Sanborn history

The Aetna experience together with a successful atlas he published on the city of Boston in 1867 led the young surveyor to see the importance of producing specialized maps for assessing fire insurance liability in cities and towns in the United States.

In 1876, the company incorporated under the name Sanborn Map and Publishing Company.

1899 Perris and Browne is acquired.

By 1902, the newly renamed Sanborn Map Co. had monopolized the industry, making “Sanborn map” synonymous with “fire insurance map.”

In 1905, the Sanborn company began standardizing its map producing system for accuracy and design.

A loose-leaf atlas format was introduced around 1920, allowing for the replacement of outdated plates without having to reprint an entire volume.

The report proved to be overly optimistic as the market for Sanborn maps never recovered after World War II. In 1950, the company published its last catalog and downsized its operations, shutting down all of its offices except for the Pelham office.

In 1952, Business Week reported that the Sanborn Map Co. was working on a project to show Safeway food stores where to expand.

In response to these trends, in 1960, Sanborn began diversifying with a variety of new thematic map styles, such as noise abatement and land use maps.

These publications consisted largely of corrected, reduced-scale, photo-revision, black and white atlases covering approximately 150 cities and towns that the company issued after 1962 in spiral binding.

In 2000, Sanborn acquired a host of other companies, including Aero Dynamics Corporation of Charlotte, North Carolina; Barton Aerial Technologies, Inc. of Columbus, Ohio; and Williams Stackhouse of San Antonio, Texas.

2001 Sanborn acquires the assets of Analytical Surveys, Inc.

By 2002, these various acquisitions had made the company into a leader in the GIS and photogrammetry industry fields with more than 350 GIS and mapping professionals employed in eight divisions nationwide and abroad.