1927 Thrift Press’ McHenry County Atlas

The 1927 atlas is the first dated county land ownership atlas after the 1872, 1892, and 1908 county atlases. It is the only dated land ownership atlas MCHS has, between 1908 and 1939. Like its predecessors, the atlas contains full-page maps of each township and measures 16 x 12 inches. The legend states that the township maps show schools, churches, cemeteries, and paved roads. It does show other roads, railroads, and bodies of water. It is heavily used in property research, which represent a large share of our property research requests. This snapshot in time, coupled with other resources, is valuable in tracing land ownership over time. It is also used in answering cemetery, country school, creek channelization questions,  as well as other types of historical research in the 1920s.

Conservation Treatment: Since the volume is staple bound, removing the staples and side-sewing through the original holes is recommended. The tape would be removed from both the page and the case, mend/guard for stabilization purposes only, surface and reback.