I'm trying to get some historical geographic information from Wisconsin and have been pointed the way of the TIGER/Line Shapefiles. Unfortunately, they're in a strange format (see, e.g., the files for Adams County from 1992 [.zip download link]), with file types like .F5A
(a set of files of type .F5{x}
where {x}
is one of A
, I
, P
, R
, 1
, 2
, 3
, 4
, 5
, 6
, 7
, 8
).
This is quite foreign to me, but I've seen it suggested that it may be possible to convert these to modern shapefiles.
Is there a robust way of doing so? (It goes without saying I prefer a free option)
Alternatively, how could I open the file in a common GIS program (QGIS, SAGA, or R), whence I could convert it within those programs (or at least view the polygon boundaries, which is a step in the right direction)?