Hi Lyle,
I too recommend GNIS, however I find that rather than going through
their site directly it is easier to access the data via the US
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Geospatial Data Gateway
(http://datagateway.nrcs.usda.gov/). Here too one can select data by
county, but it is delivered as projected shapefiles or geodatabases
whereas the GNIS website provides only delimited text tables that
take a bit of work to make mapable. At NRCS, select the file for
"non-populated place names." Historical features are designated as
such in the "NAME" field. While GNIS is generally good, my own
experience is that it is not perfect. Also, there is no good control
that I am aware of for chronology - that is, one doesn't know what
year(s) "historical" refers to.
I also recommend the Virginia Department of Highways early
20th-century county maps as a good source of information, especially
for schools as these maps typically use different symbols for
'colored' and 'white' institutions. If you are not familiar with
these maps, you can see an example on the LVA Virginia Historical
Inventory website
(http://lva1.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/F/?func=file&file_name=find-b-clas15&local_base=CLAS15)
- enter "Pittsylvania" (or any other Virginia county) as your search
term; click the url that returns to get a pop-up window that provides
links to individual survey report pages; note that most surveys
(though not all) also include a link to a 1930s era Va Highways Dept.
map that you can zoom and pan online. Note that these maps were
produced with considerable frequency and in my experience working
with them schools in particular seem often to have come and gone quickly.
Steve
________________________________________________
Steve Thompson, PhD, RPA
Rivanna Archaeological Services, LLC
410 E. Water Street, Suite 1100
Charlottesville, VA 22902
434-293-3108 (office) | 434-981-9466 (mobile)
email: [log in to unmask]
www.rivarch.com
At 12:00 AM 7/7/2011, you wrote:
>There is 1 message totalling 84 lines in this issue.
>
>Topics of the day:
>
> 1. Schools, maps and labels
>
>______________________________________
>To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at
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>
>----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>Date: Wed, 6 Jul 2011 11:04:09 -0400
>From: "James W. Wilson" <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Re: Schools, maps and labels
>
>Hi,
>
>You may want to search the US Geographic Names database at
>http://geonames.usgs.gov/domestic/. This database should have all names
>that ever appeared on a USGS topographic map, along with the lat/long
>(easy to use in a GIS, let me kow if you want some assistance with
>this). I searched on Pittsylvania County and schools, and came up with
>over 100 items. While there may not be names on the map sheet you are
>looking at, some may have been labeled on other editions or later maps.
>I'm not familiar with school symbols in particular, but the cartographic
>conventions changed through time, and inclusion or exclusion of labels
>may have not been strictly based on the type of school. As you suggest,
>it may have been that they didn't know the name, etc.
>
>You may also be interested to know that the USGS is in the process of
>scanning all of their historic map sheets (see "Scanning and
>Georeferencing Historical USGS Quadrangles" at
>http://nationalmap.gov/factsheets.html). They are also georeferencing
>these maps as they scan them to facilitate their use in GIS and online
>mapping systems.
>
>James
>
>--
>James W. Wilson, PhD
>Assistant Professor of Geographic Science
>Department of Integrated Science and Technology
>James Madison University
>801 Carrier Dr. MSC 4302
>Harrisonburg, VA 22807
>540-568-2757 (p) [log in to unmask]
>540-568-8741 (f) http://www.gs.jmu.edu
>
>
>
>
>
>On 7/3/2011 3:14 PM, Lyle E. Browning wrote:
> > In working on a rather massive project in Pittsylvania County I now need
> > to spread beyond even its gargantuan limits to enclose the entire
> > county. I'm attempting to find the schools that existed in the county in
> > the late 19th and first half of the 20th century and where they were
> > located. We're hoping to do some catchment area analysis for schools,
> > stores and mills based upon the little dots on the map if we can ascend
> > the GIS learning curve in short order. In turn that will be
> related back to our area.
> >
> > To that end, I'm looking at the 15' USGS Quad sheets. In using these in
> > other counties, the schools seem to be nearly all named and have either
> > "colored" or "Negro" annotated beside them. Neither the Draper where the
> > project is located, nor the adjacent Danville quads have these helpful
> > annotations. But, some schools are named and others are represented by
> > the same incredibly difficult to spot symbols for schools with absolutely
> > no label whatever.
> >
> > If anyone has experience in ferreting out these issues, I'd love to hear
> > whether the un-labeled schools are the non-white schools, whether the
> > cartographers simply didn't know the name and left it off or if there's
> > some method to the labeling system.
> >
> > Also, does anyone know of a list of schools in the county over the
> > years, short of delving into the original records?
> >
> > Thanks for the help on a very hot 3rd of July.
> >
> >
> > Lyle Browning
> > ______________________________________
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> >
>
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>------------------------------
>
>End of VA-HIST Digest - 5 Jul 2011 to 6 Jul 2011 (#2011-113)
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