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Description

Great early-20th-century real estate promotional map of Corpus Christi, Texas, covering the city and the adjacent region.

The map shows hundreds of thousands of acres north and west of Corpus Christi for sale, many under the name "Geo. H. Paul Subdivision" - both of the Driscoll Ranch and the Coleman Fulton Pasture Company's Lands.

In addition to its considerable terrestrial land ownership data, the map also includes oyster claims in Corpus Christi and Nueces Bays.

The map was prepared by Corpus Christi-based surveyors French & Haberer for the International Land & Investment Co., of which little trace in the historical record remains. One of the only records of the company that we could find was an advertisement in a magazine in 1909, which claimed that 150,000 acres had been sold by the company in the previous 3 years, suggesting that was active from at least 1906-09.

It seems that International Land & Investment was an agent for George H. Paul, whose activities in the region Nueces County describes thusly:

Robstown began in 1903 at the merger point of the Texas-Mexican and St. Louis, Brownsville & Mexico Railroads. The town grew rapidly after the arrival of land developer George H. Paul. He organized the George H. Paul Land Co., acquired about 300,000 acres of land from nearby ranches, and subdivided the property into cotton farms. Special trains transported Paul's land agents to the east and midwest to interest prospective buyers in the area.

While elsewhere on the Texas Gulf Coast, the first decade of the 20th century was primarily focused on the post-Spindletop oil boom, in Corpus Christi citrus, cotton, and other cash crops were still the motivation for moving to the region.

Condition Description
Folding map with wear at folds, especially around the covers where some small holes have developed.