• 1870 map of Freehold
• 1873 map of Freehold
• 1896 map of proposed annexation of Alvinton, Birvanton and South Heberton to Freeland
• Undated map of the Woodside Addition to Freeland (also known as the Coxe Addition)
  

• 1895 Sanborn map of Freeland, along with links to later Sanborn maps
  
• 1939 map of Freeland, annotated
  
• Freeland address numbering

1870 Plot of the town of Freehold

1873 Map of Freehold from 1873 Atlas of Luzerne County

Alongside the 1873 map are listed six businesses:
Cunningham, P. G. – Carriage Manufacturer and Dealer in General Merchandise, P.O. Eckley
J. H. Lindsay & Co. – Dealers in General Merchandise, P.O. Eckley
Gephart, H. C. – Proprietor of Soap Factory and Clothing Store, P.O. Eckley
Gephart, Mrs. H. C. – Milliner and Dress Maker
McGlynn, P. W. – Propr. of  Hibernia Hotel
Brice, Patrick – Propr. of Rising Sun Hotel
There were also at least two more businesses and one more hotel shown on the map but not included in the list printed next to it.

Let's take a few minutes to imagine this early version of Freeland. The blocks between Front and Chestnut Streets were oriented so that the lots fronted onto the streets running east and west. Those above Chestnut and those to the west of Ridge were oriented so that the lots fronted onto streets running north and south. Most of the businesses were located on Front and Walnut Streets. It has been reported that A. Donop envisioned Walnut Street as being the main street of the town, and indeed most of the occupied lots in 1873 were along Walnut Street, with Front Street having the second largest number of occupied lots. At this time, at least as far as the map shows, Front Street was the southern boundary of town, and no lots or buildings are shown along the southern side of Front Street.

People walking along Front Street in 1873 would have passed a number of undeveloped lots, a couple of properties belonging to T. Burke and Noltis, and the P. G. Cunningham Store and Wagon Shop near the southwest corner of Front and Washington. Turning up Washington Street from Front, they would see on the east side of Washington (in what had been the “missing corner” on the 1870 map) several businesses between Front and Walnut: the Hibernia Hotel, run by Patrick W. McGlynn; the Welch & Furey Store, and the J. H. Lindsay & Co. Store. These last two stores fronted onto Walnut Street east of Washington.

Across the street from the J. H. Lindsay & Co. Store and a little to the east were the Rising Sun Hotel, run by P. Price (or Brice) and the Soap Factory run by Gephart and Johnson. People passing those businesses and then walking west on Walnut Street would have passed lots owned by W. Sipple and E. Stein on the south side of the street (along with a number of empty lots), and on the other side they would see lots owned by C. Furey, H. C. Gephart, J. Troell, P. Riesehoff, Spohn & Keider, Lubrech, J. Jones, and what is marked on the map as A. Donop Hotel.

A large town hall is shown on the west side of Ridge Street, between Front and Walnut. A smaller building is on the southwest corner of Ridge and Front Streets. All other lots along the west side of Ridge Street belonged to A. Donop in 1873, and were undeveloped.

People walking along Chestnut Street from Ridge Street heading east would have been on the outer edge of Freehold. Many lots on the south side of Chestnut Street were undeveloped, but some properties were owned by D. P. Keger, T. (or P.) Piersons, S. Sataria, C. McHugh, and Mrs. Carr. Other properties are marked A. Donop. Only a few of those properties mentioned contained buildings at the time the map was made. On the north side of Chestnut Street, all of the property still belonged to A. Donop and was undeveloped, except the two lots furthest east on Chestnut Street’s north side, belonging to G. Rocher and P. Carr.

So the 1873 map shows only 22 buildings in Freehold, with a number of other properties spoken for but not yet developed, and quite a few lots still held by A. Donop. Three years later, the name of the town was changed to Freeland and Freeland was incorporated as a Pennsylvania borough on September 11, 1876. 

This map in the Luzerne County Courthouse in Wilkes-Barre shows the proposed annexation of ‘Alvinton’, ‘Birvanton’, and ‘South Heberton’. The map shows a somewhat larger Freeland, extending from just south of what is now North Street down to just below Carbon Street, and from a line between Ridge and Fern Streets on the west to a border just east of Washington Street on the east. Actually, the map is also a bit confusing, because it shows one southern borough line going through South Street, and a second “Southern Borough Line” just below Carbon Street. This seeming contradiction is not explained on the map. I'll add, though, that the business listings in 1895 and 1897 show an evolution in Freeland's development, as businesses in that area below South Street didn't yet have building numbers in 1895 -- saying things like "Carbon near Ridge" for an address -- but they do in 1897.

This map shows the Alvinton section to the east and northeast, South Heberton to the north and northwest, and Birvanton to the west of town. These are names that we don't use anymore, but as Charles Stumpf has reported, Alvinton was named in honor of Alvin Markle, South Heberton was said to have been named for George Heberton, and Birvanton was "Bir-Van-Ton Hill,” the name referring to three families who lived there, the Bird, Evans and Burton familes. The name was coined by young Levi Bird, son of Rev. George Bird, the first pastor to serve the Methodist church in Freeland. The text at the bottom of the map says “Map of Freeland and Vicinity Showing Proposed Annexed Territory, Scale 1 in. = 800 ft., May 29, 1896.” Another notation reads: “Recorded 25 January 1897 as part of Charter of annexation to Freeland Borough, Recorded in Charter Book 4, page 449.” 

Also shown on this map are the Public Park and the Freeland Cemetery. The overall expanded area depicted on the map is surrounded by properties owned by James Black, George Heberton, Margaret Smith, Andrew Kennedy, Highland Coal Company, and Cross Creek Coal Company. South Heberton is divided on the map between the Birkbeck estate (eastern half) and other lot owners (western half). A “Woodside Addition” is also noted, but not shown, to the southwest of town.

The proposed annexation documented by this map would approximately quadruple the size of Freeland. At right, I drew the approximate "footprint" of the original Freehold in blue on this copy of the the annexation map to show how much the town was growing in this period.

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