Local History Website

Local History Website

By Craig Baker

I found a useful website that lists historical markers around the Southwest, and around the world. It’s the Historical Marker Data Base, at

www.HMDB.org

Each marker listing has a map, directions, marker text, photos, and nearby markers. Some have website links, additional information, or comments. You can search for markers by city, zip code, county, name, etc. Find historic sites you didn’t know about, or read the text of markers that are missing.

If you want to add to the database, you can sign up and add additional markers by filling out the easy online form. Read the guidelines. Each listing must have a historical marker, existing or missing, and it must be outdoors.

Take a closeup photo showing the marker text, a photo showing the marker in its surroundings, and one or two photos of the marker’s subject. You can add to an existing marker, or make corrections and updates. For more tips, email me, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . New additions are usually published after a couple weeks, but it sometimes takes a couple months, or just a couple seconds. Don’t worry about supplying all the location details, just use their map to drop a pin at the marker location. Or they will get the GPS coordinates from your mobile device photo. If you see an amazing photo with my name on it, click on it to read the embedded data. My camera is an iPod Touch music player.

Some posts have incorrect dates or names, and some look like a bad social media website, but most are useful and interesting. I was surprised to find some important historical markers in the Los Angeles area that were not yet posted. My favorite marker that I’ve added: Lummis Home. ~ Craig