Commemorating America250 

Get Outdoor in 2026: Exploring Texas Heritage by Foot—and by Map

(Photo credit: https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/garner)

This winter break, I had the chance to visit several incredible Texas state parks near Austin and San Antonio: Pedernales Falls, Lost Maples, Enchanted Rock, and Garner State Park. Last winter, I explored Longhorn Cavern and McKinney Falls. Each landscape told a unique story—rivers carving limestone, ancient granite domes rising from the plains, and seasonal changes shaping both ecology and human activity. Hiking and visiting these parks is not just recreation—it’s a powerful way to learn about Texas history, geology, and culture firsthand.

Maps are more than navigation tools—they are gateways to understanding place. Long before these areas became parks, they appeared on early survey maps, military routes, and geological charts that documented Texas’s transformation over time. Trails often follow paths shaped by Indigenous communities, early settlers, and natural forces, connecting present-day exploration with centuries of history.

As a library department managing over 50,000 print maps, we see maps as essential tools for discovery, learning, and research. For those who cannot visit these parks soon—or are planning their next adventure—we invite you to explore our small on-site display in the Map Room, featuring official Texas Travel Guide, Texas State Parks guides, including Your Guide to Texas Public Campgrounds, Texas Wildflowers, and detailed park maps of trails, facilities, and activities.

In today’s digital and AI-driven world, print maps offer a refreshing, tactile escape. Visitors can touch, feel, unfold, and even smell the maps, enjoy quiet time alone, bring friends, or visit as a family. Engaging with print materials supports slower, more reflective exploration while developing spatial thinking and curiosity.

Print maps can also be used in combination with other official government publications, scientific and historical maps from different periods, reference books like large print Atlases and How-To books, and even large 3D globe at Kelley Center. This allows for side-by-side comparison, deeper investigation, and immersive engagement for learning, teaching, research, getting inspiration and creating. Trails, rivers, and landscapes come alive when paired with historical maps, geological charts, and scientific data—making print maps not just a tool, but an experience.

Whether you’re visiting individually, with a group, or for a class session, Kelley Center staff are happy to help. Plan your visit, stop by the Kelley Center Information Desk, or schedule an appointment by emailing govhelp@rice.edu. A limited number of print copies of Texas State Parks guides are available for free, so come explore, plan your next trip, or dive into a multi-sensory, map-based journey through Texas history and landscapes.

You may also be interested in the new America250@Fondren program, which offers year-long opportunities in 2026 to explore American and Texas history through Fondren Library. Click here to learn more.

About the Author:
Anna Xiong, Head of Kelley Center and Sociology Librarian

Pittsburg, P.A.?

In the 1890s President Benjamin Harrison launched a campaign to standardize the spelling of U.S. place names. The problem was that federal agencies were using multiple variations of spellings for the same locations and this practice was a source of needless confusion. So on September 4, 1890 President Harrison issued an executive order creating a new agency, U.S. Board on Geographic Names, the job of which was to standardize the spellings of U.S. locales. At the time, no one probably expected that the work of the agency would become the source of controversy.

As part of the standardization process, however, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names decided to drop the final "h" in places ending with "burgh." As this NPR story reveals, this change didn't sit well with many citizens of the newly dubbed "Pittsburg, Pennsylvania" and thus began a twenty year campaign on the part of Pittsburgh citizens to get back the "h" in their name. At a special meeting in 1911, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names decided to give up the campaign to remove the "h" in Pittsburgh, and the secretary of the board sent a letter to Pennsylvania Senator George T. Oliver instructing him of the decision.

The fight over place names can be told with Government Documents (thus the connection!). For instance, the executive order that President Harrison issued on September 4, 1890 to create the U.S Board on Geographic Names can be read on the second page of this document. Also, to see an original copy of the U.S. Board's complete report on uniform place names, see the House of Representatives Report "Message from the President of the United States Transmitting The Report of the United States Board of Geographic Names," [52 Congress, 1st Session, Ex. Doc. No. 16], which was issued on December 23, 1891.