All Non-Digital Titles

Marblehead’s fishermen, merchants, slaves and heroes are buried in graveyards throughout this historic town.

There are thirteen burial sites, including large cemeteries and small family tombs. Old Burial Hill was established in 1638, and the “new” Waterside Cemetery was opened in 1859.

Revolutionary War hero General John Glover, famous for rowing General Washington across the Delaware River in 1776, is buried at Old Burial Hill. The final resting place of an enslaved woman, marked simply “Agnis Negro” was recently reproduced and rededicated. Green Street holds the graves of Elisha Story, who took part in the Boston Tea Party, along with Josiah Cressy, record-breaking captain of the Flying Cloud clipper ship. Mary Alley, who left property to establish the town’s first hospital, is buried at Harborview Cemetery. Local author Pam Matthias Peterson reveals five centuries of history behind these markers of the past.

Uniquely New Hampshire

New Hampshire has always been fiercely independent, and its history, museums and festivals reflect that trait. Roy Campanella and Don Newcombe broke baseball’s color barrier with the Nashua Dodgers in 1946, and Holman Stadium is now a stop on the Black Heritage Trail. Three of the state’s historic mansions—the Fells, the Castle in the Clouds and the Saint-Gaudens historic site—remain as impressive today as when they were built. Portsmouth’s historic homes give a portrait of life in colonial and Revolutionary times. From the New England Telephone Museum in Warner to the Exeter UFO Festival, the state has a wealth of history on display.

Kathleen D. Bailey and Sheila R. Bailey lead a trip through the past and present of the Granite State’s most memorable sites.

A History of Connecticut Food aims to acquaint the reader with the long and storied relationship of the state's people and their provisions.

Each chapter will focus on a different crop, livestock, game, or prepared dish that Connecticut has either pioneered or made its own. Along with these brief histories, the book will feature traditional and modernized recipes. In short, A History of Connecticut Food will both inform the people of Connecticut about their culinary past and inspire them to explore it.

With vivid, design-centric illustrations that and short whimsical rhymes, B Is for Boston Board Book shows off the iconic people, places, food and music of Boston. From the New England Aquarium to the Zakim Bridge, this alphabetical tour of the city includes stops at the Old North Church, Boston Harbor, the New England Aquarium and the Public Gardens. Boston sports fans won't be disappointed either with a stop at the Green Monster of Fenway Park and iconic Boston sports legends' jerseys. Can you guess them all?

This Boston children's book is a durable version of the beloved picture book B Is for Boston and is great for traveling and little hands. Whether on a coffee table or on the nightstand, this large-format book is sure to make any local or visitor smile.

With vivid, design-centric illustrations that and short whimsical rhymes, B Is for Boston shows off the iconic people, places, food and music of Boston. From the New England Aquarium to the Zakim Bridge, this alphabetical tour of the city includes stops at the Old North Church, Boston Harbor, The New England Aquarium and the Public Gardens. Boston sports fans won't be disappointed either with a stop at the Green Monster of Fenway Park and iconic Boston sports legends jerseys. Can you guess them all?

This Boston children's book is a full-size picture book with gorgeous illustrations printed on premium gloss paper. Whether on a coffee table or on the nightstand, this large-format book is sure to make any local or visitor smile.

Moosehead Lake is the largest lake in Maine, covering nearly 75,000 acres in the Highlands Region. Greenville, located on its southern shore, became the gateway to the lake early on because of its location and by being the last village to get supplies before the North Woods.

The area of Blair Hill in Greenville was at first the farm of early settler Edmund Scammon and his family, but it soon became famous for its view of Moosehead Lake. Successful business leaders like Victor Macfarlane and Andrew Jackson Sloper built summer homes on Blair Hill to enjoy the climate and scenery. The Highlands area on the southern side of Blair Hill was developed for vacationers and contained small affordable cabins as well as the famous Moosehead Coffee House. From stately mansions to simple cabins, the retreats constructed here were as varied as the people who built them.

Local authors Sean and Johanna Billings explore the fascinating history of this area and its people.

Cape Cod may be a popular tourist destination, but it has more than its share of strange and unique history.

The Pukwudgies were two- to three-foot beings with smooth gray skin, hairy faces and horns. These shape-shifting, mischievous little people are connected to Wampanoag Indian mythology. Edward Rowe Snow, a New England historian who was also known as the Flying Santa, delivered Christmas presents to lighthouse keepers and their families. Jeremiah's Gutter was a canal in Orleans and the first Cape Cod Canal. Join author Robin Smith-Johnson as she uncovers the secrets behind many unique places, remarkable events and fascinating people of Cape Cod.

When Pres. John F. Kennedy established the Cape Cod National Seashore in 1961, it was acclaimed as the finest victory ever recorded for the cause of conservation in New England.

When erosion and overdevelopment threatened the Cape, the idea of a national seashore took hold, forever protecting this treasured place. The park preserves 44,000 acres of forest, marsh, bog, and ponds, and a 40-mile stretch from Provincetown to Chatham, which Henry David Thoreau called the Great Beach. Unlike other national parks at the time, the Cape Cod National Seashore was created from a combination of private, town, state, and federal lands. Cape Cod National Seashore: The First 50 Years captures the political drama of the creation of this extraordinary seashore. Images detail an early Native American presence and the romance of whaling, shipwrecks, lighthouses, windmills, and dune shacks.

Connecticut's witch hunt was the first and most ferocious in New England, occurring almost fifty years before the infamous Salem witch trials.

Between 1647 and 1697, at least thirty-four men and women from across the state were formally charged with witchcraft. Eleven were hanged. In New Haven, William Meeker was accused of cutting off and burning his pig's ears and tail as he cast a bewitching spell. After the hanging of Fairfield's Goody Knapp, magistrates cut down and searched her body for the marks of the devil. Through newspaper clippings, court records, letters and diaries, author Cynthia Wolfe Boynton uncovers the dark history of the Connecticut witch trials.

Diners of the North Shore is a fascinating collection of many previously unpublished images from the golden age of the diner. Bearing names such as Hesperus in Gloucester, Lafayette in Salem, and Suntaug in Peabody, these eat-on-the-run oases provided their customers with not only a square meal but also an atmosphere as welcoming as one's kitchen. From the primitive Night Owl lunch wagon to the art deco-inspired Sterling Streamliner, Diners of the North Shore showcases each diner's unique character, along with the colorful personalities who ran them.

From 1768 on, people settled in several parts of Dorset, creating 14 school districts and six distinct villages. Join us as we examine the histories of these villages through photographs from the 1850s to 1960. Discover the industry and recreation of North Dorset, the marble mills of East Dorset, the quarries of South Dorset, and the businesses of Dorset Village, as well as the people who have called Dorset home: Alcoholics Anonymous cofounder Bill Wilson, authors Elizabeth Prentiss and Zephine Humphrey, quarry and orchard entrepreneur Ernest West, and many others. 

The Dorset Historical Society has been actively preserving and presenting local history since 1963.

Elizabeth O'Connell and Stephen Harding capture the magic of Eagle Island through years of research, interviews, and the collection of photographs and visual images by the Friends of Peary's Eagle Island (FOPEI).

Eagle Island, located off the coast of Harpswell, Maine, is far enough into Casco Bay to offer isolation but close enough to capture the fascination of a young man. Its rocky spine meets the open Atlantic in rugged cliffs with the strength to transform the momentum of ocean swells into plumes of brilliant spray. The interior, covered with a diversity of flora, presents a gentle welcoming to seabirds and the occasional fauna. Robert E. Peary, a Bowdoin College graduate, bought the island and, using local craftsmen, built a cottage for his family to use as their summer home. After his discovery of the North Pole in 1909 with its celebration and controversy, Eagle Island became the family retreat, a refuge from the public scrutiny attendant an international hero. This is the story of three generations of the Peary family and their Eagle Island home. Peary's ""Promised Land,"" now a State of Maine Historic Site and museum, has become a magical place for countless visitors, resulting in its designation as a National Historic Landmark in 2014.

Join author Russell C. Shaddox as he tells the history of East Haddam in stunning images.

Perched along the Connecticut River, much of East Haddam sits on land originally purchased from Native Americans in 1662 for 30 coats (about $100). From that modest beginning sprang a town whose residents became famous patriots, scholars, and explorers. Driven by industries common to 1700s river towns - lumber, agriculture, and shipbuilding - East Haddam spent the 19th century transforming into one of the area's largest manufacturers of cotton twine, netting, and fabric. Prosperity brought an influx of immigrants. As the 1900s dawned, many of the mills shuttered due to faltering demand, and the town turned to its natural beauty to attract a growing leisure class. Resorts of all varieties popped up in town, changing East Haddam from the "Twine Capital of America" to the "Catskills of Connecticut." The town was home to many prominent residents, including a governor, business magnates, fine artists, scholars, and popular stage actor William Gillette, who helped shape the iconic image of Sherlock Holmes. With the resorts in turn seeing a decline in the late 20th century, the town faced another wave of change. Still, with a deep history and a varied beauty that includes stunning forest, hilltop, and river views, East Haddam continues to captivate.

Far on the northeastern coast of Maine sits a small island whose size belies the depth of its storied past.

Over the course of its existence, Eastport has been a part of the ancestral homeland of the Passamaquoddy, seized from American hands by the British, who would occupy it for four years, and ground zero for the North American sardine industry. Its remote location and stunningly rugged environment make it appealing to a wide variety of people, from fisherfolk and sailors to artists and performers from all over the world. Once serving as the stomping grounds of Benedict Arnold (having gone from traitor to trader), it was later frequented by a young Franklin D. Roosevelt, who became enchanted by its coastal charms. Habituated to facing periods of strife and of runaway success alike, the story of Eastport is one that changes as steadily as its momentous tides.

Lura Jackson was raised in Eastport. She became an award-winning community journalist writing for the Quoddy Tides and the Calais Advertiser and developed a strong passion for local history after becoming involved with the St. Croix Historical Society. She holds a master's degree in peace and reconciliation from the University of Maine. Hugh French, director of the Tides Institute & Museum of Art, provides the foreword, while the institute provided dozens of rare photographs to the book's interior.

Plymouth is known worldwide as America's Hometown, landing place of the Pilgrims in 1620 and home of the first Thanksgiving, but the real story of the town is a tale of grim beginnings.

A ghostly Victorian couple is known to wander Burial Hill, plague, desperation, massacre, murder and fear loom. A shocking crime on Leyden Street, one of the oldest streets in America, still haunts the area. The crew of the brigantine General Arnold, trapped offshore during an icy eighteenth-century blizzard, are suspected to haunt not one but three locations. Author Darcy H. Lee exposes the haunting acts that lie beneath Plymouth's cherished history.

In the 1950s and 1960s Concord was technically a city, but it more closely resembled a small town. Remote from the larger world, change was slow to arrive – the stunning death of a popular young President, and a war that would tear the country apart and reassemble it as something nobody recognized.

But those innocent decades were a seemingly endless summer, and young residents reveled in it. Riding bikes through the National Guard Armory grounds, hitching a snowy slide on the back of a mail truck and walking barefoot to the corner store for a Coke from the big red cooler. Entertainment was always free, from the Nevers Band to amateur fashion shows.

Author Kathleen Bailey and photographer Sheila Bailey unveil a portrait of a town during a simpler time.

Bar Harbor welcomes millions of visitors each year, and the popular seaside town is known for its hospitality. However, not many people know that Bar Harbor is one of the most haunted seaport towns on the coast of Maine, nestled at the edge of Acadia National Park. Ghostly sightings abound from the woods to the waters. Restless spirits like the Carpenter of Kennebec Street and the Caretaker join other souls from the Cottage Era, when people like the Astors, Vanderbilts and Rockefellers made the town their summer playground. Seafaring shadows and those lingering at the beautiful—but very haunted—Criterion Theatre create a space filled with souls both alive and dead.

Jennifer Pictou and D. Michael Fleming unveil a mysterious town where the sound of horse hooves can still be heard, along with the apparition of a much-beloved cow.

Sitting on a hillside overlooking a spectacular lake and mountains, Burlington was destined to attract greatness, although much of its history has remained hidden.

It was the territory of the Alnôbak, who lived in concert with nature for thousands of years, and later the swashbuckling Green Mountain Boy Ethan Allen and his kin. Self-made tycoon Lawrence Barnes helped make the city the third-largest lumber shipping port in the country. The resilient Fanny Penniman created the first herbarium, and her daughter inspired a nineteenth-century hospital. Bootlegger Cyrus Dean was convicted of murder and publicly executed in the hill section. Irish, French Canadian, Jewish and Italian neighborhoods all combined to give a unique character to the city.

Join author and historian Glenn Fay as he reveals stories and images of Burlington's forgotten past.

The salty waves and sandy beaches of majestic Cape Cod disguise its fascinating and nearly forgotten history.

From Provincetown to Falmouth, the Cape's fifteen towns offer a plethora of hidden and enchanting tales. Learn why one of the most famous rescues in Coast Guard history spent nearly fifty years in the shadows without public notice. Discover which wild creature went from the nineteenth-century soup pot to enjoying conservation protection under state law. Historian Theresa Mitchell Barbo explores these mysteries and more, from the lost diary of a nineteenth-century schoolteacher to the reason Cape Codders call their lunch the noontime dinner. Join Barbo as she lifts the lid on the quirky and remarkable character of Cape Cod and its forgotten happenings.

Greenwich in the seventeenth century was a lost world with tythingmen and meeting warners, wild horse hunters, herdsmen, townsmen, pounders and planters.

Faced with an ever-changing environment, citizens set many new-world boundaries. Farmers created common fields along the coast and redesigned wilderness. They balanced religious and civic authority, private and common interests and financial inequities across communities. The first comers found it more challenging to please their own than it was to please their God. Their departure from the past fashioned an idealized, yet still imperfect, new society the Puritans proudly called the Greenwich Plantation. Author Missy Wolfe details the strategies and setbacks of creating community in colonial America's First Period.

Over fifty thousand Connecticut soldiers served in the Union army during the Civil War, yet their stories are nearly forgotten today.

Among the regiments that served, at least forty sets of brothers perished from battlefield wounds or disease. Little known is the 16th Connecticut chaplain who, as prisoner of war, boldly disregarded a Rebel commander's order forbidding him to pray aloud for President Lincoln. Then there is the story of the 7th Connecticut private who murdered a fellow soldier in the heat of battle and believed the man's ghost returned to torment him. Seven soldiers from Connecticut tragically drowned two weeks after the war officially ended when their ship collided with another vessel on the Potomac. Join author John Banks as he shines a light on many of these forgotten Connecticut Yankees.

Down East Maine is well known for its breathtaking scenery and art museums. However, much of the history in the traditional mining and fishing area of Rockland and St. George remains untold.

Hanson Gregory from Clam Cove invented the donut. Mary Brown Patten sailed a clipper around Cape Horn. Captain Albert Keller was shipwrecked on Easter Island and Effie Canning of Rockland composed the lullaby "Rock a Bye Baby.'? Captain Charles Holbrook of Tenants Harbor and his ship, the Hattie Dunn, fell victim to a German U-boat in the Atlantic.

Local author Jane Merrill uncovers the forgotten stories and personalities that bring this unique area's history into focus.

Paddle from Enfield Rapids to Long Island Sound and travel down one of America's most famous waterways, the Connecticut River.

Its calm waters conceal an unruly past, where native tribes lost ground to Dutch and English colonists who vied for the river's immense economic power. The skyline of Hartford looms on the western shore, with the gold dome of the capitol as a remnant of this robust economy centered on world trade. Many have found a deep inspiration along the river, including Lady Fenwick, a local legend; David Bushnell, creator of the first American submarine; and even Albert Einstein, who contemplated the cosmos while relaxing on the riverbanks. Author Wick Griswold takes readers on a provocative journey as he traces the history of the Connecticut River.

Hope Cemetery in Barre, Vermont, is one of New England's most renowned graveyards. The cemetery attracts thousands of visitors every year, particularly when the foliage turns during fall.

This 85-acre open-air museum is noted for the artistry and craftsmanship of its monuments, derived exclusively from legendary Barre gray granite. Barre was a boomtown with a rapidly rising population of European immigrants, especially those from Italy and Scotland, seeking opportunities as artisan carvers and laborers in the area's granite quarries. Ethnic enclaves developed around Barre; most notably, the city's north end became known as Little Italy. This diversity is captured in granite on the monuments of those interred at Hope Cemetery—not only in the surnames etched in stone but also in the monuments' widely varying symbols of remembrance. Within Hope Cemetery, memorials range from traditional European forms, including angels, cherubs, and other religious hallmarks, to highly individualized modern monuments depicting images representative of family life, interests, and leisure in the form of such diverse objects as lounge chairs, airplanes, race cars, a soccer ball, and many more.

The islands of southern Lake Winnipesaukee have a rich and diverse history.

The first summer home on Sleepers Island was Hale’s castle, a replica of a medieval castle constructed by the same stone masons who built Castle in the Clouds in Moultonborough. An indigenous archeological site and other relics have been uncovered on Rattlesnake Island. Treasure Island and Cub Island were originally developed as a boy’s summer camp. Diamond Island was a stop for the steamboat Lady of the Lake, and the Diamond Island House was cut in half and moved across the lake to become the Hotel Weirs. In later years, the U.S. Navy established a research station on the island.

Local author and islander Stephanie Erickson shares the history of the islands and how they have shaped the culture of the islanders today. 

Founded in 1844, Laurel Hill Cemetery was one of the first to follow the rural cemetery movement that began with Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts. These park-like arboretums provided peaceful, natural places to bury and visit the deceased. Nearly everyone who played a significant role in local history, as well as numerous less well-known people who led typical but historically revealing lives, has a grave in the cemetery. Authors Leslie and Emory Rounds chronicle the history of the cemetery and the fascinating stories of those buried there.

These park-like arboretums provided peaceful, natural places to bury and visit the deceased. Nearly everyone who played a significant role in local history, as well as numerous less well-known people who led typical but historically revealing lives, has a grave in the cemetery. Authors Leslie and Emory Rounds chronicle the history of the cemetery and the fascinating stories of those buried there.