Paducah officials approved an order this week to apply for a Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives grant to digitize a binder of fire insurance maps.
The Sanborn Maps depict Paducah’s buildings and structures in 1952. City Planning Department Grants Administrator Adam Shull said the binder has suffered water damage and aging and will deteriorate over time. Shull said digitizing the files is an effort to preserve history.
“Any need you would have to look back into history into a specific building or even a part of the street where you say what used to be here, what’s the history to this building, what has it been--this is one of the most authoritative sources on all of that information," Shull said.
Shull said the $5,390 grant would require the city to send the digitized files to KDLA. Other Paducah Sanborn maps are available to view online through the Digital Sanborn Map collection.
The Library of Congress's Sanborn Map collection dates back to 1867 and covers roughly 12,000 cities across North America. The maps were published by Sanborn Map Company.
