Research


Scope and Content Note

The maps depict land in every area of the state, and especially in the Adirondack, Catskill, and western regions. Many maps are extremely detailed and frequently show names of owners of individual lots and parcels. Most of the maps are manuscript originals or hand copies on tracing cloth. Some are blueprint copies or printed maps with annotations.

B1610-99A: This accretion primarily consists of one volume of hand-drawn or hand copied maps on graph paper. Each of the maps is designated "Case O" and numbered consecutively. The accretion also includes approximately 75 unbound maps stored in folders. The maps depict a variety of tracts and patents, mainly located in the Adirondack region. Some are hand-drawn or copied on paper or tracing cloth; some are blueprint or blueline print copies.

B1610-15: This accretion consists of a statewide set of maps referred to by the State Comptroller's Office as "Case O" maps. As with the consecutively numbered rolled and foldered maps that comprise the rest of this series, the "Case O" maps were compiled by the comptroller's office for the purpose of identifying land to be sold for unpaid taxes. The agency's reason for compiling and maintaining this separate set of maps, arranged by county, is not known. While the bulk of the maps are done in ink on linen, some maps are hand-drawn in pencil on paper. A few scattered blueprint maps are also included. In a small minority of cases, only narrative survey descriptions of land tracts are included.