Athearn, F. J. (1992). A forgotten kingdom: The Spanish frontier in Colorado and New Mexico 1540–1821 (2nd ed.). Bureau of Land Management.
Berkeley Law Library. (n.d.). 43 U.S. Code § 178 - Patents for lands in New Mexico; lands contiguous to Spanish or Mexican land grants. LII / Legal Information Institute. Retrieved September 19, 2022, from https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/43/178
Blackwell’s, Ward’s and Randall’s islands and adjacent shores of East and Harlem rivers from 51st St. New York to Lawrence’s Pt. (n.d.). [Map]. Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3804n.ct006632/
Cooper, B. C. (2005). Riding the transcontinental rails: Overland travel on the Pacific Railroad, 1865–1881. Polyglot Press.
Department of the Interior. General Land Office. Office of the Surveyor General of New Mexico. 8/1/1854–7/1/1925 Organization Authority Record. (n.d.). National Archives Catalog. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/10493369
Tiemersma, E. W., van der Werf, M. J., Borgdorff, M. W., Williams, B. G., & Nagelkerke, N. J. D. (2011). Natural history of tuberculosis: Duration and fatality of untreated pulmonary tuberculosis in HIV-negative patients: A systematic review. PLoS ONE, 6(4), e17601. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0017601
Williams, H. T. (1877). New trans-continental map of the Pacific R.R. and routes of overland travel to Colorado, Nebraska, the Black Hills, Utah, Idaho, Nevada, Montana, California and the Pacific Coast [Map]. Union Pacific Railroad Company.
Williams, R. H. (1967). George W. Julian and land reform in New Mexico, 1885–1889. Agricultural History, 41(1), 71–84. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3740022
Woolcock, H. R., Thearle, M. J., & Saunders, K. (1997). “My beloved chloroform”: Attitudes to childbearing in colonial Queensland: A case study. Social History of Medicine, 10(3), 437–457. https://doi.org/10.1093/shm/10.3.437
STEM Connection: Environmental & Natural History
This source collection reveals a dynamic intersection between ecological change, land exploitation, disease, and scientific understanding during the 19th century. From the natural resource struggles on the Maxwell Land Grant to disease transmission aboard overland and maritime journeys, this archive opens powerful STEM entry points for students. It integrates public health, geology, environmental policy, epidemiology, cartography, and transportation engineering. Each reference helps illuminate the scientific processes underlying historical events and legal battles tied to land, illness, and human impact on the natural world.
Environmental Science & Land Use
Sources such as Livestock Ranching and Traditional Culture in Northern New Mexico and the numerous disputes surrounding the Maxwell Land Grant allow students to explore sustainability, land degradation, and human impact on fragile ecosystems. Students can examine how intensive ranching and land privatization altered soil, water use, and native vegetation.
STEM Activity Idea: Using historical land grant maps, students model changes in vegetation cover or calculate potential runoff and erosion based on 19th-century grazing patterns.
Epidemiology & Disease Transmission
Articles like Disease on Board Nineteenth-Century Passenger Ships, Natural History of Tuberculosis, and Disease and Death on the Overland Trails provide primary source context for studying communicable disease spread. Students can investigate how mobility, sanitation, and immunity shaped outbreaks on land and sea.
STEM Activity Idea: Construct a transmission model (e.g., SIR model) for a cholera or TB outbreak among overland travelers, incorporating historical data and known latency/infectious periods.
Toxicology & Chemical Safety
The EPA’s fact sheet on Chloroform and related sources on childbirth practices allow students to analyze historical chemical usage through a modern toxicology lens. This invites a discussion about risk assessment, dosage exposure, and evolving public health policies.
STEM Activity Idea: Create a historical risk analysis for chloroform use, comparing estimated 19th-century dosage to modern exposure thresholds and side effects.
Earth Sciences, Mining & Resource Management
Loosbrock’s Managing a Gold Rush and the legal documentation of land patents open up mineral resource science and mining engineering topics. Students can analyze how extractive industries affected water systems, ecosystems, and local populations.
STEM Activity Idea: Map ore deposits within the Maxwell Land Grant using GIS, then simulate the impact of mine placement on regional water tables and terrain stability.
Geospatial Technologies & Mapping
Maps like Indexed Map of New Mexico (1879) and New Trans-Continental Map give students hands-on entry into cartography, spatial reasoning, and transportation geography. These tools can be used to model terrain accessibility, infrastructure planning, or settlement patterns.
STEM Activity Idea: Have students georeference historical maps and overlay modern satellite imagery to track changes in land use, transportation routes, and urbanization.
Legal Geography & Environmental Policy
Documents like the U.S. Code § 178 and land grant court cases (e.g., Maxwell Land Grant Case, 121 U.S. 325) show how legal systems influence environmental access. Students can trace how science and policy intersect when it comes to land boundaries, mineral rights, and ecological stewardship.
STEM Activity Idea: Debate or simulate a historical court hearing regarding land use, assigning students roles as surveyors, biologists, ranchers, and lawmakers to present data-driven testimony.
Transportation Engineering & Environmental Impact
Cooper’s Riding the Transcontinental Rails and carriage collections from the Long Island Museum invite a study of 19th-century transportation and its environmental consequences. Students can compare carbon footprints, materials sourcing, and topographical challenges in early infrastructure development.
STEM Activity Idea: Design a rail line across 19th-century New Mexico using elevation data and natural obstacles, then calculate the required grade changes and materials needed.
Summary: This archive connects the 19th-century struggle over land, health, and movement to the scientific disciplines that explain—and are shaped by—those histories. Through disease modeling, environmental analysis, toxicology, and geospatial exploration, students can investigate the natural world as both stage and stakeholder in history. This STEM integration allows learners to evaluate past decisions and technologies with modern tools and ethical considerations, fostering a deeper understanding of historical accountability and environmental justice.