Town Historian to Help Launch Cheshirepedia

Less than a month into her appointment as the Cheshire Town Historian, Jeanné Chesanow is busy with a band of history buffs to launch a major project. The group plans to create an online reference site for Cheshire history.

The site, to be called "Cheshirepedia," after the well-known Wikipedia site, would collect and archive historic documents, essays and photos and present the information in a scholarly fashion, Chesanow said.

"It's a little different of an idea than has been done before," Chesanow said. "It won't just be for scholars, but for students too. A good, readible site," she added.

The site would require submissions to be fact-checked, Chesanow said, with an appointed editorial board. Writers who have "a high level of knowledge through their hobbies or interests are welcome to submit articles" she said. Suggested topics are:

• trolleys
• railroads
• Native American arrowheads
• gardening
• the Farmington Canal
• geology
• art
• amphibians

The idea for the proposed site came from the online "Encyclopedia Philadelphia," Chesanow said. "It was a huge effort. I loved the goals, the civic involvement," she added.

The Philadelphia site notes that it is "Connecting the Past with the Present, Building Community, Creating a Legacy." It describes the effort as a civic project that will increase the understanding of the city.

"The (Philadelphia) Encyclopedia as a digital resource and print volume will offer the most comprehensive, authoritative reference source ever created for the Philadelphia region," the authors wrote on the homepage.

Chesanow envisions a similar civic effort in Cheshire which will begin with a gathering of interested individuals. "We'll meet for original ideas," she said. Anyone who is interested in buildig Cheshirepedia should email the planning group at:  cheshirepedia@cox.net.

Chesanow hopes the end result will be a lasting tribute and legacy for Cheshire.