Maps at the Library of Congress
Over 15,405 maps to view in the Library of Congress collection. Everything from farm maps, city maps, individual owner land maps to battlefield maps are in this national collection. With all of them scanned as digital images, they can be enlarged to see the details and also saved to your computer or printed.
Start at the top and there is a search box. Begin looking for a county or region rather than a small town. Look over what appears for the search including reading the captions. There might just be an area you are interested in for your family history.
The Panoramic views with the Library of Congress located can be some of the best you will find of an area. Many of these are in rich colors. The time frames for the various maps range from the 18th to 20th century.
Use also the section with a tab titled “collections” where the maps are grouped topics. There are categories and topics such as American Revolution, Louisianan Purchase, Civil War, National Parks, Sanborn Maps (always an excellent resource), and towns and cities to name a few. There are 3,000 maps just under towns and cities.
Knowing more about the region, city, or land areas of our ancestors can be very helpful in telling their full history.
Photos: Panoramic view of West Palm Beach in 1915; Mount Florence property at Peekskill on the Hudson of 1890; and routes surveyed for the Baltimore & Ohio Rail Road in Maryland in 1831.
Related FamilyTree.com genealogy blogs:
Maps – More than Just Locations
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