RootsTech 2016 Thursday Fun
Family History General

RootsTech 2016 Thursday Fun

RootsTech 2016 is in full effect. I have been streaming content today and having a great time trying some new to me websites. After watching the session titled: Best Apps and Websites for Local History pr
esented by Amy Crow I encourage you to try: www.historypin.org and www.whatwasthere.com.

I love to find historical photos of the houses and neighborhoods that my ancestors lived in. I often use google maps and street view to see if a house or church are still standing but these sites aim to connect the past to the current. You can actually upload a historical photo and pin it to google maps. Both sites are totally worth a visit and I hope after today’s session at RootsTech they will get a lot more use.

I had fun on www.whatwasthere.com because one of my ancestral hometowns already had photos pinned to google maps. The website actually shows the historical photo lined up on top of the google map and you can use a slider to adjust the fade and compare the past to today.

On www.whatwasthere.com I entered Crystal Falls, Michigan and found several photos that I could overlap with google maps and fade in and out to see what changes had taken place since the photos were taken. Now, Crystal Falls has a population of 1,342 and is off the beaten path on the upper peninsula of Michigan so I get excited any time I can find photos of this beautiful small town. I have photos to upload to this site and am excited to get going. I just joined the site and am happy to have pictures to contribute.

Learn more about Amy Crow at: https://rootstech2016.smarteventscloud.com/connect/speakerDetail.ww?PERSON_ID=A1C13AD4657D09A6AD8C6F869CD0A9AF&tclass=popup 

Learn more about RootsTech at: www.rootstech.org 

Thank you to John Duncan for posting the above image at www.whatwasthere.com

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