Maps of the Red River Valley
An educational map of language distribution from 1897 tells more than just about tribal languages and their interconnections. The map's mere existence explains how history turned into a social science (LOC).
I love, love, love telling history through maps. I don't really care for writing about people, as that can quickly develop into veneration, and even a casual student of history knows how dangerously uninformed that can be. But maps are wonderful historical tools because they provide "snapshots" of not only regions in periods before satellite imagery, but also of the historical processes and political motivations of the time.
Reading maps is not just about figuring out where one is based on cardinal directions. This activity is an actual, active study of the past that books, articles, and even newspapers cannot provide.
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Following are some articles explaining how I've read and interpreted maps of the Red River Valley. You may be pleasantly surprised how much information is contained on two-dimensional representations.
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Oh, and remember, Rabbit is good, Rabbit is wise, so make sure to roll the maps. If you're a vintage 1990s person and from Oklahoma, you get the references!
Map for Mathematicians
Province of Texas Map
Mansura Mapping
A Traveling Map by Holtz = Great Bend Region
A Traveling Map by Holtz = Black Beaver and Marcy
A Traveling Map by Holtz = Pilot Grove
Province of Texas Map by Austin
Old Preston Road
Rare Map of Oklahoma
Textbook Map
Early Bankhead Highway
The Gold Road
Deep Bend of the Red River
Transcontinental Mapping
Red River Expedition Explained
Fun with Maps!
The 100th Meridian
Disappearing Fort Griffin
Pedro Vial's Map
Red River City
Lost Ark, only on a map now
A Trace and a Border
Devolution of Jefferson via Maps
Lost Mound City, only on a map now
When a Railroad bypasses
Mexico or Texas or both
The Chihuahua Trail
Vanished Places in Southwestern Arkansas
Road Building Lesson via Maps
Boggy Depot from Memory
Eagletown from Memory
Chisholm or Abilene Trail Map
Butterfield Overland Route
Mapping Outrage
Maps of the Rapids during the Civil War
An Original Texas Cattle Trail Map
1718 Map of the Red River
1844 Map of the Cross Timbers
Colonial maps by the French and Spanish told of the original peoples who inhabited the Red River Valley in the 18th century (LOC).
By 1803, the United States claimed the Red River (it would become a border river by 1819). The Louisiana Purchase was illustrated by German mapmakers, some of the best in the world (Barry Ruderman).
City maps for automobile tourists helped travelers navigate through downtowns on the named highways that spawned the Good Roads Movement. This map of downtown Shreveport is from 1920.
Colonial maps by the French and Spanish told of the original peoples who inhabited the Red River Valley in the 18th century (LOC).
