California Maps are an invaluable part of family history research, especially if you live far from where your ancestor lived. Because California political boundaries often changed, historic maps are critical in helping you discover the precise location of your ancestor’s hometown, what land they owned, who their neighbors were, and more.
California County Formation Map
(California maps made with the use AniMap Plus 3.0 & with the Permission of the Goldbug Company)
California Antique Maps & Atlases
See U.S. State & County Boundary Maps and Antique Atlases to view free map images of antique maps & atlases maps during the years 1732 to 1897 for the entire United States as well as other states and countries.
These are scanned from the original copies so you can see California and California counties as our ancestors saw them over a hundred years ago. Some California maps years (not all) have cities, railroads, P.O. locations, township outlines and other features useful to the avid genealogist in California.
Disclaimer: All California maps are free to use for your own genealogical purposes and may not be reproduced for resale or distribution.Source: David Rumsey Historical Map Collection
- 1845 Atlas Map of the Californias
- 1856 California Atlas Map
- 1866 Map of the Public Surveys in California and Nevada
- 1880 County map of the state of California (with) San Francisco, (with) San Francisco Bay and vicinity
California Map Description & Links
- California Digital Map Library (usgwarchives.org)
- California Maps, Atlases & Gazetteers (ancestry.com) Maps are an invaluable part of family history research, especially if you live far from where your ancestor lived. Because political boundaries often changed, historic maps are critical in helping you discover the precise location of your ancestor’s hometown, what land they owned, who their neighbors were, and more.
- California Maps (lib.utexas.edu) The Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection.
- U.S., Indexed County Land Ownership Maps, 1860-1918 (ancestry.com)
- Historical Maps of California (alabamamaps.ua.edu)
- California Maps Description (ancestry.com) from Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources.
- California historic topographic map collection
- California as an island, Louis Hennepin 1699 (University of Minnesota)
- Beckwourth Trail
- California 1873 – Bancroft’s Map of California, Nevada, Utah and Arizona (UNLV Libraries)
- California 1895
- California 1901 Southern Pacific Railway Map (David Rumsey Collection) [Opens in new window]
- California – Historical Road Maps of Southern California (Mike Ballard)
- California – Historical Topographic Maps (UC Berkeley Library)
- California – Historical Topographic Maps (California State University, Chico)
- California – Historical Topographic Maps – Southern California [.sid format] (UCSB)
- California – Historical Topographic Maps – Los Angeles (William Bowen)
- California – Historical Topographic Maps – Monterey Bay Region (UC Berkeley Library)
- California – Historical Topographic Maps – San Diego County (SDAG)
- California – Historical Topographic Maps – San Francisco Bay Area (UC Berkeley Library)
- California Map Books (amazon.com)
