Historical markers are a neat part of our nations past. Not only do they document historic events, people, and locations, they have themselves become important articles of history. Many state highway marker programs had their start in the early 1900s while others kicked off in the 60s. Regardless, today most state programs are defunded and defunct. As a result, the quality of information you can use to locate and enjoy markers across the United States varies widely. With a few notable exceptions, marker status and location data is in general poor, outdated, or nonexistent.
HistoryD is an attempt to crowdsource and standardize that information. Together we can all document markers that still exist, advertise new ones, and save everyone else a long drive when one is missing. To be clear, we dont claim to have marker data in every region. In fact, we can only claim to have really good data in the core of Philadelphia. In areas where public digital map data is available weve included it as an unverified hint layer. As more people log in, and check in or add markers, location data at each site will get better and the assurance of the data quality overall will improve.
Youll need a Facebook account to participate. We understand thats an issue for people. We get it. Privacy is a major concern of ours. But, for that reason, we want to protect yours as well and therefore do not want to maintain a database filled with email addresses and personal information. By authenticating through Facebook, you have an army of security engineers protecting your password. Facebooks API in effect just tells us you are who you say you are. Hopefully well support other OpenID options soon.
This is our first release of many to come so send your suggestions to [email protected]. With your help well make this a community where marker enthusiasts come together, leverage technology, and delight in the past :).
Greg