M·CAM Chief Technology Officer’s unstructured data project focuses on historical markers

Date:  Sun, 2008-01-13

Marked for History

A man tracks Va.’s past, one highway marker at a time

In the past four years, Watson has traveled thousands of miles to record the exact location of most of the more than 2,100 highway historical markers in Virginia.

He has hunted down a little more than 1,300 markers so far, and he has had a great time doing it, too.

“It’s a side job that’s been a lot of fun,” said the 30-year-old computer expert, freelance photographer and history buff from Charlottesville. “I’ve used this to see a lot of great places in Virginia.”

…Watson started his marker mission as part of a research project while getting his MBA at George Mason University.

…Watson, who works full time as the chief technical officer for M·CAM, an intellectual property risk assessment business in Charlottesville, figures he’s now been to almost every county in Virginia from the far southwest tip to the state’s Eastern Shore.

For the full Richmond Times Dispatch article, see: Marked for History