[MassHistPres] Aerial photos - how useful for historical documentation and preservation?

[Lyle Nyberg]

Thank you! That UMass Amherst collection is a fantastic resource. It’s like
the space telescopes that let us peer into the past.

 

There are 1040 photos of Plymouth County. I already found a great photo of
Scituate from 1952 here:
https://credo.library.umass.edu/view/full/mufs190-1952-dpt5k107-i001.

 

Best,

Lyle

 

From: Haley, Ben (SEC) [mailto:ben.haley at state.ma.us] 
Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2022 9:56 AM
To: jim boone <jimboone at hotmail.com>; Doherty, Jennifer (SEC)
<jennifer.doherty2 at state.ma.us>; Lyle Nyberg <lylenyberg at comcast.net>;
MassHistPres at cs.umb.edu
Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] Aerial photos - how useful for historical
documentation and preservation?

 

UMass Amherst's Special Collections has digitized the William P. MacConnell
Aerial Photograph Collection. The scans are high quality and can be very
useful. 

 

Here's the description of the collection:

 

In the 1950s, William P. MacConnell (Class of 1943), and his photogrammetry
students in the Dept. of Forestry began using aerial photography to map
forests, agricultural fields, wetlands, and other land cover in
Massachusetts. Their work was eventually expanded to include the mapping of
all land use for Massachusetts, making this state the first in the nation to
be completely mapped in this fashion, and laying the foundation for the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Wetlands Inventory.

 

The scanned photographs can be found here:
https://credo.library.umass.edu/view/collection/mufs190

 

Ben

 

Ben Haley

National Register Director

Massachusetts Historical Commission

220 Morrissey Blvd.

Boston, MA 02125

Ph: 617-727-8470

Fax: 617-727-5128

www.sec.state.ma.us/mhc
<https://owa.sec.state.ma.us/owa/redir.aspx?C=WjnKiV1joO-edaxbgjLwlSFwvkY1L6
PZt76-usnxYiYhAPM1NNfXCA..&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.sec.state.ma.us%2fmhc> 

ben.haley at sec.state.ma.us
<https://owa.sec.state.ma.us/owa/redir.aspx?C=g-UrbAOcH-6AfUOM_E5TJ32Mwc8MQ2
E5lLQ3vKZ7ELkhAPM1NNfXCA..&URL=mailto%3aben.haley%40sec.state.ma.us> 

 

Please be advised that the Massachusetts Secretary of State considers e-mail
to be a public record, and therefore subject to public access under the
Massachusetts Public Records Law,M.G.L. c. 66 § 10.

  _____  

From: MassHistPres <masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu
<mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu> > on behalf of jim boone
<jimboone at hotmail.com <mailto:jimboone at hotmail.com> >
Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2022 9:37:54 AM
To: Doherty, Jennifer (SEC); Lyle Nyberg; MassHistPres at cs.umb.edu
<mailto:MassHistPres at cs.umb.edu> 
Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] Aerial photos - how useful for historical
documentation and preservation? 

 

In 1939 there was a WPA project that photographed every house and building
in Springfield Ma. The Springfield Preservation Trust is digitizing these to
our website. Great recourse. Look and see if your town did a similar
project,

  _____  

From: MassHistPres <masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu
<mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu> > on behalf of Doherty, Jennifer
(SEC) <jennifer.doherty2 at state.ma.us <mailto:jennifer.doherty2 at state.ma.us>
>
Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2022 1:28 PM
To: Lyle Nyberg <lylenyberg at comcast.net <mailto:lylenyberg at comcast.net> >;
MassHistPres at cs.umb.edu <mailto:MassHistPres at cs.umb.edu>
<MassHistPres at cs.umb.edu <mailto:MassHistPres at cs.umb.edu> >
Subject: Re: [MassHistPres] Aerial photos - how useful for historical
documentation and preservation? 

 

Hi Lyle,

Historic aerials are a great way to track 20th century changes in a
community – moved buildings, demolitions, the development of suburbs. They
can also be helpful for communities looking to update their survey of
historic resources – what has changed in your community since you last
completed a survey? Or if a previous survey stopped at 1930 or 1950, what
areas might have been missed?

 

I frequently use two easily-accessible sources:

-          MACRIS Maps has a few more recent (1990s-present) statewide ortho
layers you can turn on. On the right side of the screen, where the address
search is, select the “Layers” tab and then click the “Base Layer” dropdown
to select one of the ortho layers.

-          HistoricAerials.com has aerials going back to the 1950s or so as
well as historic topo maps. They do watermark all their images, but it can
be a helpful quick reference. Note that this is not an MHC product and this
is not an official endorsement by the MHC, but it is a helpful site to know!

 

Thank you,

Jenn

 

 

Jennifer B. Doherty

Local Government Programs Coordinator

Massachusetts Historical Commission

220 Morrissey Boulevard

Boston, MA 02125-3314

Office: (617) 727-8470

Remote: (617) 807-0685

Jennifer.Doherty at sec.state.ma.us <mailto:Jennifer.Doherty at sec.state.ma.us> 

 

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workshops

 

From: MassHistPres <masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu
<mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu> > On Behalf Of Lyle Nyberg
Sent: Wednesday, April 13, 2022 11:05 PM
To: MassHistPres at cs.umb.edu <mailto:MassHistPres at cs.umb.edu> 
Subject: [MassHistPres] Aerial photos - how useful for historical
documentation and preservation?

 

My historical work has found aerial photos useful but overlooked, often
buried in town archives. Has anyone else found them useful?

 

Lyle Nyberg

Independent historian, author, www.lylenyberg.com

Volunteer at Scituate Historical Commission

Scituate, MA

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