Maps

Contemporary - To obtain a copy of the current street map of Waterbury, published in 2003, stop by the Reference Desk in the Main Reading Room.

Historical - The Silas Bronson is fortunate to have some interesting historical maps of Waterbury, which was founded in 1674.  The oldest detailed map of Waterbury in our collection dates from 1879.  Where were streets, railroad tracks, rivers, schools, churches, factories, cemeteries, and tenement houses located?  Historical maps can answer many of these questions.

G.M. Hopkins' City Atlas of Waterbury, 1879	Genealogy Room - Oversize
Roger H. Pidgeon's Atlas of the City of Waterbury, 1896	Genealogy Room - Oversize
A.J. Patton's Map of Waterbury, 1909	Basement Storage
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, 1901	Two-volume set in Basement Storage/ Microfilm-East Wing.
Maps and atlases of New Haven County and Connecticut	Genealogy Room - Oversize

Historical maps of Waterbury at other museums and libraries:

• Mattatuck Museum, Waterbury - Their map collection is almost identical to ours.
• University of Connecticut Libraries, Scanned map collection - They have three Waterbury maps, the earliest one dated 1874, and other maps that show all of New Haven County or all of Connecticut.
• Connecticut State Library - They have a wide assortment of Connecticut maps as well as links to outstanding digital map collections.

Topographical - What was the exact location of grandfather's farm?  You may find the answer on a topographical map.  Our federal documents collection includes topographical maps for Connecticut towns.  They are stored in a map file, in the Technical Services room.  Within the file, the maps are arranged alphabetically by town.  In some cases, a single map will cover more than one town.  For example, Bantam can be found on the map of Litchfield.  We also have an Atlas of Connecticut Topographic Maps in the back of the Reference Section, with the other atlases.  (The Technical Services room is located in the basement of the Library.  Check with the Reference Desk in order to obtain permission to get access to the Technical Services room.)

designed by Dana Lucisano
10/1/2007