This retired county map from the GLO Archives is a fine example of a late 19th century Texas panhandle county map. Because of the rural location and sparse population, these counties were established much later than the east and south Texas counties that saw most of the immigration in the 1800s. Most of the original surveys reflected on this map are known as “railroad surveys.” These were surveys made by virtue of a land grant program that granted land to the railroads in return for their work laying track within Texas. Railroads typically located their grants by creating square mile sections (640 acres) grouped together in swaths of vacant land in what were known as railroad blocks, with alternate sections being reserved for the state. It is the uniformity of these surveys, along with a fairly monolithic geographic makeup, that gave the square shape to this and other panhandle counties.Roberts County was named for John S. Roberts, a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, and Oran Milo Roberts, the 17th Texas governor.

This map features the towns of Miami, Concord and Parnell and the Southern Kansas Railroad. Roberts County was named for John S. Roberts, a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, and Oran Milo Roberts, the 17th Texas governor. During his tenure, Governor Roberts developed plans to fund public schools through public land sales and served as first president of the Texas State Historical Association.