The first explorers to come to Louisiana were Spanish. They came to the area in the 1500s, beginning in 1519 with Alvarez Pineda. In 1528, Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca followed.

Then, in 1541, the area was explored by Hernando de Soto. More than 100 years later, in 1682, the area was claimed for Louis XIV of France by Sieur de la Salle.

The U.S. acquired Louisiana in the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. The Territory of Orleans was created on March 26, 1804 and the State of Louisiana was created as the 18th state on April 30, 1812.

States bordering Louisiana are Arkansas, Mississippi and Texas. Louisiana’s 10 largest cities are New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Shreveport, Metairie, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Kenner, Bossier City, Monroe and Alexandria.

Most historical maps of Louisiana were published in atlases. There are large Louisiana map collections in both university libraries and public libraries.

There are also several map collections in historical and genealogical societies, as well as private collections and archives. The French Quarter is home to the Historic New Orleans Collection, which includes the d’Auberville-Bouligny Family Papers and the Bouligny Family Papers. Those collections include maps and large amounts of documentation about the Spanish and French colonial times.

There is information found in the maps that cannot be found elsewhere. For example, the Claude Perrin Victor Papers and the Pierre Clement de Laussat Papers are particularly full of useful information. Antebellum era maps can also give researchers insights into transportation methods and population growth across Louisiana.

Every piece of property in the French Quarter is listed in the Vieux Carr Survey. Photographs, drawings, and property title chains are included. The Historic New Orleans Collection also includes many of those documents.

Original survey plats, field notes, and maps of Louisiana that were made by early surveyors working for the United States can be found in Baton Rouge at the State Land Office, which is in the State Land and Natural Resources Building. The clerk of courts office in each parish courthouse may also hold plat maps, which list land ownership.