ABOUT THIS PROJECT
<http://www.smethporthistory.org>
A
GIANT "JIG-SAW" PUZZLE & THE
PIECES ARE HIDDEN!
THANK YOU for stopping by and checking out the progress
on this GIANT project/ We are building an immense puzzle in which
we are fitting historic photos, post cards, biographies, geographies, histories,
newspaper clippings, personal histories & interviews, obituaries, artifacts,
& memorabilia all together to form huge portrait puzzle of this magnificent
McKean County & Smethport area. The pieces do not come in a box.
They are hidden in attics, shoe boxes, albums, and, of course, in our local
museums. It is our job to find them and put them back together to
built this GIANT PUZZLE!
WE BECOME TIME TRAVELERS!
Through the magic of the internet we can now weave all the past into a
single, connected unit , a mural jig-saw puzzle in a way absolutely never
possible in the past. This is not a book; its a creation that records
and recreates our past so we can time travel through our streets and through
our history and then back to the present. Eventually all (or nearly
all) of the scenes within the site will be linked to a CURRENT PHOTO of
the same location. It all takes time to put this together.
VERY much UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Please be patient! This is a long term project! We will be
adding to this and expanding our giant tribute to McKean County for many
years.
There is lots of research involved with each additional piece that
is added. We have LOTS of additional material (puzzle pieces) to
add right now....probably double of what is already here!
The GOAL
Our long term goal is to recreate Smethport and its surrounding McKean
communities. Port Allegany, East Smethport, Crosby, Colegrove, Coryville,
Clermont, Hazel Hurst, Betula (almost) are already at least partially on
line. We intend to continue building and connecting McKean
County and in the process tell its rich and interesting history These
outlying communities will be connected to each other and Smethport (&
more) via the various railroads of the day and you will connect to each
by "riding the rails" to the next community!
YOU CAN HELP!
Our PUZZLE PIECES (photos and information) come from all over. We
simply scan the photos and photocopy the info. You can bring materials
to Smethport Area High School any day that school is in session and we
will scan the material while you wait! The owner's name will be included
under the contribution on the site. Wonderful photos have been EMAILED
to us from all over. When you contribute materials or information
we will add your name to the
CONTRIBUTOR'S PAGE
If we have neglected anyone on this page let us know and we will rectify
the situation. WE NEED YOUR HELP.
THIS IS A COMMUNITY SITE!
Technically this site is owned and operated through Smethport Area School
District and is a project of Mr. Ross Porter's local history class "smethporthistory.org".
It is being created by both Smethport students both past and present
as well as interested community members both past and present. But
this site is in reality owned by all the people & their ancestors who
have helped to create this unique & beautiful location on the planet.
I want to personally invite you to become part of our project!
SIZE OF FILES
We have opted to share with you the very best quality of photos we can.
Consequently we have left the files larger than normal. So it will
take time to load photos....especially in the busiest times on the internet.
But we believe that those that are exploring Smethport's past want as good
of a window into the past as possible. We, while all photos are converted
to 72 dpi jpegs the actual photo size is left somewhat large...often
8-10 inches wide or more...so you can see what we are seeing...and this
will take time to load.
CONTACTING US
Please feel free to contact us/me concerning any comments, histories, thoughts,
leads, corrections, etc. We need your feedback and very much appreciate
all the comments we've received to date.
Please feel free to CONTACT Virtual Historic Smethport
& McKean County Project
project@smethporthistory.org
Sincerely,
Ross Porter
"Smethport History" Project Director
Smethport Area High School
412 S. Mechanic Street
Smethport, PA 16749
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