The “Mutual Assurance Society Against Fire on Buildings of the State of Virginia” sold insurance policies from 1796 through 1861. In addition to collecting the information included below, company agents drew sketches of individual insured buildings, which will help us map them at a later date. Included in the results are building owners who took out (or, usually, renewed) policies on their homes and businesses between 1850 and 1860.

Results without images are for policies taken out before 1850, and do not appear on the maps. In most cases, however, these are previous policies for those renewed in the 1850s. (You will see these previous policy numbers pencilled in next to many of the buildings in the maps.) To find out about neighboring buildings, search by the policy number written in each building on the image.

Note: North is always to the top of the maps. Names written in brackets are those of neighboring property-owners, and are indicated by an "N->" (for "next to").

The ruins of the Franklin County Courthouse