An artifact from the birth of Texas has made its way back into official hands after 173 years.
As The Austin Chronicle reports, a map of the Republic of Texas that was purchased by a Kerrville couple at a Dallas liquidation sale has been handed over to Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush.
The map depicts Texas in 1844, one year before the independent nation was granted statehood.
The map, which was drawn by celebrated cartographer Carl Flemming, shows a different Texas than we know today - the northwestern part of the state, including what would become the Panhandle, stretches much farther north and west into modern-day Kansas and eastern Colorado. This was perhaps wishful thinking on the part of Texas, as that region would remain under Comanche control for several decades after the map’s completion.
Reproductions of the map are available from the State of Texas for $20.