Sanborn Historic Maps are large-scale street plans produced by the Sanborn Fire Insurance Company from 1867 to 1970. The Sanborn Map Collection is an invaluable resource for researchers looking for in-depth information about neighborhoods through the years. This collection has been a boon to city planners who reference these works when planning large scale new developments.

This week while working on a reference request we came across a list that may be of interest to our readers. The requestor asked specifically for a list of major employers in the Cleveland area in the year 1950. After searching through a variety of sources the best answer we came up with was from an article published March 28, 1965 in The Plain Dealer.

Although the list tells us much of what we already know about the changing economic landscape of our city, it is interesting nonetheless to compare the 1950 employment figures and industrial classifications to those of today.

More than 6 million military personnel records were recently made available to the public by the National Archives’ Personnel Records Center . These records include all of the individual Official Military Personnel Files of Army, Army Air Corps, Army Air Forces, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard military personnel who served and left military service before 1946. Treasured by family members and genealogy researchers, these files typically contain documents outlining all elements of military service, such as assignments, evaluations, awards, select medical information and disciplinary actions. Some records also include photographs. For complete information, please visit the National Personal Records Center website.