Student project tells the story of the Edwards Trace

Anna Sielaff
Anna Sielaff with Lincoln, Ms. History buff's mascot

Three thousand years ago, Native Americans and pioneers used a trail that stretched across Illinois from Kaskaskia in the south to Peoria in the north. These early travelers used the trail for hunting, trade, and war. Over time, with the development of cities and highways, the trail faded away, but a trace of what it used to be remains. MS/LIS student Anna Sielaff is bringing the history of the trail to life through her project, "Relive the True Mother Road: The Edwards Trace."

For the project, Sielaff created an interactive story map using the online geographic information system ESRI ArcGIS. Users can retrace the trail by visiting the towns it went through many years ago, similar to what has been done for Route 66. The story map includes photos, videos, maps, and other digital resources that help tell the story of the Edwards Trace.

"The purpose of this project is not only to preserve the history of the Edwards Trace, but also to encourage users to travel and become familiar with the history of Illinois as a whole," said Sielaff, who holds a BA in history from Concordia University Chicago. "Before Illinois became a state, the land played crucial roles in our nation's history, such as being involved in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. These battles took place on the Edwards Trace. There are portions of the trace that are still visible!"

One of the portions of the trace still visible is in Lincoln, Illinois, where Sielaff was born and raised. She first researched the Edwards Trace in the seventh grade for a history fair project. Her interest in the old trail continued over the years, and when it came time to work on a final project for her Museum Informatics (IS 426) course with Professor Michael Twidale, Sielaff knew that she wanted her topic to be the Edwards Trace. This past summer, she and her friend Sam Lechowicz (MS/LIS '21) retraced the whole trail. She started a travel blog called "Ms. History Buff" to blog her travels.

"The goal of my blog is to encourage users to travel, learn, and preserve history," she said. "What makes 'Ms. History Buff' different from most blogs is that it gives smaller communities a voice to tell their stories."

Sielaff credits the iSchool with not only providing her with the skills to use a variety of library databases and preservation procedures but also giving her confidence in her abilities. On October 6, she presented her interactive story map at the 24th Annual Illinois History Conference at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.

Sielaff's work on this project has inspired her to develop programs aimed at preserving and promoting historical information through community outreach. Following graduation, she would like to work as a museum educator and community engagement coordinator or museum curator.

"Taking Museum Informatics pushed me to step out of my comfort zone and to trust my abilities working with technologies," said Sielaff. "It's amazing to think that my prototype [of the Edwards Trace story map] is a functioning program now after two years of work!"

Updated on
Backto the news archive

Related News

iSchool undergraduates selected as 2025 Community Academic Scholars

The Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Institute (IHSI) has selected BSIS student Dhanvi Puttur and BSIS+DS student Lara Terpetschnig as 2025 Community-Academic Scholars. Representing nineteen majors and nine minors in eight colleges and schools at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and two additional universities, the eighteen scholars in this cohort encompass diverse fields of study, from community health to graphic design to statistics. 

BSIS+DS student Lara Terpetschnig and BSIS student Dhanvi Puttur

He receives Amazon Research Award to improve monitoring of Earth’s ecosystem

A new project led by Professor Jingrui He aims to help scientists monitor disruptions to the Earth’s ecosystem, such as climate change. She recently received support for her work through an Amazon Research Award, which includes $60,000 in cash and an additional $40,000 in Amazon Web Services (AWS) credits.

Jingrui He

Guan successfully defends dissertation

Doctoral candidate Yingjun Guan successfully defended his dissertation, "Disambiguating Academic Institution Names: A Comprehensive Study of Authority Files, Linguistic Variations, and Computational Evaluation in PubMed Affiliations," on April 28. 

Yingjun Guan

Scholarship provides validation, motivation for Martinez

BSIS+DS student Fabian Martinez chose his major because he wanted to learn how to help people understand and interpret data and information. While his immediate plans include finding a job in data analytics, business analytics, consulting, or product management, his ultimate goal is "to create meaningful relationships and help make a meaningful impact in the world" in whatever way he can.

Fabian Martinez graduation

Spectrum Scholar Spotlight: Guadalupe Castillo

Twelve iSchool master's students were named 2024–2025 Spectrum Scholars by the American Library Association (ALA) Office for Diversity, Literacy, and Outreach Services. This "Spectrum Scholar Spotlight" series highlights the School's scholars. MSLIS student Guadalupe Castillo earned her BA in international studies and Spanish and Latin American literature from the University of California, San Diego.

Guadalupe Castillo