My research that led to the creation of overlapping timelines involved looking at primary source material from the Buildings and Grounds Collection in the Archives and Special Collections of visual data such as etchings, sketches, and photographs (post 1850). Conducting meticulous visual analysis on these materials gave a clear sense of Amherst’s early aesthetic. However, there were distinct changes in styles at particular periods within the first forty years of material I was studying from 1821 to 1861, and this drove my research to focusing on why these changes took place, and for what purpose?
I then created a google spreadsheet that is compatible with Timeline JS.