parcels: where they are

This (above) was the first site to let you pan and zoom around the state to see what the parcels look like, where they are available, where they're not, how they match at the edge of town - those sorts of things.  UT towns are black,  organized municipalities are red.  At this snapshot it only included towns that have received parcel grants and submitted their data to the GeoLibrary (and all UT towns).  It was only useful for generic viewing of geometry with some identifiers included. But was a start.


Over the ensuing two decades there has been considerable progress, and now these data are available through multiple map and feature services, as well as aggregated for bulk download.   As of late 2024, there are strong indications of approaching completeness... 

ILRIS: surveyor benefits

Land surveyors are the last word in accuracy where geospatial geometry is concerned. Metes and bounds information - dimensions of property boundaries measured to, in relevant cases sub-inch increments - is essential for conveyance of property. But most GIS applications do not require data of this accuracy.

Much of the benefit of a statewide, dynamic cadastral datalayer will accrue at planning scales, where land parcel polygons can be quantified, symbolized and characterized according to the metadata attributes attached to each individual geometry.  

But this shouldn't be taken to mean that surveyors do not have a role in a statewide integrated land records information system. The composite of surveys always needs to be available as an ultimate reference frame for orienting the far inferior quality of planning level parcel data. The coverage area comprising this layer will always be variable and patchy, but if most surveys, registered and otherwise, are made part of a persistent and easily accessed repository, and invaluable resource will exist for spatial analysis and legal interrogation.    

If only this single, simple improvement were made - that all registered surveys are anchored and scaled to Maine's UTM Zone 19 NAD83 meters coordinate system then hosted in this shared reference space as a public, transparent and accessible resource - the experience of land records research in Maine would be fundamentally improved.  

ILRIS: introduction and goals

An Integrated Land Records Information System (ILRIS) is anticipated to provide accurate and current data describing the pattern of land ownership across the State of Maine. Imagine this as a huge map showing parcel lines as they currently exist and changes that have recently occurred.

In a perfect world, with perfect information, it would be possible to scroll backward and forward through time and observe the changes over this map. Such an animation might begin by showing the entire area of Maine (in the 1600's) with only the original grant lines imposed on it. As the timeline moved forward, these original tracts would fracture into the increasingly complex and intricate pattern of the more than 700,000 parcels comprising the state today.

Of course, information is not perfect. Not even close. And even if a statewide composite existed for current parcel status it would require enormous time and resources to reconstruct the past 400 years of changes.

The thing is, while the 400-year animation is an unrealistic goal given present data and resources, the current statewide composite is well within the realm of the attainable. The technology for producing, storing and delivering such a system has become almost unimaginably cheaper and more accessible than it was even a decade ago. Many municipalities throughout the state have grown their own parcel composites from the ground up. All that is really necessary is a will to proceed and a willingness to collaborate.

some maine parcel history (2)

On January 13, 1629, the Kennebeck or Plymouth Patent was granted to new Plymouth by King Charles I under a royal charter. It was conveyed from the old Plymouth colony to William Bradford and his associates as follows;

The said Council further granted and assigned unto the said William Bradford, his Heirs, Associates and Assigns, All that Track of Land or part of New England in America, aforesaid, which lyeth within or between and extendeth itself between the utmost limits of Cobbiseconte, alias Comaseconte, which adjoineth to the river of Kennebeck, alias Kennebekike, towards the western ocean, and a place called the Falls at Neguamkike, in America aforesaid, and the space of fifteen English miles on each side of the said river commonly called the Kennebeck river, and all the said river called Kennebeck, that lies within the said limits."
(Deed. Statement of Kennebec Claim, etc.)

There's another map at the Maine Historical Commission that describes this huge parcel grant. It looks like this (area in the green parallel lines (centered on the Kennebec) on the map's right side), though this version takes the northern line all the way up to Wessarunsett:


A simple overlay version of this 15 mile buffer over a google map is available here.