HistoryForge is an open-source program being developed by The History Center in Tompkins County that combines historic maps, data from the US Census, archival and user-generated content to allow users to engage with local history in unique ways.

thehistorycenter.net/historyforge

thehistorycenter.net/historyforge/about-historyforge

We propose a workshop in which we will lead participants in an exploration of the program and its capabilities as well as what it takes to create an engaging digital public history project

Some of the topics we can discuss include:

Building the HistoryForge database:

-Fun with the census!  Transcribing and standardizing census data

-Playing with historic maps! Geo-rectifying historic maps and/or using maps to verify census data

Using HistoryForge:

-Scavenger hunt! Searching and finding historic data on HistoryForge

-More fun with maps! See the results of your search visually displayed on map layers

Please come with questions and ideas!