By Gretchen Witt
Rowan Public Library

Have you ever wondered when your house was built or who lived in it before you did? You can find this out in the comfort of said home by using the digital resources provided by your library card. Rowan Public Library has great digital resources, most of which can be used remotely if desired or onsite if a little help is needed.

The Sanborn Map Company created detailed maps illustrating streets and structures so that fire insurance companies could assess their liability in urbanized areas of the growing cities of the United States. Throughout the 19^th and 20^th centuries, these maps were created and updated into the 1960s ending completely by 1977. These maps show what building material was used for dwellings or commercial buildings — stone, clapboard, brick-faced or brick and the basic footprint. Sometimes the name of the owners or the building’s function is printed to denote a saloon, confectionery, churches and factories. Generally, the maps contain the area considered in the city boundaries at the date it was created. However, the maps also have “specials” — buildings that were technically outside the city limits but would have had fire insurance — the cotton factory, Livingstone College or the fairgrounds for example. Salisbury city maps begin with the 1885 map and are updated until 1950s; Spencer city only has three specific maps 1913, 1930 and 1930-39; Kannapolis begins in 1926 and ends in 1943. Unfortunately, no other towns in Rowan had maps created by the Sanborn company.

To access this great resource, go to the Rowan Public Library website, hover over “RPL Online” and choose Digital Materials and Resources. Then choose NC LIVE, follow the link and choose Browse all databases. On the left column, scroll down to “Genealogy and Historical Maps,” and scroll down to “Digital Sanborn Maps (1867-1970) for North Carolina.” Although Sanborn maps exist for cities in all states, NC LIVE provides the Sanborn maps in North Carolina only. In addition to Rowan County cities, NC Live provides maps for nearby Albemarle, Lexington and vacation destinations like Blowing Rock, Boone and Asheville.

Below Digital Sanborn Maps on the web page is “Digital NC” which has a wealth of items that have been scanned and shared digitally. Many of the city directories for Salisbury/Spencer are available on Digital NC (physical copies are available in the History Room). Look at these city directories to see who occupied specific addresses at various times. For example, in the 1907-08 city directory, the home of A.H. Boyden, Mayor was 204 Church Street which is now the location of the library (facing a different street). Noble & Kelsey was a few doors down at 117 East Fisher Street and houses stood where Koco Java is now. Explore the streets of the city with your RPL card. For more details about Rowan Public Library resources, go to www.RowanPublicLibrary.org or call 980-432-8670.