the history hidden between the lines with other documents, images, and maps.
In 2014, the Texas General Land Office (GLO) created Texas Hidden History. This concept combined Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and historical documents to produce more accurate educational materials highlighting archival resources found at the agency Archives. Using Esri’s GIS software, the team completed a dozen projects that compared the modern landscape with a historical map of the same area. Each project used a digital magnifying glass to reveal the historic map underneath a satellite image of the present-day area. Viewers could experience the collection of georeferenced historical maps in the form of an interactive map.
These first projects received positive comments and recognition. In 2015, the GLO won a Special Achievement Award for Exceptional Application of Geospatial Technology at the Esri International User Conference in San Diego. The “fun factor” of using the magnifying glass encouraged users to explore the historical maps. However, these historic maps deserved more consideration. More details, such as the map’s author and the events that occurred the year the map was created, could tease its purpose and give it historical context.
By 2020, the magnifying glass had morphed into StoryMapping, an initiative to reveal an items “hidden layers” through visual storytelling. Agency staff developed StoryMaps that explored historic documents housed in the GLO Archives. A pilot project for the program produced a new StoryMap that highlighted a static map of the diverse energy resources of Texas. The Energy Map of Texas StoryMap then explained each energy resource and showed their locations in various GIS interactive layers. The project was so successful that in 2021, the Texas Hidden History program began work on several other more StoryMaps.
Compiling the next batch of StoryMaps proved to be a steep learning curve for staff as they researched the documents and their surrounding historical context. Staff learned to break down text into smaller sections and pair it with relevant imagery, such as maps, images, and other media, like additional imagery with approved image rights from different repositories, each meticulously credited. Staff then built the StoryMap, choosing the layout, color scheme, and flow of the “story.” The final touch focused on making the StoryMaps more accessible to those with disabilities. The team added alternative text to images, maps, videos, charts, and other media, which allows screen reader programs to read descriptive text aloud for the visually impaired.
By the close of 2022, the team produced three StoryMaps on topics including French Officer Pierre Marie François de Pagès’s 1782 travelogue of Texas, the history of the Sabine River border between the Republic of Texas and Louisiana and the United States, and mission secularization and its impacts on San Antonio society between the 1790s and 1830s.
As projects have developed, GIS technology has continually evolved. New tools and techniques in the ArcGIS program roll out almost monthly, thus expanding the projects’ ability to showcase a historical document in a new way. With additional training through the Austin Community College GIS program, agency staff have learned the technological GIS language and have built greater confidence in creating StoryMaps. Historical documents can be georeferenced to make them zoomable on the screen. As with the magnifying glass feature, a viewer can use sliders to explore historic maps and images to compare with present-day satellite imagery or current views of the same area. Static maps are made interactive so that new information pops up when an icon is clicked, or icons can appear in an animated timeline.
As new projects take off, staff members enjoy finding ways to explore a document or map innovatively. Since 2022, the GLO has produced six additional StoryMaps, bringing the total completed projects to nine, with several more currently in production. These additional topics cover the arrival of the “iron horse” to Texas in 1853, Yellow Fever in Texas from 1839 to 1905, the East Texas oil boom from 1930 to 1945, the history of the many capitals of Texas, including the ascent of Austin, and the 1824 plat of San Felipe de Austin.
The GLO’s StoryMapping project has found success and recognition off the web. In 2024, the East Texas Oil Museum featured The Booming Great Depression: Inside the East Texas Oil Field, 1930–1945, on an interactive kiosk as part of The Man and the Map exhibit (inspired by the StoryMap). The exhibit ran from January through June 2024 and was viewed by over 5,000 museum visitors.
The Texas Catholic Historical Society awarded the 2024 FitzSimon Prize to the GLO’s Director of Public Services, Dr. Brian Stauffer, for spearheading the GLO StoryMap Mission Lands into Private Hands: Secularization and the Transformation of San Antonio de Bexar, 1794–1831. Additionally, Dr. Stauffer gave a virtual presentation highlighting the Best Laid Plat: San Felipe de Austin in Vision and Reality, 1823–1836 StoryMap to coincide with the bicentennial events at the San Felipe de Austin State Historic Site.
Staff choose each topic based on a strength in the GLO Archives’ collection and their own personal historical interests, often starting with a single map or document they would like to highlight. They then build the StoryMap based on the item’s connection to historical events, often focusing on the item’s active or reactive role regarding those events. As the user explores the historical context, the document comes to life, perhaps giving new meaning to the reader.
With over 35 million historical documents and maps in the GLO Archives, the potential topics for new StoryMaps are limitless. To explore the full list of completed GLO StoryMaps, please visit Texas Hidden History: GLO StoryMaps.
