- Title: Northwest Texas and Pan Handle
- Author: Rand, McNally & Co.
- Date: 1885
- Condition: Good - marginal chipping as well as staining, some staining in image
- Inches: 11 x 14 1/2 [Paper]
- Centimeters: 27.94 x 36.83 [Paper]
- Product ID: 306005
This map depicts Northwest Texas and the Panhandle region in the late 19th century, showing the area’s county divisions, major towns, and geographic features. Each county is distinctly outlined and shaded in various pastel colors, such as Dallam, Sherman, Deaf Smith, and Hardeman. Significant rivers, railroads, and towns are labeled, providing a clear overview of settlement patterns and administrative boundaries at the time.
Greer County, sometimes called the "ghost" county, was the subject of a famous 19th-century border dispute between Texas and the United States. Established by Texas in 1860 and named for John A. Greer, it encompassed a large area in what is now southwestern Oklahoma. For decades, Texas claimed Greer County based on disagreements about which fork of the Red River marked the boundary—Texas argued for the North Fork, while the U.S. favored the Prairie Dog Town (South) Fork. In 1896, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the United States, transferring 1.5 million acres from Texas to Oklahoma Territory, and settlers quickly organized under the new jurisdiction. The episode left a legacy on maps and local history, so Greer County sometimes appears as a "ghost" jurisdiction in older Texas Panhandle maps.
Background on Creator
In 1856, William H. Rand opened a Chicago print shop, hiring Irish immigrant Andrew McNally as a printer two years later. They established a relationship with the Chicago Tribune’s predecessor, soon taking over its printing operation in full. Eventually, in 1868 Rand, McNally, and Rand’s nephew George Amos Poole bought out the Tribune and founded Rand, McNally & Co. Now with significant printing experience under their belt, the three men embarked on several publishing endeavors, capitalizing on the massive success of Chicago’s railroad industry by printing tickets, timetables, and railroad guides. Rand, McNally & Co.’s cartographic enterprise began as an offshoot of their existing publishing business; it was not until 1872 that the company printed its first map, a wax engraving that appeared in the company’s December Railroad Guide. Thanks to the low cost and ease of production associated with wax engravings, the firm quickly became the largest commercial publisher in the United States and to this day continues to produce quality atlases, maps, and globes.