The historical map collection has over 63,000 maps and images online.

If you live in a house that’s more than a few decades old, you might wonder about its history. What were the circumstances surrounding its construction? Who lived there before you moved in? You might even wonder about the evolution of the home’s structure as it has undergone home improvement, or you might have a morbid curiosity about whether or not your home has a sordid past. With the help of online resources and public records, much can be learned about the history of any property.

Local and the World Metsker Maps has been a fixture in Seattle since 1950. Why "Metsker” Maps? Charles Metsker started making maps of the Pacific Northwest in 1901. In 1950 the first Seattle store opened in downtown (1020 Third Ave) by the Metsker family primarily to sell the county maps, township maps & the atlases they published. In 1980 the store moved to Pioneer Square (1st and Cherry) and was sold outside the Metsker family. After that we started selling many more types of maps along with anything related to maps and travel. In 1999 we joined forces with Kroll Map Company, a mapmaker located in Belltown that continues to publish maps. In 2004 we moved to our current location in the Pike Place Market. We continue to be a locally owned business.

Meyers Gazetteer, a free online database consisting of over 200,000 villages, towns and cities in pre-World War I Germany (so yes, if your ancestor’s town was in present-day Poland or France, it will be there!) is an amazing tool. If you know that the word on your document is a place name, but can only recognize a few of the letters, type these letters into the site’s search engine, simply using an asterisk for the letters you don’t recognize. Meyers Gazetteer will then provide you with a list of all possible places with your letter combination. Too many results? Narrow your search by German state in the drop-down box. This allows you to see all the towns in your specific region, and you can then compare the letters in these towns to the letters in your handwritten word and see if you have a match.

National Archives and Records Administration

Pacific Northwest and the World Captain’s Supplies, originally named Max Kuner Company, opened its doors in 1897 just a few doors down the hall from the U.S. Customs Office in Seattle, WA. Max Kuner was drawn to Seattle during the Klondike Gold Rush. Seattle was the nearest major, deep water, railhead seaport in the continental United States and business was booming. The son of a German immigrant, Max Kuner took advantage of the navigation needs of ships calling on the port. He provided Nautical Optician services, made watches and specialized in nautical charts and maps. When Max died in the 1930’s his wife Anna took over the business until her death in 1943. The company was sold to employee watchmaker Tom Williamson who carried the tradition until his death in 1949. You can order maps here.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency, National Ocean Service, Charting and Navigation

History