UPDATE: See a comment at the end of the story saying the name is a coincidence.
The New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources has launched a new online tool for historic records research called Enhanced Mapping and Management Information Tool or EMMIT.
It provides more than 16,000 documents on file at the NHDHR related to the state’s historic and archaeological resources, available as downloadable PDFs. They include National Register and State Register of Historic Places nominations, historic districts, individual inventory surveys, project area forms and more. Archaeological site forms and survey reports are also available, but with limited access due to the sensitive nature of archaeological sites.
Neat stuff – but I wonder if there’s a subtle town-and-gown joke hidden in that name. This question arose because of this tweet from Roger Carroll, a long-time New Hampshire journalist who is now managing editor of the Laconia Daily Sun,
Several Dartmouth grads substantiated this via twitter, saying that the term “Emmit” was (still is? I’m not sure) used both to refer to locals as well as Dartmouth students who come from New Hampshire. They said Granite Staters at Dartmouth sometimes adopt it as a sort of reverse badge of honor and the question is whether some Upper Valley locals or Dartmouth grads in the state Division of Historical Resources did the same thing with this acronym.
New Hampshire has a complex relationship with Dartmouth College. We’re proud of it and glad that it’s here, of course, but there’s some resentment from the impression that Dartmouth thinks it exists in a separate, superior world. This is the classic “town and gown” separation which exists around most colleges, exacerbated by Dartmouth’s Ivy League status.
Having said all that, I would guess that the EMMIT name is a coincidence. But it’s fun to think about.
Return to the Concord Monitor
The choice of the acronym EMMIT is entirely unrelated to the slang term used at Dartmouth. I base this on the fact that:
A. for over 30 years I was an employee at the NHDHR, serving as State Archaeologist and Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer, and a colleague of the individual who is the prime mover of EMMITT; and
B. A native of Lebanon, NH which I have often described as being 5 miles and a million light years away from Dartmouth. I am of a certain age (I recall the local sport of beanie snatching) and go back to the time when the term was applied to the locals, usually not in a friendly manner (probably because of that beanie snatching).
EMMIT was chosen, in part, in fond remembrance of the prime mover’s pet dog who was often in attendance at the office and was beloved by all.
Okay, so, the obvious question is, why the term “Emmit” at Dartmouth? Is it just a random name someone thought sounded “hayseed” enough to convey a sense of superiority over the locals, or was it derived from something else?
Good question. None of the folks I talked to knew where it came from.
TO Richard Boisvert
Yes, I see a dog is included in the EMMIT logo. I thought maybe Emmit is a retriever? So does Emmit find for you the data in your selected area?
Who is the prime mover of Emmit who had the dog?
Hi, EMMIT logo has a tiny dog in the middle of it, and I think the dog is a retriever.
yes, as a Dartmouth grad native New Hampshire folks were known as Emmits. Native Vermont folks were known as Newts. I thought that maybe had some historical foundation, but I cannot find any real source of this. So maybe just campus lore?