Genealogy & Local History in Buffalo, NY
Vintage
Maps of Buffalo, Erie
County, and Western NYIn case it isn't obvious, the little elves at BuffaloResearch.com do not own any old Buffalo maps. Instead, they watch for when other people or institutions digitize local maps. Then they add the links below for your convenience. Over 125 mostly historic maps and atlases are sorted into these categories:
Buffalo
Maps| Date |
Link
and Name of Map |
Description
or
Notes if Any |
| Undated |
List of Street Name Changes in Buffalo | |
| Various |
Historical Nautical Map & Chart Project | Search on Buffalo at the screen provided here by the National Oceanographic & Atmospheric Administration to get about 70 outdated nautical charts for the Buffalo waterfront. These charts are NOT to be used for navigation! |
| 1802 |
Original Land Subdivisions in Buffalo | Shows the names and outlines of large tracts of land in early Buffalo |
| 1802 |
Original Land Subdivisions in Buffalo | This map, produced in 1901, takes the tract boundaries shown in the map above and superimposes modern-day city streets over them. Click here to see, for example, the original boundaries of Black Rock |
| 1804 |
Village of New Amsterdam | As designed by Joseph Ellicott, before the name Buffalo stuck |
| 1804 |
Village of New Amsterdam | Another scan of Joseph Ellicott's plan |
| 1804 |
Village of Buffalo | Another version of Joseph Ellicott's design for Buffalo |
| 1804 |
Village of New Amsterdam | Another rendering of Ellicott's design |
| ca.
1805 |
Village of Buffalo | The inner lots, essentially the Niagara Square/Main Street portion of downtown Buffalo |
| ca.
1805 |
Village of Buffalo | Another map showing the inner lots |
| ca.
1805 |
Village of Buffalo | The outer lots, or roughly the square mile at the center of Buffalo |
| ca.
1805 |
Village of Buffalo | Another map showing the outer lots |
| ca.
1810 |
Village of Black Rock Prior to War of 1812 | Shows the location of the actual black rock |
| 1813 |
Village
of Black Rock |
Hand-drawn
map showing location of major buildings |
| 1813 |
Map of Burned Buffalo | A diagram of the tiny village of Buffalo that was burned during the War of 1812 |
| 1825 |
Village of Buffalo | Shows the inner (downtown) lots |
| 1836 |
Proposed Harbor Improvements | |
| 1838 |
Buffalo | An interesting negative (white on black background) map of the downtown area |
| 1847 |
Map of Buffalo | From Smith's History of the City of Buffalo and Erie County |
| 1849 |
Buffalo | Includes ward boundaries used for the 1840 and the 1850 censuses. Look for numbers 1-5 and subtle dotted lines |
| 1850,
1900,
1901 |
Buffalo Historical GIS | A work in progress. The final product will be interactive and will include more text and more categories, such as schools, hospitals, grocery stores, taverns, theaters, boarding houses, benevolent organizations, etc. Other icons will display demographic data such as population density, ethnicity, household income, property values, etc. and governmental information. Be sure to see the Buffalo ward maps! |
| 1853 |
Buffalo Harbor | A
bird's eye view of the foot of Main Street |
| 1855 |
Buffalo | Oddly printed with the Niagara River flowing east-west, but shows ward boundaries |
| 1855-1890 |
Ward Map of Buffalo for Census Years 1855-1890 | |
| 1863 |
Bird's Eye View of the City of Buffalo, NY | Photographs of a map on exhibit at the Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society. Shows individual buildings. |
| 1866 |
Buffalo |
Reproduced from the Stone & Stewart Atlas of Erie County. Shows some buildings as indistinct black squares or undifferentiated blocks. |
| 1866 |
Buffalo,
Part One Buffalo, Part Two |
Reproductions from the Stone & Stewart Atlas of Erie County. This site sells reproductions of the plates. |
| 1872 |
Hopkins
Atlas of Buffalo |
As
far
as I know, this is the first atlas in Buffalo to show individual
buildings and name of property owners. Digitized by the New York
Public Library. |
| 1872 |
Hopkins
Atlas of Buffalo |
This
site sells reproductions of the plates. Images are zoomable. |
| 1880 |
Buffalo |
Reproduced
from the Beers Atlas of Erie County |
| 1880 |
Buffalo Parks | A schematic map showing the street grid but not street names, with the Olmsted park system picked out in black |
| 1880 |
Bird's
Eye View of Buffalo |
An
artist's conception showing downtown in the foreground |
| 1884 |
Buffalo, Erie Co., NY Street Directory | This list of streets was scanned from microfilm prints of the Buffalo City Directory. Buffalo city streets were renumbered in 1868 as described on the first page of the directory. No personal names here, just street names. |
| 1884 |
Buffalo Waterfront | Scroll down to see a page from the full-color Hopkins atlas showing the blocks north of the Commercial Slip |
| 1884 |
Western
Terminus of the Erie Canal |
An
1884 map of the Canal district in Buffalo, with a modern aerial
photograph superimposed on it |
| 1894 |
City of Buffalo Atlas | All three volumes are online, brought to you by the County of Erie website. Each volume has a clickable map to bring up the appropriate page in the atlas. This is one of the few Buffalo atlases that shows individual buildings. |
| 1895 |
Buffalo |
Full
color sheet map published by Joseph Rudolph Bien. Shows ward
boundaries. |
| 1896 |
Buffalo | A full color sheet map |
| 1897 |
Buffalo |
From
a
Rand McNally & Company atlas of the world |
| 1897 |
Chart of Buffalo Harbor | From the Blue Book of American Shipping, Cleveland, OH: Marine Review, 1897 |
| 1900 |
Church
District Plan Key to Map |
A map of churches in Buffalo in 1900. Use this map to find out what churches were near your ancestors' homes. |
| 1901 |
Topographic Map of Buffalo | One of the first topographics maps of
Buffalo |
| 1901,
1948 |
Topographic Maps of Buffalo | These maps are divided in four sections which can be enlarged |
| 1901 |
Map of Buffalo Pavement | Shows different kinds of pavement used on the streets |
| 1901 |
New Map of
the City of Buffalo |
Shows
the Pan American Exposition grounds in relation to the rest of the city |
| 1901? |
All Roads Will Lead to Buffalo in September | An artist's conception of Buffalo as seen from the air |
| 1901 |
Pan-American Exposition Grounds | A low-resolution black and white illustration |
| 1901 |
Pan American
Exposition Grounds |
A
large-scale (2MB), detailed black & while map |
| 1901 |
Pan
American Exposition Grounds |
A
rendering in black, white, and red |
| 1901 |
Pan-American Exposition Grounds | A color rendering |
| 1901 |
Pan
American Exposition Grounds |
Another
color rendering |
| 1901 |
Pan
American Exposition Grounds |
A
bird's eye view in full color |
| 1901
& later |
Pan
American Exposition Grounds and Neighborhood Overlay |
Shows
the Pan Am grounds with an overlay of the streets that were built there
after the Exposition |
| 1901
& 1926 |
1926 Photo Superimposed on the Map of the Pan American Exposition |
An
animated map that shows a small section of the Exposition morphing into
an aerial photograph from 1926 of the same section |
| 1902 |
Bird's Eye View of Buffalo | This one is impressive--you can zoom in and see your own neighborhood! You'll find that it shows individual buildings! Obviously, whoever drew this had to use artistic shortcuts--he couldn't go out and sketch every single factory, house, and shed. But it's still a must-see. |
| 1902 |
Bird's
Eye View of Buffalo |
The
same map as above only without as much ability to zoom in |
| 1906 |
Buffalo Harbor | From History of the Canal System of the State of New York by Nobel E. Whitford |
| 1909 |
Buffalo |
From
Baedeker's Guide |
| 1909 | Buffalo
Ward Map |
From
the Century Atlas of Erie County |
| 1914 |
Olmsted Parks and Parkways in Buffalo | Brought to you by the University at Buffalo |
| 1914 |
Buffalo River Area | Shows the downtown and South Buffalo area from roughly Tupper Street to the Buffalo River |
| 1915 |
Buffalo
New Century Atlas, vol. 1 |
Covers
Buffalo downtown and north of downtown, shows individual buildings
& names of some land owners |
| 1915 |
Buffalo
New Century Atlas, vol. 2 |
Covers Buffalo south of downtown, shows individual buildings & names of some land owners |
| 1915 |
Ward Map of Buffalo's East Side | This is a modern map of the east side of the city of Buffalo, with the ward boundaries for the 1915 New York State added. In other words, be forewarned that the map shows a few things that didn't exist in 1915. |
| ca.
1920 |
Railroad Map of Buffalo | Shows "pre-merger" railroad lines along the Niagara River and in Buffalo |
| 1920 |
Extension of City Limits | Shows how the city expanded over time |
| 1920 |
The Future Electric City | Imagines Buffalo with 360 square miles, encompassing Niagara Falls, and a population of 2,000,000 |
| 1920s-1950s |
Buffalo Movie Theaters | Hand drawn by Carl Zoschke |
| 1931 |
Grain Elevators | A detailed map of the Buffalo harbor by the Army Corps of Engineers, showing locations of grain elevators, mills, railroads, and slips |
| 1938 |
Buffalo Police Precincts | |
| 1940 |
Buffalo | Scanned in four sections |
| 1950 |
Historic USGS Maps | Focusing on railroads in Buffalo |
| 1950s |
New York Central Railroad, Buffalo | Includes the New York Central Terminal |
| 1960s |
Topographic Map of North Buffalo | |
| 1960s |
Topographic Map of South Buffalo | |
| 1970 |
Buffalo | Scale 1:500,000 |
| 1971 |
Buffalo Nostalgic Map | Shows locations of some neighborhoods |
| 1977 |
Buffalo Public Schools | |
| 1984 |
Buffalo Central Terminal | Sanborn maps of the entire complex |
| 1987 |
City of Buffalo Zoning Map | Brought to you by the University at Buffalo |
| 2000 |
Average Housing Age Distribution | Shows
age of Buffalo houses based on census figures but does not make a
distinction among
houses older than 50 years, which is most of the city |
| 2002 |
Buffalo Neighborhoods | Shows
commonly used neighborhood names and areas |
| 2003 |
Downtown Buffalo Parking Lots and Ramps | Contrary to the popular imagination, there is so much parking downtown that there is little to do BUT park |
| 2003 |
Buffalo Common Council Districts | |
| 2004 |
Buffalo Niagara Map | The ultimate tourist map of Buffalo and the Niagara Frontier. Shows locations of hotels, highways, attractions, parks, hospitals, museums, colleges, parking facilities, etc. For best results, print on oversized paper. |
| 2004 |
Broadway-Fillmore
Neighborhood |
Shows
house lots but not buildings. In PDF. |
| 2004 |
Triangle
Neighborhood |
South
Park-Abbott Rd area in South Buffalo. Shows house lots but not
buildings. In PDF. |
| 2006 |
Hydrographic Surveys | Charts of Buffalo waterways brought to you by the Army Corps of Engineers |
Contemporary
and Undated
Buffalo Maps| Date | Link
and Name of Map |
Description
or Notes if Any |
| Buffalo Neighborhoods | Includes superb histories of all Buffalo neighborhoods | |
| Downtown
Buffalo Publicly Available Parking |
Brought
to
you by Buffalo Place,
Inc. In PDF. |
|
| Downtown
Buffalo |
Brought
to
you by the Buffalo
Niagara Partnership. Shows locations of
parking lots and metered parking spots. in PDF. |
|
| Downtown Buffalo | Shows accomodations, restaurants, attractions | |
| Downtown Buffalo | Shows location of County Hall & Court | |
| Buffalo Parks | ||
| University at Buffalo Map Collection | Has several samples of online Buffalo maps | |
| Cemetery Maps of Buffalo | Actually, maps of Pine Hill in Cheektowaga, Mount Olivet in Kenmore, and Forest Lawn in Buffalo. Brought to you by the Schwert Family website. | |
| Olmsted Parks in Buffalo | Has several vintage maps and views | |
| Buffalo | An interactive map from the U.S. Census Bureau | |
| Buffalo Map Atlas and Data Library | A collection of up-to-date PDF maps depicting zoning and land use, Common Council districts, and more. Brought to you by City Hall. | |
| City
of Buffalo GIS |
Here is the City's Geographic Information System (GIS). If you don't have a fast connection, it'll load slowly. It is a safe bet that this site supplies only current geographic information, not historical. | |
| Buffalo Maps | Brought to you by Chuck LaChiusa at his award-winning Buffalo History and Architecture website. Includes many of the maps seen here. |
Erie County Maps | Date |
Link
and Name of Map |
Description
or Notes if Any |
| 1866 |
Cheektowaga, NY | Shows names of property owners |
| 1898 |
Depew |
A bird's eye view |
| 1880 |
East
Hamburgh |
East
Hamburgh is now Orchard Park. Shows
names of property owners |
| 1880 |
Evans | Shows names of property owners |
| Undated |
Grand Island | From MapBlast |
| 1819 |
Niagara
River |
Shows
the river from Grand Island to Lake Ontario |
| 1820 |
Niagara River | Shows the river from Lake Erie to Grand Island. Brought to you by the New York Public Library. |
| 1892 |
Lancaster |
A bird's eye view |
| 1892 |
Springville |
A
bird's eye view |
| 1829 |
Erie County | From the David Rumsey map collection |
| 1829 |
Erie
County |
By David H. Burr ; engd. by Rawdon, Clark & Co., Albany, & Rawdon, Wright & Co., New York. |
| 1838 |
Erie County | |
| Mid
1840s |
Erie County | A basic outline map of the towns. Includes a summary of how Erie County came to be formed, plus a link to some or all of the names from the 1830 Erie County federal census |
| 1841 |
Erie County | By David H. Burr ; engd. by Rawdon, Clark & Co., Albany, & Rawdon, Wright & Co., New York. |
| 1866 |
Stone
& Stewart Erie County Atlas |
The
oldest atlas that I know of that shows individual buildings, albeit as
indistinct little black squares. Also shows property owners'
names. Digitized by the New York Public Library. |
| 1866 |
Stone
& Stewart Erie County Atlas |
The
plates shown here are available for sale as
reproductions. |
| 1880 |
F.W.
Beers Atlas of Erie County |
Shows
some property owners' names. Digitized by the New York Public
Library. |
| 1880 |
F.W.
Beers Atlas of Erie County |
The plates shown here are available for sale as reproductions. |
| 1880 | Erie County | A
scan
of one page from the F.W. Beers atlas showing the entire county.
Image is zoomable and can be dowloaded as an PDF. |
| 1895 |
Erie County | |
| 1909 |
Century
Map Co. Atlas of Erie County |
Shows some property owners' names. The plates shown here are available for sale as reproductions. |
| 1915 |
Buffalo
New Century Atlas, vol. 3 |
This
volumes covers towns and villages outside of the City of Buffalo.
Shows individual buildings and names of property owners. |
| ca.
1926 |
General
Motorways System, Erie County |
Shows
plans for an early highway system |
| 1938 |
Niagara
Frontier Planning Board Atlas |
Shows
names of property owners |
| 1951 |
Erie County Aerial Photos | This clickable map brings up a vintage black & white photo of your neigborhood |
| Mid
20th
century |
Topographic Maps | Includes Amherst, Cheektowaga, Grand Island, Hamburg, Kenmore, Tonawanda, West Seneca, Depew, Springville, Eden, Silver Creek |
| 1990 |
Erie County | Shows Buffalo and the most populated towns bordering it |
| Undated |
Erie County Cemetery Maps | |
| Erie County Internet Mapping System | The
Erie
County Internet Mapping System is designed to provide
access to the
most popular layers of digital maps in the County's GIS. Users
can create and print their own
maps, and locate
information on a variety of subjects such as roperty parcels, roads,
parks,
schools districts,
and environmental data. Do yourself a favor and read the
Help/Instruction pages first. |
|
| Erie County | From the US Census Bureau | |
| Erie County | From the US Geological Survey--featuring all official place names for Erie County, including communities, waterways, parks, some churches & cemeteries, and more; 11 pages total | |
| Erie County | From the Erie County Department of Planning. Has a few online samples. | |
| Erie County | Shows current attractions, including museums. Brought to you by the Buffalo Niagara Convention & Visitors Bureau. |
Western
New York and Niagara Frontier Maps| Date |
Link and Name of Map | Description
or Notes if Any |
| Understanding New York's Political Divisions | A good article by Chris Andrle on our system of counties, town, cities, and villages | |
| Physical Regions of the Frontier | Shows the glacial and geological formations that shape the Niagara Frontier | |
| Evolution of County Boundaries in Western New York, 1795-1841 | Includes a map of early migration routes into the area | |
| 1802 |
Genesee County | All of Western New York was Genesee County at one time. This simple outline map shows when each county was split off from Genesee. |
| 1804 |
Morris's Purchase or West Geneseo In the State of New York by Joseph Ellicott | One of the first maps of what was later called the Holland Land purchase |
| 1804 |
Land Holdings in Western New York | Shows which developers owned which large tracts. Does not show names of individual buyers. |
| 1812 |
Niagara Frontier | |
| Mid
19th
century |
The War of 1812: Operations Along the Niagara River | Shows locations of forts, battles, and troop movements |
| 20th
century |
Niagara River Area, War of 1812 | Shows forts and battle sites along the Niagara Frontier |
| 1820 |
Niagara
River |
From Elkanah Watson's History of the rise, progress, and existing condition of the western canals in the state of New-York |
| 1820 |
Western New York | |
| ca.
1825 |
Holland Land Purchase | Shows the entire Western NY region |
| 1830 |
Western NY | Shows some place names. Includes links to census indexes. |
| 1830 |
Niagara Frontier | |
| 1831 |
Western NY | Reproduced in very small scale from The Northern Traveller and Northern Tour, J & J Harper, 1831 |
| 1841 |
Upstate
New York |
New York State between Albany and Buffalo, showing Erie Canal and other transportation routes |
| 1871 |
Western
New York |
Niagara, Erie, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Orleans, Genesee, Wyoming, Allegany, Monroe, and Livingston Counties |
| 1890 |
Tuscarora Indian Reservation | Shows names of residents |
| 1895 |
Niagara
and Erie Counties |
Published by Joseph Rudolph Bien |
| 1904 |
Buffalo, Niagara Falls and Vicinity: The Coming Industrial Center of America, 1904 | Shows New York Central Railroad lines |
| 1920 |
Pennsylvania Railroad Routes in Western NY | |
| 1952 |
Upstate and Western New York | |
| 1989 |
Western NY | Shows county outlines, county seats, lakes, and little else |
| Undated |
Western New York | A contemporary map showing major cities, towns, villages, and color-coded counties |
| Undated |
Buffalo
Niagara Falls Metro |
A
full-color
road map showing Niagara Falls to Lackawanna and Fort Erie in PDF |
Updated 24 March 2008