Center for Archival Collections

Starting Your Research | CAC Research Aids | UL Class Pages Index

Property & Real Estate Research Resources

Property Research Strategies | Sample Project | HIST 3380 Class Webpage

First Steps

  • Select a piece of property
  • Go to the County Recorder's Office to get the legal description of the property
  • Using Deed Records, compile a list of the owners. Remember to record the dates! Remember to get all the previous owners.
  • For Wood County properties, use the Geographical Index

Where to Research the History of Your Property

 Local Archives, Library & Historical Society

Secondary Sources

  • City & County Histories
  • Corporate Histories

Pictorial Collections

  • Postcards
  • Photographs
  • Prints

Maps

Other Sources

  • City Directories/Gazetteers
  • Newspapers
  • Builders and Trade Catalogs
  • Architectural Drawings
  • Manuscript Collections
  • Oral Histories
  • Tax Duplicates
  • Deed Indexes
  • Cemetery Records

Census Records

The CAC holds Population Schedules for all of Ohio (1820-1930) and Agriculture and Manufacturing Schedules for northwest Ohio counties for 1870-1880. Population Schedules may list all members of the household, their ages, occupations, relationships, and place of birth; Agriculture and Manufacturing Schedules give information about crops grown and products made.

  • Population
  • Agriculture
  • Manufacturing

 County Courthouse

Auditor's Office/Board of Equalization

  • Plat Books
  • Assessor's Cards
  • Tax Duplicate Records
  • Industrial Appraisal Records
  • Reappraisements
  • Oil and Gas Returns

Recorder

  • Plat Maps
  • Deed Records
  • Geographical Index
  • Mechanic's Lien Records
  • Mortgage Records

Clerk of Courts

  • Common Pleas Court Records

Probate Court

  • Will Records
  • Vital Records: Births, Marriages, Deaths
  • Estate Records

Engineer

  • Aerial Photographs
  • Ditch & Road Survey Records
  • Survey Records

Commissioners

  • Commissioners' Journals
  • Building Cards
  • Building Permits
  • Building Plans

 Municipal Offices

Buildings & Inspections

  • Building Permits
  • Building Cards
  • Demolition Permits

Engineering Office

  • Maps
  • Aerial Photographs

Water Works

  • Water & Sewer Tap Records

Clerk's Office

  • Ordinances
  • City Bulletins

 Corporate and Institutional Records

Churches

  • Dedication Pamphlets
  • Marriage Records
  • Baptismal Records
  • Account Books
  • Church Bulletins

Companies

  • Written Histories
  • Maps
  • Ledgers, Account Books
  • Photographs
  • Interviews
  • Annual Reports

 Private Collections

  • Personal Papers/Manuscripts
  • Letters/Diaries
  • Photographs/Postcards
  • Scrapbooks/Albums
  • Family Bible Records
  • Interviews and Oral Histories
  • Architectural Drawings
  • Title Abstracts

 Internet Resources

 Center for Archival Collections

The Center for Archival Collections holds many of the public records and books described above. To request these items, consult the following:

  1. University Libraries online catalog lists books, pamphlets, newspapers, and manuscripts held by the CAC.
  2. Guide to Local Government Records lists all county, township, and municipal records held by the CAC, whether in original or microfilm format.
  3. The Ohio Obituary Index locates the date and newspaper for obituaries of landowners.
  4. The Guide to Newspaper Holdings lists titles and dates of all newspapers held by the CAC.
  5. Research strategies. Suggestions for organizing your research. What to look for and how to look for it.