1818 William Darby Map of the United States (w/Texas)

A fascinating 1818 map of the United States by William Darby. Intended for use by emigrants migrating westward in the early 19th century, this map covers from the Great Salt Lake (Lake Timpanagos) to the Atlantic seaboard and from Lake of the Woods to Cuba and Baha California in the vicinity of Cabo San Lucas and Mazatlan. With the exception of Louisiana, which became a state in 1812, the settled part of the United States is here limited to those lands east of the Mississippi River, an area comprising only about 1/3rd of the map. The remainder of the map to the west of the Mississippi is dedicated to Texas, Louisiana Territory, and Spanish Mexico.

Darby's rendering of Texas is interesting and significant. At this time, the ownership of Texas was under debate and there is some ambiguity here regarding that region's governance, as it is rendered distinct from both Mexico and the United States. In the United States, it was widely believed that Texas was in fact part of French Louisiana acquired by Jefferson via the Louisiana Purchase, referencing the landing of La Salle at the Mouth of the Guadalupe River in 1683. Although Darby does not consider Texas to be particularly desirable for agricultural or settlement purposes,

Texas cannot become an immediate object of attention to emigrants; its territory is not yet politically under the authority of the United States, and countries superior in soil, and agricultural and commercial facilities, are open to settlement.

He strongly defends an American claim on that region which he believed, as it does today, should properly extend westward as far as the Rio Grande. It is of note that Darby identifies the French settlement of Nacogdoches, but not the Spanish capital of Los Adaes just 9 miles to the west. His interest in incorporating Texas as an American territory is primarily to capitalize on the many important Gulf of Mexico Ports available along the Texas Coast.

The lands to the north of Texas are more properly the Louisiana Territory. Darby focuses on river systems and the occasional American Indian settlements, identifying villages associated with the Osage, Kansas, Fox, Pawnee, Sioux, and others. Pike's Peak is not identified. On the other hand, Yellowstone National Park's Lake Biddle and Lake Ennis, modern day Jackson Lake and Yellowstone Lake, respectively, are both identified.

The map was drawn by William Darby. It was engraved by James D. Stout and printed by Harrison and Bushworth in Brooklyn, NY> This map was published by Kirk and Mercien to accompany Darby's 1818 Emigrant's Guide to the Western and Southwestern States and Territories.