Insurance Maps 101

I have been interested in family research for several years now and love finding new approches to finding information about my family. I had never heard of fire insurance maps before taking a class in my final semester of college, last semester (Spring 2011). The class was titled Local and Oral History and focused on obtaining and preserving items of local historical interest. To be honest, one of the main reasons that I took the class was to see if I could discover new (to me) resources that would help me in my pursuit of researching my family tree.

While learning about downtown historic district preservation I was introduced to the Sanborn maps. In case this is new to you, too. The Sanborn maps were maps drawn by the Sanborn Insurance Company from 1867 to 1970. There purpose was to estimate fire insurance liabilities. The most common years range from 1900 to the 1930s. These maps include detailed information about homes and businesses for over 12,000 US cities and towns. They list building materials used (brick/wood), heating sources, names of business owners for larger businesses, and more.

I immediately went home and googled Sanborn maps for Mayfield, Graves Co., Kentucky. I could not find a free central database that contains all of the maps, so finding the maps for the city that you want takes a little bit of searching. I finally found a website that had the maps that I was looking for. It actually has maps for many Kentucky cities (the maps are on the Kentuckiana Digital Library website). For Mayfield, the website has maps for 1886, 1892, 1897, 1901, 1905, 1910, and 1916.

Earlier I posted a picture of my 3rd Great Grandfather posing in front of his grocery store. The back of the photo, which was made into a postcard, says that the grocery store was located on West Broadway in Mayfield. So, my first mission was to find my grandfather's store on the map. The photo is not dated, but based on several things I believe it to be from the 1910s or 1920s. He died in 1932.

I started my search with the 1901 map, searched every building on West Broadway and found... nothing. So, I went to the 1905 map. Again, nothing. I had the same response from the 1910 and 1916 maps. I felt like the store had to be there somewhere. So, I changed my approach and decided to look on East Broadway. Since I still had the 1916 map still up, I started my search there. Sure enough, I found a building that matches the description of my grandfather's store. It is the very last building on the right of the map. It almost didn't make the cut!

Source: Kentuckiana Digital Library.

The building is labeled 'gro.,' is made of wood, is rectangular, and has a front porch. It lists the address of the grocery store as 700 East Broadway. From there, I went to Google Maps and searched the address and looked at the Street View (since I don't live near Mayfield). The site is now a parking lot for a pawn shop. I'm sure grandpa would be proud :)

Source: Google Maps.

I'm not 100% sure that this was where my grandfathers store once stood. But now, at least, I have an address that I can research at the county courthouse! I can't wait to see what I can find!

For me, finding the Sanborn maps was worth the price of the course.