Illinois Maps
This entry was originally written by Carol L. Maki and Michael John Neill for Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources.
County atlases and plat books at the Illinois State Historical Library (ca. 1870'1930) give details of each township and indicate ownership. Plat books, however, may not be photocopied or loaned. Excellent map collections can also be found at Illinois State Library, Chicago Historical Society, and the map library of the University of Illinois, Champaign'Urbana. A Checklist of Illinois State Library's Complete Holding of Illinois County Land Ownership Maps and Atlases (Springfield, Ill.: The Library, n.d.) is available from the Illinois State Library.
Illinois highway maps are available free through either of the following offices: Illinois Secretary of State, Communications Department, Springfield, IL 62756; or Department of Commerce and Community Affairs, 620 E. Adams, Springfield, IL 62701.
The earliest Sanborn map (see page 5) for Illinois in this collection is 1884. Suggested references are:
- Adams, James N. Illinois Place Names. Springfield, Ill.: Illinois State Historical Society, 1968. Addendum by Lowell M. Volkel. Springfield, Ill.: Illinois State Historical Library, 1989.
- Mitchell, S. Augustus. County and Township Map of the State of Illinois. N.p., 1979.
- Newberry Library. Checklist of Printed Maps of the Middle West to 1900. Boston: G. K. Hall, 1980. The eleven volumes list all known pre-1900 plat maps and plat books for the state of Illinois.