Athens, Ga. 1885, Sheet 2, Broad Street

Athens, Ga. 1885, Sheet 2, Broad Street

The Sanborn Fire Insurance maps were originally given to the Library of Congress to document the history of Athens. These maps are significant because they show a detailed picture of not only buildings but in some causes water mains and other important urban features. For the purpose of this collection, the map documents the landscape of Broad Street in Athens, Georgia in 1885. In the era of the ‘New South’, beginning in the 1870s and lasting until the 1890s, Henry Grady attempted to make Atlanta and the surrounding landscape the capital of a dynamic south. Despite his progressive vision for the area, Athens remained a chiefly rural city with most of its land devoted to farming. As it did during the commencement of the University, Broad Street served as the epicenter of Athens during the progressive era. This map of Broad Street is evidence of the development that occurred in the town from the time that the university was created until 1885. The addition of two new school buildings can be accredited to the creation of the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences and the School of Law. Since Athens was primarily a rural, agricultural city, the College of Agriculture drew many students to the University. To the North of Broad Street, many new businesses and other developments can be seen. The addition of this development is due to Henry Grady’s attempts to move more commercial activities, such as shipping good through railroads, through Athens.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps

Digital Library of Georgia

1885

Sanborn Fire Insurance

http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/sanborn/Bibliography/

https://www.uga.edu/history.php

English