Research Guides: Cartographic Resources, Maps, and Spatial Data: Historical

Historical Maps in the U.S. Serial Set

U.S. Congressional Serial Set This link opens in a new window
House & Senate Documents & Reports, constituting a rich set of primary source documents. Covers a variety of topics & may include reports of executive departments & independent organizations, reports of special investigations, etc. (Coverage: 1817-1994) Learn more about this database

The United States Congressional Serial Set Map Index contains a wide variety of maps on topics as predictable as "Armed Forces and Conflicts" or "Discovery and Exploration," to those as unexpected as the "Almshouses" or "Asylums" (Societal Issues). You can find for example the map titled Boston in 1880, showing societies (secret and benefit), hospitals, asylums and homes (Serial Set No. 2148, Session Vol. No.13 H. Misc. Doc. 42 pt. 18, Page [Not Numbered]). Maps included date to before 1799.

For example, if you were studying the Roman Empire, you might find interesting a map of the Main road system of the Roman Empire as shown by the Itinerary of Antonine (A.D. 150) and the Itinerary to Jerusalem (A.D. 333). From Parthey and Pinder (Serial Set No. 9974, Session Vol. No. 62 H. Doc. 17 pt. 1, Page 349).

U.S. Congressional Serial Set Map Index help screens provide assistance in searching for maps.

Featured Resource: Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps

Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Newark, New Castle County, Delaware. Sep 1891. Sheet 2. (Library of Congress) (https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g3834nm.g012211891) List of Delaware maps

A collection of maps which depict the commercial, industrial, and residential sections of some twelve thousand cities and towns in the United States, Canada, and Mexico and date from 1867 to the mid 1960s. The maps were used to gauge the fire risks for urban structures and display detailed information about buildings, including the outline of each building, the size, shape and construction materials, the function of structures, street names, and house and block numbers. The maps were hand-drawn and colored. These were published by the Sanborn Map Company, the primary American publisher of fire insurance maps.

Sanborn Maps (Fire Insurance Maps: About this Collection) (Library of Congress)
An online database containing digitized fire insurance maps published by the Sanborn Map Company. This collection is freely available on the internet. The maps are large-scale plans of urban structures and were used to gauge the fire risks. The maps were hand-drawn and color coded. Sanborn maps are valuable historical tools for historians, geographers, genealogists, and anyone who wants to learn about the history, growth, and development of American cities, towns, and neighborhoods.
Start with: About this Collection. Then select: Collection Items. Use the left menu to filter by various aspects, such as location. NOTE: the states are not in alphabetical order; be sure to select "More Locations" and use the Sort Alphabetically option. Maps are still being added to the collection. Note: Print copies of the original hand-drawn color maps are available at the University of Delaware Library and the Library of Congress.
How to Use the Library of Congress' New Sanborn Maps for Genealogy (genealogy insider)
A a step by step guide to using the Sanborn Maps.
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps (Geography & Map Reading Room, Library of Congress)
Research Guide that offers The Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps Online Checklist, essays about uses of the Sanborn Maps, and other resources. Link to checklist of Delaware maps in list format. The online checklist is a searchable database of all the maps published by Sanborn and available at the Library of Congress.
The checklist replaces an earlier publication Fire Insurance Maps in the Library of Congress and will be continually updated.
Delaware Maps in Sanborn Fire Insurance Map collection (Library of Congress)
Union List of Sanborn & Other Fire Insurance Maps : Delaware
List compiled by Philip Hoehn, Earth Sciences & Map Library, University of California Berkeley.

Digital Sanborn Maps, 1867–1970 (Delaware) This link opens in a new window
Sanborn maps, produced by the Sanborn Map Company, the primary American publisher of fire insurance maps for nearly 100 years, are valuable historical tools for urban specialists, social historians, architects, geographers, genealogists, local historians, planners, environmentalists, and anyone who wants to learn about the history, growth, and development of American cities, towns, and neighborhoods. The maps are large scale and were used to gauge the fire risks for urban structures.
The maps in the database are black and white. Print copies of the original hand-drawn color maps are available at the University of Delaware Library, the Delaware Historical Society, and the Library of Congress. The Library of Congress has the maps as an online digital collection.
Sanborn maps, produced by the Sanborn Map Company, the primary American publisher of fire insurance maps for nearly 100 years, are valuable to anyone who wants to learn about the history, growth, & development of American cities, towns, & neighborhoods. They are large-scale plans containing information that was used to estimate the potential risk for urban structures. Information includes the outline of each building, the size, shape, & construction materials, heights, & function of structures, location of windows & doors. The maps also give street names, street & sidewalk widths, property boundaries, building use, & house & block numbers.
Textual information on construction details (for example, steel beams or reinforced walls) is often given on the plans, while shading indicates different building materials. Extensive information on building use is given, ranging from symbols for generic terms such as stable, garage, & warehouse to names of owners of factories & details on what was manufactured in them. In the case of large factories or commercial buildings, individual rooms & the uses to which they were put are recorded on the maps. Other features shown include pipelines, railroads, wells, dumps, & heavy machinery.
140 map sets are available for Delaware, ranging in date from 1884 to 1958. A key provided by the Sanborn Map Company provides information on the notation of map features.
The Library of Congress has made thousands of Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps available online for many buildings in U.S. cities & towns. These maps are in color.
Sanborn maps for Delaware are also available on microfilm (Microfilm no. 3333, 3 reels). Later coverage for some Delaware cities is available on an an additional reel (Microfilm no. 5690).
Sanborn maps for several nearby states are also available on microfilm: District of Columbia (Microfilm no. 3338 and no. 4614), Maryland (Microfilm no. 3368 and no. 4741), New Jersey (Microfilm no. 3519 and no. 4612), & Pennsylvania (Microfilm no. 3332 and no. 4613).
NOTE: The original maps are color coded. The maps in this database & on microfilm are black & white.

Historical Maps

This list samples historical map sites available on the web. Should you need map resources not included here please consult a reference librarian.

American County Histories to 1900 This link opens in a new window
This database will ultimately include the complete text of late 19th century histories of cities and counties of the original thirteen states (with the exception of Virginia), plus Vermont and Maine. Divided into two groupings: Mid-Atlantic States (including publications from Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania) and New England States (including publications from Connecticut and Massachusetts.)
Component of Accessible Archives

American Geographical Society Digital Map Collection
The American Geographical Society Library Digital Map Collection currently contains over 5000 maps, ranging from early maps of Asia to historical maps of Wisconsin and Milwaukee, and other American cities, states, and national parks. The digital collection is under continuing development.
General Maps Collection | Library of Congress
This digital collection includes maps that typically portray the physical environment and a variety of cultural elements for a geographic area at a particular point in time. The maps in this category show a geographic area larger than a city or town and do not display a subject that is part of one of the thematic categories.
AMS and GSGS maps index
Indexes to various AMS (Army Map Service, United States) and GSGS (Geographical Section General Staff, Great Britain) map sets. From the UC Berkeley Library collections.
Atlas of Canada
Offers current topographic maps and data as well as topical and historical maps of Canada.
Atlas of Historical County Boundaries Project
Displays historical county boundaries for all states.
Atlas of the Historical Geography of the United States
Published in 1932, the atlas contains 700 maps. This digitized version is user-friendly and georectified.
Bodleian Library Map Room
Includes Maps on the Web, part of the Oxford Digital Library.
Broer Map Library - Homepage
The Broer Map Library is a large collection of government, commercial and other produced maps and atlases from the past three centuries. The library endeavors to provide its collection of maps and atlases online in order to allow libraries and researchers who would not otherwise have access to such a large collection, have them available.
Civil Works Map File, 1818 - 1947
The records in this series comprised the main map collection for the Corps of Engineers during the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. They include manuscript maps forwarded to headquarters by Corps of Topographic Engineers and Army Engineer surveyors and cartographers in the field, and published editions of selected maps.
David Rumsey Map Collection Database
18th and 19th century North and South America maps are the main feature of this site. Historic maps of the World, Europe, Asia and Africa are also represented.
Digital Map Indexes
Earth Sciences and Map Library at UC Berkeley hosts this site linking to every index map held in the Earth Sciences & Map Library's collection (with the exception of the Army Map Service (AMS) indexes) and air photo index maps.
Digital Map Collection | University of Chicago Library
The maps are organized by theme and date. Many 18th, 19th and early-20th century maps from around the world are included.
Digital Public Library of America (DPLA)
The DPLA portal searches collections held by US archives, libraries and museums. Search with the keyword map* and refine the search further using the Subject filter.
Digitized Map Collection | Cambridge University Library
The printed and manuscript maps and atlases cover the whole world in a range of scales, from detailed topographic maps to world maps showing ocean currents or time zones. The maps were compiled for a variety of purposes, the maps show different types of information, like geology, climate, transport, streets and historical events. Items in the collection range in date from the 15th century to the present day.
European transportation facility maps of the 19th century
This Web page provides access to some of the maps showing European transportation facilities during the 19th century that are held at the University of Chicago Library's Map Collection.
Free Library of Philadelphia - Map Collection
A multidisciplinary collection of cartographic materials, housing over 130,000 current and historical maps and covering every area of the world, with a focus on Philadelphia and adjacent regions. The Collection offers hundreds of reference books in the fields of: cartography, cartobibliography, geography, and place names.
Geologic Atlas of the United States
The Geologic Atlas of the United States is a set of 227 folios published by the U.S. Geological Survey between 1894 and 1945. Each folio includes both topographic and geologic maps for each quad represented in that folio, as well as description of the basic and economic geology of the area. The Geologic Atlas collection is maintained by the Map & GIS Library within the Texas A&M University Libraries.
Gough Map (Great Britain)
The Gough Map is one of the earliest maps to show Britain in a geographically-recognizable form.
Greater Philadelphia GeoHistory Network
"This site contains thousands of old maps, property atlases, city directories, industrial site surveys, and other items documenting the history and development of the city from the 1600s through today." Access is through a resource browser and an interactive maps viewer.
Hargrett Manuscripts and Russell Library's Finding Aids Database
Search the Hargrett Map Collection using the Repository drop down menu. The Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library at the University of Georgia maintains a collection of more than 1000 historic maps spanning nearly 500 years, from the sixteenth century through the early twentieth century, including historical maps of Georgia.
Historical Map Archive
The Historical Map Archive is a digitized collection of selected map holdings from sources including the University of Alabama Map Library, the W. S. Hoole Special Collections Library, the Rucker Agee Map Collection of the Birmingham Public Library, the Geological Survey of Alabama, Samford University Special Collections Library, and the Alabama Department of Archives and History.
Historical Map and Chart Collection | NOAA
Office of Coast Survey's Historical Map & Chart Collection covers the land and waters of the United States of America, including territories and possessions (past and present). Charts go back as far as 1807, and the collection includes land sketches, Civil War battle maps, and aeronautical charts from the 1930s to the 1950s. The images are free to download, and may be used for commercial or educational purposes.
Historical Topographic Map Collection (The National Map)
The goal of The National Map’s Historical Topographic Map Collection (HTMC) is to provide a digital repository of USGS 1:250,000 scale and larger maps printed between 1884, the inception of the topographic mapping program, and 2006. The National Geospatial Program (NGP) is accurately cataloging and creating metadata to accompany high-resolution, geo-referenced digital files representing the legacy lithographic maps. HTMC maps are published in Portable Document Format (PDF) with geospatial extensions (GeoPDF®), patented by TerraGo Technologies. They are available for download free of charge.
Images of early maps on the web: 2.1. Large general sites
Links to a variety of libraries with historical images online.
Locating London's Past
This website allows you to search a wide body of digital resources relating to early modern and eighteenth-century London, and to map the results on to a fully GIS compliant version of John Rocque's 1746 map.
Map Archive of New Jersey's Abandoned Mines
Digitized images of abandoned mine site maps and papers, grouped by county.
Maps | National Library of Australia
The collection includes around 1 million maps, from early European charts to current mapping of Australia, in print and digital form. All online maps are freely available for download, in high resolution.
Maryland Map Collection
The Maryland Map collection is a comprehensive collection of more than 2,500 maps depicting Maryland, the Chesapeake Bay, and the surrounding region from 1590 to the present. The collection contains many rare early maps of Maryland as well as more modern maps produced by state and local governments. Some selected maps have been digitized and are available on this site.
McCasland Digital Collection of Early Oklahoma and Indian Territory Maps
Included among the earliest documents produced by the United States Government are maps covering the geographic area of the United States as it expanded its boundaries to the west. These early published maps, created by some of America’s leading cartographers, were included in the American State Papers and the United States Congressional Serial Set, the official record of reports of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives from 1789 to present.
National Library of Scotland - Map Images
In the 'Map images' resource you can access and view all the maps scanned as high-resolution, colour, zoomable images. The maps date between 1560 and 1970 and relate primarily to Scotland. There are also maps of areas beyond Scotland, including maps of England and Great Britain, Ireland, Belgium, and Jamaica.
New Jersey Historical Maps
Most of the map images on these webpages are from Rutgers Special Collections. Permission is granted solely to view these map images.
NYC Fire Insurance, Topographic and Property Maps
Site provides a chronological list of atlases arranged by borough from the NYPL Digital Collections. To view the atlases click on the hyperlinks on the right. This list also includes links to digital images of old zoning maps and detailed topographic surveys conducted by some of the City's topographical bureaus. You can also download the kmz files that can be viewed in Google Earth. [2017]
Old maps of Britain and Europe from A Vision of Britain through Time
Vision of Britain features scanned historical maps of the British Isles.
Old Maps Online
An easy-to-use gateway to historical maps in libraries around the world.
Pennsylvania County U.S. Geological Survey Maps
From the USGenWeb Archives, United States Digital Map Library, Pennsylvania Digital Map Library
Perry-Castañeda Library (PCL) Map Collection - UT Online
Note: The PCL Online map collection website is archived as of 2021 and no longer being updated. Links to external sites may no longer work as expected.
Places in History (Library of Congress)
Featured maps scanned from originals at the Library of Congress.
Sanborn Maps - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Includes links to many sites with digitized Sanborn map collections.
Selden Map [of China]
Includes high-resolution image, revealing trade routes and compass bearings from the port of Quanzhou to all parts of East Asia and beyond.
Statistical Atlas of the United States - Historical
The Census bureau produced a number of Statistical Atlases of the United States based on census results from 1870, 1880, 1890, 1900, 1910 and 1920.
Tijdreis : Over 200 jaar topografie [Time Travel: about 200 years of topographiy]
Digitized maps celebrating 200 years of topography in The Netherlands.
United States Military Academy - Digital Collections
Collections include digitized maps of the Civil War; Colonial and Federal Eras; and West Point.
United States Digital Map Library
Collection includes US Maps of national interest, State and County Maps from all 50 states, and Indian Land Cessions maps from the formal establishment of the US to 1894.

U.S. Congressional Serial Set This link opens in a new window
Covering 1817-1994, the U.S. Congressional Serial Set contains House and Senate Documents and House and Senate Reports bound by session of Congress. Maps included in the published set may be searched separately from the documents and reports.
The U.S. Congressional Serial Set is bound by session of Congress. It began publication with the 15th Congress, 1st Session (1817). Documents before 1817 are found in the American State Papers, which can be accessed via the A-Z Databases page. The Serial Set does not include Congressional hearings & debates.
House & Senate Reports are usually from congressional committees dealing with proposed legislation & issues under investigation. They include all other papers ordered printed by the House or Senate. Documents cover a wide variety of topics & may include reports of executive departments & independent organizations, reports of special investigations made for Congress, & annual reports of non-governmental organizations. During the late 19th & early 20th centuries, Executive branch materials were also published in the Serial Set.
After 1994, GPO & the Library of Congress provide digital access to most of the continuing Serial Set materials.
It is possible to search the U.S. Congressional Serial Set Maps directly.
This collection can also be searched on Readex AllSearch, an integrated platform that combines Readex’s primary sources into a single cross-searchable interface.

Historical GIS files

Atlas of Historical County Boundaries | The Newberry Library
The Atlas presents in maps and text complete data about the creation and all subsequent changes (dated to the day) in the size, shape, and location of every county in the fifty United States and the District of Columbia. The Newberry Library makes these data available without charge over the Internet as shapefiles that users can download for use with geographic information system (GIS) software.
Union Army Data | NBER
From the Public Use Data Archive of the National Bureau of Economic Research, this archive offers a variety of data samples on the Union Army; Original and Expanded U.S. Colored Troops, and Historical Urban Ecological.