Historical Geospatial Research
Land Ownership Maps
These maps of counties and towns from the mid-nineteenth to early twentieth-century show who actually owned property. Now available online through Ancestry.
- Sanborn Map CollectionAvailable through Cornell or a local public library
A collection of historic fire insurance maps. Detailed maps of thousands of localities in the US over successive years. - Cornell Library Map CollectionLocated in the lower level of Olin Library. About 250,000 maps, many historic. Website includes many freely available online mapping tools and sources.
Deeds, Patents, and Land Records
- Deeds, Patents, and Land RecordsUseful explanation. To locate persons who homesteaded or took out land patents:
BLM Search.
More Maps & Genealogy
- Find Cartographic Resources OnlineEven more resources concerning mapping and land use, some of them freely available.