[Yesterday run: 5 miles, today rest]
We recently discovered that the bridge we cross on our Shaeffer’s Chapel route is on the National Register of Historic Places. I’m not sure exactly why it garners that notability.
I looked on Wikipedia and discovered a list of bridges in Mississippi on the NRHP. This particular bridge was on the list but had no other information. So I decided to try to find more info and make a Wikipedia page for it.
I ran into some trouble. Wikipedia has some policies that I consider kind of strange. They say that something needs to have other stuff written about it, newspaper articles, magazine articles, professional journals, books, etc. in order to be important enough to deserve a Wikipedia page.
I did a search and I’ve found two newspaper articles that tangentially mention that bridge. I also have the NRHP application info.
My fledgling article on Wikipedia was rejected.
The only other possible source that I’ve discovered is the minutes of the Lowndes County Supervisors who, in 1983, entered an “agreement” with somebody, maybe the state historical folks, to preserve this particular bridge. But I don’t think that would count for the Wikipedia references necessary. So I am probably not going to get very far.
It is frustrating to me because I don’t understand why something so uncontroversial should require a bunch of documentation just to prove that it exists. And I don’t understand why an electronic encyclopedia should care about some minimum level of notability.
But so it is.