Created in 1917 and 1918, the maps document the St. Louis, Iron Mountain, and Southern Railroad (SLIMS) and the Missouri Pacific Railroad (MoPac) in Arkansas. They trace the railroad from MoArk, Arkansas to Texarkana, Arkansas.

The maps not only depict train tracks mile by mile, but also note any land, bridges, or buildings owned by the railroad companies. These maps arrived at the Center as a gift from Union Pacific in 2017, which inherited the drawings from its predecessor, the Missouri Pacific Railroad.

Thanks to funding from the Arkansas Humanities Council and the Department of Arkansas Heritage, the Center sent the maps to a vendor equipped with large format scanners. The digitization project, now complete, allows researchers to access the maps anytime.  Researchers can even zoom-in to view fine details that are not easily seen on the physical maps.

These railroad maps enhance other 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock research collections on the built environment and form the basis of a valuable resource documenting the state鈥檚 development. Understanding the evolution of railroad investment and location provides a deeper understanding of how people lived and interacted through the structures they built.

The post Over 100 Historic Railroad Maps Digitized and Available Online appeared first on Center for Arkansas History and Culture.

The $5,874 grant, entitled 鈥淭ie-ing Arkansas Together,鈥� will process and digitize 133 oversized railway maps associated with the St. Louis, Iron Mountain, and Southern Railroad and the Missouri Pacific Railroad. The rail line associated with this project traveled from MoArk, Arkansas, to Texarkana, Arkansas.

These maps show a unique history of Arkansas towns and businesses in the early 20th century, since they document the location of buildings and other constructed elements as well as railway lines.

This project is associated with a larger endeavor to preserve and showcase material on the railroads鈥� influence on Arkansas settlement patterns and their influence on culture and society. The center鈥檚 goal is to provide resources to educate the public on the importance of political decisions related to city development.

鈥淯nderstanding the development of the railroad provides a deeper understanding of how people lived and interacted through the structures they built,鈥� the grant states.

Once completed, the digitized maps will be available on the center鈥檚 online catalog for the general public to view.

This project is supported in part by a grant from the Arkansas Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The post Center wins grant to process and digitize Arkansas railroad and city maps appeared first on Center for Arkansas History and Culture.