Founded in 1867, the Sanborn Fire Insurance maps were produced nationwide for insurance agents to use in quoting fire insurance policies. However, today, the maps are used by researchers to extract all kinds of useful research information about buildings, such as:
- building use, height, number of stories, and material types
- historic street names and numbers
- placement of gas lines and sewer line
The Ohio Sanborn Maps available through the Ohio Web Library are black and white copies only. However, maps for Bellaire span from 1884 up to 1950 in some instances, giving researchers a large time span to search.
NOTE: A library card is needed to access this collection.
