Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps of Richmond, VA

Title page for the 1905 Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps of Richmond, VA

Another expansive resource for those interested in Richmond’s 19th and 20th century infrastructure is the Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps. Images and information about these unique documents may be obtained through The Library of Congress’ digital collections, which provide Sanborn maps from various US cities, as well as Canada, Mexico, and Cuba. Those with access to VCU Libraries’ online databases can retrieve black-and-white versions of the Richmond maps there, as well as those from other Virginia localities. Both collections provide Richmond maps dating from 1886 to 1952.

These detailed maps were published by the Sanborn Map Company- a firm that is still in operation today! The company was founded by David Alfred Sanborn in 1866, who quickly developed and copyrighted a specialized set of symbols. Over the years, Sanborn became the national standard for fire insurance maps and later went on to produce other specialty maps as market needs changed [Information obtained from the Sanborn Map Company website]. Today, the business is centered around geospatial products, analysis, and consulting. 

“The maps were designed to assist fire insurance agents in determining the degree of hazard associated with a particular property and therefore show the size, shape, and construction of dwellings, commercial buildings, and factories as well as fire walls, locations of windows, and doors, sprinkler systems, and types of roofs. The maps also indicate widths and names of streets, property boundaries, building use, and house and block numbers” [Text taken from the Library of Congress’ Introduction to the Collection]

The Library of Congress’ webpage on the Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps provides detailed information on the keys, symbols, legends, colors, indexes, and other important features. Another unique aspect of these documents was the written report on the fire protection, services, and infrastructure for the mapped area. Moreover, the webpage states that after 1920, paste-on correction sheets were able to be applied to maps for updates instead of requiring the repurchase of a new map. Below are some images from the Richmond maps over the years, taken from the Library of Congress’ digital collections. 

Graphic Index for 1924-25 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of Richmond’s East End

Key for 1924-25 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of Richmond’s East End

Section of current-day Jackson Ward from an 1886 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map

Section of current-day Jackson Ward from a 1952 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map

-- Gabrielle Dietrich, VCU undergraduate majoring in International Studies and French with a minor in History. She graduates in the Spring of 2024.