Richard V. Francaviglia

Francaviglia looks anew at the geographical-historical context of the driving of the golden spike in May 1869. He gazes outward from the site of the transcontinental railroad's completion--the summit of a remote mountain range that extends south into the Great Salt Lake. The transportation corridor that for the first time linked America's coasts gave this distinctive region significance, but it anchored two centuries of human activity linked to the area's landscape. Francaviglia brings to that larger story a geographer's perspective on place and society, a railroad enthusiast's knowledge of trains, a cartographic historian's understanding of the knowledge and experience embedded in maps, and a desert lover's appreciation of the striking basin-and-range landscape that borders the Great Salt Lake.

Believing in Place is the personal testimony of a scientist who discovers the divine in the land he has studied for decades. Geographer Richard V. Francaviglia recounts his own awakening to the spirituality of “place” as he suddenly sees the sacred dimension of science. The Great Basin is the focus of Francaviglia’s meditations. It is a huge, physically diverse, and often misunderstood region that lies between the Sierra Nevada and Wasatch Mountains. It is also an area that fills the author with awe. “I feel more closely connected to the universe here than in other places. That epiphany has made my many trips into the Great Basin since 1960 pilgrimages, for I never fail to come out of this region restored and reenergized. I at-tribute that to feeling closer to both creation and the creator here,” Francaviglia shares in his introduction. Wanting to understand the region’s hold on him and others, Francaviglia set out to determine what gives the Great Basin its genius loci. As a historical geographer, he felt the place itself—with its topography, vegetation, weather, and climate—could be a major factor in deciphering both the spirit of the place and the human spirit. By employing a broad definition of spirituality, Francaviglia demonstrates that many people in the Great Basin are in search of meaning that depends on, yet transcends, the environment.

Second Place, Presidio La Bahia Award, Sons of the Republic of TexasThe Gulf Coast has been a principal place of entry into Texas ever since Alonso Alvarez de Pineda explored these shores in 1519. Yet, nearly five hundred years later, the maritime history of Texas remains largely untold. In this book, Richard V. Francaviglia offers a comprehensive overview of Texas' merchant and military marine history, drawn from his own extensive collection of maritime history materials, as well as from research in libraries and museums around the country.Based on recent discoveries in nautical archaeology, Francaviglia tells the stories of the Spanish flotilla that wrecked off Padre Island in 1554 and of La Salle's flagship Belle, which sank in 1687. He explores the role of the Texas Navy in the Texas Revolution of 1835-1836 and during the years of the Texas Republic and also describes the Civil War battles at Galveston and Sabine Pass. Finally, he recounts major developments of the nineteenth century, concluding with the disastrous Galveston Hurricane in 1900. More than one hundred illustrations, many never before published, complement the text.