# Maps of town borders **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 12, 2004, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maps-of-town-borders/259614 "2004-08-12T23:31:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dusty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@Dusty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dusty)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2004, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maps-of-town-borders/259614/1 "2004-08-12T23:31:42Z")
Is there anyplace with maps that show the borders of towns? Not a map with a dot here for one town and a dot some distance from it for its neighbor, one with a squiggly line defining where those towns touch. A bit like a state map that only shows its counties, but in this case a county map that only shows its towns (and villages, plantations, etc). Mapquest, Yahoo Maps, and Expedia don’t fit the bill, and those are the only places I know to look to for maps. Incidentally, does this type of map have a name? It would certainly make searching for one easier. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2004, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maps-of-town-borders/259614/2 "2004-08-12T23:43:34Z")
I don’t know of any on-line, but any city or county office would have them. I’ve heard them called “planning maps.” ---
**Author:** ![adirondack\_mike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5a626/32.png) [@adirondack\_mike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adirondack_mike)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2004, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maps-of-town-borders/259614/3 "2004-08-12T23:52:32Z")
The [Delorme](http://www.delorme.com) maps show towns and the like…where they exist. You might browse around the [USGS](http://www.usgs.gov) website in the map section to see if they have any political boundary maps. I don’t think that they do. New England has towns. New Jersey and New York have towns. Western states are divided into townships. In Maryland (and the southeast I believe) they have a few towns. F’rinstance when you leave Rockville Incorporated entity you are in a nebulous area of Montgomery County that is typically named after a subdivision (or has Chevy Chase or Potomac in the name). There are no local politicians except at the county level. IMHO the homeowners association act like little townships complete with their own little dictators and lackeys. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2004, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maps-of-town-borders/259614/4 "2004-08-13T00:42:45Z")
We’ve always had [these map books](http://www.commercialsurvey.com/) at our house…and until just ow I thought they were commonplace and available for every place in the US. Turns out they’re just for NE Ohio! But they do show city and county boundaries. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2004, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maps-of-town-borders/259614/5 "2004-08-13T00:45:19Z")
Just NOW. I mean I didn’t know until just NOW… :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2004, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maps-of-town-borders/259614/6 "2004-08-13T02:27:41Z")
> [@Dusty](#): > > …one with a squiggly line defining where those towns touch. A bit like a state map that only shows its counties, … You mean something like this one I found for the state of Mass.? [http://www.sec.state.ma.us/cis/cispdf/ma\_city\_town.pdf](http://www.sec.state.ma.us/cis/cispdf/ma_city_town.pdf) I found it on the state government web site, with a little digging. Obviously this doesn’t help you with the rest of the country but maybe other states have similar resources? ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2004, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maps-of-town-borders/259614/7 "2004-08-13T02:56:00Z")
I found a pretty rockin’ 🆒 interactive map of a state north of here that includes the type of information I believe you are looking for: (you have to zoom in) [http://megisims.state.me.us/website/basemap/viewer.htm](http://megisims.state.me.us/website/basemap/viewer.htm) Does that help at all? ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2004, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maps-of-town-borders/259614/8 "2004-08-13T13:21:11Z")
> [@adirondack\_mike](#): > > In Maryland (and the southeast I believe) they have a few towns. F’rinstance when you leave Rockville Incorporated entity you are in a nebulous area of Montgomery County that is typically named after a subdivision (or has Chevy Chase or Potomac in the name). There are no local politicians except at the county level. Both Rockville and Gathersburg are cities, with local politicians and everything. There are other places in Montgomery county that are like that though. As for the OP, most state atlases should show the towns, generally in yellow. However not every place that has a name is a city, many places are just places so may only be marked by a sign. When I was a kid there was a place near me that was a couple of houses even though there were signs for it everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Dusty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@Dusty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dusty)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2004, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maps-of-town-borders/259614/9 "2004-08-13T17:07:22Z")
Laughing Lagomorph, that is precisely what I’m looking for, thank you.