There’s a nice little public relations piece at the website of Harrisburg University of Science and Technology about HU’s role in the Digital Harrisburg Initiative. The good news is that an internal grant will continue to fund the completion of digitization of 1900 and 1929 maps. Read the piece here.
Here’s an excerpt from the article:
Dramatic changes occurred during and after what is called the City Beautiful Movement, including the expansion of Harrisburg’s capitol complex in the early 20th Century, which forced many immigrants, minorities and lower-income citizens who lived in the city’s old 8th ward to settle elsewhere in the city, and beyond. More than 2,000 residents were displaced, and 430 buildings were leveled to make room for the Capitol.
Using census data and geospatial technology, Sarvis and his students created a comprehensive online map that outlines where each former building was located prior to demolition, who owned the properties, and where residents moved as the capitol complex expanded east.
They didn’t stop there, however.
Sarvis and his students, also in collaboration with Messiah College, are plotting the entire city, and plan to continue expanding the online map as each section of Harrisburg is mapped out. During the past more than three years, Sarvis and his students have mapped the Harrisburg population from 1900 to 1930 using census data curated from Ancestory.com and translated by Messiah College faculty and students.
Digital Harrisburg 