Arkansas Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps
From the University of Arkansas Special Collections website: The Sanborn Insurance Maps, comprising more than four thousand items, depict structures in Arkansas towns and cities between the 1880s and the 1930s. Some maps indicate the rise and fall of railroads in the state, while others show highways, political, topographic, or geologic features, tourist attractions or places of literary or historical interest.”
The maps are pretty interesting, and even more interesting to me are the old highly decorated cover pages. Somehow a few months back I was able to get at the collection without a login, but now, evidently you can’t. Good thing I saved a few pdf’s while I had the opportunity!
For people who don’t really have a grasp of what it took back in those days to sketch, pen, and print these intricate patterns, I’ve included a zoomed-in cross-section:
Below are more from Hot Springs:
Zoomed detail on this one:
While searching for more information about these maps, I learned a little more about the U of A Collections. They’ve got alot of stuff stashed away up there:
“Special Collections is the largest academic archives in the state, housing more than 1,600 manuscript collections, more than 200,000 photographic images, and more than 1,000 historic maps of Arkansas. The department houses the only complete set of Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps for Arkansas, a collection containing more than 4,000 maps depicting structures in Arkansas towns and cities between the 1880s and the 1930s.”
