ISSUE 9 – STEVE KOVACS FUN WITH MAPS
By Steve Kovacs (Introduction by Chuck Gibson)
LOVELAND, OH (June 18, 2020) – In Issue 9 of Steve Kovacs: Fun with Maps feature reveals the history of origin of “Juneteenth”
Steve Kovacs, Antique Map Collector, Loveland Resident (Provided)
Today is Emancipation Day – Juneteenth
The origins of Juneteenth trace back to Texas. Slavery was outlawed in January 1863, but news traveled slowly in those pre-internet days especially to then remote places like Texas. Finally, General Granger officially proclaimed on June 19, 1865 in Galveston that all former slaves were free. Later Texas became first to establish Juneteenth as a state holiday.
This 1846 Mitchell Map shows Texas with its ‘stovepipe’ boundary configuration just after joining the Union. The current Texas boundary was established a few years later. State and territory boundary changes were quite common in the nineteenth century US, especially west of the Mississippi.
Steve Kovacs and his wife Theresa reside in Loveland, Ohio where they raised their two children. He is a passionate collector of antique maps. Click here to visit his antique map boutique world-on-paper online. Watch for his daily feature Steve Kovacs: Antique Maps & Fun Facts here on Loveland Beacon.
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Map of Texas -1846 (Credit Steve Kovacs)
