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Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
Pennsylvania State Archives
Links to Pennsylvania county maps dating from the 1850s through the 1870s are
included below. The maps on this page were specifically chosen because they
depict a plethora of surface and subterranean features, such as businesses,
churches, mineral deposits, mountains, roads, rivers, and schools. More importantly,
they also show property owners and dwellings, allowing researchers to place
individuals or families in a certain spot at a specific point in time.
Pennsylvania maps depicting the Commonwealth's various counties have been produced
for over 300 years, with the first being Thomas Holmes' 1681 A Mapp of Ye
Improved Part of Pennsylvania in America divided into Countyes Townships and
Lotts. The first official set of county maps produced for the Commonwealth
are known today as the Melish-Whiteside
maps. Drawn between 1816 and 1821, they were based upon actual county surveys,
and include information such as township lines, municipality names, geographic
features, roads, distances, and surface features. In addition, the names of
property owners for certain taverns, dwellings, furnaces, and mills are also
present on a number of the maps. The next major group of county maps to be published
were the “wall maps,” which were produced from roughly the 1850s through
the 1870s. These maps led to the production of the county atlases: bound volumes
which included detailed maps of each township within a particular county.
The Archives holds many other Pennsylvania county maps and atlases in its Manuscript
Group 11, with a listing of these items available online.
Please re-visit the page, as new electronic map images will be added periodically.
Digital copies of all county maps may be ordered from the Archives, and incur
a $5.00 per map charge, plus a $10.00 per-order set-up fee. Each order may also
be subject to use
fees. Patrons will receive a locked PDF version of the file (no image manipulation
or printing allowed) unless the use fees form has been completed, in which case
either an unlocked PDF, JPEG, or TIFF file will be provided. To access the form,
follow the preceeding “use fees” link.
For digital file delivery, electronic files under 10MB in size
can be emailed directly to patrons free of charge. Files greater than 10MB in
size may be either shipped on a compact disc (with a shipping/handling
fee based on the total cost of the order included) or placed an a specified
FTP site. All mail orders must be paid by check ONLY, with the check made payable
to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and sent to:
Pennsylvania State Archives, 1681 North Sixth Street, Harrisburg, PA 17102-1106
Please call (717) 783-3281 with any questions or to place a map order.
Adams County
Northumberland County
Perry County
| PA State Archives | Hours, Directions, & Fees | Research Topics | Online Catalog | Land Records |