What was Washington, D.C. like during the Civil War? It's an arresting and interesting question, and the people at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Center for Digital Research in the Humanities have created this digital archive to look into it. As their introductory statement notes, this collection "examines the U.S. national capital from multiple perspectives as a case study of social,...

After graduating from high school in 1936, C. William "Doc" Horrell received a $12 camera from his mother. Horrell was immediately bitten by the photography bug, and created a dark room in his mother's walk-in-closet. He attended Southern Illinois Normal University (now the Southern Illinois University Carbondale), and after his time in the armed services, he opened up his own photography studio...

The University of California has worked diligently to create themed collections for teachers and others interested in California history. The Calisphere gateway provides access to 200,000 digitized items, so it's great to see that those involved have created these smaller and more manageable collections as part of this fantastic effort. The collections are organized chronologically into sections...

From Cripple Creek to Grand Junction, the Colorado's Historic Newspaper Collection (CHNC) will help users get better acquainted with the history of the state. The funding for this digitization project came from a variety of sources, including the Collaborative Digitization Program, the Colorado Historical Society, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Currently, the archive contains...

Crafted by the Columbia University Library, this remarkable digital collection brings together hundreds of issues of the Columbia Spectator that document student life and academic activity from 1877 to the present day. The goal of this project is "to provide public resources for Columbia University history and to preserve the Spectator's past work." On the site, visitors can make their way through...

Congressman Frank Annunzio of Chicago represented his constituents for 28 years in the U.S. House of Representatives and was always a strong advocate for causes dear to Italian Americans. Annunzio was a consummate Chicagoan: before he was elected to political office in 1965 he was a teacher and a director of labor for the state of Illinois. During his time in the House, he worked tirelessly to...

Many big city school districts have been through difficult straits over the past several decades, and Chicago is no exception. After the passage of the Chicago School Reform Act, the Consortium on Chicago School Research (CCSR) was created in 1990 in order to study school reform efforts across the city. Part of their mission is "to expand communication among researchers, policy makers, and...

Illinois State Fair launches breakfast-stick contest http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2007/08/19/news/doc46c90424637aa469083351.txt State Fair: Fitness, food a fair challenge http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/334297.html State Fair Recipes http://www.statefairrecipes.com Minnesota State Fair http://www.mnstatefair.org/ Wisconsin State Fair Historical...

Readers should prepare for a virtual trip through time with these eight complete Class Books from the Cornell University Digital Archives. Spanning the years 1897 to 1904, the books, which are each several hundred pages long, feature vivid portrait photographs, short biographies, and other quippy snapshots into college life at the turn of the twentieth century. For instance, the 1897 Class Book...

Established in 1975, the Council of State Historical Coordinators (COSHRC) is a national organization comprising the various individuals who serve as state historical records coordinators and their deputies. From the homepage, visitors and interested parties can learn about the various collections of each state historical records agency. The site also provides important material on the COSHRC's...