Allen County, Indiana

Maps

Maps can show useful information such as locations of rivers, creeks and various natural features. Maps can also show human built structures ranging from city and town limits, to canals, bridges, streets, roads, and various improvements. City directories can add timeline information on changing population numbers, streets and numbering, government location, schools, when buildings were built, and businesses opened.

Maps can show useful information such as locations of rivers, creeks and various natural features. Maps can also show human built structures ranging from city and town limits, to canals, bridges, streets, roads, and various improvements. City directories can add timeline information on changing population numbers, streets and numbering, government location, schools, when buildings were built, and businesses opened.

Jump to: Additional Information, Allen County maps, Aerials, Copyright, Dave Rumsey, Sanborn maps, Other Sources, Trivia

1718 French map showing Miami Portage

1718 map shows Miami * Portage of les Miamis connecting the Huakiki [Wabash] River with the [Maumee] River going to LaC Erie on DuChat in Carte de la Louisiane et du cours du Mississipi [i.e. Mississippi]: dressée sur un grand nombre de mémoires entrautres sur ceux de Mr. le Maire at The Library of Congress.

Webinars at The Library of Congress

Webinars at The Library of Congress. Recordings of webinars organized by the Geography & Map Division, including research orientations, presentations on special topics, and some of our annual GIS Day presentations, are freely available online. View recordings of past virtual orientations and other online events below.

December 14, 2015 post by the DAR Museum on Facebook:

Maps, like this one of VA over the fireplace mantle in the Virginia Period Room, often decorated walls in homes during the 1700s and early 1800s. Maps could be framed, but more commonly they were attached to wood rollers and hung from small brass rings. People most often hung maps in public spaces like a hallway, parlor, or dining room.

[ This is the Fry-Jefferson Map of Virginia first published in 1753 - this Jefferson was Thomas Jefferson's father.]

When we struggle to read an online map on a small digital device like a cellphone. Remember this 1950s image!

Map makers before the invention of AutoCAD or GIS software, 1950s.

Posted by Historic Photographs on Monday, March 7, 2022

Monday, March 7, 2022 post by Historic Photographs on Facebook:

Map makers before the invention of AutoCAD or GIS software, 1950s.

42 minute Allen County Info provides information on the iMap GIS Portal for Allen County residents briefly discussed on our Land Records page.

July 28, 2023 post by Allen County INfo on Facebook:

Last week the Allen County Commissioners recognized Dave Estes for an amazing accomplishment. Not only is Dave among the most elite in the country working in geographic information systems, or GIS, who have won a national SAG award, he is the only one in the world who has won it three times.

Allen County utilizes Esri's location intelligence software. Earlier in July, Dave traveled to the Esri User Conference where Allen County was selected from hundreds of thousands of users internationally for the coveted Special Achievement in GIS (SAG) Award.

Dave is the only full-time county employee managing the Allen County's GIS program. It is due to his innovative use of mapping and analytics technology that the county garnered the award.

Congratulations

, Dave Estes, for putting us on the map! (Pun intended)

To check out Allen County’s GIS map data, go to https://www.acimap.us/.

Pictured, left to right: Noah Miller and John Barnett - GIS Analysts for Resultant/DAI, Jack Dangermond – President and co-Founder of Esri, and Dave Estes – GIS Coordinator Allen County Indiana

The Fort Wayne Traffic Engineering Department web page has a bunch of useful maps and information worth checking out. https://www.cityoffortwayne.org/publicworks/traffic-engineering.html

Posted by Three Rivers Active Streets on Friday, March 22, 2024

Friday, March 22, 2024 post by Three Rivers Active Streets on Facebook:

The Fort Wayne Traffic Engineering Department web page has a bunch of useful maps and information worth checking out.

FW Public Works Traffic Engineering Department

Want to see property lines or neighborhood boundaries, or to look up a tax bill for a particular property? Check out...

Posted by Three Rivers Active Streets on Friday, March 22, 2024

Friday, March 22, 2024 post by Three Rivers Active Streets on Facebook:

Want to see property lines or neighborhood boundaries, or to look up a tax bill for a particular property? Check out Allen County iMap.

Allen County GIS https://acimap.us

Fort Wayne also has a mapped information site: City of Fort Wayne's GIS website: http://maps.cityoffortwayne.org

Populated Places

  1. Aboite Township: Dunfee
  2. Adams Township: Adams Station, New Haven
  3. Cedar Creek Township: Cedarville, Grabill, Hamilton, Hursh, Leo, Urbana
  4. Eel River Township: Potter Station
  5. Jackson Township: Baldwin, Edgerton, Townley
  6. Jefferson Township: Besancon, Maples, Tillman, Zulu
  7. Lafayette Township: Aboite, Aboite Station, Nine Mile, Zanesville
  8. Lake Township: Arcola, Hadley
  9. Madison Township: Boston Corner, Centreville, Hoagland, Massilon
  10. Marion Township: Hessen Cassel, Middletown, Poe, Williamsport
  11. Maumee Township: Bluecast, Edwardsville, Woodburn
  12. Milan Township: Fairport, Gar Creek, Milan Center
  13. Monroe Township: Dixon (OH), East Liberty, Monroeville
  14. Perry Township: Carrolls, Huntertown, Hunterville, Royville
  15. Pleasant Township: Sheldon, Yoder
  16. St. Joseph Township: History of Townships
  17. Scipio Township: none
  18. Springfield Township: Cuba, Halls Corners, Harlan, Maysville
  19. Washington Township: Academie, Wallen
  20. Wayne Township: Fort Wayne, Kekionga, Lewisburg, South Wayne, Waynedale
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Allen County, Indiana Maps Chronologically

  1. Maps at Fort Wayne Community Development show all kinds of information from Annexation History to Census Data, Flood Plain, Neighborhood Association Quadrants, Political Boundaries, and more.
  2. iMap GIS Portal for Allen County residents, see video above, has maps for iMap Data Viewer, Engineering Viewer, Property Search, Election Board Viewer, Treasuer's Public Access, and City Parks, Recreation, and Trails Finder. If you go to Allen County iMap Data Viewer > Aerial > Historical Imagery Viewer > you can go back to aerial photos from 1938 through 2018 and Zoom through 14 different years of photos showing changes over time.
  3. Allen County, Indiana - Townships Map interactive Google Maps at RandyMajors.org.
  4. Allen County Maps available at the Indiana State Library Map Collection.

    September 14, 2022 post by SAVI on Facebook:

    Have you seen the Indiana State Library’s digitized historical map collection? There are lots of great maps of Indiana back to 1792 and Marion County maps back to 1831. This image is from the 1831 plan. Notice Courthouse Square in the current location of the City County Building. Indiana State Library Map Collection

  5. On display in our #ArchivesRoadToRevolution exhibit, a 1765 map of the British Colonies. In addition to taxation,...

    Posted by Archivist of the United States Colleen Shogan on Monday, July 22, 2024

    Monday, July 22, 2024 post by the Archivist of the United States Colleen Shogan on Facebook:

    On display in our #ArchivesRoadToRevolution exhibit, a 1765 map of the British Colonies. In addition to taxation, colonists were alienated by British policies limiting expansion, viewing such interference with their western ambitions as tyrannical.

    https://museum.archives.gov/road-to-revolution-roots...

  6. 1778 high definition zoomable map titled A new map of the western parts of Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and North Carolina; comprehending the River Ohio, and all the rivers, which fall into it; part of the River Mississippi, the whole of the Illinois River, Lake Erie; part of the Lakes Huron, Michigan &c. and all the country bordering on these lakes and rivers, at The Library of Congress.
  7. Map of the United States, April 3, 1783. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/31491106 Record Group 76: Records of...

    Posted by Today's Document on Monday, April 3, 2023

    April 3, 2023 post by Today's Document on Facebook:

    Map of the United States, April 3, 1783.

    https://catalog.archives.gov/id/31491106

    Record Group 76: Records of Boundary and Claims Commissions and Arbitrations Series: Maps Related to the Northeastern Boundary of the United States

    Image description: Map of the U.S. as of 1783, with states, geographical features, and Native American tribal territories labeled. Everything west of the Mississippi is just “Louisiana,” and some of the spellings are a bit off, like “Pensilvania.”

    Image description: Zoomed-in portion of the map, showing how the cartographers hadn’t quite figured out the shape of Michigan yet.

    Image description: Zoomed-in portion of the map, showing the Carolinas, Georgia reaching all the way to the Mississippi River, and East Florida/West Florida, which is not yet part of the U.S.

    Similar colorized 1783 maps:

    “An Accurate Map of the United States of America, with Part of the Surrounding Provinces agreeable to the Treaty of...

    Posted by Today's Document on Sunday, August 6, 2023

    August 6, 2023post by Today's Document on Facebook:

    “An Accurate Map of the United States of America, with Part of the Surrounding Provinces agreeable to the Treaty of Peace of 1783,” published August 6, 1783.

    (You can zoom really far in in our catalog!)

    An Accurate Map of the United States of America, with Part of the Surrounding Provinces agreeable to the Treaty of Peace of 1783

    Record Group 76: Records of Boundary and Claims Commissions and Arbitrations
    Series: Maps Related to the Northeastern Boundary of the United States

    Image description: A map of the U.S. as of 1783, with states, towns, waterways, and tribal lands labeled. Judging by the shape of Michigan, the map is not entirely accurate.

    Image description: Zoomed-in portion of the map centered on Philadelphia, showing parts of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland. All of the little beaches and islands along the eastern shore of New Jersey are labeled.

  8. We love this 1785 map from the Richard H. Brown Revolutionary War Map Collection at Mount Vernon, for it is the first...

    Posted by National Historical Publications and Records Commission on Wednesday, July 10, 2024

    Wednesday, July 10, 2024 post by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission on Facebook:

    We love this 1785 map from the Richard H. Brown Revolutionary War Map Collection at Mount Vernon, for it is the first known published map to show Thomas Jefferson's proposed state names in the Northwest: Sylvania, Michigania, Cheronesus, Assenisippis, Metropotamia, and more. You can read the report on Founders Online at https://founders.archives.gov/.../Jeff.../01-06-02-0420-0004.

    The digital copy of the map is part of the ARGO project, supported by the NHPRC. And you can take a close-up look at https://www.argomaps.org/maps/commonwealth:z603vt312/

    ARGO: American Revolutionary Geographies Online is a new project led by the Leventhal Map and Education Center at the Boston Public Library and the George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon. Leveraging new technology and the recent drive by many museums, libraries, and archives to digitize their collections, the portal collates digitized maps of North America made between 1750 and 1800 into a single user-friendly portal. In addition to providing users from many backgrounds with easy, intuitive access to beautiful high-resolution images, ARGO seeks to give users of all kinds the tools they need to learn and understand through interpretive essays, curated collections, classroom materials, and more.

    ARGO is at https://www.argomaps.org/

  9. Map of the state of Indiana compiled from the United States surveys by S. D. King, Washington City; exhibiting the sections & fractional sections; the situation & boundaries of counties; the location of cities villages & post offices canals, rail roads and other internal improvements, carefully laid down at The Library of Congress. Is Zoomable.
  10. Allen County Plat Books (Countywide and Published for Public Distribution) and their Locations in the Genealogy Center is a list of maps from 1855 to the present available at the The Genealogy Center at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
  11. History Center Digital Collection on the mDON mastodon Digital Object Network has many useful collections including Fort Wayne (Ind.) -- Maps, Streets -- Indiana -- Fort Wayne -- Maps, and Railroads--Indiana--Fort Wayne--Maps.
  12. Kekionga, 1697-1824 at ACGSI.org
  13. Indiana Fort Wayne : ms. map of Fort Wayne said to have been made on July 18, 1795, for General Anthony Wayne at the The Library of Congress. The Notes states: the first American post, built in 1794 and named for Anthony Wayne after his victory at Fallen Timbers, was located across the St. Marys from the old Miami village of Kekionga and the remains of old Fort Miami, at the present intersection of Clay and Berry streets"--Ency. of Historic Forts, p. 281-282. This was drawn about nine months after Anthony Wayne built his fort at the NW corner of today's Clay and Berry Streets according to Randy Harter, Fort Wayne historian and author.
  14. A Map of the Reservations at Fort Wayne. Surveyed June 1803, by Thos. Freeman. See Indian Treaties and Reservations page.

    A map of the reservations at Fort Wayne from the Indiana State Library Map Collection at Indiana State Library Digital Collection.
    1803, U.S. General Land Office (Washington, D.C.). Zoomable using the double headed arrow on the source site. This map is a photostatic copy made in Washington, D.C. at the General Land Office's Map Division in 1927. The map is a survey map of the reservation lands at Fort Wayne, Indiana. There is a plat of an unlabeled settlement to the west (possibly Huntington) where the Portage Road meets the north bend of the Little River.
    Map of the reservations at Fort Wayne, surveyed June 1803 by Thomas Freeman ... Copied by Charles de Krafte. This statement and image was posted and discussed December 24, 2022 by Military History of Fort Wayne on Facebook.
    Similar survey and copy statement is seen on the updated June 1927 copy below:

    Maumee-Wabash Portage Was Once Widely Used By Indians, Traders A map of the reservations at Fort Wayne, Indiana and an article about the Maumee-Wabash Portage from the Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette, Sunday, December 28, 1958. The map was surveyed June 1803 by Thomas Freeman, copied by Charles de Kraftt and redrawn by H.D. Bodine, June 1927. The article entitled: "Maumee-Wabash Portage Was Once Widely Used By Indians, Traders" was written by Bessie K. Roberts. From a three page newspaper article at the History Center Digital Collection on the mDON mastodon Digital Object Network.

  15. A Map of Fort Wayne
    1812 Era Map of Fort Wayne, Allen County, Indiana at the The Genealogy Center at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The same interactive map is online at David Rumsey Map Collection, Indiana University Image Collections Online Indiana Historic Maps, and Curtis Wright Maps. Was discussed March 24, 2022 on True Fort Wayne Indiana History on Facebook.
  16. November 24, 2023 post shared by Military History of Fort Wayne on Facebook:

    Tim J Fellure post November 24, 2023 to LIVING HISTORY IN THE WABASH COUNTRY

    Interesting map showing the route to the Battle of Tippecanoe and the route to the Battle of Wildcat Creek or Spurs Defeat.

  17. The Facebook map Indiana Country in the War of 1812 shown above is from page 27 in the book Indiana Country in the War of 1812 Indiana, "Hoosier State" : new historical atlas of Indiana, economic, social, political, for schools and libraries, business and industry in the Indiana Series in Two Parts; Volume I History and Government and Volume II The Historical Atlas by Olin Dee Morrison, History Department, Ohio University. 1958, E. M. Morrison, 152 Congress St., Athens, Ohio, USA at HathiTrust.org.

  18. 1817 Maps

    1817 Indiana mapcropped from

    1817 map of the United States in the A new and elegant general atlas, containing maps of each of the United States printed in Baltimore, Maryland with the cartographic work of F. Lucas, H.S. Tanner, S. Lewis, S. Harrison, and W. Darby, at The Library of Congress.

  19. Shelton & Kensett, 1817  map

    Shelton & Kensett's map of the state of Indiana Shelton and Kensett's map of the state of Indiana / Map of the state of Indiana 1817 at The Library of Congress.

  20. June 9, 2022 post by Indiana Archives and Records Administration on Facebook:

    In 1816 mapmaker John Melish initiated a project to produce a map for each state and territory in the Union. The Indiana map was the first one that Melish published in 1817. This map shows how southern Indiana was the first to be settled. The misplacement of Lake Michigan caused confusion and contention for quite some time. This eventually resulted in the Toledo War between Michigan and Ohio, the only military conflict between two U.S. states outside of the Civil War.

    Three settlement patterns in early Indiana - South 1790, Middle 1800-1830s, and North 1840s-1850s.

    French explorers and fur traders were in Kekionga the Miami Indian village area before Anthony Wayne built Fort Wayne in 1794. The French built two forts beginning in 1722 before George Washington sent troops to eventually build three of the last five forts in what is now Fort Wayne in Allen County, Indiana. Many Pennsylvania German's came into Allen County leading to Fort Wayne becoming a most German town by the 1890s with many German Swiss Amish still living in rural Allen County.

    November 16, 2023 post by the Hancock County Historical Society on Facebook:

    Did you know?...

    Indiana, unlike other states, was settled in a South to North pattern rather than an East to West. This is an 1817 map of Indiana. One year after the state was granted statehood. You can see that most of the population is firmly established in the south.

    There are actually three different cultural areas to the state depending on the people who settled the area and when they arrived.

    The southern portion of Indiana was settled first when the Northwest Territory was opened up for settlement in 1790. The Ohio River along the southern border of the state is what encouraged this south to north settlement pattern.

    The southern part of Indiana was settled primarily from people from the south...Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia. This is where you will see a pre-ponderance of Southern Baptists, Methodists and some Quakers. These people tend to eat more traditional southern food...grits, cornbread, bacon, fried chicken and whiskey.

    Indiana is known as the most southern of northern states.

    The middle of Indiana was settled in the early 1800s up through the early 1830s. Indianapolis would become the state capitol in 1825. While there is some overlap of southern culture in Central Indiana, many of Central Indiana settlers were originally from the Mid-Atlantic states...Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland and neighboring Ohio.

    There is a large Quaker population from Pennsylvania in this group. There are many Roman Catholics in this group and Lutherans. These folks tend to prefer the Mid-Atlantic diet, which has some heavy German influence. They prefer hamburger, tenderloin, wurst and sausage. They also like fish if it is available. Scrapple comes from PA. Sugar cream pie is a Quaker invention.

    The northern part of Indiana was settled last in the 1840s and 50s. The Potawatomi, the Shawnee and the Miami were some of the last American Indian tribes to leave the state. The Potawatomi were forced out on the Trail of Death.

    Also, northern Indiana was swampy, and the area needed to be drained before much settlement could happen.

    Indiana's Pioneer time period technically ends around 1850 when we see population leaving the state to go out west during the Gold Rush of 1849. However, the last of northern Indiana was still being settled even then.

    The folks who settled northern Indiana are your east coast people. They are from Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and from nearby Wisconsin and Michigan. These people tend to be Anglicans or Episcopalians or Presbyterians. There are many Scandinavian people in this group. They engage in the dairy business, so lots of cheese making. Apple and fruit orchards are more prevalent. Johnny Appleseed, a Massachusettes native, died in Fort Wayne. These people eat a lot of boiled foods. Pot roast is popular as are a variety of beans and lentils. Cider making is popular in northern Indiana.

    You can hear the differences in speech too.

    The people in southern Indiana have a more southern drawl. Central Indiana is home to the Hoosier dialect, where everyone "warshes" (with an R) their clothes. Northern Indiana has a more clipped speech like those who live in Da Region.

    While there can be a mixture of all of these cultures even within the three regions, there still tends to be a preponderance of an "established cultural norm" due to our pioneer settlement pattern. These norms ring true even today...200+ years after the founding of our state.

    Brigette Cook Jones

    HCHS Board Member and

    Past President

  21. Indiana State map 1819 - In 1816 mapmaker John Melish initiated a project to produce a map for each state and territory then in the Union. The Indiana map was the first one that Melish published in 1817. It was also the first map of Indiana produced by anyone. Rapid arrival of white settlers in the state led Melish to revise the map soon thereafter. The revised version is the one shown here. The map clearly shows that the pattern of settlement in Indiana was from south to north. The map also includes the township and range system, county names and boundaries at the time, Indian treaty lines and Native American villages, the major white settlements, rivers and creeks, trails and roads, forts, portages between rivers, and springs. Copied from Indiana State Map, 1819 at Maps in the Indiana Historical Society Collections
    1819 Indiana map
    Indiana Historical Society Collections map
  22. 1819 Ohio and Indiana zoomable map before northern Indiana had been divided into counties. Philadelphia : engraved & published by H.S. Tanner, [1819] at the The Library of Congress.
  23. Allen County Development Map, 1823-1835 at ACGSI.org.
  24. 1827 Indiana Map on our 1820s Timeline and Indians page.
  25. 1826 - Map of the States Of Ohio Indiana & Illinois And Part Of Michigan Territory. Anthony Finley Philadelphia. Dave Rumsey Collection
  26. 1827 - File:1827 Finley Map of Indiana - Geographicus - Indiana-finley-1827.jpg. Finley, Anthony, A New General Altas, Comprising a Complete Set of Maps, representing the Grand Divisions of the Globe, Together with the several Empires, Kingdoms and States in the World; Compiled from the Best Authorities, and corrected by the Most Recent Discoveries, Philadelphia, 1827. Wikimedia Commons.org.
    1827 Finley Map of Indiana - Geographicus - Indiana-finley-1827
  27. 1840 - Indiana map

    Today #FromTheVault is an 1840 map of early Indiana. Established in 1790, Knox County was the first county organized in...

    Posted by Indiana Historical Bureau on Monday, July 1, 2024

    Monday, July 1, 2024 post by the Indiana Historical Bureau on Facebook:

    Today #FromTheVault is an 1840 map of early Indiana. Established in 1790, Knox County was the first county organized in the state. On the other hand, Newton County was established in 1859 and became the 92nd and final county.

    Learn the origin of county names through IHB’s website: Origin of Indiana County Names

    Map courtesy of the Indiana State Library’s Rare Books and Manuscripts Division L596 John M. Smith collection.

    [ Zoomable Jeremiah Greenleaf 1840 Indiana map at DavidRumsey.com. ]

  28. 1846
    1846 Map of Allen County
    1846 Map of Allen County map
      1846 Map of Allen County This map is a hand-drawn map showing Allen County, Indiana in 1846. The map shows townships, some settlements and tribal reservations. At the Indiana State Library Map Collection.
    Also on our 1840 Timeline and Indian page.
  29. Map of the City of Fort Wayne, Indiana, 1846-1848

    Zoomable Map of the City of Fort Wayne, Indiana, 1846-1848 at the The Genealogy Center at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Publication date: 1880. Publisher: T. B. Helm's History of Allen County 1880. Shown in May 20, 2024 post on True Fort Wayne Indiana History on Facebook.

    Plat Maps, 1880, Allen County, Indiana at Allen County Genealogical Society of Indiana

    1846-1848 map above is from unknown page in the book History of Allen County, Indiana, Publication date 1880; Topics Atlas; Publisher Kingman Brothers; Collection allen_county; americana on Archive.org. History of Allen County, Indiana, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of it's prominent men and pioneers. Also contains maps of its several townships and villages, listing farms and their owners.

  30. 🗺️ This gorgeous hand-drawn map of the United States & Canada from 1850 shows all the canals, railroads, telegraph...

    Posted by Archivist of the United States Colleen Shogan on Thursday, May 9, 2024

    Thursday, May 9, 2024 post by the Archivist of the United States Colleen Shogan on Facebook:

    🗺️ This gorgeous hand-drawn map of the United States & Canada from 1850 shows all the canals, railroads, telegraph lines, and principal stage roads at the time.

    Explore this & more in the "Library Atlas of the World" file of the US National Archives Catalog: Disturnell's New Map of the United States and Canada Showing all the Canals, Railroads, Telegraph Lines, and Principal Stage Roads Produced: January 1, 1850

  31. 1855 Fort Wayne and Southern Rail Road map

    A section of Colton's large map of Indiana with the Fort Wayne and Southern Rail Road marked upon it, as located also a map of the United States showing Road and its connections together with a profile of the Ohio river and lands adjoining and a section of the double track rail road tunnel under the Ohio river at Louisville, Kentucky & Jeffersonville, Indiana for the year 1855 ending Oct. 1, W. J. Holman, President and Chief Engr. at The Library of Congress.

  32. Fort Wayne, panorama, 1857 at The Genealogy Center at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana
  33. 1860 Map of Allen County, Indiana

    Map of Allen County, Indiana, 1860 at The Genealogy Center at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana. "Map of Allen County from Surveys & Records" by R. J. Skinner, Hamilton, Ohio, 1860. Original is 45-1/2" wide by 54" high. Lithograph. Original owned by the the Allen County-Fort Wayne Historical Society, Fort Wayne, Indiana. Photos by Walter Font, Curator, February 2007.

    Has separate pages of each township showing early burying grounds, landowners, and more.

  34. Bird's eye view of the city of Fort Wayne, Indiana 1868 at The Library of Congress
  35. June 7, 2024 Tweet by LOCMaps @LOCMaps:

    A hypsometric chart is one that shows the elevations of the Earth’s surface relative to sea level. The map here is such a chart, drawn in 1872 by Charles Schott with watercolor and red ink on a printed base map.

    See map here: Sketch of a hypsometric chart of the United States at The Library of Congress.

  36. 1875 zoomable Allen County, Indiana map
    1875 - zoomable Map of Allen County, Indiana, Item ID ISL_IND_MapL_AllenCo_1875, Description:This 1875 detailed map of Allen County, Indiana, was drawn by Samuel Morrison and include railroads, churches, schools, and canals. at the Indiana State Library Digital Collection.
  37. Map of Allen County, Indiana - DPLA - 94c624e68b22ebf21d1d555c96613453
    1875 - zoomable Map of Allen County, Indiana . Description: This 1875 detailed map of Allen County, Indiana, was drawn by Samuel Morrison and include railroads, churches, schools, and canals. This file was contributed to Wikimedia Commons by Indiana State Library and Historical Bureau as part of a cooperation project. The donation was facilitated by the Digital Public Library of America, via its partner Indiana Memory. At Wikimedia Commons.org.
  38. 1876 Map of Allen County Andrea A.T. Baskin, Forster and Company, from the Dave Rumsey Map Collection - with over 100,000 maps of the world
  39. Allen County starts on page 34 of the 459 page Illustrated historical atlas of the state of Indiana by Andreas, A.T. (Alfred Theodore), 1839-1900 is in the Fort Wayne Area History Collection at the History Center Digital Collection on the mDON mastodon Digital Object Network.
  40. 1876 map of Fort Wayne with Cedarville, Sheldon (currently known as Yoder), Arcola and New Haven from the David Rumsey Collection, can zoom in for more details, move the navigator, and go to original source of this Creative Commons License map.
  41. 1876 Map of Auburn, De Kalb Co., Ind. (with) Harlan Maysville, Monroeville, Edwardsburg, Huntertown, Hamilton. Andreas, A. T. (Alfred Theodore), 1839-1900; Baskin, Forster and Company, 1876, Dave Rumsey Map Collection 
  42. Panoramic view of the city of Fort Wayne, Allen County, Indiana : 1880, looking south east by Ruger, A; Stoner, J. J; Beck & Pauli Publication date 1960 at Internet Archive and a cleaner more legible version at IndianaHistory.org.
  43. Map of Fort Wayne and Vicinity

    Map of Fort Wayne and Vicinity on page 90 in History of Allen County, Indiana, Publication date 1880; Topics Atlas; Publisher Kingman Brothers; Collection allen_county; americana on Archive.org. History of Allen County, Indiana, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of it's prominent men and pioneers. Also contains maps of its several townships and villages, listing farms and their owners.
    Plat Maps, 1880, Allen County, Indiana at the Allen County Genealogical Society of Indiana has indexes to landowners and more.

  44. Map of the City of Fort Wayne, Indiana Creator Goshorn, Date of Original 1885. Description Map of the schools, public buildings and factories and churches in Fort Wayne, Indiana. " Map compiled from the original records and corrected to date, by W.H. Goshorn for R.L. Polk && Co.'s Ft. Wayne City Directory". Map not dated; but date supplied by Allen County-Fort Wayne Historical Society. At History Center Digital Collection on the mDON mastodon Digital Object Network.
  45. 1895 US Atlas map
  46. R.L. Polk & Co's map of the city of Fort Wayne, Indiana, 1897 by R.L. Polk &Co Publication date 1897
  47. Standard atlas of Allen County, Indiana : including a plat book of the villages, cities and townships of the county ... patrons directory, reference business directory ... by Geo. A. Ogle & Co. cn, Publication date 1898 on Archive.org. The same map with zoomable individual pages, directories of names, and photos in the Illustrations at Indiana Allen County 1898 Geo. A. Ogle, 1898 at Historic Map Works.

  48. Plat Book of Allen County, Indiana by Lindemuth, C. Ross, Publication date 1900 at Internet Archive
  49. 1905 Map Showing Head of Maumee River and Vicinity with sites of the earliest historic places

    Seventeen numbered locations on this 1905 Map Showing Head of Maumee River and Vicinity with sites of the earliest historic places on page 97 of History of the Maumee River Basin : from the earliest account to its organization into counties by Slocum, Charles Elihu, 1841-1915 , Publication date 1905 on Archive.org. Shown in May 20, 2024 post on True Fort Wayne Indiana History on Facebook.

  50. 1905 Geological map of Allen County showing sand and gravel deposits. Historic Indiana Maps at IUPUI
  51. 1907 Griswold's birdseye view of the city of Fort Wayne, Indiana indexed for ready reference. B. J. Griswold, (Bert Joseph), 1873-1927 at The Library of Congress, click the map to zoom in for more detail. Excellent map with indexed locations for seeing where things were in early 20th century Fort Wayne. See it and more on our 1900 Timeline.
  52. Griswold's birdseye view of the city of Fort Wayne, Indiana indexed for ready reference by Griswold, B. J. (Bert Joseph), 1873-1927; Hixon, W. W Publication date 1907 on Archive.org is the same as Libary of Congress version above in book form from the Allen County Public Library.
  53. 1907 Plat book of Allen County, Indiana, 45 pages, Allen County Map Co., published Fort Wayne, Ind. : Allen County Map Co., 1907. Images on the Library of Congress web site.
  54. 1907 Plat Book of Allen County, Indiana American Memory version
  55. Allen County, Indiana from 1907 to 2011 Library of Congress over 30 Historical maps
  56. Map of the city of Fort Wayne, Indiana by Fort Wayne (Ind.). City Engineer's Office; Published 1910
  57. 1914 map of towns on Rootsweb.com
  58. J.M.E. Riedel's new street number guide map of Fort Wayne

    1919 J.M.E. Riedel's new street number guide map of Fort Wayne really large zoomable map at Digital Commonwealth Massachusetts Collection Online. A similar zoomable lower resolution J.M.E. Riedel’s New Street Number Guide Map of Fort Wayne at the We Do History digital collection by the Indiana Historical Society was discussed February 5, 2023 on True Fort Wayne Indiana History on Facebook.

    One thing to keep in mind looking at old maps was what access was available at this time especially in regards to bridges around Fort Wayne due to having three rivers. Our Johnny Appleseed Newspapers page discusses the lack of a bridge over the St. Joseph River in Washington Township including a 1916 newspaper article asking for a bridge to built to provide access to the Archer Cemetery to allow maintenance of the cemetery.

  59. 1920 Plat Book of Allen County, Indiana Plat Books of Indiana Counties Vol. 1 at IUPUI, Allen County begins on page 20
  60. Map of Allen County, Indiana : roads by Darling, Orin M; Tonkel, William; Lindemuth, C. Ross; Publication date 1923; Collection allen_county; americana
  61. Map of the city of Fort Wayne, Indiana by Allen County (Ind.). Surveyor's Office; Published 1923; Collection allen_county; americana
  62. 1924 Atlas of Fort Wayne, Indiana

    1924 Atlas of Fort Wayne, Allen County, Indiana, 24 images, 79 pages, 19 plats, Randall, Frank M., published South Bend, Ind. : G.L. Hughes, 1924. Cover page image at the Library of Congress.

    COW-A-BUNGA BABY! It's Wall of Fame Wednesday!!!!Come on down to the WOF at 203 W. Wayne St. #316 and check out this...

    Posted by Hofer and Davis,Inc. LAND SURVEYORS on Wednesday, November 18, 2015

    Wednesday, November 18, 2015 post by Hofer and Davis,Inc. LAND SURVEYORS on Facebook:

    COW-A-BUNGA BABY! It's Wall of Fame Wednesday!!!!Come on down to the WOF at 203 W. Wayne St. #316 and check out this 1924 Atlas of Fort Wayne. It was prepared by City of Fort Wayne Engineer Frank M. Randall and arranged by company founder A.K. Hofer and published by the G.L. Hughes Company from South Bend, Indiana. It is comprised of 19 double plates and is quite beautiful in all its glorious color. It is also an excellent snapshot of the development, or lack of in 1924.

  63. February 6, 2023 post by Genealogy Center on Facebook:

    Check out this map of Fort Wayne's central business district in 1929! 📜 Do you recognize any of these businesses? View our digital map collection here: https://www.genealogycenter.info/fwacdb.php This map showing ground floor occupancy was prepared by Hilgeman and Schaaf Realtors, January 1929.

  64. 1930s map of Lincoln Tower downtown with more maps from Sanborn, of Pennsy RR and more in comments of February 7, 2017 discussion on You are positively from Fort Wayne, if you remember... Archived group only visible to existing members on Facebook.
  65. Fort Wayne Central Business District, 1929 at the Genealogy Center
  66. [Map of the city of Fort Wayne, Indiana] by Allen County (Ind.). Surveyor's Office; Published 1931
  67. 1932 A picture map of Indiana at Dave Rumsey Map Collection.
  68. 1935 Allen County Indiana showing property owners with county officials listed along the top at the Indiana State Library Map Collection on our 1935 Timeline.
  69. November 16, 2022 post by the Indiana Historical Society on Facebook:

    Happy National Indiana Day! We love to share Indiana history with the Hoosier public. Visit us in downtown Indianapolis to spend the day learning with us! https://indianahistory.org/ To celebrate our Hoosier state, below is a photo of a Tourist’s Pocket Map from 1839! What’s your favorite part about Indiana?

    Zoomable map: The Tourist's Pocket Map Of The State Of Indiana Exhibiting Its Internal Improvements Roads Distances &c. By J.H. Young. Philadelphia: Published by S. Augustus Mitchell. 1839. Entered ... 1835, by S. Augustus Mitchell ... Pennsylvania. Sold by Thomas, Cowperthwait & Co. No 253 Market Street. Engraved by J.H. Young & F. Dankworth. at DaveRumseyMapCollection. The legend on the top right of the map shows the population of Allen County from the 1830 census was 996 with only 343,031 in the state of Indiana which is a less than the population of Allen County today! The legend on the left gives Steam Boat Route times.

  70. Zoomable 1936 Indiana state map from Wikimedia Commons.org from Indiana Department of Transportation on Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
  71. 1940 State Highway System of Indiana Department of Public Works
  72. Street Map of the City of Fort Wayne, Allen County, Indiana Creator Fort Wayne (Ind.). Office of the City Engineer Date of Original 1940-1949 at History Center Digital Collection on the mDON mastodon Digital Object Network.
  73. 1946 Indiana official highway map on Indiana Memory digital library at IN.gov is Zoomable.
  74. 1947 Tourism Map

    Tourism map of Indiana, 1947, Joan Hostetler Collection, Indiana Album..

  75. 1948 Historic Allen County, Indiana hand drawn map by Richard Chambers

    1948 Historic Allen County, Indiana hand drawn map by Richard Chambers posted June 13, 2024 on True Fort Wayne Indiana History on Facebook. Comments indicate it will go on display at Historic Fort Wayne.

  76. Street map of the city of Fort Wayne, Allen County, Indiana by Fort Wayne (Ind.). Office of the City Engineer; Green, Edward; Published 1959 on Archive.org.
  77. Suburban and Rural Additions, 1960 with index of additions, streets, and maps at the The Genealogy Center at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
  78. 1964 Municipal Beach area

    Chart of navigation routes for Fort Wayne, Indiana established following the 1964 river cleanup program. Fort Wayne, Indiana, Navigation Chart & Historical Sites in the History Center Digital Collection on the mDON mastodon Digital Object Network.

  79. Indiana is on page 38-39 of the 206-page LIST OF CARTOGRAPHIC RECORDS OF THE GENERAL LAND OFFICE (Record Group 49) Compiled by Laura E. Kelsay The National Archives National Archives and Records Service General Services Administration Washington: 1964.
  80. 2000 era cartoon map of area businesses photos were posted August 9, 2017 on You are positively from Fort Wayne, if you remember... Archived group only visible to existing members on Facebook.
  81. Street Map of New Haven, Indiana, 1990s at The Genealogy Center at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
  82. Using maps in genealogy research by Jamie Dunn, Genealogy Division supervisor, posted October 13, 2022 on Indiana State Library blog. Maps are an incredibly useful tool for genealogy and local history researchers. They can show insights into how people lived that are not readily apparent through other documentary sources. They can be used to help untangle research questions and show off your research in new ways. Maps are also fun to use in research; they are often colorful and provide a level of visual interest not often found in written documents.
  83. The Second Correction Line passes through northern Allen County, Indiana which accounts for the offset of the northern townships and the tiny Scipio Township. It can be seen by zooming in on this 1866 General Land Office map in the Dave Ramsey Collection of antique maps.
  84. A map of the old interurban lines in Allen County and a map of the canals to overlay onto current maps was a question posted October 14, 2022 on True Fort Wayne Indiana History on Facebook. The 1993 Tom Castaldi, local historianmap is on our Wabash & Eric Canal page. Commenters shared the Indiana Electric Railways --11/22/14 - Google My Maps, the IndianaMap The Place for Indiana Geospatial Information at IN.gov and the magazine American Heritage Trusted Writing on History, Travel, and American Culture Since 1949 with an online Archive(1949-Present).
  85. February 22, 2023 discussion of local streets on True Fort Wayne Indiana History on Facebook.
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Copyright

  1. Research by Wilkin (2017) based on works in the HathiTrust Digital Library found that over 50% of works published in the U.S. between 1923 and 1964 were in the public domain due to lack of proper copyright renewal. An earlier work on the copyright renewal of Sanborn maps (Musser, 2014) found similar percentages while more recent research (Musser in press) indicates that, if Sanborn maps are excluded from consideration, the copyright renewal rate for maps published in the U.S. between 1923 and 1964 is less than 10%. Copied form MORE MAPS ARE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN THAN YOU THINK by Linda Musser.
  2. A Study of the Copyright Renewal Rate for Maps, Linda Musser, Fletcher L. Byrom Earth and Mineral Sciences Library, Penn State University, 105 Deike Building, University Park PA 16802 USA. Abstract: This study examines the copyright renewal of maps published in the United States from 1923 to 1950 and compares the results with a recent study of copyright renewals for books. Results indicate that, while the average copyright renewal rate for maps appears similar to that of books, the average was skewed higher by a single publisher whose renewal rate was much higher than average. With the data from that publisher excluded, the average copyright renewal rate dropped to 10%, meaning that a significant number of maps copyrighted in the United States in the first half of the 20th century are probably in the public domain due to lack of copyright renewal. This has implications for library map digitization projects, as much more content may be available for scanning and archiving than was previously thought.

Using Maps for Genealogy Research Nov 10, 2022 by Allen County Public Library on YouTube
This presentation will describe how maps in the collections of The New York Public Library and elsewhere can be used in genealogical research. We'll look at fire insurance maps and atlases, military and topographical maps, county maps and atlases, and other types of map to locate records, discover where our ancestors lived, and what their lives were like. Presented by Philip Sutton. Philip Sutton is a reference librarian at New York Public Library's Irma and Paul Milstein Division of United States History, Local History, and Genealogy, where he also teaches and writes about genealogy and building history research. Sutton is a visiting Assistant Professor at the Pratt Institute, where he teaches a class in Genealogy and Local History.

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Page updated: December 8, 2024