Sac History Happenings: Historical Sanborn maps of California now accessible online

Sac History Happenings

News and developments in Sacramento and California history

January 21, 2013

Historical Sanborn maps of California now accessible online

The Sacramento Public Library has purchased perpetual access to a vast database of California Digital Sanborn Maps, detailed fire insurance maps of California cities and towns dating from the 1880s to the 1960s. The maps are now accessible to library card holders through the Sacramento Public Library website. Sanborn Maps are, as noted by ProQuest's Digital Sanborn Maps website, "a visual expression of history":

"Sanborn maps are valuable historical tools for urban specialists, social historians, architects, geographers, genealogists, local historians, planners, environmentalists and anyone who wants to learn about the history, growth, and development of American cities, towns, and neighborhoods. They are large-scale plans containing data that can be used to estimate the potential risk for urban structures. This includes information such as the outline of each building, the size, shape and construction materials, heights, and function of structures, location of windows and doors."

Sacramento County maps include Courtland (1919-1929), Galt (1884-1940), Isleton (1919-1931), Locke (1927-1930), Elk Grove (1884-1941), Folsom (1891-1942), Sacramento (1895-1952), North Sacramento (1926-1949) and Walnut Grove (1921-1933).

To access the maps and other useful library databases, visit the Research section of the Sacramento Public Library website. For information about Sacramento Public Library's access to Digital Sanborn Maps, visit www.saclibrary.org or call (916) 264-2920.

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California and Sacramento have a long, rich, vibrant history. And our region is blessed with an abundance of historical resources maintained by museums, libraries, archives and societies. This blog aims to alert readers to the latest developments in local/state historical education and research.

Send tips concerning upcoming exhibits, tours, lectures and meetings, as well as new books, magazine articles and online collections to the blog's contributors.

The Contributors:

Michael Dolgushkin

Michael Dolgushkin is Manuscript Librarian at the California State Library History Section. He is co-author of San Francisco's California Street Cable Cars and is a frequent contributor to the California State Library Foundation Bulletin. Contact him at mdolgushkin@library.ca.gov.

Amanda Graham is a Certified Archivist working in the Sacramento Room of the Sacramento Public Library. She earned a BS in History from Southern Oregon University and a MS in Information Studies with an emphasis in archives from The University of Texas at Austin. Contact her at agraham@saclibrary.org.

Pete Basofin is Director of Editorial Research at The Sacramento Bee. He previously worked at The St. Petersburg Times and Columbia (Mo.) Daily Tribune. Contact him at pbasofin@sacbee.com.

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