Materials do not circulate, but may be used in the State Archives search room (Room 100). Materials will be retrieved from and returned to storage areas by staff members.
Most records created by Texas state agencies are not copyrighted and may be freely used in any way. State records also include materials received by, not created by, state agencies. Copyright remains with the creator. The researcher is responsible for complying with U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17 U.S.C.).
Researchers are required to use gloves provided by the Archives when reviewing photographic materials.
A few of the maps may be too large to photocopy.
The Texas State Parks Board was created in 1923 (Senate Bill 73, 38th Legislature, First Called Session) to investigate prospective park sites in the state, to report to the Legislature with recommendations, and to solicit and accept donations of land for state park purposes. The State Parks Board was initially composed of five members, appointed by the Governor with the approval of the Senate to six-year terms, and they were to be state officers. The number of board members increased to six in 1937 (Senate Bill 484, 45th Legislature, Regular Session). This board was to begin locating sites for the establishment of the state parks system. It later directed and managed state parks, except the historical parks that were managed by the Texas State Board of Control or several separate commissions. The Parks Board was also charged with locating, designating, and marking historic grounds, battlegrounds, and other historic sites in the state, and erecting markers and monuments at such sites. The board also had the authority to create rules and regulations as necessary to carry out its duties.
The primary function of the board between 1923 and 1933 was to acquire lands for parks through donations. In 1933 the board received federal aid through several New Deal programs, making possible the development of 31 state parks by 1941. Most of this work was done by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in conjunction with the National Park Service (largely through its Emergency Conservation Work program); additional work was done by the Work Projects Administration (WPA) and National Youth Administration. The CCC work in Texas began in June 1933 and ended in 1941. The CCC developed 56 parks in Texas. Most are still public parks including 31 parks in the state park system.
The history of Big Bend National Park began in 1933 with the creation of Big Bend State Park on 15 sections of land in the vicinity of Santa Elena, Mariscal, and Boquillas canyons on the Rio Grande in southern Brewster County. Later that year the Chisos Mountains were added to the park acreage. In January 1934 the National Park Service recommended the site become a national park and called for the establishment of a Civilian Conservation Corps camp. The United States Congress passed the enabling legislation on June 20, 1935, stipulating that acquisition of the park acreage "shall be secured...only by public and private donations." The Texas State Parks Board was authorized by the 46th Legislature in 1939 to purchase land for Big Bend National Park in Brewster County, Texas (Senate Bill 123, Regular Session) The Board was authorized to pay no more than $2.00 an acre, exclusive of improvements made to the land. The State Parks Board, through appropriations of $1.5 million by the 47th Texas Legislature, had purchased most of the land by 1942. During much of the 1941-1942 period while the Board was actively pursing land for the park, it maintained an office in Alpine, Texas to handle most of the land acquisition duties. The land purchase program activities were carried out by the Big Bend Land Department, a division of the Texas State Parks Board. Although several thousand acres remained in private hands, the park opened to the public in 1944. The last of the park's original acreage was purchased through Congressional appropriations in 1972. Additional purchases have added to the park's size in recent years through more Congressional appropriations.
In 1949, the state historical parks were transferred from the State Board of Control to the State Parks Board, except for the San Jacinto Battlefield, the Battleship Texas, and the Fannin Battlefield, which were still controlled by their respective commissions--the San Jacinto Battlefield Commission, the Battleship Texas Commission, and the Fannin Battlefield Commission (House Bill 120, 51st Legislature, Regular Session). In 1963, the Texas State Parks Board and the Texas Game and Fish Commission were merged to form the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife (TPWD) (House Bill 21, 58th Legislature, Regular Session).
(Sources: Enabling legislation;
The Texas State Parks Board was created in 1923 to investigate prospective park sites in the state, to report to the Legislature with recommendations, and to solicit and accept donations of land for state park purposes. The primary function of the Texas State Parks Board between 1923 and 1933 was to acquire lands for parks through donations. Following Congressional action in June 1935 and state legislative action in 1939 the Parks Board began acquiring land for the creation of the Big Bend National Park. Records present include incoming and outgoing correspondence, abstracts of title, land worksheets, deeds, legal filings, vouchers, notes, clippings, brochures, guides, newsletters, photos, and maps. Dates covered are 1881-1883, 1895, 1897, 1904, 1909-1957, bulk 1941-1942. The bulk of the files concern the acquisition of land by the State of Texas for Big Bend National Park. Some of the land was donated, most was purchased. In many cases, disputes over pricing, disputes among heirs and other issues led to condemnation lawsuits in order to acquire the land for the park. The land for the park was turned over to the National Park Service in 1943, the park opened to the public in 1944 and it was formally dedicated in 1955. Some of the files concern concessions operations at the park in the 1950s and the dedication of the park. The bulk of the correspondence is from the Big Bend Land Department of the Texas State Parks Board to land owners. Other correspondents include National Park Service officials, state agencies, local officials, insurance companies, and others.
To prepare this inventory, the described materials were cursorily reviewed to delineate series, to confirm the accuracy of contents lists, to provide an estimate of dates covered, and to determine record types.
The records are organized into three series by State Archives staff:
(Identify the item and cite the series), Texas State Parks Board Big Bend National Park files. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
The records of the Big Bend land purchase program were appraised as
archival by State Archives staff on October 18, 1999 during an agency-wide
appraisal of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (series listed in the
report as
Laura K. Saegert, December 2006
Accession numbers: 1996/102, 2002/131, 2003/027, 2005/041, 2005/147
These records were transferred to the Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department on May 3, 1996; April 22, 2002; October 10, 2003; October 22, 2004; and June 3, 2005.
The Texas State Parks Board was created in 1923 to investigate prospective park sites in the state, to report to the Legislature with recommendations, and to solicit and accept donations of land for state park purposes. The primary function of the Texas State Parks Board between 1923 and 1933 was to acquire lands for parks through donations. Following Congressional action in June 1935 and state legislative action in 1939 the Parks Board began acquiring land for the creation of the Big Bend National Park. Records present in this series include incoming and outgoing correspondence, notes, clippings, brochures, guides, newsletters, photos, and maps. Dates covered are 1941, 1943, 1946-1957, bulk covering 1951-1955. Most of the correspondence is to and from Frank Quinn, executive director of the Texas State Parks Board, later chairman of the Board. Other correspondents include Ross Maxwell and succeeding superintendents of Big Bend National Park; the regional director and other staff of the National Park Service; manager of concessions at the park; companies interested in concession contracts; a few United States Congressmen; and others. Topics discussed include the transfer of land from the state of Texas to the National Park Service in 1943, formal dedication of the park in 1955, concession operations at the park, water concerns along the Rio Grande, trips to the park by State Parks Board officials and others, and the acquisition by Congress of non-federal lands in the park boundaries in 1951.
These records are arranged somewhat by topic or record type, as received from the agency. Materials within the folders are generally in chronological order.
(Identify the item), Executive correspondence and program dedication files, Texas State Parks Board Big Bend National Park files. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
Accession number: 2005/147
These records were transferred to the Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission by the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife on June 3, 2005.
Materials do not circulate, but may be used in the State Archives search room (Room 100). Materials will be retrieved from and returned to storage areas by staff members.
Most records created by Texas state agencies are not copyrighted and may be freely used in any way. State records also include materials received by, not created by, state agencies. Copyright remains with the creator. The researcher is responsible for complying with U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17 U.S.C.).
Researchers are required to use gloves provided by the Archives when reviewing photographic materials.
Laura K. Saegert, December 2006
The Texas State Parks Board was created in 1923 to investigate prospective park sites in the state, to report to the Legislature with recommendations, and to solicit and accept donations of land for state park purposes. The primary function of the Texas State Parks Board between 1923 and 1933 was to acquire lands for parks through donations. Following Congressional action in June 1935 and state legislative action in 1939 the Parks Board began acquiring land for the creation of the Big Bend National Park. Records in this series include incoming and outgoing correspondence, largely of the State Parks Board Big Bend Land Department; land acquisition statistics; warrant requests to the Comptroller for land payment; receipts of payment; forms used in the land purchase program; accounting books for the land purchase program; copies of land grants from property in Brewster County (dated 1883 and filed in the county clerk's office in 1935); and a few court filings over land and/or mineral rights issues. Dates covered are 1883, 1912, 1934-1944, bulk 1941-1942. Correspondence is generally between the Big Bend Land Department and land owners. Other correspondents include the National Park Service, insurance companies, the Texas Comptroller's Office, the Attorney General's Office, and others. Topics discussed include land purchase offers to land owners, condemnation of land, pricing of land, donation of land, attempts to locate heirs of deceased land owners, attempts to locate landowners without valid addresses, requesting tax records of land owners from county offices, payments to landowners, mineral rights, title policies and other land acquisition issues. Also present are a few letters relating to the operation of the park; purchase of supplies for nearby parks, such as Fort Davis; and employees involved in the program notifying the Board they were leaving to serve in World War II. The account books document the acquisition of lands by the land purchase program through donation, purchase or condemnation proceedings and also list expenditures of the Big Bend Land Department including salaries, supplies and other office costs.
There are two sets of letters with landowners, the first being outgoing letters of the land department in reverse chronological order. This set also contains the few letters in this series not directly pertaining to the land purchase program. The second set of correspondence is mostly outgoing letters with some incoming letters from landowners. The letters in this set are filed by the first initial of the landowners' last name. Within the folders, the letters are in chronological order. There is some duplication of letters between the two sets of landowner correspondence. The remainder of the series consists of several sets of letters filed by topic followed by subject files and financial records.
These records are maintained largely as received from the agency, by record type and by subject, with some minor arrangement done by State Archives staff.
(Identify the item), Land purchase program correspondence and subject files, Texas State Parks Board Big Bend National Park files. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
Accession numbers: 1996/102, 2002/131, 2003/027
These records were transferred to the Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department on May 3, 1996; April 22, 2002; and October 10, 2003.
Materials do not circulate, but may be used in the State Archives search room (Room 100). Materials will be retrieved from and returned to storage areas by staff members.
Most records created by Texas state agencies are not copyrighted and may be freely used in any way. State records also include materials received by, not created by, state agencies. Copyright remains with the creator. The researcher is responsible for complying with U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17 U.S.C.).
None.
Laura K. Saegert, December 2006
The Texas State Parks Board was created in 1923 to investigate prospective park sites in the state, to report to the Legislature with recommendations, and to solicit and accept donations of land for state park purposes. The primary function of the Texas State Parks Board between 1923 and 1933 was to acquire lands for parks through donations. Following Congressional action in June 1935 and state legislative action in 1939 the Parks Board began acquiring land for the creation of the Big Bend National Park. Records include correspondence, abstracts of title, land worksheets, deeds, legal filings, vouchers, notes, and maps. Dates covered are 1881-1883, 1895, 1897, 1904, 1909-1945, 1956, bulk 1941-1942. The files concern the acquisition of land by the State of Texas for Big Bend National Park. Some of the land was donated, most was purchased. In many cases, disputes over pricing, disputes among heirs and other issues led to condemnation lawsuits in order to acquire the land for the park. Topics discussed include land purchase offers to land owners, condemnation of land, pricing of land, donation of land, attempts to locate heirs of deceased land owners, attempts to locate landowners without valid addresses, payments to landowners, mineral rights, title policies and other land acquisition issues. The bulk of the correspondence is from the Big Bend Land Department of the Texas State Parks Board to land owners. Other correspondents include local law enforcement officials.
Materials found in the bulk of the landowner files include land worksheets, statement of title, redemption receipt, warranty deeds, quit claim deeds, vendor's lien notes, deeds of trust, release of lien, preliminary title report, abstracts of title, tax statements, correspondence, an occasional will, and for land received directly from the governor, a letter patent. Some of the files contain typed transcripts of older documents, such as deeds, wills, or similar documents.
Materials found in the condemnation suit files include correspondence, legal filings (orders, court cost fees, statement of costs by special commissioners, etc.), warranty deeds, title reports, abstracts of title, plat maps, and land worksheets.
The land worksheets were prepared for all land acquired. Forms were generally prepared by the board, some had material added by the landowner, others appear to have been filled out by the landowner. Information found on these forms included name and address of landowner; description of property; grazing reports; amount due on purchase price; last date of payment on principal and on interest; itemized list of improvements; rendered value; estimated value; outstanding mortgages; suits filed or pending against the land, judgements; title remarks; is there an abstract (yes or no); itemized list of taxes due; mineral rights owners; section, block and grantee of original survey; abstract number; certificate number; patent number; date patent recorded; and number of acres (patented and unpatented).
These records are arranged into four groups by State Archives staff: Landowner files, condemnation lawsuits, abstracts of title, and land worksheets. The landowner files are further arranged into four sets of files: landowner files, set 1 (many of these are letters to landowners not located in other 3 sets of files, and various orders); landowner files, set 2 (files of lands donated); landowner files, set 3 (unknown why these were segregated from the other files but they do have a separate filing system - some alphabetical, some topical); and landowner files, set 4 (bulk of the landowner files, alphabetical order). The condemnation lawsuits consist of two sets of files - landowner files and legal filings. Each set is arranged by suit number. The abstracts of title and the landowner worksheets are arranged as received from the agency, with corrections to the filing order made by State Archives staff.
(Identify the item), Land acquisition files, Texas State Parks Board Big Bend National Park files. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
Accession numbers: 1996/102, 2002/131, 2005/041
These records were transferred to the Archives and Information Services Division of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department on May 3, 1996; April 22, 2002; and October 22, 2004.
Materials do not circulate, but may be used in the State Archives search room (Room 100). Materials will be retrieved from and returned to storage areas by staff members.
Most records created by Texas state agencies are not copyrighted and may be freely used in any way. State records also include materials received by, not created by, state agencies. Copyright remains with the creator. The researcher is responsible for complying with U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17 U.S.C.).
A few of the maps are too large to photocopy.
Laura K. Saegert, December 2006