RESEARCH YOUR PROPERTY
Interested in the history of your property? Do some research! Start at your local city or county archive. I suggest looking up the hours of operation and emailing the institution with your property address and an appointment time. Archivists are very knowledgeable and will usually have sources ready for your appointment. Do you know when your property was constructed, the architect, or the original home owners? These are questions that you should strive to find the answers to! You might find the answers right away or it might take more digging at another institution, but that is all part of the fun! Here are some tips from one historian to another!
Sanborn Maps
Sanborn Maps are valuable historical tools for anyone who wants to learn about the history, growth, and development of American cities, towns, neighborhoods, and individual properties from the 1880s to the 1960s. These large detailed maps were initially created to estimate fire insurance liabilities. They include information such as the outline of each building, the size, shape and construction materials, heights, and function of structures, location of windows and doors. Many parcels of land often also include the land owner's name. A Sanborn Map can show you if your property has physically changed over time and if it originally had a different address.
Sanborn maps can usually be accessed at your local archive however there is also an online database through ProQuest. To access the online database you will have to pay a fee or you need to access the database through a institution that has a subscription Here is the link: http://sanborn.umi.com/
I highly recommend looking at the actual books. They are beautiful!
Sacramento Sanborn Map 1915 coverpage
This is a block of the Boulevard Park neighborhood in Sacramento from the 1915 Sanborn Map. Notice the large park in the center. This was a popular feature in early Sacramento suburbs such as Boulevard Park.
City Directories
City directories are valuable historic resources. If you have a name associated with the history of your property look he or she up in a few city directories during the time period. Most local archives have copies of city directories. Directories from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries can provide residents' home addresses, work titles, and work addresses. If he or she was a prominent resident the name may be larger or bolder than the rest due to an extra fee that he or she paid. City directories can provide a lot of clues in your house research! Ask your local archivist if there are any family collections or histories associated with the name as well!
Geo B. Lorenz was a prominent assistant cashier at Peoples Savings Bank in Sacramento. His residence was 1822 G Street according to this 1917 Sacramento City Directory.
Probate Packets
When a person dies a series of documents are produced and archived and these are called Probate records. Among the documents that are frequently found in a probate packet, you may find the deceased's death date, place of death, names of family members, family relationships, residences, a description of the deceased's estate, localities where the deceased owned property, and adoptions or guardianships for minor children, dependents, or incompetent adults.
Keep in mind, however, that each probate packet will vary in content depending on when and where it was filed. Even if you do not have the original home owner's name any early home owner's probate packet may have original deeds, construction contacts, and early photographs of the property. Probate packets can be found at either at your city archive, county archive, or county courthouse.
This is the original building contract for 1822 G Street, Sacramento from 1912. The land was owned by George B. Lorenz who commissioned E.C Hemmings to design the Craftsman house. According to this document the house was not completed until 1913. This document was found in the Lorenz family collection at the Center for Sacramento History.