A vector data set in ESRI Shapefile format (EPSG: 2180). The changes in peatland areas were analysed on the basis of 1:100,000 Prussian maps – Karte des Deutschen Reiches – from the years 1876-1879 (11 map sheets) and 1:50,000 Polish topographic maps showing the state of land cover in the years 1966-86 The analyses resulted in a map of the density of peatland distribution in the Tuchola Pinewoods in 1879. 744 peatlands were identified in the Tuchola Pinewoods in the late 19th century, totalling 10,762 ha, which constitutes 3.03% of the study area. The smallest marked peatland covered 0.12 ha, while the largest was 792.8 ha. There are 595 items of less than 15 ha, totalling 2,645 ha, while there are only 149 peatlands exceeding 15 ha, but they covered an area of 8,117 ha. Data used in the scientific publication: Natural and anthropogenic factors influencing changes in peatland management in Poland, Szumińska D., Czapiewski S., Sewerniak, P. 2023, Regional Environmental Change, Vol. 23, iss. 1, art. no 5, doi: 10.1007/s10113-022-02001-2