From the Annals of the Early Republic – In 1837, John P. Borden opened the General Land Office in Houston.  Borden was a veteran of the Texas Revolution and was appointed by Sam Houston to be the first commissioner of the new land office. His most daunting task was to catalogue and preserve the many Spanish and Mexican land titles issued before the republic. Borden worked alone as he had no funding or employees to assist him.  Within months, Borden had  successfully acquired documents from all over Texas. He also registered and surveyed new grants. When the General Land Office moved to Austin in 1839, Borden transported almost 5,000 pounds of documents by wagon.

Image from the General Land Office.