Collections

Read about the birds of North Texas in these Fort Worth Telegram newspaper columns written by bird enthusiast Jessie Maye Smith. Her weekly column, which ran from 1953 to 1974, chronicles the winged wild life of Fort Worth and Tarrant County.

The Virginia Garrett Cartographic History Library, established in 1978, includes thousands of maps and atlases, dating from 1493 to the present, and features works of noted cartographers such as Martin Waldseemüller, Abraham Ortelius, Willem and Joann Blaeu, Vincenzo Coronelli, Guillaume DeL’isle, and Alexander von Humboldt. Special Collections continues to acquire maps, books, and atlases relating to the history of cartography with special emphasis upon Texas and North American exploration and settlement.

Research Federal Depository Library program publications including: US Census and demographic information, statistical data, and documents pertaining to politics, law, environment, business, and history.

The historical manuscripts collections focus primarily on 19th and 20th century Texas and Mexican history and the U.S. War with Mexico.  They are primarily personal papers, family collections, and organizational records. In addition, special emphasis is on materials from the North Texas area and surrounding counties as well as counties once part of the Robertson Colony, a 19th century empresario venture that brought U.S. immigrants to Texas.