Innovative cemetery mapping that will help you find gravesites this weekend
Published at | Updated atRIGBY — Visiting an ancestor or veteran’s grave on Memorial Day is a family tradition for thousands of east Idahoans. In Jefferson County, new online cemetery mapping tools can speed up the process for those trying to find a gravesite this weekend.
“The benefit to the public is it helps them navigate to the grave quicker so you don’t have to spend all day looking through a cemetery to find somebody,” Eric Smith, global information systems consultant for Jefferson County, told EastIdahoNews.com.
Smith said modifications have been made to the online Jefferson County Cemetery Map since the county decided to host the information several months ago.
“We try to highlight the military vets in every cemetery by showing them in a different color (blue),” Smith said.
Scouts also use the GIS cemetery information to place flags next to the proper graves.
“Using this map will make it easier for these scouts to know where to put the flag,” Smith said.
Along with the color code update, Smith said they have added 8,000 new names to the system.
“There’s also a new function where a patron can come in and type an ancestors name,” Smith said. “It comes up with their record and if there’s any information that’s wrong, they have the option of providing a correction.
Smith hopes to incorporate cemetery information from other counties with GIS layouts, but needs help from cemetery administrators to do so.
“(We) need to expand this thing,” Smith said. “There’s mapping data in Madison, Teton, Fremont, Clark and Bonneville counties. All we need (are) partners to hook on to it and send us their records.”
Jefferson County gravesite information can be found by clicking here.