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Project to digitize Canada's 1812 artifacts

Sarah Maloney has a passion for history.

You can hear it in hear voice and see it in her eyes as she talks about the project she's been working on for the past several months.

The Port Colborne resident, who has a master's degree in history from the University of Western Ontario, was one of two people hired to by Brock University to carry out its 1812 Online Digitization Project.

"It's exciting because I got to see, handle and examine all of Niagara's hidden 1812 gems.

Niagara is rich in 1812 history, a lot happened in the area," the 24-year-old Maloney says.

"A good portion of what museums have is in storage. This project allows people to see everything there is to see. There's nothing hidden away."

"It brings the War of 1812 to life."

In the work carried out, Maloney and the other assistant on the project took more than 20,000 photos of artifacts and documents from RiverBrink Art Museum, Grimsby Museum, Jordan Historical Museum, Port Colborne Historical and Marine Museum, Niagara Historical Society and Museum and Niagara Falls museums, which includes Lundy's Lane Historical Museum.

One thousand items revolving around the war will eventually be online at www.1812history.comand ourontario.caas well. More than 800 items can be seen on those websites now and the project wraps up at the end of the month....
Read entire article at Welland Tribune (Canada)