Researching Property Histories

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps

From the Library of Congress: "The [Sanborn] maps were designed to assist fire insurance agents in determining the degree of hazard associated with a particular property and therefore show the size, shape, and construction of dwellings, commercial buildings, and factories as well as fire walls, locations of windows and doors, sprinkler systems, and types of roofs. The maps also indicate widths and names of streets, property boundaries, building use, and house and block numbers. They show the locations of water mains, giving their dimensions, and of fire alarm boxes and hydrants. Sanborn maps are thus an unrivaled source of information for their time about the structure and use of buildings in American cities."

The 1957 release followed the 1956 annexation that pushed the corporate limit east from approximately Crater Rd.

1915-1950 Maps

Key map, 1915
Key map, 1947
p 57
p 58
p 70
p 72

1957 Maps

Key map (refer to earlier key maps for legend)
p 16
p 57
p 58
p 59
p 60
p 70
p 72

Deed Book / Chain of Title Search

A chain of title search can help establish early ownership of a property. Note, however, that owner(s) of a property may or may not have been the resident(s). To determine where an individual lived and worked, and who lived at a given property, one can start by turning to annual city directories (indexed by both street names and surnames) and Census records. These and related records are available on Ancestry.com.

Note that address numbers in Walnut Hill changed between 1922 and 1924. Keep this in mind when researching properties built prior to 1924. For more details on this subject, see this post on Facebook.

Go to the website of the City of Petersburg Assessor's Office

Pull up the property of interest by searching under the current owner’s name or the address.
Navigate to the “Ownership History” tab at the top of the property record.
Note the information under “Doc # or Deed Book/pg” — this gives the deed book number and page number associated with the most recent deed of transfer.

Go to the Petersburg Circuit Court Clerk’s Office

Look for the most recent deed using the book and page numbers obtained from the Assessor's website.
The deed will specify the date of transfer, names of buyer and seller, and deed book and page numbers of the prior transfer. Note these details.
Repeat this process until a prior transfer is flagged as recorded in Prince George County (Walnut Hill was part of Prince George prior to annexations).
7 Courthouse Ave, Petersburg, VA 23803; 804-733-2367; M-F 8am-4pm; no cellphones allowed; copies $0.50.

Go to the Prince George County Circuit Court Clerk's Office

Continue researching deeds backwards as before until you get to the first deed of transfer from the developer to the first property owner.
6601 Courts Dr, Prince George, 23875; 804-733-2640; M-F 8am-5pm; copies $0.50; cellphone photos of records allowed.

Walnut Hill Neighborhood Association
Petersburg, VA