top of page

1943

Population of Hillsborough Approximately 1,325

Historical Context

Number of States in the US – 48

President – Franklin Delano Roosevelt

​

1939 -- Germany invades Poland and WW II begins

1940 – FDR re-elected as first president to hold more than 2 terms

1941 – Japan attacks Pearl Harbor; US enters WWII

1942 – Mahatma Gandhi launches the Quit India Movement for independence

1942 -- US begins rationing food, starting with sugar

1942 -- US Navt Pre-Flight School established at UNC

1943 – Pentagon is completed as the world's largest military complex

1943 -- Raleigh-Durham International Airport opens

1943 -- Band leader and UNC gradudate Kay Kyser appears with many other

             musical and Hollywood stars in Stage Door Canteen

​

1943.png

Based on a Map by the Sanborn Fire Company

​

In the mid-19th century, American insurance companies began creating detailed maps to give underwriters the information they needed to assess fire risk.  Among the many mapmakers was Daniel Alfred Sanborn, a civil engineer and surveyor.  Sanborn began working in the field in 1866 and soon established the D. A. Sanborn National Insurance Diagram Bureau in New York City.  Within several decades, his map company had become the largest and most successful in the US. 

 

The Sanborn Company sent out legions of surveyors to map building footprints in all major urbanized areas, along with building details related to fire risk.  At its peak in the 1920s, the company employed about 700 people, including around 300 field surveyors.  Over time, Sanborn diversified into other mapping activities.  As of 2020, it is primarily a geospatial specialist and holder of electronic GIS assets and systems; however, the fire insurance business continues as a niche department.  Corporate headquarters are now in Colorado.

Sanborn W 1943.png
Sanborn E 1943.png
bottom of page