"Through the Internet, the world is getting a lot smaller all the time."--Breck Parkman, Director, Fort Ross Global Village project FORT ROSS, CALIFORNIA -- The Russians were here. In 1812, the Russian-American Company established a settlement on the coast of today's Sonoma County. The settlers came to hunt sea otter, to grow crops for Russian outposts in Alaska, and to trade with Spanish California. The Russians established Fort Ross, and together with Native Alaskans and Native Americans, they built a thriving hunting, farming, and shipbuilding colony. Fort Ross operated until the late 1830s, when the Russians sold the land to John Sutter of Sacramento -- the same John Sutter who owned the land that fed the California Gold Rush. Today, Fort Ross is a state historical site. And a World Wide Web site. The Fort Ross Global Village project brings together students and teachers from California, Alaska, and Russia to learn about the history of the fort and participate in archaeological studies. It's hard to imagine a project that better illustrates the Internet's ability to break down geographical and cultural barriers. Through the Web site and an active email exchange program, students in each of the three areas learn not only about Fort Ross, but about each others' past and present cultures. Historians and archaeologists in each area also use the Internet and each others' Web sites to exchange information and research findings. The creator of the Global Village project, California State Parks archaeologist Breck Parkman, describes the project this way: "I was searching for a way to demonstrate the benefits that archaeology, a discipline that normally dwells in the past, might offer the future. I sought a medium that emphasized communication, and a subject that allowed for the teaching of peace. Fort Ross seemed like the perfect place to build such a program, with the Internet as our voice." IN THEIR OWN WORDS Breck Parkman describes the Fort Ross Global Village project RealAudio 14.4 RealAudio 28.8 Help SIDE TRIPS Fort Ross Global Village Fort Ross Interpretive Association TOP OF PAGE PREVIOUS PAGE: WIRING MENDOCINO