Texas, 1830, Stephen F. Austin Map

Stephen F. Austin’s Very First Printed Map of Texas &First Ever Map of Texas Published in the United States Stephen F. Austin, known as the “Father of Modern Texas”, spent almost seven years traveling and gathering information around the territory in the 1820s. He drew several manuscript maps of Texas in the process, which culminated in his 1829 “Mapa original de Texas Por El Ciudadano Estevan F. Austin Presentado al Exmo. Sor. Presidente por su autor 1829”. Combined with the surveys of General Téran, the 1829 manuscript became the basis of Austin’s first printed map. Austin contracted the very reputable firm of Henry Schenck Tanner of Philadelphia to engrave and print the map. First issued in March, 1830, it was also the first map of Texas to be published in the United States. Being the most accurate and detailed record of Texas at the time, the map remained a standard of cartography of the region for contemporary mapmakers, surveyors and officials, including the U.S. Government,