Information about historical and contemporary maps and map-related happenings in and about Cleveland and the Western Reserve region of northeastern Ohio.

Local Maps and Their HISTORY

• RailsandTrails.com, Steve Titchenal's wonderful map site, containing a trove of digitized maps, charts, plans, topos, pictures and other historic images, in the powerful (yet simple) "Djvu" compression format.
  
  
• Cleveland Public Library's Map Collection is mounting many maps and atlases of greater Cleveland to their on-line local history site, Cleveland Public Library Image Collections, using the JPG2000 compression format.
  
  
• Illustrated articles about the mapping history of Cleveland, from Bill Barrow, of the Cleveland State University Library:
  • "Using Maps to Study Local History in Cleveland, Ohio." - A webbed tutorial.
  • First maps of the Western Reserve and Cleveland
  • The Sumner-Savory 1826 Map of the Western Reserve....
  • Early atlases of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County.
  • Wall Maps.
  • City Directory Maps of Cleveland, 1848-1950 - A working paper on this genre of street maps.
  • Tax Atlases of Cuyahoga County and how they can be used to study historic real estate values.
  
  
• Sanborn Maps of Ohio - black & white renditions of the state's Sanborn map coverage, based on the Chadwyck-Healey microfilms. Available to Ohio residents only, through one of these two sources:
  • OPLIN - Available only to people with a card from one of the Ohio public libraries
  • OhioLINK - Available only to people with access via one of the state university libraries in Ohio
Note, though, that Cleveland Sanborns are becoming available from the Cleveland Public Library's collections. See Cleveland Cartography's list of which atlas titles are available.


• Ohio Land Subdivisions (Volume III of Final Report, 1925) - Only the chapter on the Western Reserve has been digitized and offered here. The huge map that accompanies this book has not be digitized.
• Knepper, George. The Official Ohio Lands Book in Adobe PostScript (PDF) file format, from the State Auditor's Office. This is a large file (979K) showing 63 Postscript pages when loaded. You need to have an Adobe PostScript reader installed to see this document.
• "Geography Gets the Blame" - Steve Kurdziel's thought-provoking Plain Dealer essay on why Cleveland isn't a lakefront city. (It's the cliffs)
• PA-OH Boundary Re-survey Project - A 1990s re-tracement survey of the Ellicott Line, the base line for the original surveys of the Western Reserve in 1796.
• Laying out Cleveland - What images (and ideas) may have influenced Moses Cleaveland's plan?

DIGITAL maps of Cleveland on-line

Commercial mapping:

• Live Local See birds-eye photos of your area from four different points. Defaulted to NE Ohio.
• Google Earth Truly impressive! Must be downloaded.
• Google Maps Note the cool ability to switch back and forth between map, aerial photo and street-level views of your area.
• Microsoft's "terraserver" of satellite images. Coverage now includes Cleveland
• Yahoo! maps
• The Topo Zone delivers digital topographical maps for anywhere in the U.S.. Here, for example, is Cleveland.

Institutional map COLLECTIONS and holdings

• Cleveland Public Library map collection - the best cartographic reference library in northern Ohio.
• Western Reserve Historical Society Library - the region's premier historic map collection (Their collection of historic maps of Cleveland and the Western Reserve are now available in their library on color microfilm!)
• Kent State University Map Library - an excellent collection of contemporary maps and reference materials
• On-line Map Room of the Summit Memory Project at the Akron-Summit County Public Library's Special Collections.
• Hiram College Archives - home of the Maurice & Ethlynn Fox Map Collection.
• Cleveland State University Library - has a collection of U.S.G.S. topographic maps of the region, as well as some historic maps and atlases of Cleveland.
• Cuyahoga County Archives - holds large collections of Auditor's tax maps and Recorder's subdivision plats for Cuyahoga County.
• City of Cleveland, Department of Public Health, Division of Environment - which holds a collection of paper maps of city sewers and drainage.
• Ohio Historical Society Library - the other big collection of historical maps of Ohio, including some of Cleveland and northern Ohio. Didn't find any particular mention of their map collection, however.

Local & governmental sources:

• City of Cleveland Planning Department. The Planning Department's new GIS web server, furnishing great information on two topics: Cleveland census data and Cleveland planning maps. Note how more information appears as you zoom in on your chosen area.
• OhioLINK LANDSAT 7 Satellite Image Server It defaults to a view including downtown Cleveland here, but the entire state is available from here, too.

CARTOGRAPHERS & ARTISTS

• Earl Gurney Mead - 20th century map maker. See his list of "Ten Maps"
• Arthur B. Suchy (1901-1995) - Illustrator who produced several colorful maps of various areas in the U.S., including Cleveland.
• Gary M. Stretar (Spencer, Ohio) - evocative of historic maps of Cleveland and the Reserve
• Richard Treaster (Lakewood, Ohio) - Cleveland Institute of Art instructor and corporate watercolorist
• Commercial Survey Co. - long-time publishers of those familiar street atlases with red covers.
• Dr. James A. Bier - landform maps of Cuyahoga County
• The Cleveland Map Company Home Page - publishers of the 1996 Visitor's Map and Guide to Cleveland.
• Rustbelt Cartography - Has a bunch of free Cleveland area digital maps under "samples."

NORTHERN OHIO MAP SOCIETY

• General information
• Newsletter (send Bill an email message requesting you be placed on the mailing list).
• Map Societies Around the World - Links to other local map societies internationally.

Map WHIMSY

• "Jimmy Cleveland" record album cover.
• Maps on hankies - honestly!
• Displaying Hometown Ties - Cleveland map neck ties.
• Edible map of Cleveland - For the truly addicted.
• T-shirt map of the Western Reserve on sale at the Western Reserve Historical Society's gift shop (versions in brown and gray). The model in this picture is Dr. Peter van der Krogt, distinguished historian of cartography at the University of Utrecht, in The Netherlands.

Last updated August 31, 2009

© Copyright 1996-2009 by William C. Barrow - All rights reserved