county lines

Why have all the map tools changed…again?

January 28, 2021 by Randy Majors

If you’ve recently used any of the map tools on randymajors.org (such as Historical U.S. Counties on Google Maps or County Lines on Google Maps, etc) you may have noticed some changes. So why fix it if it ain’t broke?! The biggest reason is that all the map tools were about to break due to Google shutting down their Fusion Tables technology, which is what I had been using to draw all of the maps. So after some very, very heavy-lifting for many weeks (just ask my wife!) I was able to move all of the map tools to another Google … Read more

Show me ALL of the names!

January 28, 2021 by Randy Majors

You’ve always been able to search or click on the map and have information about the ONE spot where you clicked appear at the bottom of the map, like this: “But wouldn’t it be nice,” many people have asked over the years, “to see ALL of the names of the counties on the map rather than just the one that I clicked?” Or something to that effect. Now you can. Just go to the Historical U.S. Counties on Google Maps tool and check “Show labels…” checkbox in the lower left corner of the map, and your map will be pleasantly … Read more

Thank you for the feedback! Now, what have I done with it?

January 28, 2021 by Randy Majors

Thank you to the 182 people that provided valuable feedback via the user survey I had running over the last 30 days on the randymajors.org map and search tools. This post provides a brief summary of the feedback, as well as a handful of enhancement ideas that came from the surveys. First, what are people using the tools for? Given the history of this website, it’s no surprise that the largest proportion of users use the tool for genealogy purposes, especially the Historical U.S. County Boundary Maps and AncestorSearch: Google Custom Search tools. However, it was quite interesting to see … Read more

See for miles and miles…or at least a few more inches

January 28, 2021 by Randy Majors

Probably the most common request I hear is something along the lines of “can you make the map window larger?” Well the wait is finally over. All of the randymajors.org map windows are now optimized to fill more of your screen, no matter what your screen resolution is. This update applies to County Lines on Google Maps, City Limits on Google Maps, Township Range on Google Maps, ZIP Codes on Google Maps, Location Explorer on Google Maps, Historical U.S. County Boundary Maps, Climate Info on Google Maps, Time Zones on Google Maps and Area Codes on Google Maps. For those on … Read more

Are you talking about townships or townships?

January 28, 2021 by Randy Majors

You’re in luck either way: If you want to map Township/Range/Section, I’ve just released a new tool called Township Range on Google Maps that maps them all the way down to the quarter quarter section. These townships are part of the Public Land Survey System found in roughly 30 states in the U.S. (which you can read about here). You can search by address, place, GPS coordinates, or do a reverse find by Section, Township, Range. They look something like this: Using the Township Range on Google Maps tool shown above, you can: Search by address or place using the … Read more

Townships have arrived!

January 28, 2021 by Randy Majors

One of the most commonly requested features I’ve heard over the past several months is the ability to map townships. Well, now you can on both the County Lines on Google Maps and the City Limits on Google Maps tools by checking the “Also show townships” box in the lower left corner of both map tools: If you’re using the City Limits on Google Maps tool and you search for a place or address that is in a township, that township will be highlighted on the map for you even if you don’t have the “Also show townships” checkbox checked. This … Read more

Several upgrades to the City Limits on Google Maps tool

January 28, 2021 by Randy Majors

Following on from the enhancements to the County Lines on Google Maps tool, I’ve made several improvements to the City Limits on Google Maps tool as well: 1. In addition to the city limits drawing, you can optionally choose to show county lines as well. Just check the “Also show county lines” checkbox in the bottom left corner of the map: 2. There are a couple of enhancements related to Latitude/Longitude or GPS coordinates. The first one is that the Latitude/Longitude of the place you clicked on (or typed) appears at the bottom of the map (Also, the area of … Read more

County Lines on Google Maps enhancements, Time Zones and Area Codes tools released

January 28, 2021 by Randy Majors

QUICK LINK TO THE MAP TOOL: County Lines on Google Maps This is just a quick note to let you know of a few enhancements to the County Lines on Google Maps tool, as well as the release of the worldwide Time Zones on Google Maps tool. First, for the county lines tool: 1. When searching in the US, you can now choose to also show City Limits at the same time as County Lines. Just check this little box in the lower left corner of the map: With “Also show US city limits” checked, you’ll be able to click on … Read more

How can I improve the randymajors.org mapping and search tools for you?

January 28, 2021 by Randy Majors

With many tools getting quite a lot of usage on the randymajors.org website, it’s a good time for me to ask users what I can do to improve the tools. I’d be grateful if you would take a few minutes to provide feedback on the tools you use by following the links below. Your feedback will help ensure I focus on the things that are most important (including new tools you wish existed!). Please click links or images below to be taken to the survey for that tool. Your responses will remain anonymous. (Visit the tools using the links on … Read more

For the map and geography geek in you…

January 28, 2021 by Randy Majors

For those of you who are map and geography geeks like me, I’ve just released a new tool I created on Google Maps that I hope you find both informative and maybe even fun! I named the tool Location Explorer on Google Maps. Think of it as kind of a “drill-down” for any chosen U.S. location — be it a place or address. Not sure how to best describe it…so let’s use pictures: For the above example, I simply typed an address in Salt Lake City, and the 12 above maps appeared. The maps show all of the following “topics” for … Read more