Storytelling Through Storymaps: A nineteenth century immigrant experience through the lens of CRM archaeologists

Nestled in farmland slated for development in Burlington, Ontario, is a site that tells a familiar story of nineteenth century immigration. Multiple families moved to Canada and set up roots in a rural community, building a new life for themselves and their descendants. Almost two hundred years later, a group of archaeologists began to uncover their histories. One of the core values of ASI is to disseminate the results of our work. In 2024 we decided to add a new tool to our outreach efforts by establishing a digital exhibit page on our website. Our pilot exhibit will feature this farmstead, rich in local heritage. This exhibit page is currently in production and in our presentation we will share our development process and the lessons we have learned while launching this new endeavour. Our goal is to use a highly visual storytelling approach that presents two interlocking narratives- the archaeologist’s experience and the story of the people who lived on the farm in the nineteenth century.