# NEED HELP FIGURING OUT SANBORN MAPS!



## carobran (Aug 30, 2011)

ok,i printed off some sanborn maps of my town yesterday,what do privys look like on them?behind most of the houses there are 1,2,or sometimes 3 little squares with x's in them,............or these privys??also,how do you figure out the exact location of a building on the map,since some have been torn down and other houses and biuldings biult betwwen them?[8|][]


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## CALDIGR2 (Aug 30, 2011)

Squares or rectangles with Xs indicate stables. Privies are usually very small squares located on the property's perimeter. If the square is marked WC, fo'get about it, it's a flush toilet in an outside building and will probably only contain ABM junk. Many town and city Sanborns don't indicate privies, so you'll be doing a probe-a-thon.


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## carobran (Aug 30, 2011)

thats what im talking about(i think)i know the large rectangles are stables,but thes squares are very small with little x's in the middle of them[8|]


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## Wheelah23 (Aug 30, 2011)

Maybe they kept ponies? []

 I'm having trouble with Sanborn maps too. I've got plenty of them to look over, from all different time periods, but haven't seen anything on a map that resembles what I'm supposed to look for. I guess I'll just have to probe to find them in the future.


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## carobran (Aug 30, 2011)

the problem with these are ,there so small when printed out,and of course some streets werent there back then,and some had different names,gonna look over em good with a magnifying glass this weekend[]


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## kwalker (Aug 31, 2011)

You can't rely on Sanborns giving you the locations of outhouses at all from what I've experienced...

 Really the useful things Sanborns will give you in reference to digging are old roads, houses and locations where dumps will be. The maps of my town don't show outhouses too often which is why I don't particularly use them for that purpose.

 If you want to find dumps using Sanborns I find they are quite ideal. Look for old buildings that you know are no longer there, also look for roads that have dead ends. Rivers ESPECIALLY those with industries along their banks are good places to look. Look for old mills and canneries; for some reason they seem to have dumps nearby. Look for places that have words like "Exposure" "Vacant" "Abandoned" ect. because usually they have possible locations near them as well. I haven't had much luck finding outhouses with Sanborns but I suppose if you were in a city where there were row homes or things such as that it may be of value. But as far as other places, I haven't had much luck finding outhouses.


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## carobran (Aug 31, 2011)

i did see a canning factory while browsing over them,also saw a couple of cottin mills,and a rr depot[sm=lol.gif]


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## surfaceone (Aug 31, 2011)

Branden,

 I once found a designated dump on a Sanborn. They bear close scrutiny, but privys are generally not designated. I'm always glad to see the little boxes with, or without "X's" at the rear of lots. Sanborns are no substitute for probing.





From.


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## carobran (Aug 31, 2011)

thanx,i printed that off,its very hard to read them on the maps[]


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## kwalker (Aug 31, 2011)

Sanborns are really fun to look at I think. Especially when you know the area well and you can see how much that area has changed over a hundred years or more. If there are any railroad bridges in the area take a look at them as well. typically fill was made of old junk people didn't want so you may find something there as well.

 Also from my experience, lakes are good places to look too. About ten years ago the lake in my town was drained to repair the dam. People flocked from all over the place to dig the lake sides and literally hundreds of bottles were found including some Saratogas and a few other very rare and beautiful ones.


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## carobran (Aug 31, 2011)

> ORIGINAL: kwalker
> 
> Sanborns are really fun to look at I think. Especially when you know the area well and you can see how much that area has changed over a hundred years or more. If there are any railroad bridges in the area take a look at them as well. typically fill was made of old junk people didn't want so you may find something there as well.
> 
> Also from my experience, lakes are good places to look too. About ten years ago the lake in my town was drained to repair the dam. People flocked from all over the place to dig the lake sides and literally hundreds of bottles were found including some Saratogas and a few other very rare and beautiful ones.


 ive checked under one rr bridge .didnt really find anything,hopefully gonna go search a creek thst runs next to a 1870s rr,and an old fed mill,theres a bridge where we get into creek at,gonna check it good,..............i got your pm,might try to send you them in a few days,thanx[sm=lol.gif][sm=lol.gif]


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## carobran (Sep 1, 2011)

i looked over the maps some,i think i can find where the old NUGRAPE plant was,(that is ,if its not a parking lot[])would they have dumped their bottles whren they went out of business?[8|]


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## RICKJJ59W (Sep 10, 2011)

This is my Sandborn map


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## madman (Sep 10, 2011)

> ORIGINAL:  RICKJJ59W
> 
> This is my Sandborn map


YEP RICK IS RIGHT LEARN HOW TO USE A PROBE AND YA DONT NEED SANBORNS


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## Wangan (Sep 10, 2011)

> ORIGINAL:  carobran
> 
> thanx,i printed that off,its very hard to read them on the maps[]


 
 I zoomed them before I printed them.[]


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## carobran (Sep 11, 2011)

were they any help?ive been going over them with a magnifying glass,and it works pretty well[sm=lol.gif]


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