A local history exhibition uses historic data to paint a picture of life in
Tompkins County in the mid 20th century

After a 72-year restriction period on access, the U.S. National Archives released the 1950
individual-level census records in April, containing information on households across the United
States. In conjunction with the release of the records, The History Center in Tompkins County
opened its latest exhibit titled reCOUNT: Facing our Census.

Housed in the Exhibit Hall of The History Center in Tompkins County, reCOUNT: Facing our
Census consists of six interactive exhibits, that strive to share the personal narratives of those
who may have been excluded from the census due to insufficient categorization of race or
occupation, such as the Tang family, who ran the Asiatic Garden, a popular social space for
many generations in Tompkins County.

“We’re trying to see both what the census includes, who is counted, how they are counted, and
who is neglected because their category doesn’t exist. That is where the name ‘reCOUNT:
Facing our Census’ really comes from,” said Zoë Van Nostrand, Marketing and Visitor
Experience Director at The History Center. “We know that the census is this phenomenal amount
of numbers, but we also know that it doesn’t capture everything.”

The exhibit also features a visual representation of facing the census: a wall with various years of
Tompkins County census data hanging floor to ceiling. Van Nostrand said this was important in
humanizing the former residents of Tompkins County.

“These are the names, these are the people who walked the same streets as we did,” she said.
Axel Mitchell, an architectural studies student at Ithaca College, initially attended reCOUNT to
learn more about historic building data. But, said that ultimately, the humanity of the exhibition
became his favorite part.

“I loved seeing all the different people and their professions,” said Mitchell. “It’s fascinating to
see how much history is held within Ithaca.”

Forged in History

When examining the census data that would eventually feature in reCOUNT, the team at the
History Center used History Forge, a volunteer-run digital web platform that merges historic
building records, maps and census records, allowing individuals to search for an address, see
pictures of that building from the past and examine the correlating census data.

Curators flagged data they found interesting, or data that left them with questions to be
answered.

“We were interested in highlighting the difficulties the census has had in recognizing and
categorizing diversity and cultural ethnicity and origin,” said Van Nostrand.
The team then turned to their archival collections, pulling out artifacts and information to be
featured in the exhibit. Each display tells a human story about the census, highlighting that there
is more to an individual than a name and occupation recorded on paper.

A Face to the Data

History Forge played a large role in helping create the section of the exhibit which focuses on the
Tang family. Using History Forge, The History Center confirmed that the Tangs were one of the
earliest multigenerational Chinese families that immigrated to Tompkins County.

Staff were also able to use History Forge to confirm that the Tangs, their business partner and
one of their employees were the only Asian residents in the 1940 Tompkins County census to be
recorded as having an official occupation.

The collection on the Tang family is The History Center’s first large-scale display on an Asian
family within Tompkins County.

“That one felt particularly powerful to me,” said Van Nostrand. “It was filling in a narrative that
didn’t exist before. We were able to give face to people who had been excluded through the
records of Tompkins County.”

reCOUNT: Facing our Census will be on display through December 2022. To learn more about
History Forge, including volunteer opportunities, visit https://www.historyforge.net/.