Maryland Maps: A Finding Aid  

The Maryland Collection contains more than 2,500 maps depicting Maryland, the Chesapeake Bay, and the surrounding region.  These maps cover an extensive historical period for the Maryland region, ranging from the sixteenth to the twenty-first century.  They represent a wide range of information about the development of the state, including exploration, city and county borders, transportation, rural landscapes, land use, urban development, economic activity, and other geographic and social aspects of Maryland history.

The Maryland Collection also houses an extensive collection of Sanborn Fire Insurance maps, including both the original and microfilm copies. These highly detailed maps, published between 1870 to 1950, show every structure in the central portion of many cities and towns throughout the state.  A small collection of land ownership maps of Maryland is also available for researchers in the Maryland Room.  

Maps from the Maryland Collection are only available for use in the Maryland Room, on the first floor of Hornbake Library.   

Additional maps of Maryland are located in the U.S. Government Information, Maps & GIS Services collections at McKeldin Library.  

The Maryland Room is located on the first floor of Hornbake Library and provides access to many of the University's Special Collections, including the Rare Books, Historical Manuscripts, and the Maryland Collection.

The Maryland Room is open to University of Maryland students, faculty, and staff; faculty, students, and staff from other colleges and universities; local, national, and international scholars; and members of the general public.

Materials accessed in the Maryland Room are only available to view in the reading room, and do not circulate.  For directions, hours, and other information, please visit the Maryland Room homepage.  

Helpful links:

• Maryland Room Policies

• Duplication of Materials Policy

• Research Using Primary Sources

Welcome to the Maryland Room guide to maps of Maryland!

You can use the Maryland Map Collection online database to search and browse maps from the Maryland Collection, located in Hornbake Library.

There are several places you can go to begin your search for maps of Maryland:

• UMD Catalog

• Maryland Map Collection Database

• Books

• Sanborn Fire Insurance Map Collection

• Land Ownership Map Collection

• U.S. Government Information, Maps & GIS Services Collections