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UVA affiliated researchers can also access black and white maps covering the entire U.S. through the UMI website. You must be on grounds or have UVa proxy account to access this page.
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You can access our UMI help page here.
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps are highly detailed city plans providing researchers with a wealth of information about urban change in American cities during the first half of the twentieth century.
These maps were originally produced for the purpose of assessing risk of fire and cost of insurance. The highly detailed plans were drawn at a scale of 50 feet/inch, printed in color, and record detailed information about streets, businesses, residences building materials, utilities.
The Library holds a pair of original map books for the City of Charlottesville, for 1907 and 1920 that have been digitized and georeferenced and are available online through this site.
The University of Virginia Library also holds a complete microfilm collection of all Virginia cities and towns that were mapped by the Sanborn Map Company from 1885-1970.