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The Keweenaw Time Traveler Explore App is now ready for general use! The public test version, which has been available since we launched in June 2017, has been replaced with a fully-functional version that gives users access to historical maps loaded with information about the people who shaped the Copper Country's past. Plus, you can add your own stories and photographs about your favorite Keweenaw places.
The Explore App Lets you Stroll through History
Start looking around! Start the Explore App by clicking on the big green button. Then use the drop down menus to choose a place and time to explore. If you are exploring a town like Calumet, click on a building to learn more about its history. Choose the "Bldgs" tab on the left to learn the street address and any other data collected from maps by volunteer Citizen Historians via the Building Materials, Building Use, and Transcribe the Map apps. Choose the "People" tab to see records from City Directories about who lived or worked in that building. Be sure to learn more about these maps and where this information comes from here. Also, you can see how the building changed through time by selecting different map years and using the transparency slider to compare with today's aerial imagery.
Right now, the Explore app works best on desktops and laptops. We’ll be working on mobile use for the future!
Right now, the Explore app works best on desktops and laptops. We’ll be working on mobile use for the future!
Find a Person or Place using the Search Function
Are you looking for more information about a family member who used to live in the Keweenaw? Or do you have a historical address but you aren't sure where it was? Use the Search function! For instance, a search for "siefert" yields 7 buildings and 9 people associated with that name. Clicking on "George J Siefert, Houghton, 1908" brings you to his house on the 1908 map and gives you all the data available about him in the box on the left. In this case, the Sanborn Map even has some hand-written notes about the Siefert family.
You also could have found this house by searching using the Addresses mode. This house number on Albion Street changed several times. The Sanborn map above shows that it had recently changed from 215 to 319. And neither of those are the current address for this house! Our geocoders solve this problem by matching historical addresses to modern addresses. Also, searching the Places mode will give you towns, streets, lakes, and buildings with the same name.
Share Your Stories and Connect with other Time Travelers
The Explore App will become even more exciting if users — like you! — add histories, memories, and photographs that make the Keweenaw important for you. Here, a user placed a point inside the stone building where her family member, Myrno Petermann, operated the Keweenaw Printing Company in the mid-twentieth century. She included a photo of Mrs. Petermann and a link to the photograph collection that she donated to the National Park Service.
You can add your own stories like this by navigating to the map location and year that correspond to your story, and clicking on this button. Then tell your story, add up to three photographs, and hit Submit. You don't have to add your name, but doing so will help you connect with other Time Travelers who have more to share.
Stories can start up conversations! If you have more information or a reaction to a particular place or shared story, leave a comment. The comment function uses a Facebook plugin. The more we talk with each other the more fun it is to Map Your History!
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