Photo submitted by Potsdam Museum

POTSDAM -- Take a virtual walk down Potsdam’s streets today, and as they were in 1865.

Pin Point Potsdam is the brain child of Jan Wojcik of Potsdam and Keith Arbour of Boston. The two met at a Blanchard’s auction one November when the 1776 broadside of the Declaration of Independence was on the auction block.

Arbour (who authenticated the broadside) and Wojcik (the Potsdam Museum Board president) struck up a conversation and the rest is history. They became fast friends and colleagues. Keith talked up the idea of an on-line map project that the community could participate in by adding content by researching, learning, and sharing. Wojcik pitched the idea to the board. It would cost money. A generous donor, Rosanna Rosse, left the museum an unrestricted gift. The board voted to use some of this gift towards the project. They hired a developer and the project took off.

Building an interactive website is a process. It is a lot of give and take, back and forth, questions and answers. With a part-time staff person working on the project, Covid-19 and reduced staff hours, miracles still happen! We are proud to announce that the website is up and running at: www.pinpointpotsdam.org or go to our homepage at: www.PotsdamPublicMuseum.org and look for the link to the project.

"The Pin Point Potsdam 1865 portal provides instructions how to make a pin. Let’s pin down what Potsdam was like at the height of its industrial and manufacturing prosperity after the Civil War, the consequences of which we enjoy and live with today. This project is suitable for learning about Potsdam’s past and importantly - provides an opportunity to add historical stories—all within the safety and comfort of wherever you and your computer are. A Google map overlays the 1865 map of the Village of Potsdam today. You can click back and forth. “Pins” dot the 1865 map. Each marks the spot where a story is told. The stories can be about a location, an event, or a person. All stories are welcome. See instructions on the site to add a pin/story," an announcement of the project reads.