Land has always been an important subject in Texas. In colonial times there was no gold or silver, no rich cities or advanced civilizations to lure Europeans and Americans to Texas. They went for land. When Texas won her independence from Mexico in 1836, she had only one source of wealth--216 million acres of public lands. Thomas Lloyd Miller traces the history of those lands from 1519 to modern times. He gives a complete account of the acquisition and disposition of the lands; explains what has been done about minerals, timber, and oil; and discusses the work of the Texas Land Office and its commissioners. Using documentary sources, he examines the conditions of Texas lands from Spanish grants to the present conflict over tidewater lands and offshore sunken treasure. Much of his material is made known for this first time. This volume covers all important legislation relating to the public lands--lands for settlers, for soldiers, for internal improvements, for schools--as well as the administration of laws related to rights to timber and minerals. Into the story is woven fraud, carelessness, and sometimes unwise decisions, but there is also to be found much wisdom on the part of dedicated statesmen and commissioners. Included are tables showing receipts from Texas lands from 1835 through 1970, along with other tables of land grants to improve water transportation and grants for irrigation canals and ditches.
This account, with its useful maps and interesting illustrations, is a valuable and indispensable tool for the student of the legal and social history of Texas and an informative source for the general reader. It is a unique history of self-government in the disposition of the public domain, not equaled anywhere else in America or, indeed, in history.