North Carolina Maps

North Carolina

Maps are useful for genealogists. Some give historical background of the area; others show migration routes such as roads, rivers, and railroads. Topographical maps show physical and man-made features, such as creeks, hills, trails, and roads used as persons came to North Carolina. Sometimes maps also include cemeteries and churches. Plat and land ownership, as well as other types of maps, are described in the United States Maps wiki article. In the Family History Library Catalog, atlases are listed in the Place Search under "Maps."

The most comprehensive collection of North Carolina Maps is available online (http://www.lib.unc.edu/dc/ncmaps/) thanks to the cooperative effort of the North Carolina State Archives, the North Carolina Collection at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and the Outer Banks History Center. This collection of over 3000 maps inlcudes maps of each of North Carolina's 100 counties, Sanborn Insurance maps, and interactive features.

United States Census Bureau State and County Map. This map will allow you to zoom in on any state or county in the United States and read the names of all of the neighboring counties.

The Family History Library has a set of detailed highway maps:


 * North Carolina. State Highway Commission. Planning and Research Department. Maintenance Maps. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1973. (Family History Library films 924100, 924101, and 924105.) These maps were prepared in 1972 and include all counties.
 * Clay, James W. North Carolina Atlas. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: University of North Carolina Press, 1975. (Family History Library book 975.6 E3c; film 1597810 item 2.) This atlas shows the formation of counties and the patterns of European settlement.
 * Cummings, William P. North Carolina in Maps. Raleigh, North Carolina: State Department of Archives and History, 1966. (Family History Library map case 975.6 E7c.) This is a set of 15 maps created between 1585 and 1896.
 * Gioe, Joan Colbert. North Carolina: Her Counties, Her Townships, and Her Towns. Indianapolis, Indiana: The Researchers, 1981. (Family History Library book 975.6 E5g.)

See the North Carolina Gazetteers, United States Gazetteers, and the United States Maps wiki articles for more resources regarding places in North Carolina. Also check the Family History Library Catalog by using a Place Search under:

NORTH CAROLINA- MAPS

NORTH CAROLINA, [COUNTY]- MAPS

NORTH CAROLINA, [COUNTY], [TOWN]- MAPS

Printable maps are also available from the National Atlas of the United States -- http://nationalatlas.gov/printable.html