Aug. 6, 2014:  More than 18,000 records going back over 300 years stored in the Westchester County Archives (WCA) are now available online to citizens of Westchester and beyond.

Tens of thousands of easily searchable maps, photos, deeds and other records--some dating all the way back to 1683--are available for viewing at www.westchestergov.com/digitalcollections. You can also follow @WCArchivesNY on Twitter for an assortment of fun and interesting historical updates.

"By digitizing more than 18,000 of our historic records, Westchester County continues to utilize technology to improve efficiency and help share information instantly with the general public," said County Executive Robert P. Astorino. "I want to thank all of the volunteers who have helped to make our digital archives such a success. And more is still to come."

Launched in 2011, the WCA Digital Collections now includes 15 online collections--collections that researchers used to have to access by visiting the archives' reading room in person. Three more collections are scheduled to be launched later this year. The collections represent more than 18,000 online images--maps, photographs, and documents--dating from the late 1700s through the early 21st century.

The WCA's mission is twofold: to collect and preserve county public records and to make them available to researchers. Sometimes the second mandate--providing access--conflicts with the first--preservation--when fragile paper records or bound volumes are used repeatedly by researchers. Every instance of handling risks further deterioration of delicate records until they are unusable by anyone.

"We never want to have to close a collection because the records are too fragile to handle," said Cindy Sauer, WCA's principal archivist. "That's the equivalent of shutting off the flow of history." Digitizing historical records serves both missions of access and preservation.

In all, 19 volunteers and student interns have logged approximately 2,500 hours scanning and cataloguing Digital Collections materials, and the numbers keep growing weekly.

"The Volunteers in Archives program is an excellent example of how county departments can partner with members of the community to achieve major advances in their programs while still working within budgetary constraints," Astorino said.

They've helped out in all aspects of creating the Digital Collections--from scanning the materials to creating the index records. "We couldn't have achieved the tremendous growth that we have in the Digital Collections without the work of the dedicated members of our Volunteers in Archives program," said Assistant Archivist Courtney Fallon.

Joining the collections of Playland and Parks Department photographs that launched the Digital Collections in 2011, a few of the more recent varied and fascinating collections of documents, maps, and images to be discovered on the Digital Collections, available at www.westchestergov.com/digitalcollections, include:

Bronx Parkway Commission Photograph Albums

These 22 photographic albums document existing conditions along the Bronx River before construction of the Bronx River Parkway in the nineteen-teens and early nineteen-twenties. Some of the images in the albums are specifically identified as "before" and "after" photographs of particular locations, showing the tremendous efforts made to clean up the Bronx River in the early part of the 20th century.

1881 Atlas of Westchester County

Created by George W. Bromley and Walter S. Bromley in 1881, this is the earliest atlas available in the WCA Digital Collections. This atlas documents geographical features and landmarks and identifies places of business and individual property owners. There is an additional Bromley & Bromley atlas dated 1901 and a 1929-1931 atlas from the G.M. Hopkins Company also digitally available.

Playland Postcard Collection

A collection of 23 souvenir postcards from Playland. Some show images or illustrations of Playland's music tower, picnic grove, kiddyland, beach, and pool; others are generic postcards with humorous cartoons or cute animals.

The Commissioners of Forfeiture Proceedings, 1784-1786

The commission sold lands seized from Loyalists during the American Revolution. In Westchester County, this land primarily belonged to Frederick Philipse and his Philipsburg Manor. Entries include the buyer's name, the amount paid, and the property boundaries.

Veterans WPA Cemetery Records, Revolution to World War I

Discover the biographical and service information for Revolutionary War through World War I veterans, arranged alphabetically by last name, who are buried in cemeteries located in Westchester County. These unique records contain information such as residence, date of birth and death, and enlistment and service information.

Atlas of County Owned Lands

This atlas was created by the Westchester County Planning Department in the late 1950s to help identify county-owned land. It provides a historical perspective of county land-owning activity as some lands included have since been sold just as other lands have been added. The first half of the atlas, divided into major towns, contains a summary of the lands and a corresponding map for each town or city. The second half contains material specific to parkways, grasslands, the Westchester County Airport, golf courses, Westchester Community College, and county-owned buildings.

Three forthcoming collections to be launched later this year are:

County Executive State of the County Addresses, 1940-present

These annual messages of the state of the county date back to Westchester's first county executive, William Bleakley, and his report on the first full year of his administration. The wide-ranging subjects covered in the address can be a laundry list of the annual happenings in the county government or can touch on topics unique to a moment in time, such as the discussions of wartime preparations and civil defense in the annual messages made during the Second World War.

Bronx River Parkway Commission Photograph Collection, 1913-1922

The official photographic record of America's first public parkway along the Bronx River includes images that show the condition of the river and life along its banks before and after the construction of the Bronx River Parkway, views of buildings moved or destroyed during construction, and images of daily construction activity.

Westchester County Parks Commission Annual Reports, 1923-1932

The Westchester County Parks Commission was created in 1922 by the Westchester County Board of Supervisors to "provide for the location, creation, acquisition and improvement of parks, parkways and boulevards in and by the County of Westchester." These annual reports were the earliest submitted by the Parks Commission to the Board of Supervisors and provide detailed accounts of the initial development and maintenance of the county's park system. The reports include statistics, photographs, and future plans for the county's parks and parkways.

Pictured here: Map of the Town of Eastchester from the Westchester County Department of Planning.

Photo courtesy Paul Gisondo, GISP, Associate Planner, Westchester County Department of Planning