One of the long term projects I’ve been involved with at work was quietly unveiled this week, the Edgewood History Collection.

The project is a collaboration between myself and several other members of the library staff. My responsibility involved designing and developing the collection’s Home and About pages, as well as the page templates for the digital collection management software (the pages that actually display the items in the collection). The software we’re using is a hosted version of ContentDM.

Some of the things in the Edgewood History Collection I found interesting include:

Effigy Mounds at Edgewood. It’s fascinating to think about the ancient peoples that lived on the land the college now occupies.

From part 1 of the History of Edgewood College narrative: “[In 1881] Former Governor Washburn decides to give away his Madison estate. Accounts maintain that he offers it to the Sisters only after being turned down by the University, the city of Madison, and the State, all of whom supposedly claim it is too remote, being two miles from town.”

I’ll bet the University would love to have this “remote” location now…

Sacred Heart Academy, which cost $36,719 to build in 1894.

Summer Concert on the Lawn (from the mid-1950’s). Those hot summers must have been uncomfortable for the sisters in their long black habits.

An aerial view of the Edgewood Campus, circa 1960.

Finally, a picture of the Library which I took on a beautiful spring day a few years ago.

The Edgewood History Collection is the first digital collection from the Edgewood College Archives (which is part of the Library). We hope to unveil other digital collections in the future. Stay tuned.