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Time Travelers Tim, Rose, and Nick have been hard at work preparing 40 years of Calumet and Laurium area school records for inclusion in the Explore App. These records include which school and classroom each child attended, their teacher, their classmates, how old they were, days missed, and whether or not they were vaccinated. See the video below to learn more!
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The Keweenaw Time Traveler was recently nominated for the Keweenaw Chamber of Commerce's Keweenaw Community Sparkplug Award for the Project of the Year. We are very humbled and wish to thank everyone in the community for their support. Happy Exploring!
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The Keweenaw Time Traveler was featured in an article in the Detroit Free Press. Co-Director Dr. Sarah Scarlett and Senior Research Associate Dan Trepal illustrate how the Time Traveler can be used to understand how the towns of the Keweenaw have changed over time.
Read the story and watch the video here:
www.freep.com/story/news/columnists/john-carlisle/2018/02/16/upper-peninsula-ghost-town-homes/1034513001/
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HESAL Lab Director Dr. Don Lafreniere published the Routledge Companion to Spatial History along with colleagues from Lancaster University and Flinders University. The book has 28 chapters, all using GIS in history, to covering a wide range of topics ranging including population flows, urban change, environmental history, and spatial humanities.
The a preview of the book can be seen on Google Books or can be ordered here
The a preview of the book can be seen on Google Books or can be ordered here
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John Arnold and Don Lafreniere recently published an article entitled "Creating a longitudinal, data-driven 3D model of change over time in a postindustrial landscape using GIS and CityEngine" in the Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development.
The article uses the big data of the Copper Country Historical Spatial Data Infrastructure (the backbone of the Keweenaw Time Traveler) to model Michigan's Copper Country's built environment in 3D.
The article uses the big data of the Copper Country Historical Spatial Data Infrastructure (the backbone of the Keweenaw Time Traveler) to model Michigan's Copper Country's built environment in 3D.
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So you're ready to start Time Traveling, but how do you start? These instructional videos offer a virtual tour around the Explore App. Watch "Introduction to the Explore App" for a brief overview of some of the functions of our new Explore App.
Watch "How to Browse the Maps" to learn how to choose a year and place, change the background, and change the map transparency.
Watch "How to Browse the Maps" to learn how to choose a year and place, change the background, and change the map transparency.
Watch "How to Use the Search Tools" to create more advanced searches. Learn how to find names and buildings using the four Search Modes: Address, People, Places, and Stories. Watch the built-in geocoder connect historic addresses with modern ones, even if they changed over time on the maps. Learn about tools for pinpointing your search by year and location.
Watch "How to Share a Story" to learn how to add your own story or memory of the Copper Country in the past or today! You can upload photos or documents to make your story shine. You can comment on the memories of other Time Travelers' posts and even share your story on Facebook.
Watch "How to Share a Story" to learn how to add your own story or memory of the Copper Country in the past or today! You can upload photos or documents to make your story shine. You can comment on the memories of other Time Travelers' posts and even share your story on Facebook.
All the instructional videos on the Keweenaw Time Traveler's YouTube channel were created by Research Associate Luke Weidner.
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TV6 & FOX UP on our GRACE GIS High School interns mapping Houghton County parks last summer.
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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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**Stay tuned for new developments in early November!**
The Continental Fire Co. (Photo by Wikipedia user Chris857)
We have some exciting news: with the help of all you Citizen Historians, we have reached over 80,000 building classifications! You have been working in the Keweenaw Time Traveler's three Builder Apps to Document Building Materials, Document Building Use, and Transcribe the Maps. Thank you! What are we doing with all of this information? Here is a special behind-the-scenes look:
All of this data helps to make the Explore App more exciting to use. The screenshot below shows its active development.
All of this data helps to make the Explore App more exciting to use. The screenshot below shows its active development.
Here you can see a portion of the 1888 Houghton Sanborn Fire Insurance Plan. As an example, let's take a look at the firehouse selected in red. Perhaps you know it as the current site of the Continental Fire Co., an entertainment venue named after its original function.
The data table on the left shows the information currently available in the Explore App about the building—its address, map year and (thanks to your work in the Document Building Material App) its brick building material. The more information that Citizen Historians like you gather through the Builder Apps, the more will be available for you to explore. From there, the time traveling possibilities are endless.
Curious about other historic firehouses in the Keweenaw? Keep using the Transcribe App to type in historic handwriting from the maps, and soon you will be able to search for firehouses by name—and much more. Perhaps you know your relative worked in a 1920s bakery, but you aren't sure where? Or you want to find all the foundries in the region? The more Citizen Historians who volunteer their time online, the sooner these kinds of searches will become more rewarding and fun. Join us! Learn more here.
The data table on the left shows the information currently available in the Explore App about the building—its address, map year and (thanks to your work in the Document Building Material App) its brick building material. The more information that Citizen Historians like you gather through the Builder Apps, the more will be available for you to explore. From there, the time traveling possibilities are endless.
Curious about other historic firehouses in the Keweenaw? Keep using the Transcribe App to type in historic handwriting from the maps, and soon you will be able to search for firehouses by name—and much more. Perhaps you know your relative worked in a 1920s bakery, but you aren't sure where? Or you want to find all the foundries in the region? The more Citizen Historians who volunteer their time online, the sooner these kinds of searches will become more rewarding and fun. Join us! Learn more here.