These maps are a detailed snapshot of El Dorado during the height of the South Arkansas oil boom. Created by the Sanborn Map Company in June 1924, the maps were originally produced for fire insurance companies to assess building construction, property use, and fire risk throughout the city. The collection contains 38 sheets covering El Dorado's streets, homes, businesses, industrial sites, railroads, and public buildings.

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Today, Sanborn maps are invaluable historical resources because they show individual building footprints, construction materials, street names, business locations, and neighborhood development in remarkable detail. For historians, genealogists, and preservationists, they provide one of the most accurate visual records of how El Dorado looked during its transformative oil-boom era.