This lil old Museum is probably the highest tech one in the West. Not only does it have its own Web Site on the Internet, with pictures, biographies, maps, stories, but it also has ORAL history ONLINE from old timers, and narrated STORIES that anyone in the world on the Internet with speakers on their computer can listen to from afar. And we are putting animated history online, where buildings change before your very eyes from log cabins to Victorian brick - according to the calend ar time you are interested in. And, using Cam digital Video technology we are displaying the visual contents of the History Center to the world, via the Web! Finally, there is advanced web based public free bulletin-board, and e-mail capabilities on the system.

But what really sets the Technology of our History Center apart, is that it is connected, not by US West telephone wires and corresponding costs for digital services, but by free, very fast and secure SPREAD-SPECTRUM WIRELESS communications.

For the Old Colorado City Historical Society is the recipient of a National Science Foundation technology grant to develop and demonstrate Local History by Wireless. Which means that the Web Server at the History Center, owned and operated by Society volunteers, is linked to the nearest Internet Point of Presence (Old Colorado City Communications, which is generously donating bandwidth) by a pair of Wi-Lan Radios operating at over 1Mbps (nearly T-1)! So anyone coming into the Center's NT Computer Web server is going the 'last mile' through fre e airwaves using very advanced, and very fast radio technology - spread spectrum, processor controlled, digital radio in the 902-928Mhz FCC Part 15 bands.

Thanks to the Society's Technology Committee - Dave Hughes, Sara Mock, Mid Kolstad, Dave Wolverton, Paul Idleman, and LaDonna Gunn, the Web site itself is a model of serious historical research, elegant presentation, professional web site coding, powerful server base (NT 4.0) which can set a standard for great history resources consistent with interesting presentation with world wide distribution via modern computer and telecommunications technologies at affordable, in fact, very low, costs.

Benefactors beyond the furnishing of the Computer Room by the Society, include the National Science Foundation ($20,000, which includes the services of a Research Assistant for several months), Dave Hughes ($10,000 worth of computing, scanning, printing, communicating equipment and software), the Old Colorado City Communications Company (donating $7,200 worth of Internet bandwidth over 2 years) and other donors of miscellaneous software, hardware, and books. And hundreds of hours of professional volunteer technological services and time.

Just point your web browser at history.oldcolo.com, or come visit the center and use the public PC terminal for now. Then come back periodically for announcements of new features, and enjoy the incredible history of Old Colorado City, the spunkiest little town in the West via the latest technology known to man!

e-mail: history@oldcolo.com