Links
Plat Maps and Aerial Photos:
Plat Maps of Verona, and all of Dane County, courtesy of the Capital Area Regional Planning Committee. How to use:
Click "Dane County Historic Plat Maps (1834, 1861, 1873, 1890, 1899, 1911, 1931, 1953 & 1970"
Zoom in with the + and - buttons, and drag around the map to find Verona by click-and-holding with your mouse.
To see plat maps from different years, click the "Layer List" icon that looks like three square maps on top of each other.
Additional maps and info of Dane County, such as:
Locations of known Mature Forests (100+ years)
Heritage Oak Tree
Original land patents.
Wisconsin Historical Aerial Image Finder - Local aerial photos of Verona (and the rest of Wisconsin) going back to the 1930s.
HistoricAerials.com - Aerial photos of the United States. Photos of Verona go back to the 1960s. Verona elevation maps go back farther. This link often fails in the Chrome browser.
"This is Dane County, Wisconsin" - by John Drury, 1957 - Small aerial photos of Verona's schoolhouses, points of interest, and farms.
HistoricMapWorks.com - Allows you to view and purchase many old plat maps of this area.
ArcGIS Lidar Maps of Wisconsin - Surface detail maps created using "Lidar", which is a laser that penetrates vegetation. Useful for looking for evidence of roads and foundations now covered by plants.
Dane County Land Information Office "DCI Maps" - Maps out specific parcels in Dane County with various overlays.
Verona Cemeteries:
Verona Cemetery Findagrave.com - The best resource for all burials back to the cemetery's start in 1880. Updated by volunteers.
Saint Andrew's Catholic Cemetery Findagrave.com. Many people don't realize the big cemetery in the middle of town is actually the Verona Cemetery and Saint Andrew's side by side.
Dane County Hospital and Home Cemetery on Findagrave.com - The nearly-forgotten cemetery immediately to the east of Farm and Fleet.
Local Research:
Assessor Data - Find out when a currently-existing home or business was *roughly* built (usually accurate but not 100%). It's a little hard to get it to find an address, but stick with it and it will eventually lead you to downloading a PDF file for an address. This PDF has the date the property was built.
Verona phone books and directories, scanned by the Verona Public Library. Currently spanning the years 1916-1963, but more might get added.
White pages section of YellowPages.com - One of the last actually-free places to look up someone's phone number. I use this constantly for finding interview contacts for historical topics in Verona.
Belleville Recorder, 1887-2000s. Even before the Verona Press came around in the 1960s, the Belleville Recorder would occasionally record Verona events. You can search the Belleville Recorder using BadgerLink, but you might need a Wisconsin Library card, Student ID, or similar document. Here is how to find the Belleville Recorder on BadgerLink:
Select "All Resources" in the upper right corner.
Scroll down to the "Archive of Wisconsin Newspapers" and click the red logo for "WNA" on the right.
Tricy part: There will be a red "button" labeled "Search Historical Newspapers" on the upper right. Click that to access a search page.
Select "Uncheck all" in the big list of newspapers, and check just "Belleville Recorder". You can now search just this newspaper.
Past Verona High School Sports Wall of Fame - See past team photos, records, and trophies.
Wisconsin Historical Society's online image search.
Youtube
Verona Area Historical Society's Primary YouTube channel.
Verona Area Historical Society's Archived YouTube channel.
Miscellaneous
Historical Marker Database - Historical Markers in Dane County. Also has the ability to "Click to map all...markers".
Various Resources:
Dane County and Surrounding Towns, Being a History and Guide, 1877 by WM J. Park.
History of Dane County, Wisconsin, 1880 by the Chicago: Western Historical Company.