Marin Escalera

History can be delivered in various ways. A more connecting and personal way that is done is through local history. Local history is as the name indicates a historical study that is dedicated to local affairs of a city or town.  Having this type of history allows the community to connect with the history of the place they live in. It also contains more personal parts of history such as articles from common people who lived in the area. This differs from larger institutions that focus on major events and more famous figures. Even textbooks are more focused on the overall picture of their dedicated history. This is what makes local history is more special.

Local history combined with a digital presence allows for community building. Rebecca S. Wingo and William G. Thomas III state in their chapter “Building Communities, Reconciling Histories” that “Harnessing the power of digital projects to engage with communities, or even redefine community formation, holds new promise and new challenges for historians.” (p.335) So not only does it provide an opportunity for the community to be a part of history but it also allows historians to expand in an non academic way. Using things like crowdsourcing allows the community to share their experience or pieces of knowledge they have regarding the topic and it also makes it a part of public history as well.

Local history sites can vary in appearance but a popular type of site is historical buildings which are important land markers of the area. These historic sites can also be appreciated almost as a time capsule since some try to replicate the state of the building to when it was originally functioning. For example this past week I had the opportunity to visit the historical park in Denton which hosts the homes of different citizens in Denton. One of these homes was of Mr. Bayless who was a farmer in the early 1900s. In his Victorian style home the interior is still modeled and decorated to look like how it did during his time. Making the home a house museum which is meant to demonstrate how life was rather than give facts through plaques like the average formal museum does. This type of museum appeals greatly to those who like to learn through visuals and being able to experience it rather than just reading about it. This type of layout makes it more accessible to the public by making it a fun experience for all ages. Another site we visited was the historic courthouse, also in Denton. Similar to the Bayless-Selby home it still had its old structure on the inside though the difference is that the courthouse had exhibits with labels. The exhibit had various items which related to Denton history such as relics from old businesses, firearms from the past, equipment from farming, it varied to cover the different aspects of Denton. Something the courthouse also had which made it more public friendly was that it had interactive play areas for children. In the section which focused on local businesses and restaurants it also had a play kitchen and play store which resemble the theme of the exhibit. Overall it gave the museum a family friendly vibe.  The staff at these locations was small in numbers with not many people working with the touring team and for budget it depended on the city since it is city owned property. Despite this the staff was very informed and very passionate about the history they were showing.

These historic sites show a way local history can be presented and collected but other ways in which this can be done is through oral histories and the use of digital technology. The use of oral history can gather the stories of locals who lived through certain event or just a way to see how life was in a certain point in time. They open history to stories that cannot be found in a textbook. As for digital technology it can be used to connect with people for crowdsourcing to gather information or just to give the public another way to access local history. The use of virtual tours has become a more increasing popular option for people who are curious of a place but don’t have the opportunity to go visit. The combination of technology with local history has allowed for its reach to extend beyond the community.

Overall the visit to these historic sites was an amazing opportunity to see how local history is shared and how exhibits can be more than just artifacts in a glass covering.

Rebecca S Wingo, William G. Thomas, “Building Communities, Reconciling Histories: Can We Make a More Honest History?” in Handbook of Digital Public History (Deutsche Nationalbibliothek, 2022)