Historic Lebanon Ohio
HistoricLebanonOhio.com began in September 2008 as an loose idea for my master&rswuo;s project and went live nine months later.
While studying multimedia at Ohio University, I wanted to create an online product that would fulfill my degree requirements and also serve a larger purpose. I decided to combine my passions for Lebanon history and graphic design, and set off to create the Web site.
HistoricLebanonOhio was built using the content management system Drupal, and incorporates HTML, CSS, PHP, Flash and a hand-drawn animation (right) given life in Apple's Motion 3.
The site receives 200 unique visitors each month, who spend an average of five minutes on the site. A Facebook page has generated enthusiasm for the project, with 1,000 fans and counting.
The heart of HistoricLebanonOhio.com is the interactive timeline, built in Flash using external ActionScript files and pulling data from an XML file. Key dates in Lebanon’s history are linked to their corresponding articles and family histories to offer more information.
The homepage features rotating trivia about Lebanon’s notable citizens, such as former governor and senator Thomas Corwin.
Articles recap notable events in Lebanon’s history, including Charles Dickens’ regretful visit to The Golden Lamb, Ohio’s oldest inn.
What makes this site special is its ability to grow through contributions from readers who might want to add their family history.