Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps

The Sanborn Maps were originally created for assessing fire insurance liability in urbanized areas in the United States. Our collection includes over 40,000 detailed maps of Ohio cities drawn between 1882 and 1962. Each map includes detailed information regarding town and building information.

Although these maps were originally published in color, this collection is digitized from microfilm and is in black and white. Thanks to a partnership with Kent State University, links to full-color archival versions of maps through 1926 are now included in the Ohio Web Library results from the KSU Institutional Repository.

The Library of Congress has a collection of additional maps as well and includes a detailed guide to Sanborn Fire Insurance colors, keys, and symbols.