Historical monuments?

Not a bad idea. Would require a lot of work. There must be thousands. Maybe you could sort them, i.e. Civil War, Revolutionary War, etc. Must be a data base somewhere that would locate these for you, probably as mm's. Good idea!

I think people enjoy this, but it would have to be broken up a little bit, at least by state.

There are civil war and revolutionary war reenactment groups out there that would be of help.
City or state historical sites would help.

I think this would be a fun idea, but I agree that it would be lots of work.

I know there is a revolutionary war monument in the town I grew up in that is pretty cool. Every once in a while the city people get together and re-enact the battle that it commemorates. It is such a small town though that I doubt this monument would be in any guide book.

This would definitely rely heavily on user submissions.

You can get some information for the Historical Markers in the state of Texas from here:

http://www.poi-factory.com/node/5557

The actual data is located here:

ftp://ftp.thc.state.tx.us/historical_markers/

Hope this helps.

Aren't most of these already loaded in our gps?

I've downloaded tons and tons of POI's, from here and a few other places. I've found that I didn't even need to dl most of the POIs that I got, since most of them are actually already loaded in my 660. Even my favorite mechanic is in there (All German Auto), which has only one location in Escondido, CA. It seems like most everything I look for is actually already loaded- plus tons of places I never knew were there.

I would ASSume that national monuments and historical points of interest would be there also.

But these are major historical points of interests like large monuments and such. I was more referring to the the small placards and monuments you see peppered along our nation's roadways. These aren't considered major historical points of interest, but usually something important to the local community. Thus, you will not find these on your GPSr.

This idea sprang up during my geocaching travels. I've done many geocaches that were at locations such as this, and it was very cool to learn something about the local history.

Everyone thanks for the feedback. DD-MM-SS, thanks for the links. Lots of good info there.

How can something like this be more of a collaborative project?

I am starting a file for the state of Va. Looks like there may be hundreds. It may take a while to dig them out. I've got about 25 so far and have just scratched the surface.
Before I get too far, do you think this is a worthwhile project? Some of these roadside markers are very interesting and some are not. What I've done with the first 25 is to add the text that is on the marker and also a picture of either the marker or the attraction itself to the file. This will show up under the "More" button on the second page, at least on my nuvi 660.
Any suggestions?

Just adding that this is the type of project that I would find enjoyable.

It appears that many are already in the databases that come with the POI files, but until I extract then and look at what's missing, much of the effort would be redundant.

Like everything else here, it might be best to work at it, state by state, or by type of attraction, (Civil War, Archeology, Early Settlements, Etc.) rather than have huge combined files.

Then someone else can select the ones they want, from a list, instead of getting the whole USA!

Just gave me another idea. Ghost Towns! That would be fun. I've read books and bought maps and there are a couple in Wisconsin that I still can't find. GPS location would be super.

I had thought this would be a good project but it would be a massive undertaking. I'm sure most states have web sites listing the markers, mine does, but going from that to co-ordinates for a poi file would be difficult. the locations given are so vague, locating them on a map would be difficult.

It could be done but it would have to be a co-operative effort between many people who could visit the markers in their region, use their receivers to get a fix and report them to a project leader for their state or region.

Did find this database, and it looks like they even track the coordinates--you can d/l GPX files for individual markers, but I'm thinking a complete list could be compiled. They even have the text of each marker which could be added to the file so you could read the marker before to see if it's actually of interest (or in case it's rainy).

http://www.hmdb.org/

-=Eric

You could send the owner of that site a note letting them know what you would like to make a POI file using his data. We would supply him or her with a copy of the file that their members could download also and we would feature their site as the source of info in the description with a link to their home page.

Miss POI

I emailed their editor.

But also found this directory on their website:
http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=10

-=Eric

There is a site for North Carolina historical markers at ncmarkers.com. If you click the link for state map it brings up a GIS application with all of the markers and has a link to download a shapefile. Someone who knows more about mapping applications might be able to get the data needed to convert to a POI file.

I'm the editor of the Historical Marker Database at hmdb.org. We just started generating GPX files on our website last month, at the request of a couple of our correspondents. We tied our GPX file generator to our map page, so that it generates waypoints for any pushpin showing. All of our search, category, state, county, and series, results provide for a map, and therefore for a GPX file, but there is that pesky 100 markers-at-a-time limitation so Google Maps doesn't choke.

These files are generated on the fly when requested, so they always have up to the minute information. Our correspondents are adding hundreds of new markers weekly, and tweaking the GPS coordinates on existing markers. (By the way, I encourage POI-factory members to correct any coordinates you find wrong, or a bit off. Many were best guesses by correspondents without GPS devices. )

Based on your suggestions on this thread I just enhanced the URL that generates the files to do more than generate a GPX file based on a list of marker IDs separated by commas. It now accepts markers=all or a state= parameter.

Examples:
www.hmdb.org/gpx/gpx.asp?state=california (spell out the state name. Use %20 in place of space, i.e. north%20carolina)
www.hmdb.org/gpx/gpx.asp?markers=all

What will take longer to do is to put up a page with links to this new feature. I have to figure out how to weave it into the website design. But if you can type the URL into your browser's address bar, it should work right now.

Let me know if you run into any trouble.

J. J. Prats, Editor
www.hmdb.org
703 924-6108

J.J.Prats,
Thanks for stopping in and checking us out. I love your site, you have done a great job making sure that those historical markers are easy to find.

Sincerely,
Miss POI

JJ,

I can't get either of those links to open. The "California" link goes not to a URL but to a file with a gpx extension; MapSource says it can't import it. The "all" link also goes to a file with a gpx extension; MapSource says it's not a valid gpx file, however. When I copy the URL into a browser, it goes to the same gpx files, neither of which can be opened. I even tried giving the files xls and htm extensions. I can see that there is content there, but not in a usable format.

Pls let me know what I'm doing wrong. Your Web site is a fascinating one, and I'd sure like to see the gpx files you've generated with that data. TIA.

I contacted them earlier this evening. Am waiting for a reply. If they ok it I have Wisconsin done

Having historical marker info within a GPSr is a wonderful idea. I have entertained this idea for a lengthy route which I occasionally drive. There is a book which is entitled "Historical Markers of VA". You might be able to find it at a local library.
However, getting the coordinates for each marker would be challenging. It would almost take a group effort to be reasonably accurate and complete.

I am not an expert on GPX files, but I believe you may have to first save the file onto your hard drive and then upload or import that file into your destination site or program.

The URL was not designed to be be viewed, but to deliver a GPX file ready for another application to decipher.

/JJP

This may not be right forum to post this, and if so I apologize in advance. The GPX files HMdb.org puts out do not contain the marker text. Why? Because I could not figure out where to put it after reading the GPX specs. If someone can clue me in, I would appreciate it.

Also, some markers have a lot of text. Should it be truncated after so many characters, or should it all go in?

Thanks.

I see Mr. Prats beat me to posting here. I had an email from him when I fired the computer up this morning giving us permission to use his database. Not knowing any other way to thank him, I volunteered to help them out getting any markers they don't have in my area in Wisconsin. I think it would be nice if all the people on this board could do likewise, not only as a form of payback, but it would help both sites.

I ran into the same problem using EasyGPS, it wouldn't load the file but ExpertGPS will. There must be something different in the file header or the body of the file. I will try to compare them by loading them into a text editor.

JJ - A couple of glitches. The gpx output doesn't currently pass the 'GPX Validation' test at:
http://www.topografix.com/gpx_validation.asp

(This is really just a validation against the schema).

Also, (and this might well be related) the second 'file' generates the following error, in Microsoft's MSXML6 Parser:-

Error #: -1072898046: Reference to undefined entity 'rsquo'.
Line #: 356
Line Position: 22
Positiion in file: 15828
Source Text: <name>Saint Mary&rsquo;s Church Marker</name>

Mapsource (bless its cotton socks) says: "xxx is not a Valid MapSource file and could not be opened"

I fixed the Wisconsin GPX file so that it will load in EasyGPS, but I still don't understand why it didn't like the one entry when there are others the same way. I converted the GPX to a CSV and looked at it with a word processor. With the John Edwards Jr entry, the column that gives the date the monument was erected was blank as were others, but when I
added text to that line and converted it back to a GPX it worked.

One thing that might be the problem is I'm using an old version of EasyGPS on this computer because a feature that I use in the old version doesn't work in the newer version. When I fire up one of my other
computers I can try the new Version of EasyGPS and see if it works.

The error I'm getting with my version of EasyGPS is 0xC00CE513 line 514 position 52 which is a whitespace error. As I said above I don't know why it didn't like the one entry when there are others that are also blank in that column.

As long as I can load them using other software I will be ok. The column that seems to be giving the trouble isn't needed anyway.

I just downloaded the Illinois file and that one loaded into EasyGPS with no problems, so it must be a random thing.

I quickly did a "Massachusetts Historical marker locations" search and found this interesting site:

http://www.waymarking.com/cat/details.aspx?f=1&guid=e053329c...

Thanks for doing the Wisconsin one; I'll download that tonight.

The GPX file generator at www.hmdb.org has been reworked to handle the HTML to XML ampersand conversion problem. (If XML is an improvement over HTML, why design it to cause problems? Google "XML ampersand" to read the complaints!) It now passes the Xerces Validating Parser without complaint.

I would appreciate fresh comments on how these new files work with the various GPS units out there.

JJ,

Your post refers to a "GPX file generator at www.hmdb.org." I couldn't find that on your home page. Where is it located?

Also, I tried the original "all" link you posted earlier, and downloaded the gpx file. It still wouldn't open; MapSource returned an error saying it was a "invalid" file.

TIA. I'd been thinking of putting together a database of HMs. I had no idea how far along others have taken the idea. Nice work!

looking for an oregon one

Thanks for testing. I wonder why MapSource is still complaining. The "all" file has almost 5000 waypoints. I'll keep tweaking.

The "generator" is the link on top of every map on the site. It spits out a waypoint file for all the pushpins on that particular map. Still working on putting state and county links elsewhere.

The GSX generator at HMdb.org has been rewritten. Its output passes the Xeces-C test and the file now has marker text as well as title and location narrative. You'll find the link to the GSX file in its usual place on all map pages. If someone would care to test a few files and let me know how they work I would appreciate it.

J. J. Prats, Editor
www.hmdb.org
703 924-6108

Here is a link for the Virginia Markers maintained by the Dept of Historic Resources. Very comprehensive site.

http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/hiway_markers/hwmarker_info.htm

I've uploaded the historical locations according to the USGS gazette file

http://www.poi-factory.com/node/20385

could you please sned me a copy of the file

werskine@myturbonet.com

thanks

It looks like there might be better historic and historical poi files already up here. I'm not sure where the one I uploaded went though, maybe it didn't keep because it is over 6mb.

I made a neat icon too.

i really wanted that file??!! could you send over the icon?! or could you send your copy over to my email..

and if you find the file let me know!!

big history buff

It looks like the file I uploaded is there on the link I provided so you should be able to download it there.

I have also submitted the icon I created.

I'm going to take a look at some of the other regional historic files and see if they are more useful than the USGS data.

?!

Miss POI probably needs to check out first.

I hope Miss POI doesn't "check out"...we need her!

I have 14 pages of Historic files, please check this link to see if your file is a duplicate.

http://www.poi-factory.com/search/pfc/historic

Miss POI

I think I have a new favorite destination! I live in Essex county in Massachusetts and I'm *surrounded* by markers and such like this.