maps

[Xraywolf]

Examples in this article mostly CA

[h=1]Ultra-precise maps compiled for insurance companies from as early as the 1860s reveal incredible detail about neighborhoods across the US[/h]

Read more: Historic Sanborn maps show how American cities evolved | Daily Mail Online

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[4x4x4]

....WOW ! Thanks for posting the the ultimate fusion of Art and History !
I'm horrified though that in the early '70s I was taxed with the job of clearing out an old warehouse, an old 20s auto repair structure that held tons of maps , including ratty Sanborn bound and scrolled editions. Being the"new"guy , I was admonished that nothing was to escape the roll-off dumpsters.... Now I feel sick.
Hopefully some diver rescued them.
Thanks again.
Mark.

 

[Primus Palus]

Wow. I've been looking for something like that for Colorado.

 

[Xraywolf]

Says "At the height of the company, Sanborn had maps of 12,000 cities in the US and even some in Canada and Mexico."

So maybe they are out there, extreme luck or historical society would seem the best bet.

 

[diverrick]

Would you happen to have the maps, or any maps of Strictnine City (not sure of the spelling), Later called Brandy city? it is off of Hwy 49 North of the North Fork Yuba. Been looking for anything that would show the layout of the town, There is nothing to go on physically on the ground now to figure it out, except the graveyard.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

diverrick, I've just looked down the list of all the CA cities they covered. And that city you mention is not one of them (yes, I tried every variation of spelling). Sanborns didn't do teensy 1-horse towns. Eg.: "towns" that were just a block wide, of just a collection of a few homes, a hotel, blacksmith, stage stop, post office, etc.... were not significant enough to merit Sanborn maps. I don't recall seeing any sanborn maps for "towns" that were not multiple blocks long, of hundreds of immediate residents. There had to be a downtown commercial district in the first place, or else there was no need to have made the insurance maps. A few motley structures at a country cross-roads would not comprise a "downtown" district"

 

[Tom_in_CA]

have you seen the 1888 topo map that shows "Brandy city" ? It shows it as nothing but a single black dot.

So keep in mind, that words like "town" and "city" back then, often times does not mean what/how we think of "city" or "town" today. Back then, any group of people in a vicinity of neighbors (even though perhaps a mile apart from each other) would christen their place "such & such city" or "such & such town". And anyone who threw out a shingle at a cross-roads, which never amounted to anything more than a stage stop, store, blacksmith, etc.... might get called "such-&-such-ville" (as if it were a "town", or whatever).

 

[Tom_in_CA]

I just read some more about strychnine city, and see it boasted "150 miners" at one point. But also bear in mind, that the camp/tent city of said-miners might not necessarily have been at the location of the said "city". A few stores and a hotel etc.... might have born the name, yet the actual "150" might been further off at a spot nearer their actual workings.

In any case, it's on topo maps. So you could plant yourself at nearly an "x marks the spot". But at this time of year, I can only imagine that the spring grasses would keep anyone from hunting anything in areas like that. Might have to wait till the fall season grass die off (assuming we have a long hot summer, and no more rains ! haha)

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Here's more:

Western Bottle News: Sierra County California Ghost Towns

Apparently the "town" did have a few hundred residents. And the context in this link indicates a close congregation of them in an actual hub-of-sorts. But the dates of this zenith (1850s/60s) would pre-date the earliest Sanborns. Hence no sanborns. And the fire that burned down the town early on would explain why there's only a single dot on the 1880's topo. map.

Go there and find some stuff. If you need help, I'm game As said though: Would need to be @ the fall/early winter grass die-off time.