HistoryLink is an online encyclopedia of
Washington state
Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a U.S. state, state in the Northwestern United States, Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first President of the United States, U.S. p ...
history. The site has more than 8,100 entries and attracts 5,000 daily visitors.
It has 500 biographies and more than 14,000 images.
The non-profit historical organization History Ink produces HistoryLink.org, stating that it is the nation's first online encyclopedia of local and state history created expressly for the Internet.
Walt Crowley was the founding president and executive director.
Foundation
In 1997, Crowley discussed preparing a Seattle-
King County
King County is located in the U.S. state of Washington. The population was 2,269,675 in the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Washington, and the 13th-most populous in the United States. The county seat is Seattle, also the st ...
historical encyclopedia for the 2001 sesquicentennial of the
Denny Party. His wife Marie McCaffrey suggested publishing the encyclopedia on the Internet.
They and
Paul Dorpat incorporated
History Ink on November 10, 1997, with seed money from
Priscilla "Patsy" Collins, by birth a member of Seattle's wealthy and prominent Bullitt family.
The prototype of HistoryLink.org debuted on May 1, 1998, and attracted additional funding for a formal launch in 1999. The website was noted for its coverage of the
1999 WTO protests in Downtown Seattle, maintaining a live
webcam
A webcam is a video camera which is designed to record or stream to a computer or computer network. They are primarily used in videotelephony, livestreaming and social media, and security. Webcams can be built-in computer hardware or peripher ...
feed pointed at the intersection of 4th Avenue and Pike Street.
In 2003 HistoryLink.org expanded its content to cover
Washington state
Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a U.S. state, state in the Northwestern United States, Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first President of the United States, U.S. p ...
history. Meanwhile, History Ink continues, focusing on the production of history books.
Awards
Crowley and HistoryLink.org have won many awards, including
* The
Pacific Northwest Historians Guild's 2007 History Award
* The Washington State Historic Preservation Office's award for media in 2001
* The Association of King County Historical Organizations award for best long-term project (2000)
References
External links
*{{Official website, http://www.historylink.org
History Link video
American online encyclopedias
History of Washington (state)
Internet properties established in 1998
Creative Commons-licensed websites