The Sanborn Co. was founded in 1867 by D.A. Sanborn, to draw maps of the downtown districts of cities across the U.S. These maps could then be consulted by insurance companies if a building burned to research different characteristics about the business and the physical structure. The company stopped making the fire insurance maps in 1961, due to other sources being used to obtain the needed information. Today, they serve as a wonderful resource for tracing the growth of cities and tracking where businesses were located decades ago. We have these maps on microfilm for the entire state of Wisconsin. We also have copies of the actual maps in paper format for cities in our four-county area. The dates range from approximately the 1880s to the 1920s for our area. The maps were not issued regularly, so do not expect any pattern as to when the maps came out for various cities.

Rolls show ownership and description of taxable lands, assessed valuation of each parcel, taxes due, and record of payment of taxes. Total valuation, taxes due, and taxes paid are shown for personal property. For the years 1854-all tax rolls were retained; after rolls were retained for each year for the city of River Falls and generally for the decennial years for all other local units; for the years 1975-1995 only tax rolls for every fifth year have been retained. Assessment rolls are present for various units of local government for scattered years.

Files are partial reproductions of business directories from R. L. Polk's Wisconsin gazetteer, including sections on Ellsworth (1877-1928); Pierce County (1922); and River Falls (1877-1928) created by Dan Geister in his research regarding communities in Pierce County, Wisconsin.

Christian and Anna Junkman papers and photographs (undated, 1846-1918, 2021) include materials relating to Anna's parents and siblings, the extended Cope family, and well as Christian's father, William; Glen Junkman and family papers and photographs (1911-1992), also include papers of their daughter, Mary Lorenzen; Estella Clarke (nee Junkman) papers and photographs (1864-1945, 2021) also contain materials related to her husband, William, including the Clark, White, and Ingli families.