Map Collections
The museum’s map collection contains nearly 300 maps and atlases of Fairfield, Fairfield County and Connecticut. Many of them, including the popular 1937 WPA map, were hand-drawn. A number of maps were compiled by private cartographers, oftentimes on fragile and highly acidic papers.

FMHC’s map collection spans a wide array of map types, including geographic and topographic maps, survey maps, route maps, hydrographic maps and nautical charts. Among the hand-drawn material in the map collection are maps of the Long Lots, the original four squares of Fairfield, and maps of individual properties such as the Ogden farm. The collection also contains localized maps of small areas of Fairfield, which were oftentimes drawn for private or decorative purposes and come in a variety of formats and sizes.

In addition to local and regional maps, the collection also contains maps of the colonial territories as well as maps and atlases of neighboring states. A number of instructional maps include maps of the United States and its overseas possessions and a map of the railway system, among others. The collection also contains purpose-specific maps such as zoning maps, tax maps, and insurance maps.

Researchers interested in a particular historic property are urged to consult our finding aids to learn about additional cartographic material that may be found in the manuscript collections.

Did you know?
FMHC’s Sanborn insurance maps are wonderful resources for tracing land use in Fairfield over time. They are paste books that were compiled by pasting fresh map segments onto outdated atlas pages to keep the maps current. Since the paper used for each layer was very thin, previous layers—and hence historic representations of Fairfield—can still be seen through the uppermost map layers. Go see for yourself—the Sanborn atlas is currently on exhibit in the main gallery.

Click on an image below to see a larger view.