Sanborn Map Company Employees Began Working in Pelham Before the Company Map Factory Was Completed in 1906

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Research continues to reveal more about the early Pelham history of the internationally-renowned Sanborn Map Company that built a "map factory" in the Village of North Pelham in 1906.  The Sanborn Map Building stands adjacent to Chester Park in the northern portion of today's Village of Pelham.  The Sanborn Map Building was built in 1906. In it the Sanborn Map Company produced maps for insurance company customers for many decades.   

The company's predecessor, founded by D. A. Sanborn in 1866, gained national recognition in the 19th century for its incredibly detailed fire insurance maps. The "Sanborn Map and Publishing Company, Limited" was established at the office of the Continental Insurance Company in New York in 1876.  By the early 20th century the company had changed its name to the Sanborn Map Company and had decided to build a massive "map factory" in the Village of North Pelham.  Construction began in 1906.  

I have written on numerous occasions about the lovely Sanborn Map Building in Pelham.  See, e.g.:

Thu., Nov. 02, 2017:  Sanborn Map Company Opened a Map School in Pelham Before Opening its New Map Factory in 1906.

Tue., Mar. 14, 2017:   The Sanborn Map Company Water Tower in North Pelham.  

Mon., Nov. 28, 2005:   The Historic Sanborn Map Building In The Village of Pelham.  

Bell, Blake A., The Sanborn Map Company and its Pelham Headquarters, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XV, Issue 14, Apr. 7, 2006, p. 10, col. 1.

A brief article appeared in the October 5, 1906 issue of The Daily Argus published in neighboring Mount Vernon.  The article referenced the fact that a group of women had been working for the Sanborn Map Company for "some weeks" in a building owned by Philip Godfrey on Fourth Avenue near Second Street.  This was the Sanborn Map Company School that existed at that location for a very brief time in 1906.  There, the company trained local workers to handle the work that would be required in the new Map Factory nearing completion at the time.  I have written about that school before.  See Thu., Nov. 02, 2017:  Sanborn Map Company Opened a Map School in Pelham Before Opening its New Map Factory in 1906.

The same Daily Argus reveals an interesting piece of new information, however.   According to the article, about twenty women who had worked at the Sanborn Map Company School in Philip Godfrey's building were moved after their training to a section of the Power House at the Sanborn Map Company Factory before the remainder of the complex was completed.

When first established, the Sanborn Map Factory complex in North Pelham had its own steam-based electrical generating equipment.  Such equipment was common during the late 19th and early 20th centuries at manufacturing plants at a time when the electrical grid was far less reliable and a patchwork of electricity generating companies served various regions rather than a handful of large electric utilities.  Even today the tall brick steam exhaust stack of the manufacturing plant in north Pelham towers over the complex and can be seen from quite a distance.

The twenty or so women began working in a portion of the power plant while work on the complex including the laying of piping and other necessary work was being performed.  Clearly the Sanborn Map Company was anxious to open its Map Factory as soon as possible and planned to hit the ground running with trained employees who were ready, willing, and able to work as soon as construction was finished.  

 Sanborn Map Building in 2003.  Photograph by the Author.

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge. 

 
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"NORTH PELHAM. 
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The Argus will be found on sale each day at Lyman's drug store, or will be delivered by notifying Glover Brea.
-----
Here and There.

The following are the unclaimed letters at the North Pelham postoffice for the week of September 24:  Mrs. William C. Abbott, Mrs. Elizabeth Marany, Mrs. Q. Mauk, Miss Lizzie Pelham, Miss Ellen Regan and Miss Ellen Hickey.

It was stated yesterday afternoon by the superintendent, who has in charge the construction of the Sanborne [sic] map factory building, that the main buildings would probably be ready for occupancy by November 15.  The girls who have been doing work for the company some weeks in the building of Philip Godfrey on Fourth avenue, near Second street, have moved into a section of the power house where they will remain for the time being.  There are twenty of them at present working there.  These buildings are now rapidly nearing completion.  The piping is being laid and other necessary work being done.

A number of houses in North Pelham are now nearing completion.  Work on Jacob Heisser's house on Fourth street and Sixth avenue is in an advanced stage and will probably be ready for occupancy by November 1.  At least Mr. Heisser expects to move into it then.  The block at the corner of Fifth avenue and Fifth street is going up well and will no doubt be ready about the same time.  Several other houses will also be ready by that time.

The three days' bazaar, under the auspices of St. Catherine's [sic] church was brought to a close last night with by large attendance.  A goodly sum will be realized from the affair fo the benefit of the furnishings for the convent."

Source:    NORTH PELHAM -- Here and There, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Oct. 5, 1906, p. 5, col. 1.

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Sanborn Map Company Opened a Map School in Pelham Before Opening its New Map Factory in 1906

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Nestled in the northern reaches of the Town of Pelham adjacent to the beautiful residential neighborhood known as Chester Park with its lovely central green is a building known as the Sanborn Map Building.  The Sanborn Map Building was built in 1906. In it the Sanborn Map Company produced maps for insurance company customers for many decades. 

The company's predecessor, founded by D. A. Sanborn in 1866, gained national recognition in the 19th century for its incredibly detailed fire insurance maps. The "Sanborn Map and Publishing Company, Limited" was established at the office of the Continental Insurance Company in New York in 1876.

By the early 20th century the company had changed its name to the Sanborn Map Company and had decided to build a massive "map factory" in the Village of North Pelham adjacent to Chester Park.  Construction began in 1906.  

The story of the Sanborn Map Building in Pelham has been told before.  See, e.g.:

Tue., Mar. 14, 2017:  The Sanborn Map Company Water Tower in North Pelham.

Mon., Nov. 28, 2005:  The Historic Sanborn Map Building In The Village of Pelham.

Bell, Blake A., The Sanborn Map Company and its Pelham Headquarters, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XV, Issue 14, Apr. 7, 2006, p. 10, col. 1.

Though many in Pelham know the story of the Sanborn Map Building, few know that before the building was built in 1906, the Sanborn Map Company operated a map-making school in a building owned by Philip Godfrey located on Fourth Avenue near Second Street.

It appears that the Sanborn Map Company hoped to hit the ground running in Pelham.  Thus, months before it opened its new map factory next to Chester Park, it decided to open a map-making school to train those scheduled to work in the factory how to craft insurance maps like those sold by the company.  

The company arranged to use the second and third floors of a newly-constructed building on Fourth Avenue owned by Philip Godfrey.  The structure was located on the southeast corner of the intersection of Fourth Avenue and Second Street.  (The structure no longer exists.  It was in an area now covered by the parking lot behind De Cicco and Son's Market.)  Philip Godfrey was a notable resident of the Village of North Pelham who served as a member of the Relief Hook and Ladder Company of the First Fire District for about thirty years.

Sanborn Map workers reported for training at the makeshift school on Tuesday, May 1, 1906.  A local newspaper reported breathlessly as follows:  "The opening of this school simply means the beginning of a new era for North Pelham and will doubtless mean much to the village."

The makeshift school seems only to have operated for a few months until completion of the Sanborn Map Building in 1906 and and the opening of the new building in early 1907.

Sanborn Map Building in 2003.  Photograph by the Author.

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Detail of 1908 Map Showing Location of "P. Godfrey" Building.

Source: Fairchild, John F., "City of Mount Vernon and Town of Pelham" in

Atlas of the City of Mount Vernon and the Town of Pelham Second Edition

Compiled from Official Records, Personal Surveys, and other Private Plans

and Surveys, Plate 27 (Mount Vernon, NY: John F. Fairchild, 1908).

NOTE: Click on Image to Enlarge.

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"MAP FACTORY'S SCHOOL IS AT NORTH PELHAM
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Sanborn Company Will Open a Course of Instruction for Workmen
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QUARTERS IN NEW HOUSE NOW ON FOURTH AVENUE
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North Pelham, April 30. -- It was learned this morning that the Sanborne [sic] Map Factory will establish a school in North Pelham, in which instruction will be given the employees in map making.  This will be somewhat of a novel departure, and will probably interest a good many people.

The school will be established on the second and third floors of the three story building erected by Philip Godfrey on Fourth avenue near Second street.  The school will be opened Tuesday morning, at which time the first group of men to be employed by the factory will report for instruction.

The idea of the Sanborne [sic] Map company to take these rooms is to break the men in who are to enter the employ of the factory.  The rooms will be properly fitted with tables and the necessary paraphernalia.  It could not be ascertained today, the nature of the work that these men are to learn, but it probably is some of the most important to be done by the factory.

The opening of this school simply means the beginning of a new era for North Pelham and will doubtless mean much to the village."

Source:  MAP FACTORY'S SCHOOL IS AT NORTH PELHAM -- Sanborn Company Will Open a Course of Instruction for Workmen -- QUARTERS IN NEW HOUSE NOW ON FOURTH AVENUE, Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Apr. 30, 1906, No. 4304, p. 1, col. 2.

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The Sanborn Map Company Water Tower in North Pelham

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On a hill behind the Sanborn Map Company building near the end of Fourth Avenue and its intersection with Seventh Street adjacent to Chester Park is a large, circular water tower resting on iron supports.  Not to be confused with the famed Chester Park water tower erected in 1891 to provide reliable water service to Chester Park residents, the Sanborn Map Company water tower was built for a specific purpose:  to supply water to the map company's water sprinkler fire extinguishing system.

The Sanborn Map water tower is the second one built on the site.  At about the time the original Sanborn Map Company complex was built in North Pelham beginning in 1906, a smaller water tower was constructed near the same spot.  The original water tank was a 10,000 gallon tank to service the sprinkler fire extinguishing system of the plant.  

At the time, the plant had not only its own water system to service its sprinkler system, but also its own coal fire electricity-generating system to provide electrical power for the plant.  The plant, in effect, was essentially a self-contained community devoted to the creation and printing of the Sanborn insurance maps.  

I have written about the Sanborn Map Company and its facility on numerous occasions.  For two examples, see:

Mon., Nov. 28, 2005:  The Historic Sanborn Map Building In The Village of Pelham.

Bell, Blake A., The Sanborn Map Company and its Pelham Headquarters, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XV, Issue 14, Apr. 7, 2006, p. 10, col. 1.

As the Sanborn Map business grew, so did its complex.  By 1927, the original water tower was too small to serve the needs of the complex.  In early march of that year, preparations were made to build a larger 50,000 gallon tank to provide water for the sprinkler fire extinguishing system of the complex.  The tank was built that spring standing atop a 65-foot high iron trestle.  It remains standing today.

Detail from 1929 Map Showing Location of New Sanborn Map

Company Water Tower Shortly After It Was Built.  Source:  G. M.

Hopkins Co., Atlas of Westchester County, New York Complete

in Four Volumes, Vol. 1, p. 11 (Philadelphia, PA:  G. M. Hopkins

Co., 1929).  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Google Maps Satellite Image With Arrow Showing Location

of Sanborn Map Company Water Tower Today.  NOTE:

Click on Image to Enlarge.

The Sanborn Map Company water tower should not be confused with the famed Chester Park water tower built in 1891 to provide water service to the homes in the then-new Chester Park residential development.  The Chester Park water tower was only a few hundred yards away from the Sanborn Map Company water tower at the rear of the Chester Park Green.  A rare image of that water tower at about the time it was built appears immediately below.  

Caption: "View of Water Tower Taken from Public Green"

Source: Water and Mildew Damaged Photograph as Donated

To The Office of The Historian of The Town of Pelham.

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Below is a brief newspaper reference to preparations for construction of the new 50,000 water tank at the Sanborn Map Company complex in 1927.  It is followed by a citation and link to its source.  

"SANBORN COMPANY TO ERECT WATER TOWER
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Preparations are being made at the plant of the Sanborn Map Company in North Pelham for the erection of a new 50,000 gallon water tank to replace the 10,000 gallon tank now in use.  The tank is used to supply the sprinkler fire extinguishing system of the Plant.  It will be erected on an iron trestle sixty-five feet above the ground.  The small tank in use at the present time will be dismantled."

Source:  SANBORN COMPANY TO ERECT WATER TOWER, The Pelham Sun, Mar. 4, 1927, p. 4, col. 5.

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The Historic Sanborn Map Building In The Village of Pelham

Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.
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Nestled in the northern reaches of the Town of Pelham adjacent to the beautiful residential neighborhood known as Chester Park with its lovely central green is a building known as the Sanborn Map Building. Today's Historic Pelham Blog posting will provide a little of the history of that lovely building and photographs of the building including a few of the relief sculptures that adorn its façade.

The photograph above, taken two years ago, shows the east façade of the Sanborn Map Building located at 629 Fifth Avenue in Pelham, NY.

The Sanborn Map Building was built in 1906. In it the Sanborn Map Company produced maps for insurance company customers. The company's predecessor, founded by D. A. Sanborn in 1866, gained national recognition in the 19th century for its incredibly detailed fire insurance maps. The "Sanborn Map and Publishing Company, Limited" was established at the office of the Continental Insurance Company in New York in 1876.

The company changed its name to Sanborn Perris Map Company Limited in 1899 after it acquired the mapping firm of Perris and Brown of New York. In 1902 the company changed its name again, this time to The Sanborn Map Company. At about this time it began planning its new headquarters in Pelham. Architectural renderings were executed as early as 1904. The building was constructed in 1906 and the company relocated to its new facility in 1907.

The new publishing plant was located on five acres of land and is considered an early example of a "campus-like" setting for such a corporate headquarters. The main building, built of brick, is 75,000 square feet and is decorated with dozens of relief sculptures of ancient mapmakers that surround the facility at its roofline. The photograph below, taken two weeks ago, shows the south façade of the building. Note the sculptural reliefs that appear every few feet along the roofline of the building along the entire façade.

By the 1920s, The Sanborn Map Company was a major success. The company expanded its production facilities to include locations in Chicago and San Francisco. It had more than 1,000 employees preparing bound volumes of printed insurance maps (later loose-leaf collections of maps).

An Example of One of the Sculptural Reliefs.
(See Additional Examples Below).

During World War II, the company was designated a strategic war production plant with substantial security. During the War the company operated 24 hours a day to produce maps of locations around the world using aerial photgraphs.

After the War, The Sanborn Map Company began to downsize and, in 1950, closed all its offices except for the Pelham headquarters. According to a history prepared by the company, "[a]fter 1950, Sanborn reduce[d] the size of their maps and for many clients, [began producing] maps in black and white."

During the 1960s, Sanborn began to diversify its map offerings. It began preparing and offering maps reflecting issues such as market radius and land use according to a brief history prepared by the company. According to that same history, between 1970 and 1983:

"Sanborn enter[ed] photogrammetric mapping and geographic information systems industry. Sanborn acquire[d] aircraft and [began] aerial photography and photogrammetric mapping. Sanborn use[d] computers for tax parcel mapping and land/building usage databases. Sanborn enter[ed] the digital mapping age."

During the 1990s and in the last five years, the company has been on an acquisition binge, acquiring such businesses as Lockwood Mapping Company of Rochester; Walker Associates; Dynamics Corporation of Charlotte, NC; Barton Aerial Technologies, Inc. of Columbus, OH; and Williams Stackhouse of San Antonio, Texas.

In 2001, Sanborn acquired the Colorado Springs office of Analytical Surveys, Inc., doubling its size. Not long thereafter, it moved its corporate headquarters to Colorado Springs where it remains today.

Today the Sanborn Map Building contains a host of small businesses that lease commercial space for offices, dance studios and other purposes.

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