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Early Sanborn fire insurance map of most of the town of Great Barrington, in the Berkshires on the Housatonic River, extending as far south as Bridge Street and the Town Hall.
Among the buildings located are several Liveries and the Miller House.
The map shows propoerty owners, street names, public and private buildings, annd a key identifying the composition of the buildings (Brick, Stone, Wood, etc.) as well as out buildings, roads, railroads,electric railways and water plates. The map is one of apparently 2 sheets that covered Great Barrington, although most of the commercial and residential districts are on this sheet.
Sanborn Maps were originally created for assessing fire insurance liability in urban areas in the United States. The maps include detailed information regarding town and building information in approximately 12,000 U.S. towns and cities from 1867 to 2007. Author Kim Keister describes the legacy of Sanborn maps: "Stated simply, the Sanborn maps survive as a guide to American urbanization that is unrivaled by other cartography and, for that matter, by few documentary resources of any kind."
Mapping for insurance, and specifically fire insurance, purposes had existed for a century prior to the emergence of the Sanborn Company, first beginning in London in the late 18th century. In the decades following the end of the Civil War, fire insurance mapping grew rapidly, mirroring the flourish of growth in the country, the rebuilding of the South and massive westward expansion. Factors such as the Homestead Act, railroad construction, the Second Industrial Revolution and massive immigration to the United States all fostered huge population growths, urbanization, and heightened demand for mapping.
The Sanborn Company began making fire insurance maps in 1867 when founded by Daniel Alfred Sanborn, a surveyor from Somerville, Massachusetts. The Sanborn Map Company created maps for fire insurance assessment in the U.S. and within several decades became the largest and most successful American map company. Sanborn was headquartered on Fifth Avenue in \Pelham, New York, but had regional offices in San Francisco, Chicago, and Atlanta. The Sanborn Company sent out legions of surveyors to record the building footprints and relevant details about these buildings in all major urbanized areas regarding their fire liability. I t was because of these details and the accuracy of the Sanborn maps, coupled with the Sanborn Company's standardized symbolization and aesthetic appeal that made the Sanborn Company so successful and their maps so widely utilized.
The Sanborn maps themselves are large-scale lithographed street plans at a scale of 50 feet to one inch (1:600) on 21 inch by 25 inch sheets of paper. The maps were created in volumes, bound and then updated until the subsequent volume was produced. Larger cities would have multiple volumes. In between volumes, updates (new drawings of new or altered buildings or lots) were created and sent out to be pasted on top of the old maps (referred to as 'slips') to reduce expense and preserve accuracy.
The Sanborn Map Company, founded in the 1860s by Daniel Alfred Sanborn, is a renowned cartographic institution primarily recognized for its unparalleled fire insurance atlases. These atlases emerged as indispensable tools during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, portraying the evolution of urban America with unprecedented detail and precision. Charting both burgeoning metropolises and smaller municipalities, Sanborn's fire insurance maps provide a unique and illuminating perspective on the physical, economic, and social transformation of the nation during a period of intense urbanization and industrialization.
During the latter half of the 19th century, the United States witnessed an acceleration in urban growth. This shift from rural to urban living, bolstered by the advent of the Industrial Revolution, generated densely populated areas with a diverse array of architectural styles, materials, and infrastructure. In this context, the need for comprehensive maps that could illustrate the specifics of the built urban fabric became paramount, especially for insurance companies seeking to assess the risks associated with insuring individual properties. The Sanborn Map Company responded to this demand, creating elaborate maps that identified building materials, the purpose of structures, and even features like fire walls and sprinkler systems.
A standout feature of Sanborn's maps was their color-coding system, which allowed for a swift and clear differentiation between building materials—whether wood, brick, iron, or otherwise. This system, paired with the company's legends -- detailing everything from the width of streets to the locations of hydrants -- made these atlases an invaluable resource for insurance underwriters. By the turn of the 20th century, Sanborn maps covered thousands of cities and towns across the United States.
Beyond their utility to the insurance industry, the atlases produced by the Sanborn Map Company have, over time, become a treasured resource for historians, urban planners, preservationists, and environmental researchers. These maps have also been pivotal in brownfield research, shedding light on past industrial activities and potential contamination sites. They offer a window into the past, capturing the architectural, infrastructural, and environmental trends of various eras, and revealing the intricacies of a city's development. The very design of streets, the evolution of residential and commercial areas, and the rise and decline of certain industries can be traced through these maps.
Around 1960, Warren Buffett, then a burgeoning value investor, took a significant position in Sanborn Map Co., sinking 35% of his partnership's money into the company. Buffett was drawn to Sanborn's extensive map business, which he described as a virtual monopoly, as well as the company's valuable investment portfolio. While the cartographic aspect of Sanborn's business was diminishing in profitability due to technological advances introduced by competitors, Buffett recognized that the informational content of the maps had not been updated to electronic access, and was thus an undervalued asset for the company. His investment in Sanborn Map Co. is often presented as Case Study No. 1 in overviews of his value-oriented investment philosophy, which emphasized undervalued assets.
In sum, the Sanborn Map Company's fire insurance atlases are not merely maps; they are intricate tapestries of American urban history, detailing the nation's progression from the late 19th to the 20th century. Through their detailed renderings, these maps continue to serve as invaluable chronicles of the United States' urban transformation during a pivotal era.
![A Topographical Description of Such Parts of North America as are Contained in the (Annexed) Map of Middle British Colonies, &c. in North America [with map:] A Map of the Middle British Colonies in North America. First published by Mr. Lewis Evans ... in 1755; and since Corrected and Improved, as also extended with the addition of New England, and bordering parts of Canada; from actual surveys ... by T. Pownall](https://storage.googleapis.com/raremaps/img/small/100077.jpg)
