The Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL) announced Tuesday the online release of more than 1,000 historical topographic maps of Ontario to coincide with the celebration of Canada’s 150th anniversary and OCUL’s 50th anniversary.
The maps highlight Ontario’s history and its changing landscape from 1906 to 1977.
The Ontario Council of University Libraries has digitized more than 1,000 historical topographical maps, from 1906 to 1977.
The Historical Topographic Map Digitization project was initiated by the OCUL Geo Community in 2014 to digitize and georeference early-to-mid 20th century historical topographic maps covering the province of Ontario at the scales of 1:25,000 and 1:63,360. The goal was to create and provide access to high-resolution map scans that preserve historical topographic information and meet the needs of current and future users.
This project represents the single most comprehensive digitization project of the early-National Topographic Series map collection in Canada.
Researchers and students can explore the maps and compare changes over time, using the GeoPortal’s map viewer that contains current base map data and a transparency slider feature.
Ted Wilush, McMaster University Bachelor of Commerce graduate and map enthusiast, said, “The ability to use layers to compare the same (map) sheet from multiple eras against both each other and a modern map/satellite image is invaluable.”
The maps were originally produced by the Department of National Defence (until 1923 the Department of Militia and Defence) and show a variety of both natural and man-made features covering towns, cities and their surrounding areas in Ontario.
While early topographic maps are usually used by historians and researchers interested in examining change over time, genealogists often use maps to learn about the place where their ancestors lived.
A good place to learn how to search for maps is Using the maps.
Ideally, I would prefer to enter a question in the search box, such as Where exactly did George and Emily Gooderham live on Queen Street in Brampton?, instead of the name of a location, but where’s the fun in that? I continue to work on figuring out where George and Emily’s house was located on the 1909 map.
Search for the Ontario topographical maps here.
