New Books, Publishing Today
Every Tuesday, we release new local histories, and this week we have traverse the country with stories of agriculture, war and slavery, mob activities, and hauntings. Dive in and find your town's history.
Lima beans have been a part of the central and southern landscape of California for over 150 years. Farmers realized the coast offered fertile soil and the natural moisture of coastal fog, and only a minimal workforce was needed until harvesting.
Robert McAllister’s chance encounter with a ship from Lima, Peru, off the coast of Carpinteria led to a small quantity of beans being planted, and they prospered. By the 1880s, the beans were introduced in Ventura County, and Orange County followed. San Bernardino, Los Angeles, and San Diego all tried their hand at the dry farming crop, as did the farmers in Lompoc, Santa Maria, and Monterey County. California became the largest lima bean producer in the world. While other crops and city encroachment have replaced the vast acreage of lima beans, parts of the Oxnard Plain, Lompoc, Monterey, Costa Mesa, and other scattered fields continue the tradition.
The 1st Michigan Colored Regiment was the state’s first and only African American regiment during the Civil War. Courageously enlisting amid societal turmoil, these determined men fought valiantly, on the battlefield and off, in the struggle for liberty and equality. Many hundreds of them were born in the South, yet they returned there to fight for the freedom of others. Embracing the call to duty, they defied prejudice, and their collective sacrifice not only helped to preserve the Union but also paved the way for future generations.
Weaving together personal accounts and historical context, author Maurice Imhoff vividly recounts the extraordinary journey of this unit and honors the legacy of those who stood firm in the face of adversity.
Vanessa Fonseca-Chávez is a Nuevomexicana with roots in northwestern New Mexico and has family connections in Concho. Angela Perea Murphy grew up in Concho and resides across the street from her childhood home. They are both proud to share more than 150 photographs showcasing Concho life from the early 1910s though the 1970s, provided by private collections and now archived as part of the Voces Oral History Center at the Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection as well as photographs from photographer Russell Lee that can be found at the Library of Congress.
Settled in 1861 by Manuel Antonio “M.A.” Candelaria, the town of Concho, or Old Concho, is situated in northeastern Arizona in what is now Apache County. Many New Mexican Hispano Catholic families migrated to Concho from the central and western New Mexico Territory, establishing a sheepherding community that continued into the early 20th century. The valley had a natural spring that enabled orchards, farms, and ranches to thrive. The town saw the establishment of important businesses in Concho, including the first bank in Apache County. One of the most beloved buildings, the San Rafael Catholic Church, was established in 1925 and is still standing today. Many of the founding families—Ortega, Padilla, Sandoval, Martínez, Romero, García, Durán, Candelaria, Baca, Saiz, Chávez, Archuleta, and others—were part of this lively village community and are proud to carry on its legacy. Though Concho is now classified as a ghost town, the photographs and stories contained in this book share a different narrative.
The charming adobe walls of Old Town hide a dark past rife with vice and violence.
These same streets were once home to the city’s first red-light district, where prostitution thrived behind closed doors, and hosted public hangings that drew morbid crowds. Rumors of riches hidden beneath the dusty streets lured treasure-seekers, and opium dens flourished. Confederate cannons from the Civil War were found beneath a chile patch in the late 1800s, but the unmarked graves of Confederate soldiers who died during the short-lived occupation remain a mystery.
In need of cash to finance the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln turned to the nation’s leading counterfeiters, including a band of enterprising criminals based in Monroe, Wisconsin. Operating under the nose of Allan Pinkerton, the Bonelatta Gang worked alongside the Kentucky Colony, who formed Chicago’s corrupt Democratic Machine and nurtured the Levee Lords all the way down to Al Capone. Even Salmon P. Chase helped this ring of Monroe crooks, but this did not stop the Secret Service from throwing them under the bus when Republican scandals became too hot for President Grant to handle.
Historian and Monroe native Andrea Nolen reveals this fascinating and little-known story of an obscure gang in rural Wisconsin that helped birth not only the Chicago mob but also the Ziegfeld Follies and the New Age movement.
Welcome to spooky Staten Island, New York!
Stay alert! Ghosts lurk around every corner. Even the most unexpected places might be haunted by wandering phantoms.
Did you know that the Moravian Cemetery in New Dorp is haunted? Or that at the Old Bermuda Inn, the spirit of Martha Mersereau waits at the window each evening for her long-dead husband? Can you believe a spectral hitchhiker stalks some of the island's most desolate roads?
Pulled right from history, these ghostly tales will change the way you see Staten Island forever, and have you sleeping with the lights on!
Welcome to spooky Kansas City!
Stay alert! Ghosts lurk around every corner. Even the most unexpected places might be haunted by wandering phantoms.
Did you know that spirits patrol the grounds of the historic John Wornall House? Or that ghostly figures have been seen lurking inside St. Mary's Episcopal Church? Can you believe some guests at the former Hotel Savoy enjoyed their stay so much . . . they never checked out?
Pulled right from history, these ghostly tales will change the way you see Kansas City forever, and have you sleeping with the lights on!
Welcome to the spooky Twin Cities!Stay alert! Ghosts lurk around every corner. Even the most unexpected places might be haunted by wandering phantoms.
Did you know that St. Paul's Wabasha Street Caves are haunted? Or that at the historic St. Paul theater, spirits sometimes take center stage? Can you believe the Minneapolis Institute of Art is not only home to incredible art . . . but unforgettable ghosts?
Pulled right from history, these ghostly tales will change the way you see the Twin Cities forever, and have you sleeping with the lights on!