Blog · October 13, 2026 · Illinois
Moultrie County, Illinois: Plat Book Guide
Open the official Moultrie County parcel viewer, find an owner or a vacant tract, and learn which land records back up what the map shows.
Main page: Moultrie County, IL GIS & Parcel Viewer (official map link, Moultrie County facts and neighboring maps).
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Thinking about land near Kirksville or a lot in Lovington? Open the Moultrie County plat book first; it shows owners, acreage and approximate lines for free.
The sections below cover the map itself, the towns from Lovington to Kirksville, and the deeds and surveys that settle what the map can't.
Towns, terrain and land across Moultrie County
Sullivan is the county seat, and other towns on the map include Allenville, Arthur, Bethany, and Dalton City. Smaller places such as Lake City, Bruce, and Dunn show up as clusters of lots along the roads. The county was organized in 1843 and named for William Moultrie, so some tracts carry a long chain of deeds. The county's land area is about 336 square miles, and the Census Bureau estimated 14,342 residents there in 2023. The parcel pattern around Kirksville is typical for the county: farm ground, wooded tracts and a handful of homesites carved off the road frontage.
Finding a Moultrie County plat book
A plat book is the paper cousin of the online parcel map: a township-by-township atlas with owner names, handy in a truck near Dalton City. Ownership around Dalton City changes every year, so the online map is the better check on who owns a tract today. If a printed book and the online map disagree about a tract near Gays, the recorded deed decides.
Finding a parcel in Moultrie County
Open the Moultrie County ArcGIS parcel map (built on an Esri ArcGIS web map); it is the county's own published map. For land around Arthur with no street number, zoom to the road and click the tract to open its record. The same link lives on our Moultrie County county page, along with links for the surrounding area.
Property lines in Moultrie County, Illinois
Parcel boundaries on the Moultrie County viewer are drawn to keep tax accounts straight, so small offsets from the true line are expected. The section grid shapes many farm tracts around Kirksville; boundaries often follow quarter-section lines you can spot on the map. A survey is the only document that settles where a Moultrie County boundary actually runs.
Where Moultrie County deeds and plats are kept
For land near Dalton City, the parcel record is the index; the recorded deed is the source. Names differ across states, so confirm on the official Moultrie County site which office records deeds and plats. When the chain of title matters for land near Gays, ask for the full deed history or hire a title company in Illinois.
Acreage and vacant lot search
Here's a simple routine for finding open ground in Moultrie County using the parcel map:
- Follow the roads out of Dalton City with aerials on and mark every tract without a rooftop.
- For the open ground around Dalton City, copy the owner, acreage and mailing address into a simple spreadsheet.
- Make sure the parcel near Arthur actually touches a public road, and ask how it's reached if it doesn't.
- Assessed values lag the market, but comparing tracts near Kirksville still shows which ones the county rates higher.
- Check the flood layer and ask about septic and permits; open land in Moultrie County isn't automatically buildable.
For a tract near Dalton City with no road frontage, see how to tell if land is landlocked.
Who uses the Moultrie County parcel map
Here's who tends to use it in Moultrie County. People hunting for a few acres outside Lovington use the parcel layer to sort tracts by size and spot ones with good road access. Folks shopping for raw land click through empty parcels near Lovington, note the owners, and send letters. Hunters in Moultrie County use the owner names to line up permission well before the season. Builders bidding a house on a lot in Gays start with the parcel ID and legal description, since permit paperwork usually asks for both.
Private and public hunting ground in Moultrie County
Before you scout a new spot near Bethany, pull up the parcel layer and see how many owners share that stretch of woods. Check the Illinois Department of Natural Resources for public hunting areas and current regulations before you hunt near Dalton City. In the field near Dalton City, respect posted signs and painted boundaries even where the map line looks different.
Work and land use in Moultrie County
Census business counts for 2022 list 341 establishments in Moultrie County; construction tops the list, with retail trade and manufacturing close behind. The local economy leans harder than average on wood product manufacturing, furniture manufacturing, and machinery manufacturing. Around Dalton City, a wooded tract on the map may be a working forest; recent aerials and the deed will show whether timber rights were reserved. It's useful background when you're judging whether a tract near Bethany will hold its value.
Quick answers
Can I find the owner of a vacant lot in Moultrie County?
Owner names for parcels from Lovington to Arthur are on the Moultrie County ArcGIS parcel map; search by address or click the map.
Does Moultrie County have a plat book?
Whether a current printed edition exists for Moultrie County varies; the free online map covering Lovington and the rest of the county is the dependable option.
Why does the Moultrie County map show the old owner?
Check the recorded documents; they will show a new deed for a tract near Kirksville before the map does.
How do I find property lines in Moultrie County?
For a lot in Arthur, start with the parcel map, then get the recorded plat; a surveyor sets the exact corners.
Who records deeds in Moultrie County, Illinois?
Recorded documents for Moultrie County sit with the county's recording office, whatever its local title; the county website tells you where to go.
Does the Moultrie County, IL map show flood zones?
For a lot near Lovington, check the viewer's layer list first; FEMA's flood map service fills in if there's no flood layer.
Open the official Moultrie County, IL parcel map Moultrie County in the Platbookmapper directory
Not a survey. County GIS and tax parcel maps are assessment and planning layers. They are not a substitute for a recorded plat, deed, or licensed survey, especially for fences, setbacks, or boundary disputes.