Skip to Main Content
Library Research Guides

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps

Introduction to finding and using Sanborn fire insurance maps.

Microfilm Indexes for Local Area

We have created indexes for Sanborn maps on microfilm of:

For the rest of the state, look under Michigan in Fire Insurance Plans in the Library of Congress: A Checklist (Clark Library Z 6026 .I7 U541).

Sanborn Maps of Michigan on Microfilm

The Hatcher Graduate Library holds two large microfilm sets of Sanborn fire insurance maps for Michigan, located in the Serials and Microforms Department. To identify and access maps for a particular city and time period, an index or contents page must be consulted, listed here under the notes section of each set:

Sanborn Map Company.  Sanborn fire insurance maps, Michigan.  Teaneck, NJ: Chadwyck-Healey, 1983-1990.
Location: Grad Serials/Microforms Film 23325 (40 reels)
Coverage: 1883-1970
Notes: This microfilm collection contains all Sanborn maps of Michigan found in the Geography and Map Division of the Library of Congress. To identify the microfilm reel needed, look under the city, date, and - if present - volume number. Volume numbers for a city can be repeated under the different date ranges, so it is important to note the date range as well as the city and volume number.

 

Fire insurance maps from the Sanborn Map Company archives: late 19th century to 1990, Michigan.  Research Collections in Urban History and Urban Studies.  Bethesda, MD: University Publications of America, 1993.
Location: Grad Serials/Microforms Film 30088 (24 reels)
Coverage: Late 1800s-1992
Notes: The reel contents are reproduced at the beginning of reel 1.