Maps & Land Records

Tools for Working with Maps & Land Records:

DeedMapper – Have you ever tried to make heads or tails out of the old “metes and bounds” property surveys? DirectLine Software sells DeedMapper, which will actually plot out the shape of a piece of property as described in the deed.  I used this program a number of years ago to solve my Miller problem in Virginia. Since then, the newer version includes the ability to integrate it into GoogleEarth.

GoogleEarth

HistoryPin – upload your own photos to show how it used to look

WhatWasThere – similar to HistoryPin where you can upload photos to show how a building or street used to look

United States Map Resources:

American Panorama – an interactive historical map website that is adding new statistical maps in on-going projects

Atlas of Historical County Boundaries

Atlas of the Historical Geography of the United States – This atlas, published in 1932, includes hundreds of clickable maps showing geographical changes through the years.

Bureau of Land Management Land Office Records – free, searchable database of land records beginning in 1820.

USGS Maps, Imagery and Publications

Sites with information on U.S. migratory roads and trails:

Cyndi’s List – Migration Routes, Roads and Trails

FamilySearch Wiki – U.S. Migration Trails and Roads

Sites that have large collections covering multiple, if not all, states:

Bureau of Land Management Land Patents 

Historic Aerials

Historic USGS Maps of New England and New York at the University of New Hampshire

Library of Congress

New York Public Library Digital Collections -Maps & Atlases

OldMapsOnline – This portal has links to historical maps around the world.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps

University of Texas, Perry-Castaneda Library Map Collection

USGS Historical Topographic Map Explorer

U.S. State Collections:

University of Alabama Historical Map Archive
Alaska Digital Archives
University of Connecticut
University of Delaware
University of Florida
University of Georgia
University of Idaho
Illinois – University of Chicago Library
Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
Kansas – Wichita State University
Kentucky – University of Louisville
Louisiana Digital Library
MaineUniversity of Southern Maine – Osher Map Library
University of Maryland
University of Massachusetts Lowell Libraries
University of Michigan
Minnesota Digital Library
Missouri – The Kansas City Public Library
Nebraska – Omaha Public Library
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
New Jersey – Princeton University
New Jersey – Rutgers University
New York – Cornell University
New York Public Library
University of North Carolina
Oklahoma State University
University of Oregon
Pennsylvania – Free Library of Philadelphia
Pennsylvania – Historic Pittsburgh 
South Carolina – The South Caroliniana Library Map Collection
Tennessee State Library and Archives 
Texas – University of Houston Libraries
Vermont – Middlebury College
Library of Virginia – including Civil War maps
Virginia Tech
Washington State University
University of Wisconsin Digital Collections

Canadian Map Resources:

Library and Archives Canada

In Search of Your Canadian Past: The Canadian County Atlas Digital Project

European Map Resources:

Biblioteca Nacional de España

British Library

World Map Resources:

Brigham Young University Library – Maps, Atlases and Gazetteers: Maps and Atlases Online

David Rumsey Map Collection

FamilySearch Wiki – Maps

Historic Map Works

Old Maps Online

Wikimedia Commons – Old Maps of Cities

7 thoughts on “Maps & Land Records”

  1. RootsTech 2019 Contest Entry – GREAT blog & alot of great resource links! Have marked your blog on my FAVS list!

  2. Linda,

    I love your site. So many resources. I am recommending it in class I am teaching this week on illustrating family histories. and will be adding it to my list of must see sites for other classes I teach as well.

    Brigham Young University also has a large collection of digitized maps for the U.S. and the World. I especially love the German collections.
    https://guides.lib.byu.edu/c.php?g=216365&p=1428522

  3. I am president of the Palm Springs Genealogical Society in California. A former member of ours sent me a Pima County Genealogical Society newsletter in which your article of chancery courts was included. I wondered if you would give us permission to include this in our newsletter? If so, could you send me a copy, please?
    Thanks you,
    Sondra

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Genealogy Tips & Family History