News about the Old 8th Ward Project and Website
Call for contributors:
- Beginning in January 2006, the site editor will be collecting stories about the Old Eighth Ward in an attempt to flesh out the story of the neighborhood. Anyone is invited to contribute, and stories need not be first hand or verified as factual. Folklore is as valuable to the ward's history as true stories. Anyone wishing to provide information, photos, or stories about the Old Eighth Ward or its residents should contact Stephanie Patterson Gilbert.
- Attention teachers--the Old Eighth Ward is interested in providing lesson plans using the information presented on this website to educators. Any teacher is encouraged to submit ideas or fully developed lesson plans to Stephanie Patterson Gilbert.
- Scholars wishing to submit papers on Harrisburg's Old Eighth Ward during the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries for possible publication on this website should contact Stephanie Patterson Gilbert.
Upcoming publications:
- Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies, Vol. 72, no. 4, Autumn 2005
- Half of this issue will be dedicated to Harrisburg's Old 8th Ward and will include articles by Prof. Michael Barton on the birth of the 8th Ward project, Stephanie Patterson Gilbert on the creation of the 8th Ward website, and three exemplary student papers by Julie Hurst, John Myers, and Stephanie Patterson Gilbert. A review of this website and book, Harrisburg's Old Eighth Ward, also appear in this issue.
Website Updates:
- Nineteenth-Century Occupations--definitions of common jobs worked by Eighth Ward residents in the late 1800s, which may be unfamiliar to modern readers. (12/05)
- Student Research--new and/or updated student papers have been added to this page.
- Resident Directories for Short Street and Tanners Alley have been updated. In addition, all resident directories by street are undergoing revision. To make for easier viewing, residents by street will be presented by decade rather than by the entire ward's history.
- Business Directories for Dressmakers, Doctors, and Druggists have been updated.
- Then and Now--this new photographic tour allows visitors to compare the Capitol Complex in 2005 to the Old 8th Ward one-hundred years earlier. (10/05)
- Miscellanea--this new website feature is intended to showcase compiled information on the Old 8th Ward that does not fit in other sections of the site. It currently includes postcards, business advertisements, newspaper articles, and real estate advertisements concerning the 8th Ward. (10/05)
- Maps--a current map of the Capitol Complex has been added to the map page. (10/05)