How do I find out what my land used to be way back when?

Answer 1

It depends on how far back you want to go.

The information is in the county/town land records going back a ways. You can trace back ownership and any recorded surveys of the property, and if you want to really go deep, find marriage records on the owners. The Assessor may or may not have records back to when the area was first settled, but if they do, that will be especially helpful.

If you want to go back to when the land wasn't part of the United States (or whatever other country you're in now), that's going to be more difficult. You'll need to go to the Library and see if anyone local wrote histories of the area.