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Permalink Reply by Steven R. Rothenberger on October 31, 2010 at 9:46am

The Twp. would have these maps and also the coresponding owner information. Be aware that the maps probably will not have the owners name on them but the Tax ID # on the map will be able to lbe cross referenced with the Tax record either at the Twp. Bldg., with the Tax Collector or all of this can also be found out at the County Courthouse as well. Did you try to go online at Fayette county and search Tax records?

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Permalink Reply by Terrylynn Lincoln on October 31, 2010 at 6:32pm

Thanks Steve. I was unable to open the county site. I will call there in the morning for assistance.

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Permalink Reply by Joe Smith on November 4, 2010 at 5:26am

It's in your Plat Book at your county office would be one source.

Obtaining Plat Books
For a plat book of your county, contact the County Clerk's Office or area libraries, real estate offices and map stores.

To find plat books and other related information online consult the sources below.

About Plat Books
Plat books make use of the Public Land Survey System (PLSS) to represent land ownership patterns on a county-by-county basis. They are a convenient reference for local governments, private realty, surveying companies, and the general public. Commercial plat books for Wisconsin are generally prepared by private map publishing companies in conjunction with county governments. However, recently counties have begun to update the maps themselves.

Plat books are prepared from a variety of source data including U.S. Census TIGER (digital line) files, historical local government tax parcel maps, aerial photography, and property descriptions. These records are used to produce a generalized representation of current land ownership patterns, along with planimetric features, such as roads, water bodies, and railroads.

Public and private property depicted on these plats is not considered a full or legally accurate representation of ownership interests or extents, but is a generalized picture, or snapshot-in-time, of the last deed filed on a property at the time the County Register of Deeds' records were searched. The maps then remain static until they are updated several years later. A "last deed" depiction represents only the last document filed on the property and does not necessarily reveal or resolve full ownership by title or discrepancies in the record.

Complicating this picture, some commercial firms have made it a policy to insert "intentional" errors into the plat books to protect their copyrights, claiming only 85-90% reliability. Thus, while these maps are sufficient for many general purposes, they are not adequate for detailed use requiring high accuracy or current information.

Most commercial plat books are produced as hard copy books and do not necessarily have a true "real world" or integrated mathematical foundation. Today, however, several of these companies are beginning to produce digital versions which - with proper construction, registration, integration, and research of record data - will result in more accurate, current and useful data for many users of land ownership information. Also, another recent trend in plat book publishing has been the use of multiple fill colors in the maps. Color is now being used to differentiate between different types of public lands (national, state, and county forests, public hunting/fishing grounds, state parks, etc.) as well as to indicate private lands enrolled in the state's

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Permalink Reply by BuckinghamGasMan on November 4, 2010 at 5:52am

Always first try the County's web site. Look for connections to tax maps and/or GIS mapping. They may not have them on-line; there may be a fee; or it may be tough to use. Sometimes you hit the jack pot and can surf properties through maps, owners, or parcel numbers. Sometimes deeds are also on-line under Recorder of Deeds

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