The project website is now under construction and Kerrin and I are now working on building the website. Our plan is to divide the website into roughly four parts as of this point in time, and this is subject to change as we complete the project. The four categories are this.

  1. What came before the Finns? Newport, New Hampshire was not always a Finnish town. Like all towns and regions in what would later become the United States, the Newport area was once home to a Native American tribe, in this case the Sunapee. They left the region when white settlers came in and many died from European diseases. Newport, NH itself was chartered in  1761 and this is when white settlers and colonists first started to move into the region. This section will cover up until the first arrival of the Finns.
  2.   The Arrival of the Finns:  This part of the project will cover the early arrival of the Finns up until the 1940’s. This is when the Finns became a dominant immigrant group in Newport. This part of the project will also explain why these Finns didn’t settle in a place like Manchester, a bigger city with more potential from job. Naturally not all of the Finns that arrived in the United States went to Newport or even New Hampshire, but this part will explain at least why Newport was an attractive town for the Finns to live in and settle.
  3. The Culture of the Finns: This part of the project  will explain what the day to day life of the Finns. Work life, home life, boarding houses, religion, the Finn Halls, and anything else Kerrin and I can find on daily life for the Finns in Newport.
  4. Lesson plans: This was Kerrin’s idea. Basically what she was asking how can we translate this information to make it useful beyond this semester? So why not make a lesson plan to explain how to teach this information for teachers? It could also be useful to do a lesson (s) on a school’s own local community and how it came to be.