SPOTTED ON THE WEB

Sanborn Insurance Maps Now Digitized, Freely Available Online, at Indiana University: http://www.indiana.edu/~gisdata/sanborn.html

Excellent for historical research such as tracking how a town has grown or buildings have changed, a large collection of Sanborn Insurance Maps (including Vincennes maps) has been digitized by Indiana University is now freely available online as .pdf and .tiff files. Founded in 1867, the Sanborn Map and Publishing Company was the primary American publisher of fire insurance maps for nearly 100 years. The Fire Insurance Maps aided insurance agents in estimating fire insurance liabilities in urban areas. The maps provide a detailed account of urban development and change in communities during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Sanborn maps are large scale (1:600) and depict street layouts, building footprints, building materials, utility lines, street names, street and sidewalk widths, property boundaries, building use, and house and block numbers.

Sometimes different aspects of property can be quite detailed, as porches, outbuildings, and stairways are indicated, plus the uses of the property are explained (for instance, livery stables, pool halls, general stores are noted). Sanborn Insurance Maps show how the town of Vincennes grew and changed. Sanborn Maps for Vincennes are available in this new public domain resource for the years 1887-1916. Lewis Library contains printed Sanborn Maps from 1902, 1916, 1927 and microfilm maps for the years 1887, 1892, 1897, 1902, 1909, 1916, 1927, 1927-38, 1927-50, 1965.

Directions: Visit the web site (above), then click on Single File Interface, then your county on the map, then Zoom to...Vincennes and click on the Indiana Historic Sanborn Maps choice. Select Public Domain, then .PDF (or .TIFF), and your specific file of interest.

View of First Street Between Main and Busseron streets, Vincennes (from 1887 Sanborn Map of Vincennes):