Each structure is digitally documented using a laser scanner that emits infrared beams to capture a 3D model of the home. The images are uploaded to a database maintained by the National Park Service that researchers hope can be used by historians and schools to tell the story of sharecroppers, tenant farmers, and their ancestors.
“These dwellings were not meant to last 100 years. Part of the reason they still exist is because people lived there relatively recently. But that history has been underserved,” said Sreya Charkraborty, a research associate for the project. “There are stories rooted in these structures that deserve documentation.”