Markethill District Enterprises Ltd (MDE) secured public funding from the Southern Organisation for Action in Rural areas (SOAR) to update and expand Markethill's innovative Bygones and Byways local history & tourism resource. The funding was approved in May 2013.
Planning for the original Bygones and Byways program began in 1999. In 2001 funding was approved by the Heritage Lottery Fund. The program launched in 2003 in touchscreen, optical disc and internet versions at the Old Courthouse, Markethill. Bygones and Byways tells the story of Markethill & the surrounding district in words, images and sound recordings. The original project was a great success.
In 2013-14 the project was updated and expanded. MDE invited all groups and individuals to become involved in compiling information, images and recordings for this permanent, expanding multimedia community resource. Since Bygones and Byways went live in 2003, there had been new community initiatives. MDE wanted to take note of that activity and more in our updated project. With more people, also, having broadband connections in their homes in 2013, it was more practical to make our original interview recordings, new recordings and higher resolution still-images (mostly maps) available online.
A public meeting to discuss the project took place at the Old Courthouse on 17 June 2013. The launch of the updated website was 7 March 2014.