Sanborn Maps, developed for the fire insurance industry, can provide a boon of information about the neighborhood in which your ancestor lived. Founded in 1867 by Daniel A. Sanborn, the company’s success overcame many competitors to rule the fire insurance industry. Maps can generally be found online at the Library of Congress or at your local library. Using this one block from Marysville, Kansas from 1925, find out more about your ancestor’s past with the six examples below.
New to Sanborn Maps? See my previous blog posts and articles about the maps here.
- Identify the legal land description.
One thing many people don’t realize at first glance is that Sanborn Maps include the legal land description of a property. It is not immediately obvious, but for the lower half of the map the “5” represents the block number and the sequential numbers inside the building near the middle is the lot number. What about the 103 on the top of the page? It is a block number as well. The reason for the vast difference in sequence is an addition to the city added new numbers, so always check the full legal description to determine if your building is in the original town limits or an addition as there may be more than one “Block 5.”
- Two houses on same parcel of land may have different street addresses.
Addresses are assigned to the front of a building. The fact that two buildings that share a legal parcel and have different street addresses could be the piece you are missing when trying to find your ancestor in the newspaper or city directory. When the second house was built might determine whether it had its own street address. Also, If you cannot find an address in a directory, try the “at the corner of” the two streets. Some cities used those “non addresses” long into the twentieth century.
- Has the address changed?
It is not rare to find a town or even city that has no street addresses. How did the fire insurance industry deal with this? They assigned a number to properties. You can tell if this was the case if your map has sequential numbers. Addresses run odd on one side, even on the other.
When an address changed, the newest number is closest to the building. Even if a locality had assigned street addresses, sometimes they shift when buildings are added or subtracted in the block. Comparing Sanborn Maps can help determine if your ancestor’s business moved next door or the address changed for the same building. Neither was uncommon so do not assume one or the other.
Also in this example, the houses occupied this street before automobiles. How did I determine that? The first clue is that the numbers pre-date the garage and filling station. The second clue is an educated guess. I doubt the owner of the nice house at 1116 was thrilled when the filling station was built on the corner given the proximity of the business to the house. Had the station been there first, the house likely would have been built closer to the middle of its double lot.
- Count the number of stories.
On a Sanborn Map the number of stories in a building appears just inside the outlines of a building in the corner. If the numbers are different, it may mean that one area had only one story while another had a second or more. This example likely had a vaulted ceiling that is represented by the 1½. While you may not think the number of stories is vital information for your family tree, it can reveal details about a place that might have affected your ancestor. Does a commercial building have two or more stories? What was upstairs? Business owners sometimes lived above their businesses or rented rooms either as a boarding house or to professionals (e.g. doctors, lawyers, accountants), who required smaller spaces to conduct their services.
- A= Auto house or private garage.
With the advent of Henry Ford’s Model T, automobiles quickly became commonplace across the United States. When introduced in 1908 the Model T cost $850, but by 1924 the price dropped to $260.[1] By the end of the 1920s, twenty-three million Americans owned licensed vehicles.[2] Looking at this 1925 map shows the national trends were occurring in Marysville too. Many homeowners converted their former stables to a home for their new autos, however, the manner of starting early models meant one needed space to crank. That necessity and the fear of fire led many citizens to choose to house their motors elsewhere. Garages popped up all over urban landscapes.
- Building materials provide other clues.
The yellow color of the dwellings (buildings with a “D”) indicates the structures were built with lumber, while the pink (Sanborn calls this red) represents brick construction. While building materials may not break down your family tree brick wall, it can help you to determine when an addition or even a porch was added. Comparing the Sanborn Map to a photo can narrow possible period in which a photo was taken. If you are looking for your ancestor’s business, check with the local library and historical societies for town photos, specifically parade photos. They are an excellent resource for identifying changes to a business!
What did I miss? There are numerous useful details displayed on Sanborn Maps so take a closer look at your town’s today and for more advice join me at one of my sessions you can find on the events page at romamarygrace.com.
Source: Sanborn Map Co. Marysville, Kansas, 1925 Sheet 3. Fire Insurances Maps Online. Historical Information Gatherers. Accessed online from the Kansas City Public Library on 27 Aug 2024.
[1] Encyclopedia of Detroit. Detroit Historical Society. Accessed online on 27 Aug 2024 at https://detroithistorical.org/learn/encyclopedia-of-detroit/model-t.
[2] Facts and figures of the automobile industry, 1920-1930. Accessed online on 27 Aug 2024 at RailandTrails.com/AutoFacts/