Visit A Virtual Town From A Century Ago



iStock_000002871624XSmallHave you ever wondered what it would be like to go back in time, and take a look at what life was like for your ancestors? If you have discovered ancestors who were alive around a hundred years ago you might be able to do just that. Visit a virtual Valparaiso, Indiana, from a century ago. Even if your ancestors didn’t happen to live in Valparaiso, you can still get a glimpse of what their day to day life may have looked like. There will be some similarities between the town they lived in at that time, and Valparaiso from the same time period.

Click Bug Studios is a computer company from northern Indiana. Together with the genealogy department of the Valparaiso Public Library, the Porter County Museum, and some local historians, they have been gathering information about what the town of Valparaiso was like around a century ago. They have incorporated images from old photos into the virtual Valparaiso website, and have replicated sounds that would be heard if you were walking into a shop, or down the street. They are working on adding a street corner newspaper boy, who will show you a copy of the news of that day, from 100 years ago.


While it is still a work in progress, you can “Click Back in Time” on the virtual Valparaiso website right now. Click on the image of an old fashioned sign, that says “Visit Valparaiso”. This brings you to a photo of one of the main streets, as you listen to an audio soundtrack that plays sounds of horses and buggies, a train, people’s voices, the sound of a Model T Ford driving past you, and more. It feels as though you have stepped into history. The image on the screen is interactive, and you can click on a building, to find out more about it. Click your way into a store, to see, and hear, what that would have been like. New things are still being added to this website, so you may want to check back again in a few days or weeks.


Visiting this town is a great way to learn more about the lives of your ancestors who were alive a century ago. You can gain new perspective on what their day to day life was like, how they may have dressed, and what their work day consisted of.

< Return To Blog Banai I have asked many of my great aunts and uncles quneoitss. I have been fortunate enough to get a lot of answers and good stories from them, but there are certainly quneoitss that they were unable to answer for one reason or the other. I've been lucky enough to find many people who were either friends of the family or neighbors who were able to fill in more gaps.But since I am the baby of my generation and my mom had me at 30, I was unable to have a relationship with many family members because by the time I came around they were either already gone, their memories were gone, they were sick so I wasn't allowed to visit often, or I just didn't have the idea to ask the quneoitss or write down what I heard.I did an interview in the 7th grade with my grandpa to discuss his service in the Korean War. The only things I wrote down were the answers that I needed to turn in my paper. It was one of the few times that I had a heart-felt conversation with my grandpa but I didn't listen to the extra stories that he told. I no longer have that paper and for the life of me I can't remember most of what he told me. I always wonder what would have been if only I had written everything down.
Serkan 10/01/11




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