Methods
Reading Historic Maps Without Overclaiming
This field note is part of the FOBA learning stream. It is meant to orient readers and point toward better source work.
Key points
- A map is a source with a creator, date, purpose, scale, and set of omissions.
- Fire insurance maps, county boundary maps, railroad maps, and route maps answer different kinds of questions.
- The safest map claim includes the map date, the repository, and a note about what the map cannot prove.
Next steps
- Write down the map title, publication date, correction date, and repository before using it in a page.
- Compare maps from different years before publishing a route or boundary claim.
- Pair map clues with deeds, newspapers, court files, census entries, or local histories.
Source trail
- Library of Congress – Sanborn Maps collection – Collection background for fire insurance map research.
- Newberry Library – Atlas of Historical County Boundaries – Boundary-change reference for county research.