Sanborn Maps

Sanborn Maps for the state of North Carolina provide digital access to 11,173 large-scale maps of 158 North Carolina towns and cities from the late nineteenth through mid-twentieth centuries. Users have the ability to manipulate the maps, magnify and zoom in on specific sections, and compare maps from different years. Sanborn Maps were originally created to aid the insurance industry in assessing risk. They show towns at specific points in their history and provide detailed information on street layout, civic infrastructure, building type, building use, and ownership. Sanborn maps are valuable historical tools for urban specialists, architects, geographers, genealogists, historians, planners, environmentalists, and anyone who wants to learn about the history and development of specific cities, towns, and neighborhoods