research question

How do you find data/information about old towns.Towns that are abandon or have almost nothing standing in the townsite.What sources do you use to find maps,street layouts,where the parks,schools,churchs etc were?
We have 4 feet on snow on the flat ground,snow drifts to 10 feet high and it was -19 degrees F. 2 days ago.I need to do something metal detecting related so research it is.I found about 20 towns that no longer exist within a radius of 100 miles from my house.Thanks Kickback,who has cabin fever.

I start with USGS historical maps.......usually around 1890.

Where do you find the old USGS maps?

[alabamamaps.ua.edu] find your state then if the Quad's are available they will be in a header bar at the top...some states have them some don't..

Download google earth and you can make overlay's....I have actually walked straight to the 1890's house sites without even a G.P.S. unit ...

Learn to read map's and study the symbol's...

I have took civil war map's and over layed them onto 1890's topo's then over layed them onto a modern google earth and actually found the civil war house site's that are long gone ...Not even a Chimney left...

Another thing of note if you like to walk old roadbed's. Houses that had well holes are usually after the civil war....houses without well hole's are usually the older more productive for the real early stuff...Older houses are usually close to a water source...like bluff next to a creek...In my area well holes were dug in like the 1870's and on...these are for county deep wood's houses..

That's some info right there you wont find unless you put in alot of field time... So what I just told you took me year's to figure out...there's always the exception but that's the norm.. in the deep South from the Carolina's to Mississippi ...

Sanborn map's are insurance map's and are usually available for all city's and town's and are great for the street grid layout's showing Park's...Rail Yard's...Store's...Etc


Keith

Here at Tom Dankowski's website its all about helping and learning. We don't fear other websites.....lol. Try below website. Look under the forum labled "Maps". There is a huge amount of user posted info on maps, GPS and map overlays.........good luck HH

[forum.treasurenet.com]

Very good!

here a map site with old maps, [www.historicmapworks.com] I use it with other mapping sites and compare where the places are on the old maps to the new maps, if a place does appear on the new map, but it does on the older map, I go look for the foundation , then the owner



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/22/2011 01:21AM by Caretaker.