This project came about because of my desire to help people take an active approach to learning history by showing them how to take a closer look at those people, places and things around them. I believe most people are interested in history when it relates to something they can connect with, feel strongly about, and believe in. By first helping people uncover the value of history in the topics they can relate to locally, they can then see how those discoveries interrelate with other events within the state, regional, or national context.

The other purpose of this website is to show how history can be approached and presented in interesting and creative ways. Too often history is impersonal; meaningful connections are minimal between the historical presentation and the average reader/viewer. As more historical documentaries, historical websites, and engaging exhibits are developed I believe people are viewing history with more enthusiasm, in large part because of the visual nature and the narrative quality of these presentations. I hope that this site, as well as links to other quality historical websites, will serve as an example of how history can be explored and creatively presented.

Developed as my Master's thesis, this website brings together my skills as a former graphic designer with an historical article I wrote several years ago (“‘Good Baptist Weather’: Boulder County and the Flood of 1894.” Colorado Heritage Autumn (2001): 29-40). I did not want to develop the story of the 1894 flood in Boulder County, Colorado purely as an online exhibit because I felt that the story could be used as a teaching tool demonstrating the process of researching history at the local level. While looking to see what types of informational websites about local history were online, I found a great deal of quality sites, but very few addressed the "how to" of researching a variety of topics and sources. Creative History's goal is to provide solid, reliable information and tools for those wanting to learn more about how to do historical research and to help open the door to the exciting realm of primary sources.