trolley, rail transport, Essex area

Tri-State Trolley Map
zoom in to see Essex area

via
The trolley comes to Ipswich, June 26, 1896
thanks to help (with search terms) of librarian at Beverly Public Library
(maybe can be helpful to Alexandra in her info gathering)

so there were two lines serving/passing through Exxex:
trolley line passing through Essex on way to Gloucester and other points on Cape Ann

how did people get around before rail? were they more likely to stay put?

also
the Essex branch of the Boston and Maine Railroad
(used this map in my first post to this blog)

will watch for more on transportation; again, reference librarian at Beverly Public Library was helpful. there may be materials in their "Beverly" (local history) room that is useful. It is not limited to Beverly, and is pretty good on the entire North Shore in particular.

addition(s)

The early and later means of communication and transportation in and through Essex County, chapter 6 (pp 30-40) of
Standard History of Essex County, Massachusetts : Embracing a History of the County from Its First Settlement to the Present Time, with a History and Description of Its Towns and Cities. The Most Historic County of America (Boston, 1878)

Autodesk Maya

If you want to use Maya in the 305 lab, you must log on as
username: local
password: render

How to get your student version of Maya:
http://www.autodesk.com/education/free-software/maya

How to set up a project in Maya:
https://docs.google.com/a/montserrat.edu/document/d/198SpDK7_4tS8y9E2kpnvM6w_Ujm6AzEF7z9gPHsTu_w/edit?usp=sharing

Ask if you get stuck! Maya is a tricky program. But, in no time you could be making masterpieces like this:

Essex Transportation!

List of things I'd be interesting in looking into!

-How the people of Essex traveled
-Where they traveled
-Who would travel by what means (for example, who would be riding the trolley, who would be riding a boat, etc.)

Essex Visit, March 1

So, sadly, I didn't think to take any pictures when I was there, but I was really inspired by the triple gravestone set that simply reads "Mother, Percival, Father".  I'd like to do research on that grave, maybe find out who they are, and depending on what kind of information I get, turn it into a mystery hunt for the "player" to figure out who these stones belong to, kind of as a way to give remembrance to an unnamed stone, as well as provide an air of mystery to the "game".

On the next field trip, I'm definitely going to take pictures of the cemetery and the gravestones. I might also take pictures of the hearse,  because it was a very aesthetically pleasing hearse, and I'd like to see if I can't incorporate it into my "game".

Most of the research I will be doing will mostly be on the gravestone.

Things I want to look at:

a) birth records
b) death records
c) some basic background info for the time period that they died in

Essex Visit, March 1

Helpful website for using free font faces~
Dafont.com

ARAF BROWSER, OR CAN AUGMENTED REALITY.
~Tools for Ship Making~
I would love to do something pertaining to the tools used for ship making. I saw a lot of them through the shops such as their very specific shaped axes, pics, hammers, and so much more. I might even consider mentioning the swordfish sword for fun. If I can not do that however, I am open to new ideas :)