Research Guides: Aerial Photography and Satellite Imagery: Historical Aerial Photos & Imagery

US Government Sources for Historical Aerial Photos & Imagery

Many sites that have recent photos, also contain older photos. Sources include Federal government sites and various repositories. Some imagery is available for free; other imagery must be purchased.

Libraries or other institutions may maintain collections of local historical photos. University of Michigan Library listed below maintains a lengthy list of links to other areas, arranged by states.

Sources of U.S. imagery include:

USGS's EarthExplorer platform also assists in identifying and viewing historical aerial photography from a variety of sources. Some air photos back to 1937 but most from 1980s forward

US Department of Agriculture Imagery Catalogs
Available for ordering through USDA
USDA Geospatial Enterprise Operations
Previously the Aerial Photography Field Office.
Scroll down to Explore Data for options
Emergency Response Imagery (NOAA)
Offers imagery from 2003 for significant hurricanes, tropical storms, tornadoes, floods, and fire.
Aerial Photography (NARA)
"The National Archives holds over 35,000,000 aerial photographs produced mostly by Federal Agencies. These records date from 1918-2011, covering both domestic and foreign sites."
Aerial Photos Links from U. of Michigan
Alabama to Wisconsin, and many states in between
Landsat Imagery Gallery
Includes all Landsat images published on the Earth Observatory, Visible Earth, and Landsat Science web sites from all seven Landsat satellites (Landsats 1-8, Landsat 6 failed to achieve orbit)

State-level Sources for Historical Photos & Imagery

State-level GIS data repositories, state cartographer offices, or other government agencies may provide access to recent air photos and imagery and/or maintain archives of historical aerial photos. Some examples include

Maine Aerial Photos
The Maine Geological Survey has historical air photos covering all of Maine. The photos were collected between 1930 and 2009 at scales from 1:1,200 to 1:80,000.
Sewall Company Aerial Photographs
The Sewall Company Aerial Photographs are a small representation digitized from nearly 1 million aerial images donated by the James W. Sewall Co. in Old Town, Maine. The collection contains original aerial photography of Maine and New England captured by Sewall over the span of 65 years.
Aerial photographs archive (MassDOT)
Photographs available are from project specific flights (1940's and up) and statewide photography done in the 1930's, 50's, 60's and 70's.
MassGIS Data: 1990's Aerial Imagery
Black and white orthophotos captured over the course of the 1990's, representing the earliest orthophotos that MassGIS has
Vermont Open Geodata Portal
Select tiles from 1942 and 1962 that have been georeferenced are available.
1962 Aerial Imagery Now Available Statewide (non-georeferenced) (Vermont)
Aerial imagery in Vermont acquired from 1962, 1963 and 1964 is now freely available in two different dataset