Creating Spaces for Historical Data

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Creating Spaces for Historical Data

• Michael Ratcliffe
• Geographic Standards and Criteria Branch
• Geography Division
• US Census Bureau

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Research Problem

• Baltimore Ecosystem Study researchers needed
  historical demographic data for areas in which
  they were collecting data about the physical
  environment over a 200 year period.

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Challenges for researchers

• Obtaining historical demographic data at suitable
  geographic scales, particularly for small
  geographic areas
• Developing a framework of small geographic areas
  for analysis of population distribution and
  demographic change over time
• Relating historical demographic data to
  environmental and other information.

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19th Century Census Geography

• Counties
• Minor civil divisions
• Incorporated places
• Wards
• Enumeration districts
• Sanitary districts

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Sources of Historical Geographic Area and
Demographic Information

• Decennial Census Manuscript Forms
• Header on each form has space to list state,
  county, county subdivision, and post office
• City and County Atlases
• G.M. Hopkins, 1870s
• Hexamer and Locher, 1860s and 1870s
• Fire Insurance Maps
• Sanborn and Company
• Hexamer, Ernest, and Son

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G.M. Hopkins, Baltimore County Atlas, 1876
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Source S. Hinman, 2002
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Methodological Approaches

• Digitize geographic entity boundaries from
  historical maps
• Build a spatial framework using current census
  geographic areas

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Reisterstown Census Tracts
4044.01
4045.01
4045.02
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Census Tracts and 1870s Reisterstown
Tract 4045.01
Tract 4045.02
Tract 4044.01
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Population by Sex and Race Upper Gwynns Falls
Watershed, 1870
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Age and SexUpper Gwynns Falls 1870
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Value of Personal and Real PropertyUpper Gwynns
Falls, 1870
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(source S. Hinman, 2002)
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(source S. Hinman, 2002)