Historical Resources from Reference Directory

Abandoned Mines of Colorado Springs & El Paso County - Locates mine shafts around Colorado Springs Colorado.

Antiquarian Maps at the Reed College Library - Collection of 100 maps from around the world 15th to 19th century. Reed College Library Oregon.

Antique Maps of the Pacific Ocean - Antique maps (pre-1800) for the Pacific Ocean and its islands.

Athena Review Image Archive: New World Maps and Site Plans - Maps of Columbus' voyages 16th c. Central and South America.

Athena Review Image Archive: Old World Maps and Site Plans - Maps of Roman Gaul 60 - 50 BC.

Atlas Coelestis - Celestial cartography maps.

Batavia Virtual Museum - Collection of maps from the 17th and 18th century as part of a site on the history of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). Commentary in English and Dutch.

Bodleian Library - The Map Case - Sample of images from Oxford's collection focusing on Great Britain.

Boundaries of the Contiguous United States - Animation showing the evolution of state boundaries in the United States from the original 13 colonies to its present state.

Canada at Scale: Maps of our History - National Archives of Canada online exhibition with large collection of digital maps and historical explanation. 16th to 19th century maps of Canada and North America.

Catalan Atlas - Atlas circa 1375 attributed to Cresques Abraham showing Europe and Asia. Site includes detailed description and analysis.

Chorographia Britanniae - Images and commentary on the Chorographia Britanniae an atlas of the counties of England and Wales first published in 1742 by Thomas Badeslade and William Henry Toms.

Collectio Felbar - 16th to 19th century maps and views of Croatia Dalmatia and Istria.

David Rumsey Collection - Thousands of high-resolution digital images of maps from the David Rumsey Collection one of the largest private collections of historic maps in the US. Focus is 18th and 19th c. North and South America cartographic materials.

Diego Gutierrez Map of America 1562 - Western Hemisphere map; site includes historical information with scrolling and zooming map viewer.

Discus Media 1900 European Maps Collection - Collection of over 800 images of maps displaying the Old World as it looked like about 100 years ago. City maps area maps.

Dutch City maps from the Blaeu Atlas 1649/1652 - 50 Holland city maps from 1650 atlas Toonneel der Steden. Site is in English; some maps include city histories in Dutch.

Exploring Florida - Includes hundreds of Florida maps and detail views from 1584 to the present.

F.Y.R. Macedonia from Antiquity to Present Day - Macedonia from 1477 to 1928. Downloadable.

FEEFHS Map Room - 50 detailed maps of Germany Austria-Hungary Russia the Balkans and the Baltics from the 1882 Blackie and Sons atlas. Federation of East European Family History Societies.

Finland History - Maps showing the history of the Finnish-related people of Russia. Includes maps of city locations name changes and much commentary.

Finland Info - Antique maps showing Finland in relation to the rest of Europe. Maps from 15th c. to modern. Includes some historical commentary.

Genmaps - Great Britain maps 16th through 19th century divided into counties and regions.

GeoHistory - Comprehensive package of interactive historical maps

Germany at the End of the 18th Century - Maps of different parts of Germany at the end of the 18th century drawn by the author and links to maps of the same period show the political division of Germany

Gleadless.net - Old maps of Gleadless Norton and surrounding areas of southern Sheffield England.

Henry Davis Cartographic Images - 300 high-resolution images of period maps divided into Ancient Medieval and Renaissance periods. Emphasis on world maps.

Historical Atlas of the 20th Century - Large collection of color-coded atlas maps showing world population governments wars and other historical trends. Many include brief historical commentaries.

History Link 101 Map Page - Collection of historical and educational maps of ancient Africa China Egypt Greece Mesopotamia Rome Middle Ages and Prehistoric Man.

Holy Roman Empire 1789-1815 - German states and principalities from 17th to 19th c.

Images of Early Maps on the Web - Comprehensive list of sites containing historical maps.

India Political History - 20 political maps of India from the ancient times to the modern. Also includes a brief history of India.

James Ford Bell Library - 30 explorer and mariner maps of 15th to 19th century concentrating on world maps and the Americas. Most maps can be zoomed in to see details. University of Minnesota.

Janssonius Map of the Netherlands - 1658. View entire map or divided into modern provinces.

Japanese Historical Maps from UC Berkeley - Online gallery of 2300 early maps of Japan and the World. Collection was acquired by the University of California from the Mitsui family in 1949.

Jerusalem - Twenty maps of the city of Jerusalem from 6th to 19th century with commentary from the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

John Snow's London 1859 - A historical map with sites of Victorian London during the time of Dr. John Snow (1813-58) the prominent epidemiologist and anesthesiologist.

King County Aerial Photos: Historical vs Recent - Aerial photographs from the 1930's 1970's and 1990's illustrating the growth of several areas in King County WA.

Le Grand Atlas by Johan Blaeu - Images of the French Edition (1667 12 Volumes) of Le Grand Atlas by Johan Blaeu.

Map Reference - A Web bibliography of non-printed reference material on the history of maps and cartography.

MapForum.com - On-line magazine about antique maps with articles about mapmaking exhibits and classified ads.

Michican Historical Museum : What's Cool About Maps? - The "What's Cool About Maps" exhibit at the Michigan Historical Museum Lansing features 29 historic maps of the Great Lakes region from 1669 to 1882.

Michigan & the Great Lakes - Images and descriptions of the history of the Great Lakes as depicted in actual maps from 1571 to 1865. Includes significant maps of French English and American periods.

OSSHE Historic Atlas Resource Library - Socio- and political maps of 18th and 19th century United States; classical age Mediterranean. Some maps require Shockwave plug-in.

Periodical Historical Atlas of Europe - Maps showing political status of Europe and Mediterranean basin at the end of each century from AD 1 to AD 2000 plus maps of historical battle sites. Site in English and French.

Perry-CastaƱeda Library Map Collection - University of Texas-Austin Perry-CastaƱeda Library Map Collection. 200+ links to other map collections; emphasis on 19th century America maps.

Prehistoric Globalization - Maps that change history. Paper on maps predating Columbus including a section on fraudulent maps.

Roman Maps : Tacitus - Maps of areas referred to by Cornelius Tacitus in "The Histories" A.D. 1.

Ryhiner Map Collection - 16th to 18th c. maps of Germany Switzerland and France from the University and Canton archives from the University of Bern in Switzerland.

San Jose State University Art of Cartography - 20 maps of the New World India Africa and Asia from 16th and 17th century. Includes 2 11th century Arabic maps.

Trenches on the Web - WWI Map Room - World War I Western Front maps including trench locations for major battles.

Turkey in Maps - On-line exhibitions of antique maps of Turkish Empire and Asia Minor (present day Turkey).

United States 1895 Atlas - Large images grouped by state from an 1895 US Atlas.

United States Digital Map Library - Online archive of state county and treaty maps.

United States Library of Congress Map Collections - Searchable collection of digitized maps in the public domain from North America 1544-1996. Grouped into categories: cities environment exploration immigration military and transportation.

United States NOAA Office of Coast Survey - Nautical charts and sketches of the United States coast from the 18th and 19th c. sorted by state.

University of Virginia: Maps from Columbus to Lewis and Clark - Period maps and atlases from 1507 to 1805 focusing on the exploration of the central and western US.

US Historical Topographic Maps - Historical topographic maps of US East Coast states from 19th and early 20th century scanned from original US Geological Survey maps

USMA Department of History Map Library - A comprehensive source of scanned battle maps from the ancient Greeks to the present provided by the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

WWII Maps - 100 black and white WWII maps indexed by date many with troop movement and battle locations indicated.

Wyoming Historical Maps - Wyoming state maps depicting the emigrant trails of the late 1800s. Eleven maps prepared by L. C. Bishop available in small to large resolutions.

Yale University Map Collection - 200 period maps and globes from 16th to 19th c. including world continent and city maps. Majority of maps are New World. Includes Lada-Mocarski Cross and Lanman map collections.