Historic Atlases of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County, Ohio

Historic Atlases of Cleveland
& Cuyahoga County, Ohio

In the late nineteenth century, commercial publishers began issuing atlases depicting the built-up districts of Cleveland in great detail. Two of these publishers continued issuing editions well into the twentieth century. The atlases are excellent sources of detailed information about the areas they covered, which did not initially encompass the entire city, much less the county. Over time, however, the coverage grew.

Original paper editions of most of these atlases can be found at Cleveland Public Library and at the Western Reserve Historical Society Library, but the only copy of the 1886 Sanborn atlas located so far is in the map library at Kent State University (McGilvery Hall). Most of the links here are to the digital editions being provided by the Cleveland Public Library's Map Collection, also some are from the commercial Ward Maps LLC site.

NEW!

Cleveland Historic Maps ESRI has created a way to examine historic maps of greater Cleveland for 1874, 1881, 1898 and 1912 (and 2012) that are expertly aligned to allow patrons to find any place in the region and the switch between years to see how it changes. Very cool!

1874	Atlas of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, from actual surveys by and under the direction of D.J. Lake, C.E.	Titus, Simmons & Titus, Philadelphia, PA
1874	Insurance maps of Cleveland, Ohio.	Sanborn Map & Publishing Company, New York, NY
1881	City atlas of Cleveland, Ohio, from official records, private plans and actual surveys.	G.M. Hopkins, Philadelphi, PA
1881	Insurance maps of Cleveland, Ohio.	Sanborn Map & Publishing Company, New York, NY
1886/87 (updated to 1894)	Insurance maps of Cleveland, Ohio. (3 vol) _* Volume 1 - Downtown & Near East Side. _* *Volume 2* - Near West Side, Cuyahoga Valley & Central Area. _* *Volume 3* - Broadway Avenue plus Woodland and SE Industrial District	Sanborn Map & Publishing Company, New York, NY
1892	Atlas of Cuyahoga County and the City of Cleveland, Ohio….	George F. Cram & Company, Chicago, IL
1896	Insurance maps of Cleveland, Ohio. _* Volume 1 - Downtown out to East 55th Street.	Sanborn-Perris Map Company, New York, NY
1898	Atlas of the City of Cleveland, Ohio.... (Krause, F.L., et al)	A.H. Mueller & Company Philadelphia, PA
1898	Atlas of the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio, embracing Glenville, Collinwood.... (Flynn, Thomas, et al)	A.H. Mueller & Company Philadelphia, PA
(Twentieth Century list not yet completed)
1903	Maps of Cuyahoga County Outside of Cleveland	H.B. Stranahan & Company, Cleveland, Ohio
1912	Plat Book of The City of Cleveland _* Volume 1 - North-East and South-East Divisions of the City and Eastern Suburbs. _* *Volume 2* - North-West and South-West Divisions of the City and Western Suburbs. Another version:Ward Maps LLC Volume1 1, Volume 2.	G.M. Hopkins Company Philadelphia, PA
1914	Plat Book of Cuyahoga County, Ohio: Complete in One Volume _* Volume 3 - [West, South & East Sides Beyond Cleveland Limits]	G.M. Hopkins Company Philadelphia, PA
1921-22	Plat Book of The City of Cleveland _* Volume 1 - North-East and South-East Divisions of the City and Eastern Suburbs. _* *Volume 2* - North-West and South-West Divisions of the City and Western Suburbs. _* *Volume 4* - South-East Division of the City and Western Suburbs.	G.M. Hopkins Company Philadelphia, PA
1920	Plat Book of Cuyahoga County, Ohio: Complete in One Volume _* Volume 3 - [West, South & East Sides Beyond Cleveland Limits]	G.M. Hopkins Company Philadelphia, PA
Remember: The particular atlas volume you examine may bear one date, but had been updated with subsequent paste-ups to a later date.

If you are a member of an academic or public library in Ohio, you can access the on-line edition of the state's Sanborn maps, via OPLIN or OhioLINK. The black & white images were scanned from the Chadwyck-Healey microfilms, but are very difficult to orient.

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First created December 6, 1996
Last updated July 16, 2014