Jean Jones, Tarrant County Coordinator Swisher County Researchers: TxGenWeb needs your help. TxGenWeb has a new project - Index of Landmarks and Vanished Communities. A page has been set up with the basic USGS data for your county. Provisions are made for you and others to submit additional data on your county concerning landmarks; vanished communities; historical churches, schools, cotton gins, grist mills, river crossings, river bends; valleys, current and historical cemeteries, historical buildings (log cabins, family farms, early homes and businesses. etc.). In earlier times landmarks were known by several names. We would like to list them all. If grandpa talked about it we would like to give it a location - with the help of researchers in your local area. One Example: River bends, Crossings and Valleys: The USGS map makers only have the option of placing one name for a feature on their map. They use what they deemed the most generally used name. Consider the names of river bends - we have a number of them along the Brazos River. Most of the river bends (and valleys) went by several names in the 1880's. The names of prominent landowners were usually used but there usually were several prominent land owners in the bend or valley, hence several names. For example the USGS maps today call one Brazos river bend in Hood County, Walters Bend, but you will find historical documents that call it Chicken Gristle Bend as well as Chicken Bristle Bend. The Hood County local historian says "the feature names on maps are nothing but gossip and the map maker only talked to a few gossips." People on one side of the river may have called river crossings by one name where people on the other side gave it another name. Some river bends and valleys on USGS maps do not have a name at all but the locals have a name for it. We want to preserve all of these names. Naming variations are also common for other type features as well. Another example: Communities have vanished, some changed name with the comming of a Post Office or railroad. Today, USGS maps may identify some historic communities however some are not listed. or are only in evidence by the name of a nearby cemetery. You will note that "clicking" on the feature name will take you to a page showing tabular data ; then "click" on "Show Feature Location " and you will taken you to the map. You may then "Zoom In" to get more detailed information. The initial Landmark and Vanished Communities County pages do not contain data in the description column as the USGC data did not include this information. The submittal form may be used for you and other researchers to add this information. The far right column of your current county index shows USGS as the submitter as data was extracted from USGS records. Others, such as you, submitting data will have their name and e-mail address in this column. Other researchers can then contact you if they have questions concerning your landmark entry. To get an idea of the type of data that can be added please View Hood County Landmarks at: http://www.hcnews.com/~landmark/hood.htm as an example. Index of All Texas Counties: http://www.hcnews.com/~landmark/ Your County Listing: :http://www.hcnews.com/~landmark/tarrant.htm Landmark Submittal Form: http://hcnews.com/~landmark/howto.htm Global Search for landmark in all counties: http://hcnews.com/~landmark/search.htm Later we will add a page where researchers can post queries and answers regarding unknown locations of places/landmarks that researchers come across in historical documentation and oral traditions. Wayne Moyers, President Hood County Genealogical Society and member Hood County Historical Society is moderator for the TxGenWeb Landmark WebPages. <wmoyers@flash.net> Frank Saffarrans, TxGenWeb Hood County Coordinator is general coordinator for the TxGenWeb Landmark Project. opa@hcnews.com> THE BOTTOM LINE: We need your help in identifying and providing descriptions of landmarks in your county. We believe that Landmarks and Vanished Communities can be a significant research tool that can be used by researchers nationwide. Please provide a link from your county TxGenWeb Page to: http://www.hcnews/~landmark/ and submit locations of Historical landmarks and places grandpa talked about. Please encourage other researchers in your county to do the same. If you have questions or comments about this project please send them to: Frank Saffarrans: opa@hcnews.com Frank Saffarrans General Administrator Texas Landmark Project TexGenWeb