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Old Maps of Polk County, Iowa for Academic Research

Study the evolution of Polk County with 118 high-resolution historic maps. Whether you're teaching, researching, or modeling changes in land use, these maps provide essential visual documentation of urban, environmental, and geographic change.

  • Analyze long-term change: Track patterns in development, transportation, and natural features.
  • Ideal for environmental or urban studies: Support academic projects with primary historical map data.
  • Use in the classroom or lab: Educators and researchers rely on these maps to bring historical context to life.

These maps are a powerful tool for teaching, research, and visualizing how Polk County has changed over the decades.

Polk County, IA maps

(118)
  1. 1905 Map of Des Moines, 1954 Print
    1905 Map of Des Moines, 1954 Print
    1905 Des Moines
    1954 Print · USGS
    At the dawn of the twentieth century, the state capital was a thriving rail hub where the Des Moines River met a complex network of iron rails. Genealogists and historians can trace early neighborhood development near the State Fairgrounds or locate family roots near rural landmarks like Red Brick School and Valley Junction.
  4. 1907 Map of Des Moines
    1907 Map of Des Moines
    1907 Des Moines
    1907 Print · USGS
    The capital city and its surrounding coal-and-rail towns are shown in detail at the start of the twentieth century. Genealogists can locate family homesteads near Fort Des Moines or trace ancestors in vanished settlements like Oralabor, Saylorville, and Valley Junction.
    3 unique versions available
  7. 1908 Map of Waukee
    1908 Map of Waukee
    1908 Waukee
    1908 Print · USGS
    Dallas County at the turn of the century shows a landscape shaped by competing railroads and the winding Raccoon River. Genealogists and local historians can trace early schoolhouse locations like Valley Grove School and the original rail footprints of Waukee and Van Meter.
    2 unique versions available
  10. 1910 Map of Milo
    1910 Map of Milo
    1910 Milo
    1910 Print · USGS
    Warren and Marion counties are captured here at the height of their early 20th-century rural development, before the modernization of the road network. Genealogists can trace family footprints through numerous country schools like Prairie Creek School and the river-crossing at Hammondsburg Bridge.
    2 unique versions available
  13. 1911 Map of Madrid, 1958 Print
    1911 Map of Madrid, 1958 Print
    1911 Madrid
    1958 Print · USGS
    Boone and Dallas counties appear here in the early twentieth century as a busy corridor of river-valley agriculture and rail transit. Researchers can trace dozens of early rural school sites like Hull School and Gildea School alongside the path of the Inter-Urban Railway.
  16. 1911 Map of Slater, 1960 Print
    1911 Map of Slater, 1960 Print
    1911 Slater
    1960 Print · USGS
    Central Iowa at the dawn of the twentieth century was a landscape of rail-driven prairie towns and a schoolhouse at nearly every mile. Genealogists can trace the rural roots of local families through specific sites like Nip-and-tuck School, Polk City Junction, and Huxley.
  19. 1913 Map of Slater
    1913 Map of Slater
    1913 Slater
    1913 Print · USGS
    Central Iowa's farm country and rail corridors are captured here just before the First World War, showing a landscape tightly knit by steam and electric lines. Genealogists can locate dozens of neighborhood landmarks like Nip-and-tuck School, the Sydnes School, and the early plats of Slater and Huxley.
    2 unique versions available
  22. 1914 Map of Madrid
    1914 Map of Madrid
    1914 Madrid
    1914 Print · USGS
    Central Iowa's river valleys and prairie townships come alive in the decade before the Great War, showing a landscape defined by rail lines and rural schoolhouses. Genealogists and historians can trace family roots through specific landmarks like Madrid, Woodward, and the Marcy Center School.
    3 unique versions available
  25. 1930 Map of Mitchellville
    1930 Map of Mitchellville
    1930 Mitchellville
    1930 Print · USGS
    Central Iowa's fertile prairie and river valleys come alive in this late 1920s survey of the settlements between the Skunk and Des Moines rivers. Researchers can locate dozens of country schools like Nebo Sch and Peacock Sch or trace family roots near Camp Center Ch.
    3 unique versions available
  28. 1954 Map of Des Moines, 1973 Print
    1954 Map of Des Moines, 1973 Print
    1954 Des Moines
    1973 Print · USGS
    Central Iowa's evolving landscape is captured here in the early seventies, just as major reservoirs were reshaping the river valleys. Genealogists and historians can trace the rail corridors of the Burlington Northern or locate family roots near Pella, Indianola, and Knoxville.
    2 unique versions available
  31. 1956 Map of Des Moines
    1956 Map of Des Moines
    1956 Des Moines
    1956 Print · USGS
    Central Iowa in the mid-fifties shows a landscape defined by bustling rail hubs and deep-rooted agricultural research. Genealogists and researchers can trace the growth of Des Moines and Ames, locate the Sac and Fox Indian Reservation, or study the paths of the Skunk River and South Skunk River.
  34. 1956 Map of Des Moines NW, 1958 Print
    1956 Map of Des Moines NW, 1958 Print
    1956 Des Moines NW
    1958 Print · USGS
    Northwest of Des Moines in the mid-fifties, the landscape was a mix of military training grounds and rapidly growing suburbs. Genealogists and historians can trace the footprint of Camp Dodge, find lost family plots like Kinsey Cem, and locate the early sites of Dodge Airport and Olmstead Sch.
    5 unique versions available
  37. 1956 Map of Des Moines SW, 1958 Print
    1956 Map of Des Moines SW, 1958 Print
    1956 Des Moines SW
    1958 Print · USGS
    Mid-century expansion across Polk County shows the growth of the state capital as suburban neighborhoods reached toward West Des Moines. Researchers can trace historic rail lines, old schools like Plainview Sch, and the layout of Drake University or Glendale Cemetery.
    4 unique versions available
  40. 1956 Map of Des Moines SE, 1958 Print
    1956 Map of Des Moines SE, 1958 Print
    1956 Des Moines SE
    1958 Print · USGS
    Mid-century Des Moines and its southeastern suburbs are captured here during a time of significant growth and transit expansion. Genealogists and historians can trace neighborhood landmarks like Fort Des Moines, the State Fairground, and numerous family-named cemeteries such as Oakwood Cem.
    4 unique versions available
  43. 1956 Map of Des Moines NE, 1958 Print
    1956 Map of Des Moines NE, 1958 Print
    1956 Des Moines NE
    1958 Print · USGS
    The northern Des Moines suburbs and the rail hubs of Polk County are captured here in the mid-fifties. Researchers can trace the original footprints of Ankeny and Oralabor, or locate rural landmarks like Greenwood Ch and Highland Memory Gardens.
    4 unique versions available
  46. 1956 Map of Des Moines, 1959 Print
    1956 Map of Des Moines, 1959 Print
    1956 Des Moines
    1959 Print · USGS
    The Des Moines metro area is captured in the mid-1950s, showing a landscape defined by rapid suburban growth and deep-rooted military and rail history. Trace the development of Urbandale and Windsor Heights alongside landmarks like Camp Dodge and the State Fairgrounds.
  49. 1957 Map of Des Moines
    1957 Map of Des Moines
    1957 Des Moines
    1957 Print · USGS
    Central Iowa's post-war landscape is defined here by the converging rail lines and river valleys that shaped its earliest settlements. Genealogists and historians can trace the paths of the Rock Island Railroad and locate community landmarks in Des Moines, Ames, and Newton.
  52. 1965 Map of Pleasantville, 1966 Print
    1965 Map of Pleasantville, 1966 Print
    1965 Pleasantville
    1966 Print · USGS
    In the mid-1960s, this portion of Marion County was undergoing significant hydrological change as the reservoir system began to shape the river valleys. Researchers can trace the paths of three major rail lines and locate local landmarks like Swan Cem, the Scatling Mine, and the village of Beech.
  55. 1965 Map of Granger, 1966 Print
    1965 Map of Granger, 1966 Print
    1965 Granger
    1966 Print · USGS
    The Des Moines River valley in the mid-sixties reveals a landscape undergoing transformation as the Saylorville Reservoir takes shape. Genealogists can locate family sites like Granger Homesteads or rural landmarks such as Hopkins Grove Cem and the Chestnut Ford Bridge.
    2 unique versions available
  58. 1965 Map of Hartford, 1966 Print
    1965 Map of Hartford, 1966 Print
    1965 Hartford
    1966 Print · USGS
    The mid-1960s landscape of Warren County is defined by the valley of the Des Moines River and the emerging Lake Red Rock. Genealogists and researchers can trace the rail lines of the Chicago Rock Island and Pacific or locate burial sites like Black Cem and Carlisle Cem.
  61. 1965 Map of Grimes, 1966 Print
    1965 Map of Grimes, 1966 Print
    1965 Grimes
    1966 Print · USGS
    Grimes and northern Urbandale are captured in the mid-sixties during a period of steady suburban expansion and rail-supported growth. Researchers can trace the heritage of local families at Sunny Hill Hill Cem or follow the historic routes of the Chicago and North Western railroad.
    2 unique versions available
  64. 1965 Map of Commerce, 1966 Print
    1965 Map of Commerce, 1966 Print
    1965 Commerce
    1966 Print · USGS
    Suburban development meets Iowa farmland in the mid-1960s as the Raccoon River valley undergoes rapid change. Trace old rail lines like the Chicago Rock Island and Pacific or locate local landmarks like Valley High Sch and Sugar Creek Lake.
    2 unique versions available
  67. 1969 Map of Des Moines
    1969 Map of Des Moines
    1969 Des Moines
    1969 Print · USGS
    Central Iowa's fertile plains and growing capital are captured here during the late sixties, a time of major highway expansion and reservoir construction. Genealogists and researchers can trace rural township boundaries, local cemeteries, and rail lines serving towns like Pella, Grinnell, and Oskaloosa.
  70. 1972 Map of Runnells, 1974 Print
    1972 Map of Runnells, 1974 Print
    1972 Runnells
    1974 Print · USGS
    Runnells and the southern Polk County borderlands are shown here in the early seventies, just as the regional landscape was adjusting to the presence of Lake Red Rock. Researchers can trace old family sites and rural infrastructure through the Vandalia Cem, the Runnells Sch, and the Norfolk and Western rail line.
  73. 1972 Map of Altoona, 1974 Print
    1972 Map of Altoona, 1974 Print
    1972 Altoona
    1974 Print · USGS
    Polk County enters a decade of modern growth and infrastructure expansion in the early seventies. Genealogists and local researchers can trace the rail lines of the Chicago and North Western or locate family plots at Altoona Cem and Franklin Cem.
    2 unique versions available
Showing maps 1-25 of 118

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Frequently asked questions

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