LibGuides: Kelley Center: Maps : Find Historic Maps

Find Historic Maps

Free sites:

TopoView Historical Topographic Map Collection from the USGS. Includes large and small scale maps between 1884 and 2006 in GeoPDFs and GeoTIFF, JPEG and KMZ.
Library of Congress General Maps Collection Digital archive of material held at the Library of Congress.
David Rumsey Map Collection Collection of more then 150,000 historic maps, global coverage.
Old Maps Online Repository of historic maps from collections around the world.
Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection Online map collection covering the world, countries, states, cities, etc. from the University of Texas at Austin. Includes historic and modern maps. Includes color version of Sanborn Fire Insurance maps and its key to the colors and abbreviations.
Portal to Texas History Includes over 80,000 maps, with 10% being 19th century or earlier.
University of Houston Digital Library Includes 30 maps of Houston and Texas
Links to more Historic Map Web Sites, organized by Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection

Subscription (Open only to Rice Affiliates):

American West This link opens in a new window
"Through a mixture of original manuscripts, maps, ephemeral material and rare printed sources, this collection will act as a dynamic teaching and research resource. Papers of early pioneers, explorers and hunters are well represented, including items such as the original manuscript journal and papers of James Audubon. Canada and the Pacific Northwest are well documented including accounts of the Gold Rush and of the landscape... The growth of railway and road networks can be explored through maps and through records of key railroad companies. Emigrants guides, manuscript travel journals, store catalogues, illustrations and maps enable scholars to understand the phenomenon of Westward expansion... There are rich resources for the study of Texas, Mexico and the South. Literary and historical works - as well as contemporary newspapers and posters - enable a better understanding of the real and mythic West - with first hand accounts of the lives of vigilantes and outlaws. (Adam Matthew)."
China, America and the Pacific: Trade & Cultural Exchange This link opens in a new window
"Explore an extensive range of archival material connected to the trading and cultural relationships that emerged between China, America and the Pacific region between the 18th and early 20th centuries. Manuscript sources, rare printed texts, visual images, objects and maps document this fascinating history (Adam Matthew)." It consists of Module I and Module II.
Digital Sanborn Maps (Texas) This link opens in a new window
Texas fire insurance maps from 1867–1970. These maps are valuable historical tools that can be used to estimate the potential risk for urban structures.
Sanborn includes information such as the outline of each building, the size, shape and construction materials, heights, and function of structures, location of windows and doors. The maps also give street names, street and sidewalk widths, property boundaries, building use, and house and block numbers. Seven or eight different editions represent some areas.
Congressional by ProQuest This link opens in a new window
Serial Set Maps, 1789-present Part of the subscription to ProQuest Congressional database