Go to: PA Geology Maps | Fire Insurance Maps
Digital Maps: PA Geology
Throughout most of its history, Pennsylvania led the nation in mineral production. It is also one of the most heavily populated states in the country. Combine a large, growing population with extensive historic mining operations, and you can expect a relatively high level of interest in geology and mining issues. Questions range from homeowners wanting to know if there was a mine on (or under) their property to engineers requesting information for construction or highway project planning. Pennsylvania Geology is a growing collection of materials related to the land and water resources of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, developed to provide easier access to resources of interest to specialists and laymen alike.
Geology changes at such a slow pace that materials from 100 years ago remain very relevant today, which is reflected in the Pennsylvania Geology collection. The publications of the Second Geological Survey of Pennsylvania (1874-1884) form the core of the collection. The Second Geological Survey of Pennsylvania came about during the Gilded Age, that time following the Civil War when business was booming and the economy was expanding at a rapid pace. It was the era of Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, and Carnegie. Demand for the building blocks of industry—coal, iron, and steel—was high and Pennsylvania, already a major supplier of these mineral resources, was eager to expand its knowledge of the extent and location of its mineral wealth. Initiated by order of the legislature in 1874, the mandates to the Second Survey were to focus on finding new economic resources such as coal, oil, and iron and to quickly publicize the results of their work. The latter mandate, inserted partially in response to the fact that the First Geological Survey of Pennsylvania was completed nearly twenty years late, had a major impact. Administrators of the Second Survey were extremely sensitive to the issue of publishing reports in a timely manner—so much so that many volumes were published with a minimum of editing and indexing, making it difficult to locate information contained therein—a drawback overcome by the fully indexed texts contained in the Pennsylvania Geology collection.
The Second Survey was officially completed in 1889, with the final volume published in 1895. The Second Survey produced 124 reports, including over 80 texts, totaling more than 31,000 pages, over 70 foldout plates, a hand atlas of color plates, a six-volume Grand Atlas, and nearly 600 loose maps and plates. Volumes were published in regular-sized book format, with accompanying maps issued folded in a pocket in the text or in an accompanying atlas, making for easy mailing to mine owners, developers, and prospectors. Maps were available for purchase as separate individual items as soon as they were published. Rather than completing the survey on a county-by-county basis, reports were issued initially by theme, later by region. Reports covered anthracite coal resources, bituminous coal resources, and petroleum resources as well as reports by region. 
The Second Survey was later hailed as “the most remarkable series of reports ever issued by any survey,” and these publications remain valuable artifacts to this day, detailing locations of streets and railroads, mines and breaker buildings, and local businesses throughout Pennsylvania. Historians and genealogists have taken an interest in the collection and begun to ‘mine’ it for facts relating to ethnicity, family and local history, and historic mining methods and tools.
Beyond the Second Survey materials, Pennsylvania Geology contains publications from later geological surveys of the Commonwealth as well as miscellaneous publications on the land and water resources of Pennsylvania. Publications from the Third Geological Survey (1899-1917) are currently in the process of being added to the collection.
Digital Maps: Fire Insurance Maps of State College
Some of the most heavily requested maps in the Libraries’ collection are fire insurance maps. These maps illustrate how communities grow and change over time, what businesses have come and gone, and even how street names have changed. Used to study land use and other changes—houses going from single-family dwellings to apartments, for example—these maps are fabulous sources for historical research.
Fire insurance maps provide details about the shape, size, and construction materials used for buildings in a particular location. The maps illustrate the residential and commercial character of a town at a particular point in time, providing details as to the functions of buildings (e.g., commercial laundry, apartment building, garage, factory, etc.) as well as property boundaries and street names. The Libraries have digitized the fire insurance maps of State College from 1906, 1911, and 1922 to allow better access to these very popular resources and hope to digitize more Pennsylvania fire insurance maps in the future. For further listings of other digital fire insurance maps see the Earth and Mineral Sciences Library website, http://www.libraries.psu.edu/emsl/guides/maps.html#Fire Insurance.
1906 Corner of College and Allen