[MassHistPres] updating MHC inventory forms

[Karen Van Welden-Herman]

Hello Ms. Markland,

We have had the same problem in Andover, old lists located at multiple
sites which do not agree. The approach we have taken and continue to work
on is that we have three dedicated people from the Preservation Commission
who work together to access the inventory sheets, compare the listings in
each location - library, historical society, and town offices - to make
certain they are in agreement.  We also have a website that is still a
work in progress. We are at the stage where we now have one list that is
now being reconciled with the website. This reconciliation is taking more
time because our research historian is verifying information and updating
the history of each property. We also update photographs and add historic
photographs when available. The bottom line is that it is a laborious,
time consuming process.  There is no other way to describe it.  The people
who know the history, the properties and have the research skills are the
ones that should take on the task.  We are all volunteers, but have the
cooperation of town employees when we need it. Memorial Hall Library
helped us develop our website a number of years ago and hosts it. The
Preservation Commission has the authority to add information and edit as
needed.   http://preservation.mhl.org/

Good luck with your effort!

Karen Herman, Chair
Andover Preservation Commission

On 10/1/17, 5:12 PM, "Judy Markland" <masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu on
behalf of jmarkland at lmstrategies.com> wrote:

>Greetings,
>Whately has a fairly comprehensive set of inventory forms but most are
>about 25 years old and many buildings have been altered or,
>unfortunately, lost.  We also have anecdotal evidence for some
>properties that some of the history is incorrect.
>
>The Historical Commission is struggling with how best to do a good job
>on the updates.  Unfortunately, the work seems to need a great deal of
>local knowledge, so hiring a consultant doesn't seem the best option,
>even if we had the funding.  Has anyone had success with a similar task
>and can recommend a process that we could follow?
>
>Judy Markland
>Whately Historical Commission
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