Event Details

The public is invited to join VC's Museum of the Coastal Bend for a John W. Stormont Lecture, La Salle’s Legacy: The Making of the U.S./Mexican Border.

Before Texas was Texas, French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, made his ill-fated mark on the continent. Dr. Gene Rhea Tucker (Professor of History, Temple College) reveals the fascinating story of La Salle's cartographic legacy. Learn how early French maps, born of La Salle’s exploration and tragedy, became essential—and controversial—tools in establishing the U.S./Mexican border, demonstrating the lasting power of a line drawn on paper.

Lectures are free admission and open to the public.