Maps are one of our most interesting passports into history. Many maps include not only the names of streets and towns but also details about the topography of an area that can provide valuable insight into natural history. Maps give not only a snapshot of the physical landscape, but also a gateway into the perspectives of people in the past.
Our map collection is organized in an index which contains the map's full title, a description of its geographic breadth, details about the height and width, the name of the publisher/drafter, and special notations about any prominent features of the map. Using this index, the public can get an excellent idea about what maps we have for different areas of the county, and our staff can quickly and easily pull those maps from the vault.
Fire Insurance Plans are one of our most interesting types of maps. They are exceptional because they show the outline of buildings instead of merely indicating street names. An elaborate legend uses colour coding and symbols to display information like type of building material or number of stories in a structure. The maps also provide the names of prominent buildings (post offices or city halls) and names of local businesses. We have Fire Insurance Plans for Oil City, Oil Springs, Petrolia and Sarnia.
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