Maps and Atlases
This collection includes atlases and maps of Maryland and Montgomery County dating from the early 19th century to the present. These include area maps, topographical maps, maps of local jurisdictions, neighborhoods, and plat maps which detail the structures built in an area at various times.
Maps and atlases available online or available in the research library:
Original Land Patents before 1800
Footprints of the original patents mapped through 1800 for all regions of Montgomery County, drawn on a transparent overlay which can be superimposed on a modern-day base map to determine the approximate boundaries of those pieces of land today.
1794 Griffith map of Maryland
Full-county map with only a few locations and property owners identified
1865 Martenet & Bond map of Montgomery County
Full-county map shows property owners (subscribers only, so not comprehensive)
1879 Hopkins Atlas of Montgomery County
Full-county map shows property owners (subscribers only, so not comprehensive)
Includes insets and details of towns and crossroads
1890 B&O Metropolitan Real Estate map
Shows property owners and acreage for properties surrounding the B&O Metropolitan Line, from the DC boundary through Rockville.
1894 Hopkins “Vicinity Around Washington”
Shows property owners in the Bethesda, Potomac, Rockville, Wheaton Districts, with small portions of Darnestown, Gaithersburg, and Olney Districts at the edges.
1904 Baist “Vicinity Around Washington”
Shows property owners in the Bethesda, Potomac, Rockville, Wheaton Districts, with small portions of Darnestown, Gaithersburg, and Olney Districts at the edges.
1916 Deets & Maddox atlas
Showing property owners, with their outlines, acreage, and references to the land records. Includes Rockville, Potomac, Bethesda, and Wheaton election districts and parts of Colesville, Gaithersburg, and Olney election districts.
1931-1959 Klinge real estate atlases
Maps include property owners (in the case of larger tracts) and Liber/Folio numbers referring to Montgomery County land records, as well as footprints of houses and other structures within developments. Not every year is represented. Depicts property south of Rockville, east of Travilah, and west of Bladensburg Rd., with a few exceptions.
Sanborn fire insurance maps for selected portions of Montgomery County, 1897-1963
Shows detailed footprints of every building for limited sections of certain towns and municipalities. Linked above are scans available online of parts of Rockville and Gaithersburg, provided by the Library of Congress. Books for Chevy Chase, parts of Bethesda, parts of Silver Spring, and parts of Takoma Park updated to 1963 are available in our reading room at the Sween Library.
Lusks real estate directories and property maps, ranging from 1951-1993.
Various records of property sales, mostly organized by date of sale and property address.
For more resources, please contact the Archivist/Librarian— we have many maps, atlases, plats, and other property descriptions available in our collections that can be retrieved on request for specific locations or properties.
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