Did you know that the State Library has a large collection of real estate atlases documenting the development of cities and towns in Massachusetts? Most of the Library’s atlases date from the 19th and 20th centuries and provide information about property boundaries, plot sizes, ownership, and building shapes and materials. These atlases are an invaluable resource for genealogists, environmental consultants, architectural historians, and the general public who are researching the history of a particular property in Massachusetts.
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| 1911 Atlas of Salem |
The Library’s collection of real estate atlases includes approximately 200 atlases, 167 of which have been digitized and made available in the Library’s online repository, DSpace, as well as our Flickr site. Take a look at them and see if you can find your own town in our online collection. You can also search the Library’s online catalog for atlases and other resources about your town: https://state.cwmars.org/eg/opac/home. If you have any questions regarding the State Library’s collection of real estate atlases, please contact our Special Collections Department at special.collections@mass.gov.
Silvia Mejia
Special Collections
