Tuesday, June 22, 2021
www.the-papers.com
Serving Elkhart County and parts of Noble, LaGrange & Marshall Counties
Vol. 49 No. 11
Goshen (574) 534-2591
134 S. Main, Goshen, Indiana 46526
0$3 7(&+12/2*< ³ Luke Gascho holds a laptop computer on which can be seen one of the map overlays he used to flnd a more speciflc location of a Native American trail that came through Elkhart County. Photo by Tim Ashley.
%\ 7,0 $6+/(< 6WDII :ULWHU Often the word “technology” brings to mind the ever changing present or the future. It may not be thought of as a way of connecting to the past, but increasingly technology is being used to connect to our history. Luke Gascho, retired director of the Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center of Goshen College, used a simple map overlay to find the location of a Native American trail that came through Elkhart County and about one-half mile from where he lives. And the Elkhart County Historical Museum in Bristol has provided virtual programming since the COVID-19 pandemic began, as well as virtual tours of its exhibits. A positive side effect of going virtual is it allows those who have busy schedules to participate more often instead of having to come in person. Gascho created overlays between the original Elkhart County Surveyor’s Office maps from 1830 and the current county GIS maps. “I did this to find the location of the Indian trail that goes through Elkhart County,” he said, adding
the trail was used for centuries by the Potawatomi and Miami people as they traveled from Fort Wayne to Chicago. Some sections of the trail are what is now US 33 and the trail passed through much of what is now Greencroft property in Goshen. He is particularly interested in the history of both tribes, as well as the history of settlers in Elkhart County. “I examine the ways the Doctrine of Discovery impacted indigenous people since 1452 and 1492 in the regions of the world where explorers traveled,” he commented. Gascho also hopes to find ways to mark the trail “in acknowledgement of part of the history of this region and honoring the Potawatomi and Miami people.” Amy Vedra, director of reference services for the Indiana Historical Society, gave examples of how today’s technology is being used as a means of connecting to the past. One example is being used by genealogists and history researchers. A digital collection interface provides books, images, manuscripts (letters, diaries, business papers, etc.) and more that can be freely viewed online. “It is an amazing example of
how institutions have embraced technology and allowed greater access to their materials,” Vedra said, noting even though online library catalogs provide a gateway to information they don’t provide it the same way a digital interface does. “Obviously we’ve come a long way from the days of the good old library card catalog,” she said. “So much information is digitally available at our fingertips and more is available every minute of every day, depending on what you are seeking.” There have been Google digital overlay maps created which show, for example, the routes of all the interurban railways in the state including the Winona Interurban Railway that once came through Elkhart County. Zooming in can provide a street by street route. Another feature is being able to click on links for some of the railways to see current photos of remnants of those railways. Vedra said another example is showing images of the same location during the course of history such as a street. “This could be images of a street at various points in time, lined up and-or clickable in succession,” she said. “This has also been done on overlays over current
images, allowing one to toggle back and forth through time in one specific location.” Discover Indiana is an app providing historical stories, maps, tours and more of several historical locations throughout Indiana. Lauren Peightel of IHS noted there is software available that can take old directories, Sanborn fire insurance maps and photos “to redesign the streets of old towns and such.” Facebook groups allow genealogists to connect and also people who have the common bond of growing up in a particular town or city. Several of these can be found for either Elkhart County or the cities or towns within it. “Using social media and Facebook groups for connection work as a positive force in a lot of ways to explore topics from local history,” Peightel said. “These are great ways to immediately ask your research or memory questions and get answers sooner than you ever could before.” Old images can be instantly downloaded from a smartphone or laptop computer. “This can catch the curious person that’s not really interested in history, but saw a building, or business, or whatever, and was curious about it individually,” she said.