Statewide Resources

• Penn State University Commonwealth and University Park Campuses 1985-1986 Aerial Photos (1”:250’ (1:300) or 1”:350’ (1:400)) 

  • These aerial photos were captured in Spring 1985 and 1986. These photos were given to the Donald W. Hamer Center for Maps and Geospatial Information by the Penn State Office of the Physical Plant in 2017. The 450 photos cover:  Allentown 1986, Altoona 1985, Beaver 1985, Berks 1985, Capitol 1985, Delaware 1985, Fayette 1985, Hazelton 1985, Hershey 1985, McKeesport 1985, Mont Alto 1985, New Kensington 1985, Ogontz 1986, Schuylkill 1985, Scranton 1985, Shenango 1985, Wilkes-Barre 1985, York 1985, University Park 1985 campus Airport, University Park 1985 Farm, University Park 1985, Rock Springs 1985, and Stone Valley 1985. The scales range from 1"=250' to 1"=350'. The original contractor for the collection of these images was Eastern Mapping Co. 250 Freeport Rd., Blawnox, PA 15238. An index of the location of the flight lines is included for each site. Penn State University Libraries catalog record.

Eastern Pennsylvania Resources

Uncataloged and unscanned photos in the Penn State University Libraries collection (Scanning in process)

Susquehanna River Basin Commission 1973-1975 (Post Hurricane Agnes flood of 1972) and 1991 during a drought year

• This StoryMap describes the collection with locations along with some background information about the Commission and photos of the flood
• 1991 - map showing extent of photos.  Click on the blue lines to see what section covers your area of interest.
• 1973-1975:
  • Athens-Sayer_Area_1973
    Bellefonte_Reach_1973
    Binghamton_1973
    Chemung_1973
    Corning_Reach_1975
    Corning-Elmira_Area_1973
    Danville_Reach_1973
    Elmira_1975
    Erwin-Corning_Reach_1973
    Gilberton_Reach_1973
    Harrisburg_North_and_Sunbury-Selingsgrove_Reaches_Sheet_1_1975
    Havre_De_Grace-Port_Deposit_1973
    Hornell_Reach_1973
    Huntingdon-Smithfield_1973
    Jershey_Shore-Lock_Haven_1973
    Jershey_Shore-Lock_Haven_1973
    Lackawanna_River_Reach_1975
    Lebanon_1973
    Lewistown_1973
    Lower_Juniata_River_1975
    Mount_Union_Reach_1973
    Muncy_Area_1973
    Owego_Area_1973
    Renovo_Reach_1973
    Shickshinny_Reach_1973
    Sunbury_1973
    Tunkhannock_1975
    Upper_Canisteo_1975
    Wyoming_Valley_Sheet_1_1973
    Wyoming_Valley_Sheet_2_1973
    York_1973

Western Pennsylvania Resources

Recently scanned photos in the Penn State University Libraries collection

Please contact ul-maps@lists.psu.edu for information

• Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC) 1980 Aerial Photos (1:72,000)
  • Allegheny County
  • Armstrong County
  • Beaver County
  • Butler County
  • Washington County
  • Westmoreland County
• Southwestern Pennsylvania Regional Planning Commission (SPRPC) 1990-1991 Aerial Photos (1"=3150')
  • Allegheny County
  • Armstrong County
  • Beaver County
  • Butler County
  • Washington County
  • Westmoreland County
• Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC) 2000 Aerial Photos (1"=1200')
  • Allegheny County
  • Armstrong County
  • Beaver County
  • Butler County
  • Fayette County
  • Indiana County
  • Greene County
  • Washington County
  • Westmoreland County
• Rt 51 Pittsburgh 1993 (1:14,400)
• South Beltway 1992 (1:1,200)

Cambria County

The aerial photos were captured in the Spring 2001 by LR Kimball Aerial Photography for Cambria County. These photos were given to the Donald W. Hamer Center for Maps and Geospatial Information in 2017. The 1414 photos were flown at four different scales (1:500, 1:600, 1:1000, 1:2000) with varied coverage areas of Cambria County. These were scanned at 800dpi on an Epson Expression 11000 scanner by the Donald W. Hamer Center for Maps and Geospatial Information staff.

Cambria county, PA 2001 Aerial photos (preview and download)

• Cambria County PA 2001 Aerial Photos (1”=2000’ or 1:24,000) 
• Cambria County PA 2001 Aerial Photos (1”=1000’ or 1:12,000) Carrolltown, Chest Springs, Cresson, Ebensburg, Johnstown, Nanty Glo, Patton, Portage
• Cambria County PA 2001 Aerial Photos (1”=600’ or 1:7,200) Carrolltown
• Cambria County PA 2001 Aerial Photos (1”=500’ or 1:7,200) Cresson, Ebensburg, Hastings, Johnstown metropolitan area, Nanty Glo, Northern Cambria, Patton, Portage
• Johnstown PA 1978 Aerial Photos (1:24,000)
  • uncataloged, scanned
  • 84 photos
• Johnstown PA 1977 Aerial Photos  (1"=500') - Johnstown flood (flood dates were July 19-20, 1977)
  • uncataloged, scanned
  • 293 photos
  • No index or finding aid

Centre County

• Centre County’s public GIS site

  • This interactive webmap shows georeferenced aerial photography from the 1930s, 1950s, 1970s, 1990s and 2000s

• State College PA Toftrees 1997 Aerial Photos (1”=2400’ or 1:28,800) 

  • The aerial photos were captured in the Spring 1997. These photos were given to the Donald W. Hamer Center for Maps and Geospatial Information in 2015 by the Penn State Office of the Physical Plant. The 33 photos were flown at a 1":2400' scale covering Toftrees development in Patton Township, as part of the State College PA region. These were scanned at 800dpi on an Epson Expression 11000 scanner by the Donald W. Hamer Center for Maps and Geospatial Information staff. The original contractor of these images was Land & Mapping Services 506 Krebs Ave. Clearfield, PA 16830, 814-765-9370. Penn State Library catalog record

• State College PA 1995 Aerial Photos (1”=300’ or 1:3,600) 

  • The aerial photos were captured in the Spring 1995. These photos were given to the Donald W. Hamer Center for Maps and Geospatial Information in 2015 by the Penn State Office of the Physical Plant. The 213 photos were flown at a 1"=300' scale covering State College, PA. These were scanned at 800dpi on an Epson Expression 11000 scanner by the Donald W. Hamer Center for Maps and Geospatial Information staff. The original contractor for these photos was Photogrammetric Data Services Inc. 2 Fairview Plaza, 5950 Fairview Rd, Suite 345, Charlotte, NC 28210 (704)553-7216.  Penn State Library catalog record

• Penn State University Park 1985-1986 Aerial Photos (1”=250’ (1:300) or 1”=350’ (1:400)) 

  • These aerial photos were captured in Spring 1985 and 1986. These photos were given to the Donald W. Hamer Center for Maps and Geospatial Information by the Penn State Office of the Physical Plant in 2017. The 450 photos cover:  University Park 1985 campus Airport, University Park 1985 Farm, University Park 1985, Rock Springs 1985, and Stone Valley 1985. The scales range from 1"=250' to 1"=350'. The original contractor for the collection of these images was Eastern Mapping Co. 250 Freeport Rd., Blawnox, PA 15238. An index of the location of the flight lines is included for each site. Penn State Library catalog record.

• Penn State University Park/Centre County PA 1949 Aerial Photos 

  • The aerial photos were captured in the Spring 1949. These photos were given to the Donald W. Hamer Center for Maps and Geospatial Information in 2021. The 177 photos were flown at a 1:9600 scale covering portions of Centre County, PA, including the Penn State University Park campus and surrounding towns. These aerial images were obtained from 9"x9" film roll. This collection lacked an index. To generate approximate center points, photos were aligned and georeferenced in three dimensions using Agisoft Metashape and using a minimum number of ground control points, typically between 5 and 12 depending on the size of the project. Estimates of each camera pose, including geographic coordinates, were then exported to create a digital index for the collection. This digital index is intended to facilitate discovery and access, but not for research purposes.

Many Pennsylvania Counties maintain their own archives of historic aerial photographs and a few provide viewing access to these collections through county-maintained online mapping applications. Access to county-level print historic aerial photograph collections is handled on a case by case basis.

• PA County Historic Aerials Listing

  Contact was made with all of Pennsylvania's 67 counties and all available information regarding historic aerial photos was recorded. This is listing is currently incomplete; if you have any information to add please contact ul-maps@lists.psu.edu

• PA County Historic Aerials ArcGIS Online

  This is a visual representation of the same data set above.