aerial photo

Aerial photography didn't really get going until the 1920's-30's, but by the later half of the 30s, more than 2/3s of the US had been shot by aerial cameras. Three federal agencies, namely the Soil Conservation Service, Agricultural Adjustment Administration, and the Forest Service, accounted for most of the work in aerial photography. Other agencies involved in early aerial photography work included the U.S. Geological Survey, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Coast and Geodetic Survey, and the Army Air Corps. You might check out these sources.
 

Like Mackaydon suggested, these are excellent sources.

You might also try the Geneology section of your local library or the
local historical society where you live to see if they any copies of Plat maps
and USGS Topographic mapping from that period. These maps would also show
cultural features. . . such as buildings and structures. I've used these sources
near where I live and have located several "productive" homestead sites that
have been hidden away in the woods.

Good luck!
 

You could try historicalaerials.com
Depending on where you are, anywhere the dark green shows they have them back to the 40's and 50's
 

Just go out and walk the field looking for any sign of bricks, nails, broken glass or pottery, etc.

Check the high spots first. Generally they were pretty close to the road.

Of course, it's also much easier to just go to the library and get the plat map for the county.
 

If you're close enough to travel to where the State Archives and History Department is located, go there and look for the photos you need. If there are no aerial photos, then check for the US Geographical Survey Maps. Those maps were printed from information gotten from aerial pictures. Look for the older maps because the newer ones were printed from masters that had been changed to show the land as it existed in those later years. That's why you'll see large areas of "white" on the newer prints of the maps. Those areas are scraped clean on the masters and new roads and buildings are inked in before printing the updated issues.
 

USGS.gov/ historical maps and then your town name and or county and state. On GOOGLE.
 

Our local energy supplier used aerial photos as early as 1949. Very handy if you kind find access in your area. They used used these to lay out the utilities.
 

If you live in Connecticut I can give you a great link for aerial photos from 1934 and 1965.
I'm working on a google earth overlay for my hometown of wolcott Connecticut with 1934 aerial photos.
I'ts amazing how my little town has changed in seventy five years.
Try your states library website thats where I found the photos I'm working with.

Joe
 

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