UW-Parkside Library > Archives > Land Records

Land Records

Land records are a valuable asset for genealogists, home historians and even public officials like city engineers or surveyors. Property assessments and tax rolls establish exactly where individuals lived at a given time and are very useful for determining the age of a structure and chain of ownership for a building or piece of property. Maps and atlases indicate land ownership and other details like the locations of railroads, rivers, schools, churches and some businesses. Assessment and tax rolls are compiled by the local community - city, village or township - on a yearly basis, while plats and other maps were published at irregular intervals.

Property Assessments and Tax Rolls

Racine County (Wis.). Treasurer: Tax Rolls 1849-1985
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-raci0027

The Tax Rolls are organized by township or city. They include: owner's name, description of property, valuation of lands and improvements as fixed by the Board of Review, general property taxes (school, road, sewer, city, town, county, state, delinquent, highway, drainage, special assessment, personal property), and in later years, income taxes. This is a relatively complete set of tax rolls through 1920. After 1920, only every fifth year has been preserved, except for the city of Racine for which a complete set of rolls for the 1920's was kept and the every-fifth-year practice was begun in 1930. A property description is needed before conducting a search for an assessment.

A searchable database by address for Racine properties that include property description is available at http://www.racineco.com/realdescr/index.aspx.

Kenosha (Wis.). Clerk: Assessment and Tax Rolls 1850-1869
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-keno0032

The Tax Rolls are organized by township or city. They include: names of owners of property, location of property by town and range or by lot and block, and assessor's valuation. Assessment rolls also show equalized value and, for some years, assessments for special harbor and railroad taxes. Tax rolls also show amount of taxes levied and, for most years, payment of taxes.

Kenosha County (Wis.). Treasurer: Tax Rolls 1856-1980
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-keno0054

Record of the assessed value of and the amount of taxes levied and collected on each parcel of real estate and from every individual with taxable personal property in Kenosha County. The tax roll typically gives a description of the property, the name of the owner, assessed valuation, tax levied, and a record of payments. Included are the rolls for the City of Kenosha for the years 1868-1900 and every fifth year thereafter. For the county’s townships and other municipalities the tax rolls cover 1856-1900 and every fifth year thereafter. A property description is needed before conducting a search for an assessment.

A searchable database by address for Kenosha properties that include property description is available at http://www.co.kenosha.wi.us/apps/propinq/index.phtml.

Maps & Atlases

City Sanborn Maps, County Plat Maps & Atlases available in our reading room or found online:

	Kenosha County		Racine County
	1857 City Cadastral Map		1858 Wall Plat
	1861 Wall Plat		1873 Wall Plat
	1873 Wall Plat		1887 Platbook
	1887 Platbook		1899 Platbook
	1899 Platbook		1908 Platbook & Atlas
	1908 Platbook & Atlas		1924 Platbook & Atlas
	1918 - 31 Sanborn		1927-43 Platbook & Atlas
	1924 Platbook & Atlas		1931 Platbook & Atlas
	1927-43 Platbook & Atlas		1950 Sanborn
	1931 Platbook & Atlas		1956 Platbook & Atlas
	1937 Platbook		1960 Platbook
	1966 Platbook		1969 Sanborn & Platbook
	1969 Sanborn		1974 Platbook
	2000 Wall Map		2000 Wall Map

Underlined items link to digital map - click to view.

Local Map images available via The University of Wisconsin Digital Collections Center
http://uwdc.library.wisc.edu/

Projects completed to date include digitized copies of the 1858 Racine County plat map; the 1873 Racine and Kenosha Counties plat map and the 1899 Rochester, Wis. plat map. Use the Search Box in upper left-hand corner to search [Kenosha and Maps], [Racine and Maps], [Bristol and Maps], etc.

Real Estate Deeds

Racine County (Wis.). Register of Deeds: Grantor Indexes 1839-1886
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-raci0087

Documents recording the conveyance of real estate -- Entries show number and type of deed, date, names of grantor and grantee, description of property, names of witnesses, amount paid, date recorded, and notarial acknowledgement. This series indexes Racine Series 88.

Federal Land Patents Search
http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/PatentSearch/

Maintained by the Bureau for Land Management, this is an excellent site for researching the initial transfer of land from the Federal Government to the first settlers in a region. Researchers can find scanned versions of the original land patents as well as descriptions of the parcel locations. Searching is by state and last name (with the option of adding a first name if known). The BLM also maintains a database of Federal Surveys, Plats, and Field Notes available here, that includes 1837 survey maps of both Racine and Kenosha Counties.  Searches can be narrowed by county, township or even range numbers and some surveys include the original field notes made by the surveyors.

Wisconsin Register of Deeds Association County Register of Deeds information
http://www.wrdaonline.org/ListOfOffices/index.htm

Information on the Register of Deeds for all counties in Wisconsin including Racine and Kenosha can be found here. The Register of Deeds is responsible for documenting title registrations and changes.

Additional Resources and Considerations for Genealogists & Historians:

WHS Overview of the Property Tax Rolls and Assessment Lists http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/hp/buildings/proptax.asp

A good description of these records, their history, and where to look when finding a Tax Roll is difficult. There is also advice and hints on how to use these records.

Wisconsin's Architecture and History Inventory (AHI)
http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/ahi/

A useful resource that provides historical and architectural information on approximately 120,000 properties in Wisconsin -- Worth a visit, there are many tools and resources indexed at the Wisconsin Historical Society's Historic Buildings & Preservation site including the Wisconsin National Register of Historic Places.

 

If you are unable to visit our facility, we will be happy to provide you with copies of records located in our office: Please contact us with your request. It is helpful if you list your subject's name, location and dates of milestones.