The Sectional Map and Street Directory was the brainchild of a man named Robert Morton. Morton was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1856. He immigrated to Winnipeg in 1911, then moved to Vernon, BC, for about five years, and then to Calgary.

In 1931-32 Morton moved to Vancouver and took up residence at 2119 Maple Street. He began publishing a section map booklet and street index of the city because an ordinary map of Vancouver was too bulky to carry around. The booklet covered Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Surrey, Maillardville, Lulu Island, and Sea Island. Morton himself went door to door selling his booklets, and was still doing so at the age of 87 in 1942.

Of course maps are full of street names, and where exactly did all those street name come from? Who was Hastings Street named for? How about Hornby? Or what’s the story behind the naming of Charles Street? Now, thanks to the Vancouver Historical Society, which commissioned the work from Elizabeth Walker, and to the Vancouver Public Library, which has put it on line, you can get the answers to those and other questions. Click Here »