This section is from the July 1886 Sanborn Fire Insurance map1 for Russellville.
This is a remarkably detailed historical fire-insurance diagram of the Melrose Cotton Mill in Russellville, Arkansas, built in 1882.
It identifies the mill as a manufacturer of rope, twine, carpet warp, and dozen yarn. The drawing places the property approximately ¼ mile southeast of the post office, alongside the Little Rock & Fort Smith Railroad and the extension of Jefferson Street.
It also documents the mill’s machinery, building construction, steam equipment, fire protection, and adjoining structures.
The drawing provides particularly valuable evidence for reconstructing the mill’s appearance. Among other details, it records:
- No exterior wall finish, with windows all around.
- A roof ceiled with pine.
- A main building approximately 70 feet wide.
- Three boilers and a 120-horsepower engine.
- Thirteen spinning frames, 24 cards, seven twisters, and other textile machinery.
- A separate cotton gin building equipped with 180 saws and a 20-horsepower engine.
- Water tanks, steam pumps, hydrants, and sprinkler arrangements.
One important distinction: this is a plan-view industrial survey, not an architectural elevation. It establishes the layout and many construction details, but it does not definitively show the exterior architectural style, window shapes, roof profile, or building height.
For the historical research on Melrose Cotton Mill, this is an unusually useful primary source.
Read more about the Melrose Cotton Mill: Russellville’s Forgotten Industrial Enterprise.
1. Founded in 1867, the Sanborn Map Company produced detailed fire insurance maps of American cities and towns. Originally created to help insurers assess fire risks, the maps documented buildings, construction materials, street layouts, businesses, industrial equipment, and fire protection systems. Their remarkable detail makes them invaluable historical records. Today, historians, genealogists, preservationists, and researchers use Sanborn maps to reconstruct vanished neighborhoods, identify former businesses, and trace how American communities developed and changed over time.
