Open Forum

Hi all! I'm seeking examples of counties or other types of municipalities with many historic sites dispersed across the area that have been apple to successfully map their various sites... and brand as an overall destination. Perhaps with a main visitors center physically or online.  

I'm currently looking into this for creating case studies of areas that have successfully developed a map and marketed their many historic sites in this way, as an experience. I know there are many wonderful examples, and so I'm crowdsourcing here for where to start, and if there is anyone who might be willing to speak with me about their examples or work they've done around this.

Thank you!
Evlyn

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Evlyn Baker
Development Manager
American Alliance of Museums
Arlington VA
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I suggest looking into ArcGIS storymapping. It offers really useful geo-location methods for storytelling in many different ways that would include mapping historical sites and allowing users to access through web application.

https://www.esri.com/en-us/arcgis/products/arcgis-storymaps/overview

Best

Mark

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Mark Osterman, Ed.D.
Digital Experience Manager and Head of Education
Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
Coal Gables, FL
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The State of Tennessee has done a fantastic job of linking related destinations and historic sites with maps. From the Walking Tall Trail (Buford Pusser) to Ring of Fire (Johnny Cash). From Jack Trail (Jack Daniels) to White Lightning (moonshine). See Trails & Byways | TN Vacation

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Martha Akins
Vizcaya Museum & Gardens
Miami FL
------------------------------

Hi Evlyn,

Your post made me think of a couple of city historical site maps/experiences that I've come across in the past. 
The Golden Valley Historical Society (MN) has a Geocache tour of their historic sites: https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC1C2Q8_you-gotta-love-golden-valley-history?guid=38daa9ce-0c53-45a0-b4dd-0c3f19d1b0f9.
The Roseville Historical Society (MN) has created a heritage trail that has both an online component and physical numerical markers by points of interest in the city: https://www.rhsmn.org/heritage-trail-map/

I don't think either of these really address your question about destination branding, but perhaps they provide some more ideas on possible format.

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Reba Luiken
Minnesota Landscape Arboretum
Chaska MN
------------------------------

Dear Evlyn:

I attach an image from a temporary exhibit on maps I curated at the Langley Centennial Museum & National Exhibition Centre (LCM) in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia in Canada.  The image shows a map printed by the Township of Langley to promote & make its many historic sites accessible to the public. The exhibit was opened in March 2009, so by now there likely will be one or more updates available if you contact the LCM https://museum.tol.ca/museum/Portal/default.aspx & e-mail curator@tol.ca .


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Paul C.Thistle
Director/Curator (retired)
Stratford, Ontario
------------------------------

The Washington Trust for Historic Preservation has a great project called RevisitWA that includes both branding and mapped-out historic sites. 

The King County Historic Preservation department has done a full map of historic properties, though there isn't much branding/destination marketing that is attached to it currently. However, this data has been used to support other more destination-minded projects, like the Historic and Scenic Corridors Project mile-by-mile tours.

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Hilary Pittenger
White River Valley Museum
Auburn, WA
------------------------------

Hi Evlyn,

I'm not sure if this is what you're looking for, but we have used Google Earth to create virtual maps of historical sites in Lehi, UT. It is a work in progress, but our goal is to showcase some of the original settlers of Lehi and where they likely lived based on historical documents. Here's a link to the project:

https://earth.google.com/earth/d/1PhIb_MnUIg3fTs4JzGOIYCnBHMdMEh7Q?usp=sharing

Hope it helps!

Kito

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Kito Manning
Technology Implementation Engineer
Hutchings Museum & Institute
Lehi UT
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 3/31/2021 3:20:00 PM
From: Kito Manning
Subject: RE: Seeking examples of county/municipalities that have created maps of their historic sites and marketed

Hi Evlyn,

I'm not sure if this is what you're looking for, but we have used Google Earth to create virtual maps of historical sites in Lehi, UT. It is a work in progress, but our goal is to showcase some of the original settlers of Lehi and where they likely lived based on historical documents. Here's a link to the project:

https://earth.google.com/earth/d/1PhIb_MnUIg3fTs4JzGOIYCnBHMdMEh7Q?usp=sharing

Hope it helps!

Kito

------------------------------
Kito Manning
Technology Implementation Engineer
Hutchings Museum & Institute
Lehi UT
------------------------------

Evlyn,

Last March several of my colleagues, both at Middlebury and at UVM and Vermont Vision 2020, created and marketed Vermont Art Online to map / feature as many galleries, archives, and museums as wanted to participate. The total number of sites is now up to 40 or more. They used Google Street View / photospheres and ThingLink to create 360-degree virtual tours of gallery spaces and to embed images of various works of art along with descriptive text for each work. This platform allowed people to "visit" museums even when they were confined to their homes during lockdown, and ultimately it was designed to drive traffic back to the featured organizations' websites. While this was not an official project of the state or any municipality, we did have some funding and marketing support from the Vermont Arts Council and Vermont Humanities.

My colleagues were able to create a how-to guide which allowed each site to create its own photospheres which were then submitted to be added to the main project site. Those who participated seem to be quite pleased with the exposure they've received from it. Sharing in case any of this sounds like what you're looking for.

Cheers!
Douglas.

------------------------------
Douglas Perkins
Associate Director, Operations and Finance
Middlebury College Museum of Art
Middlebury, VT
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 03-31-2021 03:20 PM
From: Kito Manning
Subject: Seeking examples of county/municipalities that have created maps of their historic sites and marketed

Hi Evlyn,

I'm not sure if this is what you're looking for, but we have used Google Earth to create virtual maps of historical sites in Lehi, UT. It is a work in progress, but our goal is to showcase some of the original settlers of Lehi and where they likely lived based on historical documents. Here's a link to the project:

https://earth.google.com/earth/d/1PhIb_MnUIg3fTs4JzGOIYCnBHMdMEh7Q?usp=sharing

Hope it helps!

Kito

------------------------------
Kito Manning
Technology Implementation Engineer
Hutchings Museum & Institute
Lehi UT
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 4/1/2021 8:49:00 AM
From: Douglas Perkins
Subject: RE: Seeking examples of county/municipalities that have created maps of their historic sites and marketed

Evlyn,

Last March several of my colleagues, both at Middlebury and at UVM and Vermont Vision 2020, created and marketed Vermont Art Online to map / feature as many galleries, archives, and museums as wanted to participate. The total number of sites is now up to 40 or more. They used Google Street View / photospheres and ThingLink to create 360-degree virtual tours of gallery spaces and to embed images of various works of art along with descriptive text for each work. This platform allowed people to "visit" museums even when they were confined to their homes during lockdown, and ultimately it was designed to drive traffic back to the featured organizations' websites. While this was not an official project of the state or any municipality, we did have some funding and marketing support from the Vermont Arts Council and Vermont Humanities.

My colleagues were able to create a how-to guide which allowed each site to create its own photospheres which were then submitted to be added to the main project site. Those who participated seem to be quite pleased with the exposure they've received from it. Sharing in case any of this sounds like what you're looking for.

Cheers!
Douglas.

------------------------------
Douglas Perkins
Associate Director, Operations and Finance
Middlebury College Museum of Art
Middlebury, VT
------------------------------

Kito, This is super, super cool.

------------------------------
Susan Rubin
Special Events Coordinator
Desert Botanical Garden
Phoenix AZ
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 03-31-2021 03:20 PM
From: Kito Manning
Subject: Seeking examples of county/municipalities that have created maps of their historic sites and marketed

Hi Evlyn,

I'm not sure if this is what you're looking for, but we have used Google Earth to create virtual maps of historical sites in Lehi, UT. It is a work in progress, but our goal is to showcase some of the original settlers of Lehi and where they likely lived based on historical documents. Here's a link to the project:

https://earth.google.com/earth/d/1PhIb_MnUIg3fTs4JzGOIYCnBHMdMEh7Q?usp=sharing

Hope it helps!

Kito

------------------------------
Kito Manning
Technology Implementation Engineer
Hutchings Museum & Institute
Lehi UT
------------------------------

Thank you Susan! It's been a lot of fun to put together.

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Kito Manning
Technology Implementation Engineer
Hutchings Museum & Institute
Lehi UT
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 04-01-2021 11:56 AM
From: Susan Rubin
Subject: Seeking examples of county/municipalities that have created maps of their historic sites and marketed

Kito, This is super, super cool.

------------------------------
Susan Rubin
Special Events Coordinator
Desert Botanical Garden
Phoenix AZ
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 03-31-2021 03:20 PM
From: Kito Manning
Subject: Seeking examples of county/municipalities that have created maps of their historic sites and marketed

Hi Evlyn,

I'm not sure if this is what you're looking for, but we have used Google Earth to create virtual maps of historical sites in Lehi, UT. It is a work in progress, but our goal is to showcase some of the original settlers of Lehi and where they likely lived based on historical documents. Here's a link to the project:

https://earth.google.com/earth/d/1PhIb_MnUIg3fTs4JzGOIYCnBHMdMEh7Q?usp=sharing

Hope it helps!

Kito

------------------------------
Kito Manning
Technology Implementation Engineer
Hutchings Museum & Institute
Lehi UT

Original Message:
Sent: 3/31/2021 3:20:00 PM
From: Kito Manning
Subject: RE: Seeking examples of county/municipalities that have created maps of their historic sites and marketed

Hi Evlyn,

I'm not sure if this is what you're looking for, but we have used Google Earth to create virtual maps of historical sites in Lehi, UT. It is a work in progress, but our goal is to showcase some of the original settlers of Lehi and where they likely lived based on historical documents. Here's a link to the project:

https://earth.google.com/earth/d/1PhIb_MnUIg3fTs4JzGOIYCnBHMdMEh7Q?usp=sharing

Hope it helps!

Kito

------------------------------
Kito Manning
Technology Implementation Engineer
Hutchings Museum & Institute
Lehi UT
------------------------------

Helen,

History Forge looks very interesting! Kind of similar to Family Search or Ancestry in the format. We will definitely look into the HRPRC grant, thank you for the lead!

------------------------------
Kito Manning
Technology Implementation Engineer
Hutchings Museum & Institute
Lehi UT
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 04-01-2021 07:03 PM
From: Helen McLallen
Subject: Seeking examples of county/municipalities that have created maps of their historic sites and marketed

Hi Kito,

Very interesting project!?? You might be interested in the History Forge project that the History Center in Tompkins County is doing (https://thehistorycenter.net/HistoryForge).?? They received an NHPRC grant last year which is allowing them to expand the project as a model for other communities - the three pilot communities are Auburn, NY (https://auburn.historyforge.net/), Oberlin, OH (https://oberlin.historyforge.net ), and Elmira, NY (https://elmira.historyforge.net/).

History Forge is a increasing robust and flexible way to combine census data, geolocation, and information on the built environment.

Helen

Original Message:
Sent: 3/31/2021 3:20:00 PM
From: Kito Manning
Subject: RE: Seeking examples of county/municipalities that have created maps of their historic sites and marketed

Hi Evlyn,

I'm not sure if this is what you're looking for, but we have used Google Earth to create virtual maps of historical sites in Lehi, UT. It is a work in progress, but our goal is to showcase some of the original settlers of Lehi and where they likely lived based on historical documents. Here's a link to the project:

https://earth.google.com/earth/d/1PhIb_MnUIg3fTs4JzGOIYCnBHMdMEh7Q?usp=sharing

Hope it helps!

Kito

------------------------------
Kito Manning
Technology Implementation Engineer
Hutchings Museum & Institute
Lehi UT
------------------------------

We have recently started using a website theclio.com (https://www.theclio.com/) 
It is free, easy to use, can be used in the car on your cell phone as you look around and drive to new places. 
You can attach all kinds of information, search by a number of different topics, etc. 
It also has interesting ways to involve students and teachers.

------------------------------
Robert Cottrell
Curator
Conway NH
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 4/1/2021 7:21:00 AM
From: Robert Cottrell
Subject: RE: Seeking examples of county/municipalities that have created maps of their historic sites and marketed

We have recently started using a website theclio.com (https://www.theclio.com/) 
It is free, easy to use, can be used in the car on your cell phone as you look around and drive to new places. 
You can attach all kinds of information, search by a number of different topics, etc. 
It also has interesting ways to involve students and teachers.

------------------------------
Robert Cottrell
Curator
Conway NH
------------------------------

City of Bellingham hosts a historic walking tour with audio components built via ARCGIS software. Here's a link Downtown Bellingham Historic Tour (arcgis.com)

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Chelsea Macias
Museum Educator
Whatcom Museum
Bellingham WA
------------------------------

Hi, 
As a different approach to mapping history, you might find the augmented reality application developed for Montreal histories tours interesting. 
http://www.montrealenhistoires.com/en/

Melissa Isom
Quebec Government - Los Angeles

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Melissa Isom MBA
Director, business development
Investissement Quebec International
Montreal QC
------------------------------

Hi 
I don't know if you are familiar with cultureNOW but we have been building a virtual museum of the world outside which we call a Museum Without Walls, an acoustiguide to the environment.  It overlays the built environment (architecture) with the cultural insertions (public art) and the stories of what happened in a place (History) with the people who have had impact (and their voices). The project came about in the wake of September 11th when we started mapping Lower Manhattan.   It is all geolocated.  


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Abby Suckle FAIA
President
Long Island City NY
------------------------------

Several years ago, the Polk County (FL) History Center led the way to document and map historical sites in the area. They brought together area historical societies, museums, and historians to include as many as possible and produced a number of marketing materials. I'm not sure what sort of maintenance they've done since first publication, but the website is still there: https://www.polk-county.net/history-center/history-and-heritage-trail

In addition to that, though not a traditional map, Florida Humanities has sponsored the development of a number of "Florida Stories," podcast-style walking tours of historic neighborhoods and cities across the state. They've gone on to be used by different visitation bureaus and municipalities. Users must download an app to listen.
Website: https://floridahumanities.org (I was trying to get the direct link, but they seem to be having website issues today)
Coverage by Authentic Florida: https://authenticflorida.com/articles/florida-stories-app/

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Joy Banks
Program Officer
Alexandria VA
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Our clients create maps through a product called GPS Mapper. The map is an overlay in Google Maps and contains pushpins for points of interest. The push pins can have any kind of content--video, audio, text, etc. You can play around with a demo map on your smartphone by texting "Demo Map" to 56512.

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Kim Peterson
Content Marketing Specialist
San Francisco CA
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So many wonderful examples have been shared!

Evlyn, we have a Map feature on our online database here at Artwork Archive. We typically work with arts organizations, but have also worked with institutions preserving other artifacts. 

I think our Interactive Map would be a great way to drive awareness and engagement to your historical sites. People can get directions via GoogleMaps. You can create virtual or physical walking tours. You can log exact locations with GPS coordinates. You can learn more here: https://www.artworkarchive.com/organizations/share-your-art

We have a new Exhibitions tool that will let you share videos, interviews, images, and more related to your historic sites.  

Happy to connect if you're interested!
My email is elysian@artworkarchive.com


​

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Elysian Koglmeier elysian@artworkarchive.com
Head of Growth
DENVER CO
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Original Message:
Sent: 04-07-2021 10:38 AM
From: Kim Peterson
Subject: Seeking examples of county/municipalities that have created maps of their historic sites and marketed

Our clients create maps through a product called GPS Mapper. The map is an overlay in Google Maps and contains pushpins for points of interest. The push pins can have any kind of content--video, audio, text, etc. You can play around with a demo map on your smartphone by texting "Demo Map" to 56512.

------------------------------
Kim Peterson
Content Marketing Specialist
San Francisco CA
------------------------------