Mount Vernon Regional GIS Symposium for Historical Resources, Spring 2016

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Cultural Resource Data Collection Utilizing Collector for ArcGIS

Kirsti Uunila & Lionell Sewell, Calvert County MD Government

The Calvert County, Maryland cultural resources planner has worked with the county GIS team to develop a Collector for ArcGIS app template for collection of data in the field for archaeological sites and architectural properties. The Collector for ArcGIS template is designed to capture the information required by the state on its forms, acquire geolocation information, and attach pictures for each site. With minimal editing, a mail merge is used to produce a printable form that is acceptable to the Maryland SHPO. The Collector for ArcGIS app runs on tablets and smartphones and promises to extend the capability of a limited cultural resources staff. This paper discusses the development of the template, the consultative process with the Maryland SHPO and the National Park Service, and serves as an example of a productive relationship between departments on the local level, and other agencies on the state and federal levels.

Virginia Peninsula Mapping Project

Paul Emigholz, Virginia Peninsula Mapping Project

This is a predictive analytics-based historic mapping project presently focused on the Virginia Peninsula (James City County, York County, Williamsburg, Newport News, Poquoson and Hampton), which began in 2006 and has received support from nearly 30 organizations, museums, historical associations, agencies and departments. The project’s mission is to design an increasingly robust GIS database and efficient historic predictive model for the Virginia Coastal Plain. The project will deconstruct the last 400 years of road and trail network changes on the Virginia Peninsula back to the Native American trails forming the foundation for the earliest English colonial routes (which represent the land-based lattice that connects historic features). This will be done by identifying and recording 2D and 3D points from resources such as maps, soil cores, aerial imagery, physical features, LiDAR, storm surge and SAR data, etc…, which seen from above reveal the patterns and relationships that tie things together for a given period of time or geographic region. We believe the Peninsula is the perfect test environment for this research due to the unparalleled amount of maps, land patents, aerial imagery and remotely sensed data available (over a 400 year period), the results of which can be applied to and refined in other portions of the coastal plain with less available data.

Forgotten No Longer: Interpretive Story Maps and the Archaeology of a Slave Cemetery at George Washington’s Mount Vernon

Joe Downer & Eric Benson, Mount Vernon

This paper discusses the use of Story Maps to aid in the interpretation of archaeological sites to both public and professional audiences. As a case study, this paper will focus on the ongoing archaeological survey of the Slave Burial Ground at George Washington’s Mount Vernon. This multi-year project seeks to rediscover the locations of these long-forgotten burial plots, and by extension reveal the organization, layout, demographic make-up, and boundaries of the site. With this information, we can begin to study the ways in which this spot of land was transformed by Mount Vernon’s enslaved population into a sacred place endowed with exclusive and nuanced meaning. Story maps offer us a way in which compile and share the narrative of this archaeological site, and present these interpretive elements to a global audience in ways like never before

Urban Character Mapping and Public Outreach using Interactive Maps

Reina Murray, National Trust for Historic Preservation

This presentation will introduce the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s recent mapping endeavors in Louisville, KY. Since 2014, the National Trust has been implementing a comprehensive urban pilot project in the city. This includes a character score mapping element that identifies concentrations of older, smaller, age-diverse fabric, areas that research has shown is critical for future sustainable development. This presentation will show how, using Esri’s Story Map and Web App Builder, the National Trust has created an interactive, web-based mapping platform that the public can use to learn about our character mapping methodology, investigate our data, and integrate additional information provided through Louisville’s open data portal.

Integrating Facility Management and GIS to manage Smithsonian’s Historic Buildings

Brittni Ericson & Lee Robertson, Smithsonian Institution

The Smithsonian Institution encompasses 19 museums and the National zoo plus research facilities across the US and Panama. We have over 12 million square feet of interior space within more than 600 buildings. Developing a successful method to manage all the data for these facilities has been a process years in the making and is still constantly evolving. Using a combination of a facility management system (FMS), GIS and a web based application, we are able to present staff and contractors with information about the Smithsonian’s buildings and land worldwide. This integration of FMS and GIS allows for greater control of data management on a large scale. Users can navigate around a map to look inside buildings, download floor plans, locate assets and hazards, query information and print reports and maps. We call this application SI Explorer. With the newest release of SI Explorer 3, we start to see even more data readily available to staff and contractors. New redline capabilities create a better method for errors to be brought to our attention and fixed in a timely manner. SI Explorer 3 begins to put some ability to manipulate the data back in the hands of the users who are subject matter experts.

Re-envisioning Landscape: A GIS Reconstruction of Mount Vernon

Luke Pecoraro & Eric Benson, Mount Vernon

The role of the estate as providing support to the hinterland community during the Washington family’s ownership (c. 1675-1858) and prominence beginning with the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association’s purchase of the property have defined community development, both past and present. Though much of the modern suburban growth has erased some of the traces of Mount Vernon’s cultural landscape, features remain, from old plantation roadways to 20th century worker’s cottages. The transformation from single-owner plantation, to small farms, and then to residential housing development all left behind traces which add value to Mount Vernon’s history. This paper provides an overview of the Cartpaths and Houselots Project, an archaeological-driven GIS initiative tracing the 8,000 acres of Mount Vernon owned by Washington through chain-of-title research. Recently acquired LiDAR imagery is a powerful component of the dataset, significantly enhancing the ability of Mount Vernon’s Archaeology Division to engage with Washington related resources in the surrounding community, and gain a better understanding of the plantation layout.