HST 346: U.S. Historical Geography (Paradis)

Maps can provide a good visual of how a cityscape has changed over time. Maps created for specific purposes can provide small details that otherwise can go unnoticed or unrecorded. This digital collection from IUPUI includes two examples: The Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps and the Baist Real Estate Atlases. Additional information that is included in these maps are specific construction details (e.g. building height, stories, door and window locations, building material, etc.) and building use. The Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps include three sets of maps (1887, 1898, and 1914-1915). The Baist Real Estate Atlases also includes three sets (1916, 1927, and 1941). While you can do a keyword search in the digital collection, it is recommended that you first find the index for a given map set, determine which section/plan your property is located within, and then proceed to find that specific section/plan.

This online resource—supported by the city and county government of Indianapolis and Marion County—provides access to property information within Indianapolis and Marion County. Using available aerial shots of the city through the years, you can overlay past maps over the current streets to see physical changes (the images are sometimes blurry and don’t always include every neighborhood within the city, especially in early years). An extra benefit of this system is that you can search a property and obtain access to property card data through the Assessor’s office (the information online is not always up-to-date so objectively review it).

From Website: "The resources in this collection are historical atlases of various Indiana counties including Hamilton, Henry, Madison and Putnam. These books not only provide maps of Hoosier areas dating from 1875 to 1901, but also provide rich historical details of the central Indiana region. Within this collection there are narrative histories, biographical information about Indiana pioneers, detailed illustrations of people and places, statistical tables, and much more. Historians and hobbyists alike should find this collection both information rich and entertaining."

From Website: "The resources in this collection are historical maps of Indiana, its counties and cities, from the collections at Indiana University. Efforts were made to represent various areas of our state, but selection was based on G. K. Hall and Co.'s Checklist of Printed Maps of the Middle West to 1900 Volume 3 covering the state of Indiana. The Checklist was a cooperative project involving several institutions. Its purpose was to identify and catalog cartographic materials published prior to 1900. The collection attempts to not duplicate other digital projects, such as the Library of Congress's American Memory Project or the David Rumsey Map Collection projects. Additional maps will be added to the collection as we develop partnerships with libraries around the state."

From Website: "The Plat Books of Indiana Counties are historic guides to the communities of Indiana, showing townships, roads and section numbers. These geographic resources were originally created by Sidwell Studio and W. W. Hixson & Co. between approximately 1925 and 1941. The original books are owned by, and scanned in collaboration with, the Indiana State Library through a grant from the Library Fund of Indianapolis Foundation, an affiliate of the Central Indiana Community Foundation."