Pennsylvania

Northeast Philadelphia chronicles this area's history of transformation, from scattered communities to an urban center.

Before the Consolidation Act of 1854 more than tripled the former capital's population, Northeast Philadelphia was a scattered group of pastoral communities just beyond the city limits. Holmesburg, Somerton and other small villages initially struggled but ultimately triumphed in their transition from rural townships to a bustling urban center. Dr. Harry C. Silcox has collaborated with Frank W. Hollingsworth to chart this fascinating evolution, from the demise of the family farm to neighbors uniting on the homefront during World War II. With such lively characters as Mary Disston, the founding mother of Tacony, and tales of the local effort for suffrage, Silcox and Hollingsworth create a brilliant and affectionate portrait of Northeast Philadelphia.

The intense heat of the steel mills and the clatter of coal-filled locomotives once filled the streets of Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Hardworking immigrants, iron rails, and anthracite coal from beneath the surface of the lush Lackawanna River Valley powered America's Industrial Revolution, and until World War II, the city reigned as a cutting-edge boomtown. Local journalist Cheryl A. Kashuba chronicles the history of Scranton from the glory days of the Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company and the Dickson Works through the post-Industrial decline and an eventual revitalization of the city. With a deft hand, Kashuba captures the spirit of a proud community and creates a fascinating portrait of the Electric City.

Revolutionary War historians know Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, as the site where George Washington successfully repelled the British before moving on to Valley Forge. The Fort Washington of that day featured a landscape dominated by farmland, but the beauty of the area and its proximity to burgeoning Philadelphia ensured that it would not remain rural for long.

Less than a hundred years after the crack of Patriot muskets reverberated through Fort Washington, the area grew into a thriving summer resort, and was well on its way to becoming an early Philadelphia suburb. As a playground for elite Philadelphians before the end of the nineteenth century, Fort Washington became the location for lavish summer homes and year-round estates. The popularity of the area continued to increase, and soon a thriving middle class developed, changing the face of Fort Washington and producing dozens of grand Victorian homes that survive to this day.

A Brief History of Fort Washington, Pennsylvania: From Farmland to Suburb, by local historians Lewis and Trudy Keen tells the story of Fort Washington that few know. Drawing on a wealth of original documents, this look at Fort Washington's colorful past provides an accessible account of the people, events, homes and businesses that have made this area of Pennsylvania a prosperous and vibrant community.

Visit the Philadelphia neighborhood that has gone from Leni-Lenape territory to an amazing industrial riverside community.

Since the time of William Penn, the Philadelphia neighborhood of Northern Liberties has had a tradition of hard work and innovation. This former Leni-Lenape territory became one of the industrial River Wards of North Philadelphia after being annexed by the city in 1854. The district's mills and factories were powered not just by the Delaware River and its tributaries but also by immigrants from across Europe and the city's largest community of free African Americans. The Liberties' diverse narrative, however, was marred by political and social problems, such as the anti-Irish Nativist Riots of 1844. Local historian Harry Kyriakodis traces over three hundred years of the district's evolution, from its rise as a premier manufacturing precinct to the destruction of much of the original cityscape in the 1960s and its subsequent rebirth as an eclectic and vibrant urban neighborhood. In this first history of Northern Liberties, Kyriakodis unearths the story of this remarkable riverside community.