After a semester of research and work, our group was able to discover where the Moore House guests were coming from and what they were leaving behind. We experienced a few problems along the way. We had transitioned from the original plan of a heat map to a plotted map due to the lack of software that allowed for free creation and embedding. We were also unable to research the individuals because most websites required subscriptions and the register did not provide enough information to research names from over 100 years ago. What we were able to do was uncover that those coming to Titusville were abandoning industries in timber and iron. The oil industry provided much more opportunity, so the people followed the money. Even after encountering some of the downfalls of technology when working in the field of Public History, we gained a lot of insight from the boom that took place so long ago after Edwin Drake’s discovery. The graph below is depiction of the immigration from different areas during that time period.
Check out our page “Why Titusville” to see the finished map and find out more about our research.
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