On February 27, 1919 a massive fire destroyed the original building of the Cortland Normal School. Standing between Church and Greenbush Streets in Cortland, New York, the school had trained teachers to serve students throughout the state since 1868. Most traces of the original building have been lost, and SUNY Cortland–the institution that evolved out of the Cortland Normal School–rebuilt its campus on a hill west of the city. To remember the original building and the fire that destroyed it, 15 students created 5 digital public history exhibits during the course “Introduction to Digital Humanities” in the spring 2018 semester at SUNY Cortland with Evan Faulkenbury. (links below).
1. Fire Inspires New Location for Cortland Normal School by Grace Staudt, Monique Walsh, & Zeke Johnson
2. The Curious Case of the Cortland 1919 Fire by Emily Hatch, Barbara Mackey, & Brianna Martin
3. The Dreaded Cortland Fire of 1919 by Megan Bender, Sarah DeLena, & Garrett Sweeney
4. The Cortland Normal School Fire, 1919 by Peter McKasty, Kara Smith, & JP Ospina
5. The Cortland Fire of 1919 by Grant Boyd, Sarah Feinman, & Amorie Green
Also, explore the site of the 1919 fire using Clio — a GPS-enabled mobile app that connects people to historic sites around them.