Aaron Kidwell — a geographic information systems analyst for Facilities Information and Technology Services — or FITS — has created an interactive map of Ohio State’s campus dating back to 1870. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Lantern File Photo
Ohio State community members can now travel back in time through a virtual map, from the university’s founding in 1870 to the construction of the ‘Shoe in 1922 and beyond.
Aaron Kidwell — a senior geographic information systems analyst for Facilities Information and Technology Services — has spent five years combing through countless archival documents to create an interactive timeline and map of Ohio State, starting from when it was first established and advancing to the present day.
“We have a great history here on campus, and I just wanted to bring it to life,” Kidwell said.
Published near the end of 2024, the map is accompanied by a timeline — which viewers can scroll through to see the area’s evolution — featuring the history of almost every physical structure, street and sidewalk of Ohio State’s main campus, Kidwell said.
When selecting a landmark on the map, viewers can see an extensive description of its history, including archived photos, alternate names, building sketches and any additional build-ons.
“It’s a great tool for historians and for anybody who’s interested in the history of the university,” Kidwell said.
Joe Porostosky, director of FITS, said Kidwell is incredibly passionate about Ohio State, its history and — most importantly — getting the data correct.
“He’s provided this historical document that now any of us can use to understand the history of Ohio State, and he’s really passionate about that and making it accessible to all of us,” Porostosky said.
As a geographic information systems analyst, Kidwell said he frequently reads the John H. Herrick Archives, a comprehensive list of every campus building to ever exist at the university.
Herrick was the campus planner from 1948 to 1956. After retiring, he began researching and compiling binders full of fact sheets about the history of campus buildings, Kevlin Haire, assistant university archivist, said in an email.
After realizing how difficult the archives could be to access for the general public, Kidwell said he wanted to create an easier way for people to learn about the former planner’s work.
“[The archives] were all stuck in those manuals for nobody to see,” Kidwell said. “I wanted to create the data digitally so that people could dive into it a little easier than trying to look through the manuals.”
Kidwell said he expanded his search to include other resources, such as old campus maps, Columbus Dispatch archives, aerial imagery and Makio — the former university yearbook — to find more specific details such as street composition or rail lines and how they evolved.
Even after the map was published, Kidwell said he considered the project to be only 95% complete. In addition to updating the map as the main campus continues to change, he said he is always trying to find new sources that can help create a more accurate depiction of what Ohio State looked like in the past.
“I’m still finding things that I’m able to say, ‘OK, I missed this by like five years,’” Kidwell said.
The project’s development, however, hasn’t always been easy. Though Kidwell was able to collect the necessary data, his geographic information systems services team did not have the technologies needed to create an easily readable and accessible map, Porostosky said.
“It wasn’t even until the last year or two that we actually kind of figured out some of the technological pieces to make it really available to the public,” Porostosky said. “It should actually be a fun experience to go through the last 100-plus years of Ohio State history and explore, and not have any technical hurdles to do that.”
Additionally, there is no aerial imagery of the university before 1953, Kidwell said. This meant Kidwell had to analyze and dissect 83 years’ worth of materials — like maps, construction drawings and articles from The Lantern — to generate his own overhead image.
Kidwell said his next plan is to create similar maps and timelines for Ohio State’s regional campuses.
“They’re part of the university too,” Kidwell said. “They have a history.”
