I need help with learning research techniques for finding maps with old homesites

[usinadi]

I mainly hunt coin shoot and I have several older home sites near my house. My dad once had a map that he found that listed a lot of old house sites but now I have no idea what became of it and since Dad passed away six years ago I cannot ask him. I have been metal detecting with my uncle who is my Dad's twin brother which helps us in a way keep my fathers memory alive because both of them metal detected together in the 70's, 80's, and 90's. I have searched the on the deeper web but have not found much of anything. I live in the Cherokee Nation jurisdictional area of Oklahoma so my land along with many in this area is allotment land from long ago. I have talked with a friend of mine who is a surveyor and he told me that if I knew the township, range, and section of a place then I could find Game Land Office (GLO) notes to find the exact locations of old home sites. I need help with knowing what particular person do I need to go see in the County or Cherokee Nation office to find the maps with the old house places. I research on the internet but unless you know the right place to look it can be maddening so any tips to researching the internet would be greatly appreciated! I know that since there are two entities, the County and Cherokee Nation, that have to do with the land it can be confusing. I have permission froma landowner at one site but determining if the place is the house site I think it is or another one altogether has been a chore! Thank you all for any tips that you can give me!

 

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[Showtime2385]

Have you tried historicareals.com?

 

[Mackaydon]

Suggestions:
1. Contact the Cherokee Nation and ask them your Qs:

Cherokee Nation
918-453-5000
800-256-0671 nationwide toll-free

2. Contact that county's Historian (name should be provided by your local library)
3. Research Ghost Towns of Oklahoma (here's a start):https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ghost_towns_in_Oklahoma
Don...

 

[Old Bookaroo]

I think you may be asking about the Sanborn fire insurance maps. I know they are available for many areas of the country - I don't know about Indian lands.

However, that's where I would start.

Good luck to all,

The Old Bookaroo, CM

 

[Clay Slayer]

Here's another option besides Sanborn maps...

USGS historical topo maps, it's free -

The USGS Store - One stop shop for all your maps, world, United States, state, wall decor, historic, planetary, topographic, trail, hiking, foreign, satellite, digital

These topo maps go back to the mid-nineteenth century for some locations around the country. In my area, Louisiana, they usually only go back to the 1920's or 1930's, but I still use them for finding old schools, farms, etc.

1) Double-click on the map to zoom in to the area you're interested in, then on the right side of the map click and select "MARK POINTS".

2) Left click on the map to place a red marker where you want it.

3) When the marker appears, left-click on it and a bubble appears with a list of all the available topo maps for that area, the size and their year.

4) Right-click on the file size and select "Open"...a pdf file will be downloaded to your PC that you can open and save.

 

[usinadi]

Thank you all for your suggestions! I added the web sites to my favorites and have been playing around with them to see if they can help me. I plan on going to the County office first this coming Monday and then Cherokee Nation if it is needed.

 

[Bkn74]

Tax assessors office, county clerk, and library are usually my first go to places

 

[mapman]

I mainly hunt coin shoot and I have several older home sites near my house. My dad once had a map that he found that listed a lot of old house sites but now I have no idea what became of it and since Dad passed away six years ago I cannot ask him. I have been metal detecting with my uncle who is my Dad's twin brother which helps us in a way keep my fathers memory alive because both of them metal detected together in the 70's, 80's, and 90's. I have searched the on the deeper web but have not found much of anything. I live in the Cherokee Nation jurisdictional area of Oklahoma so my land along with many in this area is allotment land from long ago. I have talked with a friend of mine who is a surveyor and he told me that if I knew the township, range, and section of a place then I could find Game Land Office (GLO) notes to find the exact locations of old home sites. I need help with knowing what particular person do I need to go see in the County or Cherokee Nation office to find the maps with the old house places. I research on the internet but unless you know the right place to look it can be maddening so any tips to researching the internet would be greatly appreciated! I know that since there are two entities, the County and Cherokee Nation, that have to do with the land it can be confusing. I have permission froma landowner at one site but determining if the place is the house site I think it is or another one altogether has been a chore! Thank you all for any tips that you can give me!

Contact me at oldmapman@gmail.com and I can be of some help to you. I am retired from the USGS and have worked with BLM so a lot of maps are out there. Lewis