Maps & Atlases

Plat Maps & Plat Books of Wisconsin

Plat maps, or land ownership maps, are exceptional research tools for genealogists and historians. These maps show names of rural landowners, property lines, and cultural features such as schools and churches.

The Society has a copy of almost every early plat map, plat book, and historical atlas published for Wisconsin counties, including the earliest plat map for Wisconsin published in 1857. It also has a scattering of early plat maps for counties in other states. The Society continues to collect current Wisconsin plat books.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps of Wisconsin Communities

Fire insurance maps, often called Sanborn maps after their most prolific publisher, are among the most useful sources for local history. Made for all sizes of cities and villages, they are meticulous, large-scale street maps drawn at a scale of 50-feet to one-inch. The Society's archives has original Sanborn maps for 325 Wisconsin communities.

Sanborn maps helped insurance agents in the late 19th and early 20th centuries determine the degree of fire hazard associated with a particular property. Each map provides a detailed assessment of the buildings within a district. Assessments include an outline of each building and outbuilding, the size and number of stories of every building, composition of building materials, locations of windows and doors and indications of sprinkler systems. Other map features include street names, street and sidewalk widths, property boundaries, fire hydrants, locations of water and gas mains, and the names of most public buildings, churches and companies.

Most maps date between 1883 and 1930. The Society has digitized over 700 sets of its Sanborn maps (those made in 1926 and earlier). The Society is grateful to the American Geographical Society Library at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee for sharing their digital images of the Milwaukee Sanborn maps. Their generosity saved us from having to scan more than 1,000 large, fragile sheets in the Society's collection.

Bird's-Eye View Maps of Wisconsin

Bird's-eye-view maps give users an aerial view of a city or village, including streets, buildings, and major landscape features. They were popular from the 1860s until the introduction of aerial photography around 1920. Developments in printing technology along with the growth and prosperity of settlements in the post-Civil War era created a ready market for these city portraits.

The Society owns over 200 original and reproduction bird's-eye-view maps of Wisconsin cities and villages. These maps have a distorted, yet charming, perspective that combines concrete reality with promotional art. Bird's-eye-view maps are valuable resources for local history and architectural research. They provide a uniquely American vision of the urban landscape.

U.S. General Land Office Surveyors' Field Notes and Plat Maps of Wisconsin

Surveyors' Field Notes and Plats of Wisconsin is a collection of thousands of maps and written observations recorded between 1833 and 1866, when Wisconsin land was sub-divided into parcels for purchase and settlement. The surveyors' field notes 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 field notes to create official plat maps. The plat maps were used to sell or grant land to settlers, railroads, speculators and other interested parties. These plats represent some of the earliest attempts at mapping Wisconsin land at a local level.

For access to the 21 bound volumes of hand-drawn plat maps or microfilm copies of the field notes, visit the library and archives catalog.

The field notes and plat maps are available for viewing online through University of Wisconsin-Madison Digital Collections.

Wisconsin Land Economic Inventory Maps (Bordner Survey)

The Wisconsin Land Economic Inventory was a Great Depression-era project to document land resources for every survey township in Wisconsin. The Society has the original maps for each survey township mapped between 1929 and 1949.

To create these maps, field workers, usually trained foresters, crossed the land at intervals of one-half mile. They mapped current land use and land cover, signs of erosion, and size and quality of stands of timber. Included on the maps are such features as houses, schools, churches, taverns, cheese factories, filling stations, and logging camps.

When used in conjunction with the U.S. General Land Office Surveyors' Field Notes and Plats, conducted between 1833 and 1866, you can compare the Wisconsin landscape before it was settled and approximately 100 years later.

Milwaukee County was not mapped. Lincoln, Manitowoc, and Sheboygan County maps were not published. Land in Menominee County, established in 1961, is included as part of Langlade, Oconto, and Shawano Counties.

These maps are available online through UW-Madison Digital Collections.

George S. Parker II Map Collection

The George S. Parker II Map Collection contains superb examples of the most significant maps related to New France and French exploration of the Great Lakes, early maps of Florida, and 19th century maps of Wisconsin. George S. Parker II, former CEO of the Parker Pen Company, acquired most maps between 1975 and 1986. Parker intended his collection to be valuable for scholars as well as the general public. His map collection was gifted to the Society by the Caxambas Foundation of Milwaukee.

Reference Maps of Wisconsin

Reference maps of Wisconsin show basic cultural and geographical data about Wisconsin and its history. The maps are primarily intended for teachers, students, and others needing answers to simple questions such as: Where were Wisconsin's Indigenous Peoples living when the first white explorers arrived? In what parts of the state did German immigrants settle? Where were Wisconsin's first roads? Can I print a map of all Wisconsin counties and county seats?

The Society has digitized almost 200 reference maps of the state.