Property history source list (free)
- Address and map point
- USGS historical topo maps by edition year
- Aerial photo frames by date
- NAIP imagery years
- Fire insurance (Sanborn) maps: where to look
- Gaps and other places to check (county, library)
Old-house buyers, historians and site researchers
What address do you want history for?
Free list of old aerial photos and USGS topo maps (1884-2006) that cover your address, with where to download each one. Free.
- Free to read
- No sign-up until the draft
- Hands off to the right door
ePlan fills in
- Map point
- Old USGS topo maps
- Aerial photo frames
- NAIP imagery years
- Land cover today
How it works
Property history source list, from one answer
- Enter the address and the years you care about.
- ePlan lists the free topo maps and aerial photos that cover it, by year.
- Read the list free. Buying commercial property? Price a Phase I and draft the user questionnaire.
What you get
Property history source list and 1 more document
The check is free. The paperwork after it is drafted at the Phase 1 ESA cost calculator door.
Phase I ESA user questionnaire
- Environmental cleanup liens
- Activity and use limitations
- Specialized knowledge
- Purchase price versus fair market value
- Commonly known information about the property
From public data
What ePlan fills in, and from where
- Historical topo maps, 1884-2006USGS topoView
- Historical aerial photo framesUSGS EarthExplorer
- Recent aerial imagery by yearUSDA NAIP
- Land cover todayUSGS/MRLC National Land Cover Database
178,000+
historical USGS topographic maps, published from 1884 to 2006, are scanned and free to download
Source: USGS topoView
Ready for the paperwork?
Estimate a Phase I environmental site assessment's cost and timing, then fill in the ASTM E1527-21 user questionnaire your consultant needs. Free to read.
Questions
Property history source list: what people ask
Are old USGS topo maps free?
Yes. USGS scanned its topographic maps first published on paper from 1884 to 2006, more than 178,000 of them, and you can download them free of charge through topoView.
Does a Phase I look at old aerial photos?
Yes. The federal All Appropriate Inquiries rule says the historical review may include aerial photographs, fire insurance maps, building department records, chain of title and land use records, going back to when the property first had structures or was first used.
Who must do a Phase I review?
Many All Appropriate Inquiries tasks must be done by, or under the supervision of, an environmental professional with the education, training and experience the rule defines. A buyer can gather records and hand them over.
The rules this door follows
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Where is the drainage area?
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Where is the construction site?
Property history source list: check it free
Answer it and ePlan opens the Phase 1 ESA cost calculator door with your answer filled in.