Resources for Georeferencing

Speed and accuracy in georeferencing is dependent on many things, including skill, software, and quality of maps. However, one of the easiest ways to improve the accuracy and effectiveness of georeferencing is to obtain a good list of resources. Without knowing what is out there to aid in georeferencing, it is difficult to georeference many of the older or more obscure records in museum databases. The following is a list of Internet resources discovered by MaPSTeDI staff that can be an aid in georeferencing.

National or International Resources

Bureau of Land Management Land Patents - Searchable database of land grants issued by the BLM. Great for finding old homesteads and ranches that may no longer exist.
Denver Library Photo Library - A search engine of old photos of the west. It's useful because most are from pre-1950 and show pictures (and descriptions) of old places/mines/etc in Colorado that may not be anywhere else.
Geographic Names Information System - The definitive gazeteer for place names in the United States. Also includes place names for Antarctica. Maintained by the USGS.
Getty Thesaurus of Place Names - An international listing of alternate place names for cities and other places.
Historical Maps from 1895 - Digital maps from a 1895 US atlas. Includes both state and county maps along with lists of towns.
1891 Grain Dealers and Shippers Gazeteer - Lists old railroad routes from an 1891 publication. Includes many route maps. Good for finding railroad stations which no longer exist.
RootsWeb - This genealogical website often has information about old towns which no longer exist.
TopoZone - Online topographic map server.
Google - While not specifically designed for place name searching, Google is a vital resource for georeferencers because of its quick and accurate results. For best results, try different combinations of the information you are looking for.
BioGeoMancer - An application designed by the University of Kansas which can automate georeferencing of some kinds of locality data.
GEOnet Names Server - The federal government's official source for place name data from outside the United States and Antarctica.
MaNIS - The Mammal Networked Information System is one of the foremost networks of institutions involved in collaborative georeferencing. Their Georeferencing Guide is one of the most extensive descriptions of georeferencing methods available.

Colorado Resources

Colorado Highways - Complete list of highways in Colorado, past and present
Historical Maps of Colorado - Shows early county divisions as well as other historical data.
Colorado Counties - Details the history of Colorado's counties including splits and mergers of counties.
The Colorado Skier - Includes a list of defunct ski areas.

Montana Resources

Montana Maps - Free GIS layers, topographic maps, and other online map data.

Nebraska Resources

Nebraska Highways - Complete list of highways in Nebraska, past and present.

North Dakota Resources

North Dakota Highways - Complete list of highways in North Dakota, past and present.

South Dakota Resources

South Dakota Highways - Complete list of highways in South Dakota, past and present.
South Dakota Maps - Historical maps for South Dakota.

Wyoming Resources

Wyoming Highways - Complete list of highways in Wyoming, past and present.
Wyoming Maps - An index of historical and modern maps of Wyoming.