GIS Data: Historical Data

NHGIS provides over 12,000 aggregate US Census tables and 430 GIS shapefiles spanning the entire United States from 1790 to 2010, available for free download.

The Atlas presents GIS data, maps and text complete data about the creation and all subsequent changes in the size, shape, and location of every county in the fifty United States and the District of Columbia. It also includes non-county areas, unsuccessful authorizations for new counties, changes in names, and the temporary attachments of unorganized counties. The principal sources for these data include the session laws of the colonies, territories, and states.

NOAA's "RNC" format for charts is usable within ArcGIS with the help of a downloadable Handler.

Shapefile of Tribal Lands Ceded to the United States, 1845-1923.

Provided by HCN (High Country News): "This repository contains the “Morrill Act of 1862 Indigenous Land Parcels Database.” The database is the result of a High Country News investigation that has located more than 99% of all acres distributed through the Morrill Act of 1862 (or in lieu thereof), identified their original, Indigenous inhabitants and care-takers, and researched the principal raised from their sale in the late 19th and early 20th centuries." This repository contains a shapefile of land taken by the Morrill Act for establishment of Land Grant Universities.