WHHS has partnered with HistoryForge to create an on-line application that links census information to historical maps. We started this kind of work with the African-American History Class at the School for the Creative and Performing Arts, but the partnership allows us to greatly improve the presentation and informtion.
We are starting with the 1940 census but can expand forward to the 1950 census & back to the one in 1870! Along with peoples’ name, ages, race, education and other census information, we can locate their addresses on historical maps. We’ve loaded a map from the 1930’s (after Victory Parkway was completed but before I71 and MLK), and one from 1904 (before Victory Parkway). Using these, we can see exactly which buildings and people were affected by the infrastructure projects. We plan to load additional maps dating from the 19th century.
Transcribers can enter census information from online sources (e.g., familysearch.org) into a controlled form so that we can do statistical analysis easily. Addresses appear on the current Google map and also on the historical maps. For people and buildings, we can also load pictures and additional information.
