All Non-Digital Titles

Learn the history of the effort to bring the Appalachian Trail through West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania in this collection by author Leonard M. Adkins and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy.

Unlike counterparts on other sections of the 2,180-plus-mile Appalachian Trail who could locate the pathway within national parks and forests, builders of the 270 miles of trail detailed in Along the Appalachian Trail: West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania did not have vast tracts of federal lands on which to construct the footpath, yet they succeeded in creating a trail within many of the states' scenic areas. Hundreds of vintage photographs - provided by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, National Park Service, state archives, and local trail-maintaining clubs - present an illustrated narrative of the Herculean work and dedication it took for volunteers to plan, build, and continue to maintain the trail in these states.

200 images from the archives of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and the National Park Service that tell the history of the Appalachian Trail in NY, NJ and CT.

Crossing through 14 states from Maine to Georgia, the Appalachian Trail enters New Jersey through the Delaware Water Gap, crosses New York's Hudson River, and rises over Connecticut's Lion's Head. The area is considered by some to be the pathways birthplace, for in 1923, just two years after Benton MacKaye originally proposed the trail, the first few miles specifically constructed for the Appalachian Trail were built by volunteers in New York's Harriman and Bear Mountain State Parks. These photographs and the corresponding narrative present a historical perspective on what it took to create the trail, including the thousands of volunteers and the arduous tasks they performed, those who lived along the trail before and during its creation, the many people who have enjoyed the trail through the years, and the original routes that are no longer part of the present-day Appalachian Trail.

During the turn of the century, the railroad was an extremely important transportation and shipping resource to thousands of people and businesses in Pennsylvania.

Along the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad: From Cumberland to Uniontown dedicates its pages to this pivotal mass transportation provider. This book includes images from every B&O bridge and station from Cumberland, Maryland, to Uniontown, Pennsylvania, in 1891. Many of the towns stretched along the miles of tracks, such as Somerfield and Ohiopyle, are depicted in these vintage photographs. Experience the coal and coke booms of the 1880s to 1920s through people from many different locations who had one thing in common: the railroad.

Flowing 75 miles from Florida's Lake Okeechobee to the Gulf of Mexico, historic Caloosahatchee River has always been critically important to the region it traverses.

As it makes its way past farm fields, quiet hamlets, and urban downtowns, manatees graze in its warm shallows, bass lurk in its shaded oxbows, and alligators sun on its banks. Over the years, the river has attracted luminaries as well as colorful characters. Thomas Edison had a Caloosahatchee riverfront home, as did Henry Ford and telegrapher George Shulz, who created Florida's tarpon-fishing industry. Without the Caloosahatchee, the Southwest Florida that people know today would not exist. Without people, however, the river known as the Caloosahatchee would not exist either, since it was human effort and engineering that connected the river to the lake and made it navigable--changes that sometimes spelled disaster.

From beautiful beaches to major motion pictures, author Susan Taylor Block details the area's notable history in this photographic tale.

Nestled between the Cape Fear River and the Atlantic Ocean, Wilmington, North Carolina, is at the center of the historic Cape Fear region. Incorporated in 1740, Wilmington has been called home by such notables as Woodrow Wilson, David Brinkley, Whistler's mother, and Frank Capra Jr. Sports fans know Wilmington as the hometown of famed basketball player Michael Jordan. In Along the Cape Fear, local historian and author Susan Taylor Block explores this picturesque region of beautiful nearby beaches and charming eighteenth- and nineteenth-century buildings. Readers are invited to see why the Wilmington area has attracted everyone from heads of state, to history buffs, to directors of major motion pictures.

Journey through South Jersey towns and villages along the Cooper River, and their unique role in the long and rich history of the area.

The Cooper River is a meandering tributary of the Delaware River in Camden County with a rich cultural heritage. Along the Cooper River, English Quakers found safe haven from religious persecution in Colonial times, and General Washington's soldiers fought for control of Cooper's Ferry during the American Revolution. The river was ideal for industry in Camden, where many immigrants worked in the factories along its banks. From 1925 to 1928, landscape architect Charles Leavitt Jr. designed the plans for the 550-acre Cooper River Park. From 1935 to 1939, Roosevelt's Works Progress Administration carried out the plans to create open, gently sloping landscapes and wooded areas for recreation by dredging meadows and tidal wetlands. Along the Cooper River: Camden to Haddonfield focuses on the communities of Camden, Pennsauken, Cherry Hill, Collingswood, Haddon Township, and Haddonfield and how each of them has played a unique role in the long and rich history of the river and its evolution into a nationally significant recreational area.

Since the development of photography in the mid-nineteenth century, the camera has been used as a tool of both discovery and preservation.

Photographs bring alive our image of the past and can open a floodgate of memories and nostalgia or inspire curiosity and a sense of history. The Damariscotta River has always been an important resource to those who have lived and traveled along its shores. From Jefferson at the head of Damariscotta Lake to the bridge at Damariscotta and eventually on to the sea at Christmas Cove, this small but adaptable body of water has fostered a wide range of human activities. The fishing, shipbuilding, and brick-making industries were the first to harvest and harness the river. As these industries eventually declined and word of the scenic beauty and simple charm of the region spread, summer cottages, and camps began to appear along the river's banks. Today, the Damariscotta River region is an evocation of Maine life past and present, and it remains one of the most captivating and extraordinary regions in the Northeast.

The Miami River has proudly served its inhabitants since hunter gatherer days and continues today.

Although the Miami River was originally just 4.5 miles in length, it has been a robust working river since the incorporation of Miami in 1896. With a volume of trade exceeding $4 billion annually, the Miami River has been central to the story of Miami for thousands of years. Native Miamians lived along the river for millennia and used it as their expressway, as well as their source for food and water. The riverbanks have been home to exotic animals, Jesuit missions, slave plantations, Army forts, Julia Tuttle (the Mother of Miami), and a grand Gilded Age hotel. Even with the post–World War II rise of suburbia and the flight of residents away from the center of the city, the river has remained busy. Today, with a renaissance in central Miami, there has been a significant increase in appreciation for the role of the river in this revival and in the rich history of the city.

Along the Perkiomen provides a glimpse of the Perkiomen region's rich an interesting history.

The Perkiomen Creek is a picturesque stream that drains a major portion of western Montgomery County. It begins just beyond the northern borders of the county and travels south. The creek empties into the Schuylkill River at the county's lower border. The old Perkiomen Railroad closely followed the same path. Along the Perkiomen showcases postcards of the Perkiomen Valley in Montgomery County as it existed during the first half of the twentieth century. Readers will visit the villages and towns along the creek and others nearby. This visual journey is intended to provide a glimpse of the Perkiomen region's rich history.

See the people, places and events that have defined the city of Toms River and its surrounding area since the early 1700s.

Located on the banks of the river of the same name, Toms River was first settled in the early 1700s by loggers drawn to the dense forests on the river's banks. During the American Revolution, the village was a constant thorn in the side of the British, and it was attacked and burned to the ground in 1783. The arrival of the railroads in the late 1800s ushered in a new age of expansion which, spurred on by the construction of the Garden State Parkway in the decade after World War II, continues to this day. See for yourself how it all came about with over 200 carefully-selected photographs.

Over 200 images document the fascinating history of the towns along the banks of Maine's Union River, chronicling their evolutions.

Along the Union River weaves together more than two hundred images with intriguing and informative text to create an immensely enjoyable journey through the history of the towns along the banks of Maine's majestic Union River and its tributaries. The region comprising Hancock and Penobscot Counties was originally settled by soldiers who came to work in the woods and tanneries. Soon, supporting industries, stores, copper shops, lumber camps, and ladies millinery shops were established, but it was the shipbuilding industry that flourished most prominently. Here, we explore Bingham Millions, Mariaville's Greenhouse Settlement, and Lucerne's Little Switzerland, and experience the wild beauty of this world-famous countryside.

Approximately ¼ of the Appalachian Trail passes through Virginia, going across some of the state's best mountain scenery and affording access to small-town life.

Initially proposed by Benton MacKaye in 1921, the trail was, and still is, primarily built, maintained, and overseen by volunteers. Selected from the archives of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, the National Park Service, and local Appalachian Trail maintenance clubs, the 200-some photographs in Images of America: Along Virginia's Appalachian Trailprovide a look at life in the mountains before and during the trail's creation, how it developed, who its early champions were, the many relocations the trail has experienced, and the volunteers who have constructed and maintained it.

Alton, Illinois, is a historic river town with a fascinating history. It was the home of multiple Native American tribes and later served as a busy river port. It played an important role in the Civil War and became a major industrial town. The end of the 20th century marked great changes as Alton lost much of its industrial base and population, although it was rejuvenated by new industry and commerce.

Michael Barr Mossman, a graduate of Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, grew up in Alton. The main sources for this book are Robert K. Graul (longtime photographer for the Alton Telegraph) and the Hayner Public Library District.

Altoona is a city built by the Pennsylvania Railroad. Cities usually grow to maturity and then sprout suburbs. With Altoona, it was the opposite. The suburban towns are older than the city and form a larger community.

In 1849, Altoona was farmland, a little hamlet in the mountains of central Pennsylvania. The site was chosen by the railroad for locomotive repair shops. Situated at the eastern base of the Allegheny Mountains, Altoona was destined to become the largest railroad yard in the world. The complex occupied 217 acres and included two huge roundhouses. Centered around the railroad, the city and its population grew. In this historic city were various shops that provided employment to early settlers and the old furnaces of the ironmasters. Also here were the Logan House hotel, where a meeting of governors saved the Union, and Cricket Field, where great athletes from across the country competed. Over the years Altoona has been visited by not only presidents and statesmen but also celebrities of stage and opera. It is home to the world-famous Horseshoe Curve and to Lakemont Park, which has the world's oldest roller coaster.

This striking collection of images, dating from 1853, describes the community's part in the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, and its very personal experience with the Spanish-American War.

Amagansett is an intimate history of a coastal village whose Dutch and English settlers arrived in 1860 to farm, fish, and participate in ye whale designe, and which is now a colorful part of the Hamptons resort area. The storied fishing and whaling industry, as well as life-saving crew and the families that awaited them are also featured. Along with economic and military history, civil life is represented in such scene as historic homes, and local citizens welcoming summer visitors.

Ambler, a working-class town located fifteen miles north of Philadelphia, boasts some of the grandest homes in Montgomery County.

Ambler’s evolution is rooted in the mills that sprang up along the Wissahickon Creekin the 1680s. The town entered the industrial age when the North Penn Railwaypushed through in the 1850s. In 1856, a catastrophic head-on train collision killing fifty-nine created the heroine Mary Ambler, whose generous ministrations to the wounded caused the railroad in 1869 to rename its Wissahickon Stationin her honor. But it was Philadelphia manufacturers Henry G. Keasbey and Richard V. Mattison who changed Ambler's character forever. When they relocated their business to Ambler in 1881, it became the asbestos capital of the world.

Frank D. Quattrone, an editor at Montgomery Newspapers, has written extensively on the history of Montgomery County.Amblercaptures the lasting legacy of Mattison's thriving company town, with its array of fanciful and simple homes, churches, shops, and cultural institutions.

After seeing its golden age in the 1800s and early 1900s, Amelia Island slipped into a calm and quiet slumber for most of the 20th century; nevertheless, the local paper mills provided an important economic base that brought people and jobs to the area.

It did not take long for people to discover the majestic beaches of the island, and growth followed. Companies specializing in resort development soon arrived, and the island became a popular vacation destination. Throughout that transformation, local residents worked hard to keep the small-town feel, natural surroundings, and historic relevance intact.

Tiny Amelia Island, in the northeast corner of Florida, was once among the most important ports in the western hemisphere.

Before Florida was granted statehood, the island served as an international gateway between Spanish Florida and the English colonies that would later become the United States. Where Spanish monks and pirates once roamed, the island eventually developed into a significant seaport that exported the rich resources of Florida's interior in the late 1800s. This era was known as the Golden Age of Amelia Island and the town located on its north end, Fernandina. The railroad that connected Amelia Island to the Gulf Coast was largely responsible for the Golden Age, as it brought a burgeoning economy and many of the South's most prominent and wealthy figures. Today the island is best known as a resort community but retains the influence and charm of its remarkable past.

In Ames: A Ride Through Town on the "Dinkey," readers will meet some of these people and tour historic Ames, as the narrow-gauge train nicknamed the "Dinkey" weaves its way through the city's history in over 220 vintage photographs. The images in this book, featuring people and landmarks both past and present, include Ames native J. Herman Banning, the first African-American aviator to be licensed in the U.S.; the dramatic 1922 burning and destruction of the Iowa State College Armory; a rare image of the 1895 Iowa State football team, the first to be called the Cyclones; and finally, downtown Ames' growth from dirt streets with wooden sidewalks to a modern college town.

Nestled deep in the Connecticut River Valley are Amherst and Hadley, two towns responsible for the inspiration of many classic poets, writers, and thinkers of America.

Visit a place where Ralph Waldo Emerson ate dinners with Emily Dickinson's family, and see the site on which Noah Webster founded Amherst College. Look through a visual record of small towns, where the seasonal changes of the hills, fields, and woods inspired local writer Ray Stannard Baker and photographer Clifton Johnson. Meander through a place that left fond memories in the hearts and minds of former Supreme Court Chief Justice Harlan Fiske Stone and writer Sylvia Plath. This photographic history even offers a rare glimpse into Robert Frost’s world of fire and ice. In Amherst and Hadley: Through the Seasons, the landscape changes continuously throughout the seasons, and each season brings its own natural beauty and dangers, from the scorching summers to the bitter winters.

Images of America: Amherst and Hadley, Massachusetts is an educational and entertaining volume that will delight residents, visitors, and lovers of history everywhere.

Once part of Hadley, the town of Amherst is known the world over as the home of celebrated poet Emily Dickinson. This photographic portrait of Emily's surroundings reveals the beautiful landscape that inspired her art, and also includes less typical but nonetheless significant images of hard-working farmhands, Irish laborers, Italian peanut vendors, riotous college students, and feuding factory workers.

These two towns at the heart of the Connecticut River Valley have been appreciated by poets and artists for many years, and their bucolic and pastoral character is celebrated in this marvelous new examination of the towns' history in photographs from 1860 through the early twentieth century. Famous residents of and visitors to the area are featured, including Dickinson, Robert Frost, Henry Ward Beecher and Noah Webster.

Mr. Lombardo's book combines a serious look at these historical figures with a humorous perspective on some of the area's more colorful characters, such as Charles King, the Amherst barber who became famous for eating fifty eggs in fifteen minutes.

Located on the north shore of Fidalgo Island in Washington State’s Puget Sound, the town of Anacortes is known as the “New York of the West.”

Founded by railroad surveyor Amos Bowman and named in honor of his wife, Anna Curtis, Fidalgo Island has actually been home to the Samish and Swinomish tribes for thousands of years prior to the 1890s boom and bust. White settlers arriving in the 1850s established farms and eventually wood mills, salmon canneries, and a vital downtown waterfront, transforming Anacortes into the salmon-canning capital of the world by the early 20th century. Japanese and Chinese cannery workers and Croatian and Scandinavian fishermen were among the many immigrants who brought their unique ways to the island. As a port town, Anacortes retained an open and adventuresome spirit, attracting new arrivals and visitors with the stunning natural beauty of the Northwest frontier. Commercial fishermen still ply local waters alongside a thriving maritime industry, whale-watching ecotourism, and a tradition of creative festivity.

Located on the north shore of Fidalgo Island in Washington State’s Puget Sound, the town of Anacortes is known as the “New York of the West.”

Founded by railroad surveyor Amos Bowman and named in honor of his wife, Anna Curtis, Fidalgo Island has actually been home to the Samish and Swinomish tribes for thousands of years prior to the 1890s boom and bust. White settlers arriving in the 1850s established farms and eventually wood mills, salmon canneries, and a vital downtown waterfront, transforming Anacortes into the salmon-canning capital of the world by the early 20th century. Japanese and Chinese cannery workers and Croatian and Scandinavian fishermen were among the many immigrants who brought their unique ways to the island. As a port town, Anacortes retained an open and adventuresome spirit, attracting new arrivals and visitors with the stunning natural beauty of the Northwest frontier. Commercial fishermen still ply local waters alongside a thriving maritime industry, whale-watching ecotourism, and a tradition of creative festivity. Enjoy the rich, multicultural history of Anacortes in 15 historic black-and-white postcards.

Anchorage depicts the 20th-century development of Alaska’s largest city from its origins as a place for the Dena’ina people to hunt and fish to its status as a railroad camp and then a modern community.

Much of Anchorage’s 20th-century history was shaped by the construction of the Alaska Railroad and then the presence of the nation’s military. The rapidly growing town experienced North America’s largest recorded earthquake in 1964, but residents rebuilt, and the city experienced an oil and construction boom over the following two decades. By the end of the 20th century, Anchorage had trembled and shook, boomed and busted, and had come out on the other side as one of the most diverse and dynamic American cities. 

Ian C. Hartman is a board member of the Cook Inlet Historical Society and professor in the Department of History at the University of Alaska Anchorage. Most of the images of this book have been collected from the Anchorage Museum.

From being known as The Heathen Town Four Miles Away to becoming a booming factory town, discover Anderson, Indiana through the centuries.

The city of Anderson is named after Chief William Anderson, whose Indian name was Kikthawenund, meaning making a noise or causing to crack. Early settlers referred to the area as Anderson Town, while the Moravian missionaries called it The Heathen Town Four Miles Away. It later became Anderstown before the Indiana State Legislature shortened the name to Anderson in 1844. In the spring of 1887, natural gas was discovered in the city. Several industries came to the area, leading to a population explosion. Anderson soon became a factory town, with General Motors building plants throughout the city. The success of the automobile factories attracted entrepreneurs and made Anderson the economic center of Madison County. From the 1940s through the 1970s, downtown Anderson had its share of family-owned businesses as well as national chain stores like J.C. Penney, Sears & Roebuck, and Montgomery Ward. Today, it remains filled with a rich heritage and continues to grow in a new economic market.