We can learn so much about the area where our ancestors lived and worked by using fire insurance maps. Over the years, others also began to find them useful: historians, geographers, urban planners, infectious disease specialists, and even genealogists. How to Use Fire Insurance Maps for Family History Researchįire insurance maps are not only used by insurance underwriters. According to the Sanborn website, their archives contain “over 1.2 million Sanborn maps containing the history of approximately 12,000 American cities and towns.”Įxample of a Sanborn Map key legend. After 154 years, the Sanborn Map Company – now simply called “Sanborn” – is still in business today. The Sanborn map collection consists of a uniform series of large-scale maps, dating from 1867 to the present. Founded in 1866 by Daniel Alfred Sanborn, the Sanborn Map Company surveyed and mapped 50 towns across the United States in its first year alone, and by 1873, just 7 years later, it had surveyed more than 600. But by far the most prolific and well-known of these companies was the Sanborn Map Company. Several companies produced fire insurance maps, including the Dakin Publishing Co., G. They were originally produced for the purpose of providing insurance underwriters with a catalog of information used to assess the risk of insuring a particular property.įor each property, a colorful key was used to show a property’s address and lot lines, what it was used for (i.e., dwelling, hotel, church, business, etc.), what the building was constructed from and whether or not it was “fire-resistive,” its height and number of stories, the thickness of walls, special features such as doors, windows, chimneys, garages, stables, and elevators, as well as access to water from pipes, hydrants, cisterns, and more. Libraries, Universities, and Other Organizationsįire insurance maps are an incredible source of detailed historic information about cities, towns, and urban areas.How to Use Fire Insurance Maps for Family History Research.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |