When I began researching the Wildwood Zoological Park that used to exist in the city of Harrisburg, I was skeptical that I would be able to find many, if any, valuable artifacts on the subject. Unfortunately, as I continued my research, I realized that my worries were right; almost all traces of the zoo are … Continue reading Digitizing Harrisburg’s Wildwood Zoological Park
Technology can be difficult to use, but it can also be a tool that can help us create something beautiful. The process of digitization is no different. The use of technology among historians has grown a lot during the past several decades and has allowed for a new advances and discoveries to be made. For … Continue reading Processing Paper Into The Digital: The Life of Genevieve Blatt
When it comes to the digital world, I try to avoid it. I have an aversion to technology and try to do without it, even at one point deleting social media and buying a flip phone. I have always felt out of place in the digital world. I remember in 2nd grade when we went … Continue reading Digitizing Disease
One evening, in my excitement (and haste) to search for a placed-based digitization project, I came across the title “Pennsylvania State Lunatic Hospital.” Immediately, its history captivated me, and my research on Harrisburg State Hospital and its creation in Harrisburg thus began. For two days, I had the opportunity to practice careful research at the … Continue reading Harrisburg’s Once “Lunatic Hospital” and Two Archive Visits Later…
This past semester I have learned an incredible number of applicable skills in the world of digital history. Our class went through learning multiple platforms of website builders, while also learning a lot about different softwares that can be used in many creative ways - especially in the field of history. Some our first little … Continue reading Reflections on Digital History and my work with Frederick Douglass
Learn about the epidemic of measles and whooping cough that swept over Harrisburg in the year 1916. A graph of the numbers of diseases per ward. Source: Faith Swarner I was presented with a kind of mystery this semester. For our final project, we were to find information from the PA State Archives to produce … Continue reading The Untold Epidemic of 1916
By Sam Erikson Going to The Pennsylvania State Archives and The Dauphin County Historical Society were both formative experiences for me over the course of this Digital History course. When my classmates and I traveled to The Pennsylvania State Archives together a few weeks ago, I was immediately overwhelmed by the vast amount of collections. … Continue reading Harrisburg Transformations: Digitization and Datification
As I have been working through this semester, a good portion of my focus has been on the veterans of the Spanish American War. Back in early April, I posted about my idea for a final project where I track some of the veterans who served in the Spanish American War. Bridging to that idea, … Continue reading My Final Digital History Post
I went in to my experience at the archives somewhat daunted, because I didn't have an extremely concrete idea of what I was going to be looking for. Initially interested in researching restrictive covenants, I soon found that the archives would not be much help in that area. I decided to look at arrest records … Continue reading Research at the PA State Archives: My Last Hands on Experience for a Long Time
Cities hold history in various forms. Some cities utilize murals to capture their past, others may use walking tours, but most city histories resides in archives and with local residents. Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania, does not have the most accessible history. Due to my work with the Digital Harrisburg Initiative, I have spent an … Continue reading Mystery of McFarland
Digital Harrisburg 