In the course of researching an old building, your home or an ancestor’s house, maps can provide some additional and interesting information about the building and its neighborhood. They show details in ways not examined by other sources, and can often provide leads for further exploration.
Atlases and Maps
Atlases and maps provide a visual history of an area. While a map is usually just one sheet of paper, an atlas is generally a bound collection of maps, charts, plates or tables. Historical city and county maps and atlases may show your home on them, and perhaps even list the owner’s name as well. These maps often show the location of roads and other landmarks that may no longer exist. You might find these at city hall, county courthouses or local libraries or archives.
Plat Maps
A plat map is a plan of an area which shows the legal boundaries and dimensions of each parcel of land. These maps can usually be found at your local city or county government center. Check for the property owners of your parcel of land on each of the plat maps you locate.
Street Maps
These maps can help identify when the street you are researching was created. It is not uncommon to find that the street name has changed over time. Check with your local municipality for the existence of old street maps. Many city directories actually contain a street map that provides details on the streets covered by the directory. Comparing these maps with current maps can help to pinpoint street names that have been changed. Libraries typically have copies of city directories at their facilities.
Fire Insurance Maps
During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, fire insurance maps were periodically drawn up for cities and towns in the United States. These maps were commissioned by insurance companies in order to more accurately calculate fire risk, depicting the layout of the town and showing each existing building. The maps offer a great deal of information, and can show the outline of the building, the building material, the number of stories, doors, windows and chimneys, the address and lot lines, street widths, water pipes, hydrants and cisterns. The Sanborn Company was the largest, but not the only, fire insurance mapping firm. The Sanborn Company was founded in 1867, and created fire insurance maps from 1867 until 1969.
Some libraries carry the Sanborn maps on microfilm. Look up your property on the various maps and check for any existing house and outbuildings, such as a garage, shed or barn. The house number will be located at the front edge of the lot. Make note of the number as it was not unusual for the house number, or even street name, to change over the years. If you can find your property on a succession of maps, you can see how it changed over time.
The fire insurance maps were updated somewhat irregularly, based upon the likelihood that enough had changed to make possible the sale of updated maps. However, when found, they can offer proof of the existence of your home and represent a unique snapshot of the community.
Looking at maps can provide you with a unique perspective about the property you are researching, and can often offer new leads in your search for who lived in your home. Whenever you are at a library, government center or historical society, ask about the maps and atlases that are held in their collections.
