Mapmaker Mapmaker Make Me a Map!

Find me a Find, Catch me a Catch!

This week is all about maps.  But somehow I got the lyrics to Fiddler on the Roof stuck in my head and blurred the two.  Maybe I should do a post about lyrics to popular songs that have been changed to reflect the experience of going off-grid, haha.  So here are some maps I’m told would be useful in finding properties for sale and visiting them.  We have zero maps at the moment and no car.  Love a challenge. 

Topographical Map of Huntsville, Arkansas

First, an Arkansas State map would be nice, for basic navigation along highways and for understanding the distances between cities.  Then we’d like two county road maps, one for Washington County and one for Madison County, since it sounds like borrowing a truck and driving on county roads will be necessary.

Next, it’s recommended that buyers acquire a “plat map” or book, which is also called a “cadastral” – this shows individual parcels or properties, with their divisions and general shape.  It doesn’t show what’s for sale, but is useful for finding smaller acreages, and gives us a clue as to who owns the property and how to contact them.

Last but most fun, a topographical map!  This kind of map shows the important stuff, like mountains and streams.  I took a map reading class in college thinking I’d probably never need the skills but wanted to learn them just for fun, and now I might end up using what I learned.  It’s important to have a topographical map to understand the features on the land, and to give more detail (like where a very small road is located) than a standard map.  Or so I’ve been told.

Now to figure out how to acquire those maps…anyone know where in Fayetteville I might be able to purchase a state, county, plat, or topo map?