Before old county maps , what Information helps find old wagon roads etc

[49er12]

We all have maps of areas, certain towns go farther back than others, point is example my county map of 1873 is far back but keep in mind early settlers transportation was horse, buggy wagon which means even historical societies have no idea of wagon roads, remember u can’t back up a horse and buggy or wagon like a car so that meant you had an oval or roundabout around cabin. Anyone know of how to recognize wagon roads, we r missing much believe me we discovered one few knew of and rewarding. Wagon road maps or routes, it’s hard anyone care to help, thanks

 

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[IMAUDIGGER]

Military maps, Government Land Office Surveys, mineral surveys, patent application surveys, tax assessment maps....are all good sources of info on old wagon roads.

Many times, it takes boots on the ground..,how did they get from point A to point B? Locate the saddles, natural fords, springs, canyon bottoms, etc. then follow the bits of wagon parts with a detector.

Many times, the modern roads roughly follow the old wagon trails.

 

[releventchair]

Contour maps can help where terrain is irregular.

An area I frequented had established "coach stops" along an existing modern road.
Those stops remained known ,as multiples remained and were deemed historic.

Other areas low ground (but reasonably dry three seasons) saw traffic.
Vs climbing hills frequently. Small "dumps" were the clue as well as faint scars from wheel travel.
Dumps were in low spots where horses were not likely to be ridden. Gully/ravine bottoms. Anytime a dump (and most were quite small) was located , a trail could be ferreted out . Being midwest forest meant many decades of leaf litter , but trees often told the route. Trails were overgrown of course , but the age of the trails swath/width 's trees was much less than those either side.


Maps of native trails where I am now show many roads following them. Not all , but many. And coaches/wagons often followed them.
The choice of navigating terrain is a big factor. A contour map confirms that in multiple areas.
Water stops factored on most. With riverine areas often followed from easiest parallel routes. Crossings were select ,vs random.
Lateral routes intersect(ed) many of the main routes. Often with water stops along those lateral spurs as well. E.-W. tied into N.-S.. Though lighter routes were limited in number and use. Seasons mattered it seems.

Modern maps showing topography and water can hint of routes. Yes, water can be dug and not represent what existed prior.
But intervals of stops were more than random. Between point A and B , there were features.

 

[Mackaydon]

Before county maps, the Indians made trails. Online, seek out the Indian trails.
For example, here are some original trails in Kentucky.
https://kycarter.com/the_original_peoples/Kentucky1491/1_trails_index.html
Don........

 

[TerryC]

Go to the city/county archives. The will have old maps on file. Compare the old maps with Google Earth views. On clean white paper, trace the old routes onto the aerial image. Include such landmarks as old trees and old buildings. Bridges and creekbeds. ╦╦C

 

[IMAUDIGGER]

Go to the city/county archives. The will have old maps on file. Compare the old maps with Google Earth views. On clean white paper, trace the old routes onto the aerial image. Include such landmarks as old trees and old buildings. Bridges and creekbeds. ╦╦C

Terry, with certain software I can easily "rubber sheet" stretch a scanned old map to fit features off of google earth or USGS topography maps. Works really well with survey maps that have a certain bit of accuracy to them. Then to top it off..save it as a geographically enabled PDF. You can then load it on a smartphone and see your position on old maps as you drive or walk.

Amazing stuff that makes it very easy to generate new places to explore!!

 

[TerryC]

Terry, with certain software I can easily "rubber sheet" stretch a scanned old map to fit features off of google earth or USGS topography maps. Works really well with survey maps that have a certain bit of accuracy to them. Then to top it off..save it as a geographically enabled PDF. You can then load it on a smartphone and see your position on old maps as you drive or walk.

Amazing stuff that makes it very easy to generate new places to explore!!

Yes Sir, You're right on track! ╦╦C

 

[SultansOfSwing]

I will pick town local to me and see if there is a town history book written by a local citizen. Sometimes that citizen was a surveyor or member of a special society and had access to materials related to that town. They occasionally will write a history book as well as a detailed map. I paid $250 for one on ebay earlier this year that is about 4 inches thick, has 2 maps, and 100s of marked locations of current and former homesites, roads, attractions, oddities, meeting houses, groves etc. And the book has a short paragraph about each spot giving some important details such as the owner(s), occupations, length of stay, geographic features and so forth. Comparing this local map to one from 1858 that's available everywhere, the local map has 10x more sites to investigate. $250 well spent in my opinion.

 

[Noah_D]

Terry, with certain software I can easily "rubber sheet" stretch a scanned old map to fit features off of google earth or USGS topography maps. Works really well with survey maps that have a certain bit of accuracy to them. Then to top it off..save it as a geographically enabled PDF. You can then load it on a smartphone and see your position on old maps as you drive or walk.

Amazing stuff that makes it very easy to generate new places to explore!!

Can you save a pdf like that straight from g earth or something? I do a lot of stuff with maps very similar to what you're doing but I never knew about geographically enabled pdf's and whatnot, I've been living life in the dark

 

[Treasureman25]

I have pondered these same thoughts man. I believe the main roads that are there now are your old roads. So the houses along them are your best bet. But anyway.. If you click on my profile then on latest threads an go to page 1 you will find a thread about old foundations. There is some valuable information/ different websites listed in that thread that may help you out. Happy hunting.

 

[SultansOfSwing]

Another thing I do is go to my town's parcel mapping project and look at their map. It shows each person's property and then when you click it it has owner information as well as the drawn property map from.surveys. you will find out what's on their property like old wells, rock walls, foundations, barns etc.

 

[IMAUDIGGER]

Can you save a pdf like that straight from g earth or something? I do a lot of stuff with maps very similar to what you're doing but I never knew about geographically enabled pdf's and whatnot, I've been living life in the dark

So far, it seems Adobe has a patent on the GeoPDF format.
Esri Arcmap is the only product I’ve found so far that easily generates the format.
Good news is you can add other information to your map that is freely available. Modern roads, aerials, topos, trails, etc. It is very useful software, but priced beyond hobbyist.

I then load the GeoPDF into my Avenza PDF app.

Little secret...The USGS has converted most of their historical topographic maps into GeoPDF files. This is not as accurate as rubbersheeting portions of the maps (which isolates inaccuracies), but very useful none the less.

EDIT: Look at Global Mapper ($550) or possibly QGIS (free). They also export GeoPDF apparently. Not that familiar with either product.

 

[Noah_D]

So far, it seems Adobe has a patent on the GeoPDF format.
Esri Arcmap is the only product I’ve found so far that easily generates the format.
Good news is you can add other information to your map that is freely available. Modern roads, aerials, topos, trails, etc. It is very useful software, but priced beyond hobbyist.

I then load the GeoPDF into my Avenza PDF app.

Little secret...The USGS has converted most of their historical topographic maps into GeoPDF files. This is not as accurate as rubbersheeting portions of the maps (which isolates inaccuracies), but very useful none the less.

EDIT: Look at Global Mapper ($550) or possibly QGIS (free). They also export GeoPDF apparently. Not that familiar with either product.

Thanks IMAUDIGGER, I have access to ArcGIS online so maybe that will work. If not I will try QGIS.

 

[malenkai]

Try an old bookstore. I'm lucky that there is one around here that has maps going back to the 1700s.

If you are really really technically inclined, try LIDAR. LIDAR data is public domain, and sensitive enough to find the fingerprints of old roads. The trick is that you have to have the technical skills to process the data. There is open source software that will do this, but it is best to understand the technology before going down the LIDAR path.

 

[gunsil]

49er, I am sure there must be a historical society near you that has 1700s maps if your area was settled that far back. You give "steel city" as your location, don't know which one you refer to but Pittsburgh also has the Fort Pitt museum and I am pretty sure they have colonial era maps there. Of course you'd likely have to ask to see them and photograph them. I don't understand why you state historical societies don't know where old wagon roads were, mine certainly does and this area was settled in the 1600s by the Dutch. My local county historical society even published a modern county map will all the colonial houses and house sites identified on it that were shown on an early 1800s map. In general most modern roads still follow old wagon trails especially in hilly or mountainous areas that were settled early on. Rivers were also followed along then as now. There are also map websites that have many early maps available. Try "Historic Map Works" they have many early maps available online and there are other sites as well.

Here's a link to their site: http://www.historicmapworks.com/Atlas/US/11011/Allegheny+County+1763+to+1914+Land+Surveys/

 

[Noah_D]

Try an old bookstore. I'm lucky that there is one around here that has maps going back to the 1700s.

If you are really really technically inclined, try LIDAR. LIDAR data is public domain, and sensitive enough to find the fingerprints of old roads. The trick is that you have to have the technical skills to process the data. There is open source software that will do this, but it is best to understand the technology before going down the LIDAR path.

I think the USGS has been working on DEM's with a resolution of 1-meter for some parts of the country, I heard someone from Mass. talking about using them to find cellar holes and stuff but they aren't available yet here in Ohio. Here's an availability map... https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/1-meter-dem-availability-conus-only
I don't know when they will be available for NE Ohio but I am really looking forward to it.