Around the World in the 1890s: Photographs from the World's Transportation Commission, 1894-1896

Abstract:: This site makes available for viewing the nearly nine hundred images of modes of transportation taken by American photographer William Henry Jackson in North Africa, Asia, Australia, and Oceania. The site allows searches by subject and Keyword, and gives archival information about it.

Changing Communities: Past vs. Future

Abstract:: This lesson plan introduces students to changes that have occurred in western North Carolina, through two hundred years of national and regional development. Students will learn about the geographical, political, and technological issues that have influenced change in mountain communities using oral histories by Madison County residents. They will learn about the history of road building in the North Carolina mountains, and the relatively recent decision to connect two halves of interstate highway in Madison County. They will compare and contrast the negative and positive changes that road construction has brought to the region, and listen to oral histories of locals who have experienced both good and bad effects. Through discussion with classmates, they will create a list of the advantages and disadvantages of both tradition and development. After collecting and reviewing information about the construction of Interstate 26 through Madison County, students will write an editorial. In this editorial, students will clearly state their position on the Interstate 26 debate, and will support their argument with evidence from the oral histories.

No Strings Attached

Abstract:: This site describes the first highway by which visitors could see the lakes, glaciers, alpine peaks, and meadows of Glacier National Park. Work on the 50-mile route, which connected the east and west sides of the park and crossed the Continental Divide at Logan Pass, began in 1921. The high technical standards of the Bureau of Public Roads (later the Federal Highway Administration) needed to be balanced with the commitment of the National Park Service to minimize damage to the landscape.

Abstract:: This lesson gives students a first-hand opportunity to hear about the planning and effort it takes to build a highway through an oral history of a North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) resident engineer. Through his oral history, students will learn about "the largest single construction project in the history of the NCDOT." That project is also known as the I-26 corridor in Madison County, North Carolina. This lesson encourages students to think about the enormous impact of highways in our personal lives, and on North Carolina's economy, while recognizing how we take highways for granted.