Correct Map of Texas and Louisiana
This large promotional map shows the routes of the major railroad lines operated by the Southern Pacific Railway Company. It was published by the Southern Pacific, headquartered in Houston, and printed by the Poole Brothers of Chicago. Once employed by Rand, McNally & Co., George and William Poole’s printing house became synonymous with railroad map publication. They provided maps for nearly every major railroad in the country, including many in Texas.[1]
From the mid-1850s to 1917, when this map was issued, several railroad companies bore the name “Southern Pacific.”[2] The iteration of the company represented by this map combined several railroads, including the Galveston, Harrisburg & San Antonio; the Texas & New Orleans; the Houston & Texas Central; the Houston, East & West; and the Houston & Shreveport. This amalgamation concentrated control over thousands of miles of track throughout Texas.
A wealth of information is included on the map. Railroads are prominently drawn throughout the state. Red lines represent the five Southern Pacific-owned railroads, while black lines show routes belonging to other companies, notably the International & Great Northern (I&GN) and the Missouri-Kansas-Texas (MKT). Within each county, the county seat and other notable towns and cities are labeled, as well as bodies of water. Locations of larger railroad stops are noted by bold red capitalized lettering.
Examining the finer details of the map reveals additional information. In the western portion of the Texas Panhandle, a shaded area covering parts of counties from Dallam in the north to Hockley further south contains a notation that identifies the three million acres in the area as land that was set aside to provide funding for the construction of the state capitol building during the late nineteenth century (the Poole brothers referenced the Illinois-based company that organized the Capitol Syndicate as the “Chicago Syndicate.” Nine major military installations active during WWI are indicated by six-pointed blue stars. The State Encampment Grounds (long known as Camp Mabry) just northwest of Austin are marked by an American flag.
In the lower-left corner, Southern Pacific advertised the frequency and amenities of their trains. Several connections were available between New Orleans and Houston, San Antonio, and El Paso. These routes provided connections throughout Texas and linked the state to the rest of the western United States all the way to the Pacific coast. The company also touted its dining cars and an “Observation Car” on the famed “Sunset Route.” Two boxes in the western portion of Texas list distances between Eagle Pass and El Paso, demonstrating that even these seemingly far-away cities could be reached by the Southern Pacific.
While the interior of the map contains extensive information, the periphery includes several photographic embellishments. Images in the upper right illustrate the agricultural advantages of living and working in Texas. Potential immigrants are encouraged to contact the Industrial, Immigration, and Advertising Bureau of the Southern Pacific Lines in Houston to learn more about “the best agricultural sections of Texas and Louisiana.” In the upper left, a selection of Texas scenery is displayed. Mission San José appears, labeled as “One of the old missions near San Antonio,” as well as the 321-foot-high Pecos Viaduct bridge, which provided a river crossing for the “Sunset Route.”[3] On the lower-right corner is an image of the steamship Momus, which was launched by the Southern Pacific Railway Company in 1906 and ran between New York and New Orleans.
Railroads were the iron-and-steel backbone of American industry during the second half of the nineteenth century, helping to settle and connect the rural frontier, encourage immigration, and facilitate agricultural and economic growth. The Southern Pacific was one of the many railroad companies that benefited from Texas’ generous land-for-rail policies[4] and in turn, helped to modernize the state into the economic powerhouse it is today.
This map was exhibited at the Witte Museum in 2018 as part of Connecting Texas: 300 Years of Trails, Rails and Roads.
This map was partially adopted by Linda Abbett and Friends of the Texas General Land Office, and conservation was funded in 2005.
Reproductions of this map can be purchased from the GLO’s website.
[1] “The Inland Printer,” Google Books, 85, accessed June 21, 2018, https://books.google.com/books?id=65w_AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA85#v=onepage&q&f=false.
[2] Handbook of Texas Online, George C. Werner, “SOUTHERN PACIFIC SYSTEM,” accessed June 21, 2018, http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/eqs35.
[3] Handbook of Texas Online, Donald W. Olson, “PECOS HIGH BRIDGE,” accessed June 22, 2018, http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/erp02.
[4] Several laws providing scrip for building railroads were passed, beginning in 1854. Although the exact provisions varied, generally a specified amount of land was provided for each mile of rail constructed. The Constitution of 1876 provided 16 sections (640 acres to a section) per mile. Railroads were required to survey an equal amount of land to be set aside for the state (later designated for the use of funding the public schools). To prevent the railroad companies from accumulating monopolistic land holdings, they were required to sell off their land at specified intervals.
