Delaware Sanborn Maps Online

wilmington fire insurance map; jos stoeckler diamond state brewery
Wilmington Sanborn Fire Insurance Map, 1885 shows the Jos. Stoeckler Diamond State Brewery. From the Library of Congress

The Library of Congress has been digitizing its collection of Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps for a few years, and recently the institution added a number of Delaware products to its website.  To produce the atlases, the Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps surveyors visited towns all across the nation to frequently update drawings and produce sketches at a detailed scale of one-inch to fifty-feet.  With these sources a researcher is able to observe the changes that took place with structures and communities over generations.  The Company was particularly active from the 1880s until the decades after World War II.

The online, digitized collection, which is accessible for free presently includes:

Camden – 1897

Clayton – 1897

Delaware City – 1885; 1891

Dover – 1885; 1891; 1897

Frederica – 1885; 1891;

Georgetown – 1885; 1891; 1907;

Harrington – 1885; 1891; 1897

Laurel: 1885; 1891; 18976

Lewes – 1891; 1897

Middletown – 1885; 1891

Milford – 1885; 1891; 1897

New Castle – 1885; 1891

Newark – 1891

Seaford – 1885; 1891; 1897

Smyrna – 1885; 1891

Wilmington — 1885

These maps are highly detailed and a lot of symbols and colors are used to catalog the data fire insurance underwriters needed.  Here is a link that provides information on how to interpret the map symbols

In addition, there is a collection of Maryland Maps available online.

This link will take you to the Maryland collection

Deer Park Hotel, Newark, Delaware Map 1891
Newark Delaware map of 1891 shows the Deer Park Hotel. From the Sanborn Fire Insurance Map in the collection of the LIbrary of Congress
Harrington Map
A portion of the Harrington Map; Sanbon Fire Insurance Company, 1885; from the Library of Congress
Delaware City Map
A portion of the Delaware City Fire Insurance Map shows the Delaware City Hotel and the waterfront. This 1885 map is from the Library of Congress

19th Century Travel Guide for Travel between Philadelphia and Baltimore Helpful for Local History Researchers

The Stanton Railroad Station, From the Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore Railroad Guide via Hathi Trust  http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?view=image;size=100;id=hvd.32044051064541;page=root;seq=68;num=58
The Stanton Railroad Station, From the Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore Railroad Guide via Hathi Trust http:hathitrust.org

When we hit the road these days for a trip to some unfamiliar destination, we often consult travel directories and guidebooks. These handy sources, whether online or on the printed page, are packed with information about a place, providing details for sightseeing and accommodations

They were there in the 19th century too, filling the need of itinerant types for information to orient them to things on their journey to unfamiliar places.  While there are a number of works available from the 1800s for the Delmarva Peninsula, I recently worked with two as I prepared for a Delaware Humanities forum talk for the Newark Historical Society.

My talk was about the social history of railroading in Delaware and I was reorienting it to matters more of interest to the heritage group’s members. So I surfed over to the Digital Library of America, an excellent portal for starting online searches.  That search yielded the sought after reference, the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad Guide published in 1856 by Charles Dare.  This little volume was designed, the author said, to communicate information that was most interesting to passengers over the route.  Dare updated his first publication with a second issue in 1877.

The handy guide described for the traveler the route from Philadelphia to Baltimore, providing pages of details about the destinations on the upper Delmarva Peninsula, such as Claymont, Bellevue, Wilmington, Newport, Stanton, Newark, Elkton, North East, Charlestown and the Susquehanna River crossing. As the miles rolled by on those long ago journeys the guide described items of interest for sightseers and provided practical destination information on local accommodations.

There are also plenty of sketches. The author offered a special thanks to D. C. Baxter for his work, the transformation of “photographs of scenery upon the route into well-executed wood engravings.”  The maps were done by J. E. Larkin.

Just as this guide was handy to people living in the 19th century, the modern day researcher will find it helpful for understanding places along the road.  Fortunately these rare books have been digitized by academic libraries and are now readily available for on demand use.  I purchased a copy of the original work from a rare book dealer in New England probably 30 years ago.  Otherwise it would have taken a time consuming trip to a special collections or large academic library.

But as digitization expands our easy contact with heritage-related materials, it helps advance our understanding and appreciation of our past as practically everyone has the ability to conveniently access rare materials.  The physical copy of the e-resource I was using is located at the Harvard University Library.

Proposed railroad bridge between Perryville and Havre de Grace.  Source:  Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore Railroad Guide, via www.hathitrust.org
Proposed railroad bridge between Perryville and Havre de Grace. Source: Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore Railroad Guide, via www.hathitrust.org
The Newark Train Station.  Source:  Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore Railroad Guide, via www.hathitrust.org
The Newark Train Station. Source: Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore Railroad Guide, via www.hathitrust.org