T H E  N E A T L I N E
		A Newsletter of the Texas Map Society           Vol V No 2 Winter 2002

Map Society to Breeze into Galveston
By Katherine R. Goodwin

From pirates to Civil War mapmakers, from traditional map collections to maps on the Internet, the Spring 2003 meeting of the Texas Map Society (TMS) offers members and guests an exciting array of programs and events in the historic city of Galveston. Mark your calendars now for April 4 & 5, 2003, as we convene in the "Queen City of the Gulf" where our host will be the Rosenberg Library. The Program Committee and the Local Arrangements Committee are putting the finishing touches on one of our most anticipated meetings.

The program includes a line up of interesting and thought-provoking presenters, including Bert Johnson of Virginia, who will let us in on his most recent research into maps on the Internet, along with Richard Stephenson, who will talk about Albert H. Campbell, a forgotten Civil War mapmaker. Art Holzheimer, of Chicago, will share some of his insights on map collecting, while our host Casey Green, of the island’s famous Rosenberg Library, will talk about his institution’s extensive Texas and Gulf Coast collection. Casey has also promised to give us a private showing of some of the cartographic treasures housed at the library. And, finally, Jeff Modzelewski, president of the Lafitte Society in Galveston, will regale us with tales of pirates and their maps. Is there a treasure map to be found? Maybe, or maybe the treasure is in the beautiful and enchanting city of Galveston itself.

As the principal port and gateway to the Southwest in the nineteenth century, Galveston occupies a prominent position in the history of not only Texas, but the region as well. It began in 1836, when Michael Menard received "one league and a labor of land" from the newly organized Republic of Texas and organized the Galveston City Company. From 1840 to 1870, the city was a major immigration port that saw more than a quarter million European immigrants step ashore. By the 1870s, the Strand area of the island city grew to become the Wall Street of the Southwest, where fortunes were made in cotton, mercantile houses, banks, publishing and printing, flour and grain mills, land development, railroads, and shipping. The romance and excitement of this era is captured today as the city is focused on the Galveston Port and related interests, such as health and financial institutions, as well as tourism. The city boasts many fine hotels, restaurants, and attractions.

The map society’s two committees are putting together activities and events for attendees along with a list of individual opportunities that are sure to appeal to all. Information will be posted on the TMS web site http://libraries.uta.edu/txmapsociety as arrangements are finalized. Registration brochures will be mailed to members and interested parties by February 15, 2003. If you know of someone who would like to be put on that mailing list, please notify Kit Goodwin at UTA Libraries, Box 19497, Arlington, Texas 76019-0497; voice: 817-272-5329; fax: 817-272-3360; or e-mail: goodwin@uta.edu. See you in Galveston!