'Sevamarkers' Project Seeks to Compile List of Area's Landmarks
2 min readBy JONATHAN POLSON
The Virginia State Markers Group launched a website, in conjunction with UMWblogs, that displays a collection of all historic state markers in the Yorktown, Williamsburg and James City County areas.
The website, named ‘Sevamarkers,’ stemmed from work done by a class in 2008 that recorded the historical markers in Fredericksburg, Stafford and Spotsylvania, according to Senior History Major Ryan Montgomery.
Montgomery is the Chief Officer of Marker Timeline Operations. He, along with three other students, worked on the project for Professor McClurken’s Digital Histories in Technology Seminar.
The website contains a picture of 52 different highway markers, according to Montgomery.
Each photo includes the inscription written out beside it, as well as additional research on the topic, according to a press release from the Virginia Historic State Markers Group.
The historical markers are issued throughout the government, according to Montgomery, and are in place “to signify historical events and significant people.”
In a quote within a press release, Chief Officer of Marker Image and Editing Operations Lindsey Smith said, “The purpose of our work at the Virginia Historic State Markers Group is to provide information regarding the history, significance and location of the state historic markers.”
The website is paired with a Google map that shows each marker’s location, according to Montgomery.
A timeline feature is also featured on the website that shows when each historic event took place. According to the group’s press release, the markers’ timeline ranges from the early 17th century to the 20th century.
Montgomery said that their goal is to, “put these as a digital database on the internet [and] make history more accessible.”
Montgomery cited the work done by the class in 2008 as the foundation of his own group’s project.
“We’re hoping if another group wants to, they can choose three counties in Northern Virginia,” said Montgomery in regards to the future of recording the state’s historic markers.
“We hope to one day cover the whole state of Virginia,” he said.
According to Montgomery, other projects from students in Professor McClurken’s Seminar included research done on UMW buildings, information on the lectures of James Farmer and an online database of political cartoons.
