Genealoger

Maps and
Other Geographical Tools

The Wisconsin Historical Society has microfilm copies of Wisconsin county plat books (ca. 1870-1900), which are accessible through interlibrary loan. Early and later county plat maps are not microfilmed but some can be photocopied on request. State atlases were published for Wisconsin in 1876, 1878, and 1881, and include county maps. They show post offices, schools, churches, and road systems, all valuable information in locating an ancestral family in Wisconsin.

Geraldine Strey's Land Ownership Maps of Wisconsin, 1836-1960. Madison, Wisconsin, n.d. is very important in determining precisely what maps are available at the Wisconsin Historical Society.

Aerial photographs of Wisconsin are in the collection of the Arthur Robinson Map Library, Science Hall, University of Wisconsin, Madison. The first topographical map of Wisconsin, of the Stoughton quadrangle, is dated 1889. Bird's-eye view maps are significant in Wisconsin research, inasmuch as they cover the period from 1867 to the end of World War I. There are over 200 of these maps for Wisconsin towns and villages. Most are listed in Elizabeth Maule, Bird's Eye View of Wisconsin Communities, Madison, Wisconsin, 1977, and are also available at the Wisconsin Historical Society. The maps were drawn with great attention to the buildings existing at the time.

The Golda Meir Library at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, holds the map collection of the American Geographical and Statistical Society. The worldwide collection includes thousands of bound books, maps, gazetteers, and photographs. It is one of the largest collections of maps for the entire United States. A unique cataloging program at this repository references maps that appear in books. The collection has maps of Milwaukee for 1849, 1857, 1869, 1875, 1886, 1890, 1892, and 1898. Queries by mail or phone are answered, most material can be photocopied, and some holdings may be borrowed through interlibrary loan. The library is located at 2311 E. Hartford Ave., Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The mailing address is the American Geographical Society Collection, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee Library, P.O. Box 399, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201.

The earliest Sanborn map for Wisconsin in the historical society holdings is for 1883. An earlier one exists for LaCrosse in 1879.

Various online maps and geographic resources include:

• The American Geographical Society Library Digital Map Collection. The collection currently contains over 500 maps, ranging from early maps of Asia to historical maps of Wisconsin and Milwaukee, and other American cities, states, and national parks.  University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries.

• American Memory Panoramic Maps 1847-1929 - Wisconsin  - From the Geography and Map Division, Library of Congress.
   
• American Memory Railroad Maps 1828-1900 - Wisconsin  - From the Geography and Map Division, Library of Congress.
   
• Bird's-Eye-View Maps. Wisconsin Historical Society.  The Wisconsin Historical Society owns over 200 original and reproduction bird's-eye-view maps of Wisconsin cities and villages dating from the 1860s to the early 1900s. Bird's-eye-view maps are drawings that depict aerial views of entire cities or towns. They have a distorted, yet charming, perspective since the artists combined factual elements with a leap of imagination. These maps were popular from the 1860s until the development of aerial photography around 1920.
   
• Color Landform Atlas: Wisconsin  - Including a map of counties and a map for 1895.
   
• Digital Sanborn Maps - Wisconsin  - Information on the towns covered, number of maps for each town & years covered.
   
• Find a City or Town in Wisconsin
   
• Geographic Names Information System (GNIS)  - Contains information for almost 2 million physical and cultural geographic features in the United States and its territories. The Federally recognized name of each feature described in the data base is identified, and references are made to a feature's location by State, county, and geographic coordinates. The GNIS is the official U.S. repository of domestic geographic names information.
   
• Geology of Wisconsin  Survey of 1873-83
   
• Guide to the Ghost Towns of Wisconsin 
   
• Harvard Map Collection
   
• Historical Maps of the United States - The Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection
   
• The Home and School Reference Work, A Library of Practical, Authoritive Information Drawn From Every Department of Human Knowledge, Volume IX, Perpetual Encyclopedia Corporation, Chicago, 1915 and 1923, page 3976, contributed by Bob Franks.
   
• K.B. Slocum Books and Maps - Wisconsin 
   
• KinQuest Wisconsin County Maps, 1901.
  
   
• Land Economic Inventory Maps (Bordner Survey). Wisconsin Historical Society. The Wisconsin Land Economic Inventory is a Depression-era project that mapped Wisconsin's land resources between 1929 and 1949. The goal of the project was to promote using land resources more effectively. This is also known as the "Bordner Survey", named after its director, John Bordner. Each map covers one survey township.
  
  
• Land Ownership Maps and Atlases. Wisconsin Historical Society. Wisconsin land ownership maps and atlases identify local landowners of a county and provide information about its topographic and cultural features. They were compiled from local land records and supplemented with the mapmakers' own surveys. The maps and atlases were commercially produced based on supply and demand within the geographical area. Publishers often referred to these as plat maps or plat books. The earliest plat map for Wisconsin was published in 1857.
   
• Land Ownership Maps in the Library of Congress
   
• Lead Mines on the Mississippi, circa 1829
   
• Leading Products Industries, circa 1943
   
• Maps at the University of Virginia
   
• Map of Wisconsin Counties 
   
• MapQuest: World Atlas: Wisconsin 
   
• Michigan Territory in 1830 -Includes Wisconsin
   
• Michigan and Wisconsin, circa 1891
   
• Midwest Map, circa 1884
   
• Milwaukee Neighborhoods: Photos & Maps, 1885-1992. Milwaukee Neighborhoods: Photos and Maps 1885 - 1992 presents images of Milwaukee neighborhoods from the Far Northwest Side to the Far South Side. The selection of images is limited by the current boundaries of the city of Milwaukee. The digital collection provides a visual documentation of the development of the city of Milwaukee from the mid-1880s to the early 1990s. It includes images of residential and industrial facilities, local businesses, historic buildings, churches, and numerous Milwaukee parks. 832 photographs were selected from the collections of the American Geographical Society Library and the Archives Department at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee Libraries. The photos of Milwaukee from 1885 and 1895 come from two rare books in the Archives' holdings: Milwaukee and Art Work of Milwaukee. The images of Milwaukee in the 20th century were selected from three extensive photograph collections: Roman Kwasniewski Collection and Dennis Wierzba Collection that are housed in the Archives, and Harold Mayer Collection, located in the American Geographical Society Library at UWM Libraries. The image collection is accompanied by 12 maps of Milwaukee from the holdings of the American Geographical Society Library.
   
• National Encyclopedia Wisconsin Map, circa 1944
   
• Natural Regions of Wisconsin, circa 1943
   
• A New and Complete Gazetteer of the United States By Thomas Baldwin and J. Thomas, M.D. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co. 1854 pp.1302-1307. Contributed by Kathy Lenerz.
   
• 1922 Map of Wisconsin
   
• Organization of Territories in the United States since 1803 - The Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection
  
  
• Parker Map Collection. Wisconsin Historical Society. Between 1975 and 1986, George S. Parker, CEO of the Parker Pen Company, acquired 29 superb examples of the most significant maps related to New France and French exploration of the Great Lakes. Eventually Parker collected 57 maps, including early maps of Florida and Mexico, and later maps of Wisconsin. The George S. Parker Map Collection illustrates French perceptions of their New World empire as well as the ways in which Europe's most important cartographers represented North America to the public. The collection is on long-term loan from the Caxambas Foundation of Milwaukee.
   
• Public Land Survey System (PLSS) Township Index Maps
   
• Pam Rietsch's 1895 U.S. Atlas
   
• Rand McNally Popular Map of Wisconsin, circa 1944
   
• Rare Map Collection at the Hargrett Library, University of Georgia
   
• RootsWeb Town Search - TownCo  - Enter the name of a U.S. town to learn the name of the county where that town is located.
   
• Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps. Wisconsin Historical Society. Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps are meticulously detailed, large, color-keyed street maps. They were created to assist insurance agents determine the degree of fire hazard associated with a particular property. Most date between 1883 and 1930. The maps are large-scale lithographed street plans at a scale of 50 feet to one inch on 21" x 25" sheets of paper. Maps were created for all sizes of cities and villages. The Society has maps for 325 Wisconsin communities. Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps typically focus on a community's business district, giving a detailed assessment of the buildings within the district along with features of the district itself.
   
• Sanborn Maps
  
  
• Surveyors' Notes and Plats.  U.S. General Land Office Surveyors' Field Notes and Plats. Wisconsin Historical Society. The land that is now known as Wisconsin was surveyed by the federal government between 1833 and 1866. The survey was done in order to divide the vast public domain into salable-sized lots that could be sold, or otherwise divested, to raise funds for the federal government and to encourage settlement. The land was divided into 6-mile-squares called towns. The towns were subdivided into 36-mile-square sections. As surveyors traveled, they took field notes that became the official record of the surveys. They recorded vegetation, especially tree cover; land features such as soils, streams and rock outcroppings; and evidence of human habitation including villages, cabins, trails and roads. Mapmakers at the U.S. General Land Office used these surveyors' notes to create official plat maps. The plat maps were used to sell or grant land to settlers, railroads, speculators and other interested parties.
   
• U.S. Atlas - Wisconsin - 1895  - Scanned images of county and state maps, index of towns.
   
• U.S. Census Bureau - State and County QuickFacts - Wisconsin County Selection Map 
   
• U.S. Census Bureau U.S. Gazetteer
   
• U.S. Digital Map Library - Wisconsin
   
• USGenWeb Archives, United States Digital Map Library 
   
• Wisconsin Digital Map Library 
   
• Wisconsin 1895  From: Color Landform Atlas of the United States
   
• Wisconsin Gazetteer  Containing the names, location and advantages of the counties, cities, towns, villages, post offices, and settlements, together with a description of the lakes, water courses, prairies, and public localities, in the state of Wisconsin.  From: Making of America.
   
• Wisconsin Maps.  From: Perry-Castañeda Library.
   
• Wisconsin Maps  U.S. Map Collection, 1513-1990. Ancestry.com.
   
• Wisconsin Postal History 
   
• U.S. Territorial Maps 1775-1920
   
• USGS/GNIS Database of Wisconsin locations
   
• Wisconsin County Boundaries, 1990 U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census
   
• Wisconsin County Maps, 1901 
   
• Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Provides printable county maps showing township and range numbers essential in studying ancestors in federal land states.
   
• Wisconsin Digital Maps Project
   
• Wisconsin from Color Landform Atlas of the United States
   
• Wisconsin Gazetteer, containing the names, location and advantages of the counties, cities, towns, villages, post offices, and settlements, together with a description of the lakes, water courses, prairies, and public localities, in the state of Wisconsin, alphabetically arranged by John Warren Hunt. 1853.
   
• Wisconsin Gazetteer On-Line - 1853  - From the University of Michigan. Scanned images of the original book.
   
• Wisconsin Historical Society. Map and Atlas Collection. The Society houses more than 25,000 maps and atlases in its Archives. The majority of the Maps and Atlas Collection focuses on Wisconsin, the Midwest, the United States and Canada. About 80 percent of the collection predates 1900.
  
  
• Wisconsin Historical Society. Maps in Books.
  
  • American Journeys Maps - 102 maps ranging from 1492-1850, complied from American Journeys, a digital library and learning center of eyewitness accounts of early American exploration and settlement.
  • Wisconsin County Histories Maps - 35 maps from 90 volumes.
  • Wisconsin Historical Collections Maps - 14 maps ranging from 1856-1914, compiled from 20 volumes.
  • Wisconsin Magazine of History Maps - Hundreds of maps ranging from 1917-present, compiled from more than 2,000 articles.
    
    
• Wisconsin Historical Society. Reference Maps. The Reference Maps Collection has approximately 200 modern maps of basic cultural and geographical data about Wisconsin and its history. They are primarily intended for teachers, students, and others needing answers to simple questions such as: Can I print a map of all counties and county seats? Where were Wisconsin's Indian tribes when the first white explorers arrived? What parts of the state did German immigrants settle in? Where were Wisconsin's first roads?
  
  Thematic Maps
  • 91 maps were scanned from "Cultural Resource Management in Wisconsin" (1986).
  • Subjects include: agriculture, fur trade, religion, social & political, transportation, industry, government, settlement and education.
  • There are also maps from "Wisconsin: Our State, Our Story" (2008), the Wisconsin Historical Society's elementary school history textbook. Subjects include: Blackhawk's route, fur trade routes and tribal lands.
  
  Geographical Reference Maps
  • 96 maps were scanned from "Origin and Legislative History of County Boundaries in Wisconsin" (1942).
  • All Wisconsin counties are represented based on the General Land Office township and range system.
  • The maps show the precise boundary of every Wisconsin county at any point in time.
  • The original book was crudely printed by mimeograph and the scanned images accurately reflect the quality of the original work.
  • There are also maps from "Wisconsin: Our State, Our Story" (2008), the Wisconsin Historical Society's elementary school history textbook. Subjects include: counties, glaciers, topography, longitude and latitude markers and waterways.


• Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota Territories 1832-1858
   
• Wisconsin Maps - Exploring Wisconsin our Home
   
• Wisconsin Maps - John Hopkins University
   
• Wisconsin Maps - The Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection
   
• Wisconsin Panoramic Maps, 1847-1929, at the Library of Congress
   
• Wisconsin Profiles: Interactive county maps
   
• Wisconsin Railroad Maps at the Library of Congress
   
• Wisconsin State Cartographer's Office 
  • Wisconsin Outline Maps 
  • Maps 
    • Historical Maps 
    • Parcel Maps 
    • Plat Books 
       
• Wisconsin Transportion & Communication Maps at the Library of Congress
   
• Yale Peabody Museum: GNIS - Wisconsin  - Search the USGS Geographic Names Database. You can limit the search to a specific county in this state and search for many features.

Various print resources include:

• Atlases of Historical County Boundaries. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1997.
   
• Collins, Charles W. An Atlas of Wisconsin. 2nd edition. Madison, Wisconsin: American Printing and Publishing, 1972. A geological and statistical atlas including land formations, population maps, manufacturing and agricultural information.
  
  
• County Maps of Wisconsin. Madison, Wisconsin: The Commission, 1935.
   
• DeLorme Mapping Company. Wisconsin Atlas & Gazetteer. Freeport, Me: DeLorme Mapping Co., 1988.
   
• DeBoer, Gordon. Wisconsin, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1997.
   
• Fox, Michael.  Maps and Atlases Showing Land Ownership in Wisconsin. Madison, Wis.: State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1978. Lists maps available at the State Historical Society of Wisconsin .
   
• Gard, Robert E. and L.G. Sorden, The Romance of Wisconsin Place Names, 1968. Reprint, Minocqua, Wisconsin: Heartland Press, 1988.  Has an alphabetical list of towns and cities, the county in which they are located, and a brief history.
   
• Hale, James B., comp. Wisconsin Post Office Handbook, 1921-1971. Wisconsin Postal History Society. Bulletin no. 10. Madison: Wisconsin Postal History Society, 1971.
   
• Herrick Linda M. & Uncapher, Wendy K. Cemetery Locations in Wisconsin. Janesville, Wisconsin: Origins, 1998.
   
• Historical Atlas of Wisconsin: embracing complete state and county maps, city & village plats, together with separate state and county histories ... Milwaukee: Snyder, Van Vechten & Co., 1878. Detailed state, county, township and city maps. Includes a business directory, postal and railway guide and illustrations of some businesses.
   
• Hunt, John Warren. Wisconsin Gazetteer Containing Names, Locations and Advantages of the Counties, Cities, Towns, Villages, Post Offices and Settlements on the State of Wisconsin. Madison, Wisconsin: Beriah Brown, 1853. Reprint. Microfiche. Louisville, Kentucky: Lost Cause Press, 1974. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University Microfilm.  Identifies the older place names that often are no longer used in Wisconsin. Gives land formations, types and county location using town and range lines.
   
• Illustrated Historical Atlas of Wisconsin Containing Maps of Every County in the State with Many Villages and City Plats. Chicago, Illinois: H.P. Page, 1881. Shows roads, townships, buildings and other pertinent land markings. Includes some illustrations of larger businesses and some portraits of prominent leaders and businessmen.
   
• Long, John H., editor. Atlas of Historical County Boundaries, Wisconsin. New York: Simon & Schuster Macmillan, 1997. Demonstrates the depiction, both textual and cartographic, of county boundary changes and the relationships between the two sections. Consolidated chronology and individual county chronologies.
   
• Long, John H., editor. Historical Atlas and Chronology of County Boundaries, 1788–1980. Scale: 1:633,600. Vols. 1–5. Boston, Mass.: G.K. Hall, 1984. Maps show when and where each county changed boundaries. Maps for Wisconsin are in volume 3.
   
• Maule Elizabeth. Bird's Eye View of Wisconsin Communities, Madison, Wisconsin, 1977.
   
• Moertl, Frank.  Wisconsin, Its Territorial and Statehood Post Offices. Hartland, Wisconsin: Wisconsin Postal History Society, 1995.
   
• Peck, George W., ed. Wisconsin: Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions and Persona Arranged in Cyclopedic Form. Madison, Wisconsin: Western Historical Association, 1906. An encyclopedia of persons, places and things of Wisconsin with a short notation explaining each item.
   
• Robinson, Arthur, and Jerry B. Culver. Atlas of Wisconsin: General Maps and Gazetteers. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1974. This atlas includes an excellent gazetteer. Index denotes whether a place name is a town, village, rural locality, urban locality, city, stream, water body, park or land form.
  
  
• Sanborn Map Company. Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, Wisconsin. Pelham, New York: Sanborn Map Company, 1884?-1951?
   
• Snyder, Van Vechten & Co. Historical Atlas of Wisconsin: Embrac ing Complete State and County Maps, City & Village Plats and With State and County Histories: Also Special Articles on the Geology, Education, Agriculture, and Other Important Interests of the State. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Snyder, Van Vechten & Co., 1878.
  
  
• Snyder, Van Vechten & Co. Historical Atlas of Wisconsin.  Janesville, Wis.: Origins, 1995. This is a reprint of the 1878 publication and contains useful maps for each county.
   
• Strey, Geraldine. Land Ownership Maps of Wisconsin, 1836-1960. Madison, Wisconsin, n.d.
   
• Uncapher, Wendy Z. & Herrick, Linda Z., compilers. Wisconsin, Its Counties, Townships & Villages. Janesville, Wisconsin: Origins, 1994.
   
• Walling, H. F. Atlas of the State of Wisconsin. Detroit: Walling, Tackabury and Co., 1876.
   
• Walling Henry Francis. Atlas of the State of Wisconsin Including Statistics and Descriptions of its History, Educational Institutions, Geology and Railroads.  Boston, Massachusetts: Walling, Tackabury, 1876. Includes maps and short sketches of the items in the title.
   
• Ward Maps of United States Cities. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 1975?
  
  
• Wisconsin Atlas & Gazetteer. Yarmouth, Maine: DeLorme Mapping Co., 2000.
  
  
• Wisconsin Gazetteer. Wilmington, Delaware: American Historical Publications, 1991.
   
• Wisconsin Geographic Names. 2 volumes. Reston, Virginia: U.S. Geological Survey, 1981. Prepared from a computer file of geographical names.
   
• Wisconsin's Past and Present: A Historical Atlas / The Wisconsin Cartographers' Guide. Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press, 1998. Historical and geographical data with full color maps and descriptive text, photos and illustrations.