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Property Research Resources | Property Research Strategies | HIST 338 Class Webpage
Get Your Bearings: Study Maps and Atlases
Learn how land is surveyed
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- Use the Geographical Index at the Wood County Recorder's Office to find the legal description (In this case, the property
is Plain Township, Inlot 3222, 3223, 3224, 3225) and a list of owners.
- If the property was once part of a larger parcel, trace the ownership of the larger parcel back to the earliest owners.
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Locate the property on a series of maps to note changes over time
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- Locate the property in an Atlas. Compare several atlases to see any changes.
- Look for changes in land, ownership, and the nearby area
- Look for natural features (rivers, swamp areas) which affect access to the property, availability of water, etc.
- Look for man-made features (railroads, roads, cemeteries, quarries) which affect transportation of people and goods or influence
movement or business.
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Read history of the general area
- City and county histories often begin with a description of the geology and geography of the area and include information
about places of special interest.
- Atlases sometimes have brief histories, biographies of landowners, and statistical information about agriculture or manufacturing.
- See Bibliography of Selected Resources
Learn about the people: Gather biographical information about the property owners
Printed sources include city and county histories and newspaper obituaries
Other sources include the Federal Census
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- Note family relationships and occupations
- Note changes over time
- Census Indexes found at Ancestry.com--request assistance from Reference Staff
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Still other sources for information
- Probate Court records include information about wills, marriages, births
- City and county directories give names, addresses, and occupations of people
Learn about the Property
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Government Records
- At left is the 1924 Reappraisement for one portion of this property. Be sure to locate all parcels of the property in question.
The Reappraisement record gives a valuation of the land and buildings for tax purposes and describes the construction and
age of any buildings.
Other government records which may be sources for information
- Reappraisement records 1943 (county)
- Tax records (county)
- Oil & Gas records (county)
- Water and sewer records (city)
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Search the property through time in City or County Directories
Questions to ask:
- Does the owner use the property as his personal residence?
- Does the owner use the property as his business?
- Does the owner use the property for income? (e.g., rental housing)
- What happens to a business as the ownership changes?
- What changes are apparent in the neighborhood of the property?
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Still other sources of information
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- Photographs and postcards
- Search appropriate topics in the online catalog. (See "Industrial Development of Bowling Green," pOG 0271)
- Search newspapers (including BG News) for articles on business
- Search BGSU General Catalog for information on class pictured at left
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Special Tips
- Not every source is appropriate for every property.
- Some information may not have been recorded, or may have become lost. But-- are you looking in the right place? Other sources
may provide the "missing" information.
- Consider national as well as local events as they affect your property:
- Farming practices may be documented from general history sources
- Economic conditions affect land use (Depressions occurred many times during the last 150 years--did they affect your property?)
- Industrial development affects even "rural" areas. Consider the gas and oil boom. Did it affect your property?
- Political events can affect land use. What national policies were adopted during wartime which may have affected farming and
industry?
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