Q. How do I print a map?
A. Please refer to our How To Print from CRGIS Guide (PDF, 600 KB).
Q. Can I save the National Register nomination form and photographs?
A. Yes, click on the square computer disk icon on the upper left corner of the Adobe Reader toolbar. From there, you can save the file to any directory on your computer.
Q. Can I print the National Register nomination form and photographs?
A. Yes, either pull down the file menu on the upper left corner of your toolbar and select "Print" or click on the printer icon on the upper left of the Adobe reader toolbar and a print menu will appear.
Q. How does the buffer zone work?
A. Use the Spatial Search tools on the left side of the map. Select a spatial query shape (polygon, point, or line) and a unit of measure (meters, feet, or miles) and enter the number of units in the textbox on the left. Then hit Go and draw you area. The Spatial Summary window will open showing the data for the entire buffered area and an orange polygon that includes your drawn area and its buffer will appear on the map. The search results will include all of the unmapped resources and historic survey reports within any municipality touched by your buffer and a summary of the archaeoligical sites in any watersheds touched.
Q. Why am I having difficulty exporting a results table from AskReGIS?
A. Check your Internet Explorer security settings. Make sure that both the "Automatic promting for file downloads" and "File download" are enabled.
Q. Why are some properties displayed multiple times in the search results?
A. In some circumstances a recorded property exists in more than a single county or municipality or has more than one historic name. On the results page each property is listed along with the county and municipality in which it is located and its historic name. So a property may be displayed multiple times - once for each county/municipality in which it occurs by each name that is recorded. Look at the "Key #" and "Inventory ID" fields to determine which are seperate resources.
Q. What does it mean when my spatial search includes "Unmapped Historic Sites"?
A. Duriing a spatial serach, CRGIS not only looks at the spatial data to tell you what is within your polygon, it searches the database for records that match your locational criteria. "Unmapped Historic Sites" include all historic resources that are listed in the database as being within the township(s) as the selected area, but for which we do not have map locations. You can view more data about a specific resource by clicking on it. Project planners may want to be aware that some of these resources may also be within your project.
Q. What are “Aggregate Files”?
A. We are in the process of mapping historic railroad lines in the CRGIS. Users will notice long linear resources on the maps that may overlap shorter segments. In the AskReGIS database search, you may see the same keynumber for many entries in different counties and/or municipalities. When you view the details for these features, their historic name will include the words “Aggregate File.”
The Aggregate Files are intended to help file/database users better understand the history and significance of individual railroad lines. They do not represent historic resource surveys and we do not have paper files for these Aggregate File keynumbers. They are digital files that were created as a means of bringing together, and displaying in the CRGIS, any previously surveyed components of a particular railroad line, noted in the details report as “Associated Resources.” The historic paths of the lines are also mapped in the CRGIS, and a listing of each county and municipality that the rail line traveled through is provided. This will allow surveyors to quickly identify any previously surveyed resources in our files that are related to rail properties they are researching. Brief railroad histories, lineage files, have also been created from various sources, and will appear as a .pdf document within the CRGIS Aggregate File report display to further assist the user.
Q. How do I reference the CRGIS for research?
A. Use the following format. Change the date with date accessed:
Cultural Resources Geographic Information System. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission and Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. 17 September 2008. <http://crgis.state.pa.us>.
Q. What does the Resource Category classification mean? Is there a difference between a building and a site?
A. The National Register requires that each property is classified as a specific resource type. These types include Buildings, Sites, Structures, Objects and Districts. For definitions and examples of these resource types please click here to view the National Register Bulletin - How to Apply the National Register Criteria for Evaluation
Q. Who do I contact for further assistance?
A. You may email the CRGIS section at ra-crgis@pa.gov.
PREVIOUS UPDATE DESCRIPTIONS
New Separate layers and searches for linear resources (June 10, 2010):
“Linear resources” are defined as long thin historic properties that cross multiple municipalities. They include such resources as roads, railroads (including aggregate files), canals, and trails. Because they can be very long, the presence of one of these in a map request previously forced the map to build to the full extent of the linear resource, often making it difficult to see the area originally requested. These resources now have a separate mapping capability. It continues to be thematic by National Register eligibility, with a separate color to denote the aggregate files. Since these are considered historic resources, they should be visible whenever the historic resource layer is turned on, but they can be toggled off and on independently within the legend.
There is a separate search of Linear Resources in AskReGIS. Using this search, you can find and map the entire extent of a linear resource. They will also be listed within the results for the original historic resources, too, but will only show the records for the selected municipality, not every municipality that the linear resource crosses.
The mapping selections in AskReGIS have also changed to accommodate this addition. You can now “Map selected” or “Map all non-linear” (in place of the old “Map all found”). Using the “Map all non-linear” will produce a map extent that is defined by the other historic resource locations, with the exception of the linear resources. However, the portion of any linear resource within that extent will be visible on the map.
There is also a new details report for Linear Resources. The “Quick View” shows a limited set of data that is usually pertinent to a linear resource. The “All Data” continues to show all of the fields represented in the full historic resource report.
New Separate layers and searches for local districts (June 10, 2010):
Local Districts Certified under the Historic District Act of 1961 are districts that are created under municipal ordinances. The Historic District Act (HDA) boundaries are frequently similar in location to historic districts defined under the National Register Criteria, but often have separate boundaries and inventories. These resources now have a separate mapping capability. Since HDAs are considered historic resources, they should be visible whenever the historic resource layer is turned on, but they can now be toggled off and on independently within the legend.
There is a separate search for Historic District Act Properties in AskReGIS. Using this search, you can find and map the HDAs. They will also be listed within the results for the original historic resources, too.
There is also a new details report for HDAs. The “Quick View” shows a limited set of data that is usually pertinent to an HDA. The “All Data” continues to show all of the fields represented in the full historic resource report.
COMING SOON!!! An ongoing effort is being undertaken to scan all HDA paper file contents into PDF documents. Once the scanning is complete, the documentation related to the certification of each local district under the Historic District Act will be available as an attachment to each HDA record in the CRGIS.
New Archaeological thematic maps (June 10, 2010):
Archaeological sites have been separated based on the broad range of chronological components recorded for each site. Although all sites will always be visible, they have been color coded to indicate whether the materials present represent pre-or post- European contact (Prehistoric and Historic) occupation or both.
In addition, we have added the possibility to map isolated finds. We maintain records on diagnostic artifacts that were reported from places that do not meet our definitions of sites, but these locations have not previously been data entered or mapped in the GIS. We will be adding the data over the next several months.
New spatial search features (3/30/2010):
Buffer Zones: You can now add a buffer zone to your spatial search parameters. In addition to selecting your spatial query shape, you can select a unit of measure (meters, feet, or miles) and enter the number of units in the textbox on the left. Then hit Go and draw you area. The Spatial Summary window will open showing the data for the entire buffered area and an orange polygon that includes your drawn area and its buffer will appear on the map. The search results will include all of the unmapped resources and historic survey reports within any municipality touched by your buffer.
You can still search without using a buffer zone, too. Either way, you will see another new feature: the polygon that results from your spatial search will stay on the map until you make another search or create a new map. You can also export or print the map showing the searched area. See our Printing with CRGIS tutorial for details.
Another new feature is the expanded print form. If you use the print button at the top of the map window after doing a spatial search, the resulting document will include the tabular data from the search as well as the map of the selected polygon. (Since the printable map uses solid colors in the polygons, features within the search area will not be visible, so be sure you zoom out to a level that allows you to identify where your project is located.)
If you just want the tabular data without the map, there is now an export button on the Spatial Summary window. Caution: Keynumber, the unique identifier in the historic resource tables, should be a 6 character text field and keynumbers may begin with 0s. If you open the resulting tables in Excel, it will drop the leading zeros. If you will be loading the data into a table that needs to have true keynumbers, you can retain these leading 0s by saving the file as a CSV and opening it in Notepad.
New Historic Resource Survey Report Database (3/30/2010)
We have now populated the fourth set of cultural resource tables – those that relate to reports of surveys for historic above-ground resources. These reports often cover entire municipalities or even counties, so we have chosen not to map them. They are searchable in AskReGIS by location (WHERE) and several other fields (WHAT ELSE). They also appear on the spatial search results summary. This spatial search will return listings for any reports that were done in the municipality that includes your search parameters. They do not necessarily include the actual search area.
There are two main sources of these reports: environmental review projects and planning surveys. Multiple property nominations and context studies are also included in the database. The detail report was designed to capture different information for each of these types, so many records will appear to have missing data. An empty data field usually means that the particular field did not apply to the report you are viewing. The report numbers will help you identify which type of report you are viewing. The first 4 numbers are the (federal fiscal) year the project was initiated. If the second set is all numbers, it is part of an environmental review project. If this set begins with an “H” it is from a planning survey. If it begins with an “M” it is a multiple property nomination. The next three numbers are the county code. If a final set of letters is present, it indicates the submission within the project.
This is our newest dataset and more data is being added continually. In the future, we will be linking abstracts to these reports. Paper copies of these reports included in this database are available for viewing in our Harrisburg office.
