All Titles

Railroads and steel helped build the towns of Mahoningtown and New Castle, and then became a leading producer of tinplate and fireworks.

Founded in 1798, New Castle was a small borough located at the confluence of the Shenango River and Neshannock Creek. Mahoningtown, a small borough located just south of New Castle, was a thriving community founded in 1836. The two towns boasted flourishing industries, and in 1896, a trolley line was created to run between them. In 1898, Mahoningtown officially became the seventh ward of New Castle. By that time, New Castle was a third-class city, and railroads and steel were the area's major industries. Eventually many important products were manufactured here, including both Castleton and Shenango China, which were used in the White House. New Castle became known first as the tinplate capital of the world and, later, as the fireworks capital of the world. The stunning postcards featured in New Castle and Mahoningtown document the fusion of these two communities. Among the memorable views are the diverse scenery and amusements of Cascade Park and the parade for baseball manager Chuck Tanner, who led the Pittsburgh Pirates to their fifth World Series.

Philadelphia Neighborhoods is a compendium of historic views of the major residential sections of Philadelphia.

This book presents a snapshot into the past when old neighborhoods were not so old and when currently established ones were as yet new construction. Through the medium of postcards, readers are invited back to an era before automobiles dominated the streets, before many city roads were paved, and when the local grocery store was not located in a mall. Using chapters divided into subsections that detail the various regions of North, South, Southwest, and West Philadelphia, as well as the ""new"" Northeast Philadelphia, the author chronicles the vibrant, diverse communities that have helped shape the city's rich history.

Until the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825, Buffalo was a sleepy town. Access to an abundant supply of fresh water led to a thriving farming industry, provided a means of transportation, and powered mills and factories.

Adding to the hustle and bustle of the city's busy new harbor was Joseph Dart's local invention of the grain elevator. Buffalo's location on Lake Erie, and its growth during the second industrial revolution, helped the city become the eighth largest in America and established it as the Queen City. It has been home to future presidents and inventors who have influenced millions. The city's original radial street design, the layout of its parks, and its majestic architecture make Buffalo fascinating and unique.

Kennett Square features vintage photographs which document the history of this Baltimore community.

Kennett Square, the mushroom capital of the world, began its long history as a mere crossroads on the Philadelphia to Baltimore road in the early 18th century. With the arrival of the railroad in 1859, the area grew to become a major agricultural and manufacturing center. It also produced some noteworthy individuals, including author Bayard Taylor, New York Yankee Herb Pennock, and several inventors. Kennett Square highlights many postcard and photographic images from the period 1890 to 1930. Many of the buildings shown are now gone, but thanks to the golden age of postcards, Kennett Square's historic scenes can still be enjoyed.

Lighthouses of the North Atlantic Coast will explore many of the lighthouses and breakwater, pier, and reef lights in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Delaware. Whether it is Portland Head Lighthouse in Maine or Fenwick Island Lighthouse in Delaware, then as now, people love to visit the lights while on holiday and send postcards back home. Many of these important navigational aids are still in existence and can be visited.

See how the Upper West Side of Manhattan became a neighborhood as diverse in its population as it is in its architecture.

The Upper West Side of Manhattan, the residential and retail neighborhood between Central Park and the Hudson River, is famous for its liberalism, cosmopolitan culture, and appetizing. It is a neighborhood as diverse as there is. Known as Bloomingdale in the mid-19th century, it was renamed the West End by the century's end when real estate speculation and mass transportation made their way inevitably northward in Manhattan. It was at this time that the grand boulevards and avenues Central Park West, Broadway, Columbus Avenue, Amsterdam Avenue, West End Avenue, and Riverside Drive each quickly assumed their impressive and distinct characters.

The Mid Mon Valley celebrates the interesting history of this Pennsylvania community through a collection of striking postcards from the twentieth century.

As the Monongahela River snakes north into Pennsylvania, it twists into horseshoe bends and has few straight stretches. Tucked into these curves are a series of small towns that represent America at its best. The river, which is one hundred and twenty-eight miles long, is divided into regions by local residents, and the mid section encompassing the communities of Brownsville, California, Belle Vernon, Charleroi, Monessen, Donora, and Monongahela is known as the Mid Mon Valley. What unites this region, in addition to a common landscape and common architecture, is a heritage of ethnic pride, industrial achievement, and championship sports teams. The Mid Mon Valley celebrates this history through a collection of striking postcards from the twentieth century.

A collection of rare and vintage postcards explores the history of New Jersey's largest city.

New Year's Day 1900 heralded the beginning of Newark's Golden Age-the heyday of the city's diverse population, beautiful mansions, varied industries, and prosperous insurance, leather, and jewelry companies. Newark's crystal-clear water attracted some thirty-five breweries, including P. Ballantine & Sons and Hensler's. Frederick Law Olmsted developed Branch Brook Park, the first county park in the United States. Transportation for industrial and personal use was booming, with barges, ships, trains, and trolleys running continually. Called ""the City of Churches,"" Newark became known for the numerous houses of worship used by its residents. Educational institutions grew, paving the way for the many schools and colleges in existence today. Newark: The Golden Age explores New Jersey's largest city through rare vintage postcard views that will captivate residents and visitors alike.

Few roads can match Route 20's beauty, history, or contribution to New York's vitality. In 1926, Route 20 became a federal highway and evolved into New York's foremost east-west road. But unlike most early highways, it has survived almost completely intact. The story of Route 20 is told through more than 200 vintage postcards showing scenes from the Shaker communities in Columbia County to the Lake Erie Shore. The postcards show the personality of the road: main streets, the Finger Lakes, and scenic vistas. Not to be forgotten are the tourist courts, hotels, diners, and gas stations that made travel possible.

In The Revolutionary War in Bergen County, Carol Karels and her team of scholars weave a masterful account of the war in northeastern New Jersey. Here in Bergen County General Washington took the young Marquis de Lafayette under his wing; here in Bergen County the future antagonists Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton were baptized by fire; here in Bergen County families--in a prelude to the Civil War--split bitterly along Loyalist and Patriotic lines. From Washington's miraculous November 1776 retreat to the Delaware to the beginning of the Continental Army's epic August 1781 march to destiny at Yorktown, The Revolutionary War in Bergen County, comprehensively encompasses one of the Revolutionary War's most dramatic and pivotal fronts.

Sharing its name with a notorious ancient city, Babylon village has been the home harbor of Long Island baymen, a post–World War II suburban boomtown, and the birthplace of the nation's first professional black baseball team.

The modern village is well known for its picturesque Argyle Park and flourishing downtown, but it was once revered as a vacation resort destination for those near and far. The community has evolved from decades of residents, visitors, and experiences that have contributed to and created the history of Babylon village, one of the oldest established communities on the South Shore of Long Island.

Penn State University was founded in 1855. Then known as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, the 400-acre campus had only one main building.

With almost 100,000 current students (including students at the Commonwealth Campuses) and having the largest dues-paying alumni association in the world, Penn State continues to be a world leader in education. Since its founding, picture postcards have been published to showcase the buildings and highlight the student activities while documenting the school's narrative.

Postcard images from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century show historic scenes of the first city established in Pennsylvania.

From the late 19th century until the mid-20th century, Chester was a bustling hub of industry, historic sites, tourist attractions, and entertainment. The first city established in Pennsylvania, Chester was famous for its many mills. The area was also home to a major shipbuilding center, the Sun Ship Corporation, as well as other industries, including the Chester Brewery and Blue Naphtha brand soap. The postcards in Chester showcase historic scenes of the city and highlight the long history of this dynamic community.

This fascinating new history of the Catskills of New York showcases more than two hundred of the best, most evocative vintage postcards available.

From the 1890s through the 1920s, the postcard was an extraordinarily popular means of communication. Many of the postcards produced during this ""golden age,"" and even some from later years, can today be considered works of art. Postcard photographers traveled the length and breadth of the nation snapping photographs of busy street scenes, documenting local landmarks, and assembling crowds of local children only too happy to pose for a picture. These images, printed as postcards and sold in general stores and five and dimes across the country, survive as telling reminders of an important era in America's history.

Montclair, New Jersey, like most American towns, has grown dramatically over the course of the last one hundred years.

Much of the early 1900s landscape has been disguised, and the town has come to reflect the popular styles and fashions of changing eras. Streets have been paved, the facades of commercial buildings have been updated, and homes have been altered to reflect contemporary tastes and accommodate modern conveniences. This volume of approximately two hundred postcards from the author's collection, most never before published in book form, captures Montclair as it was in the early twentieth century. The reader will see familiar landmarks such as the Montclair Art Museum, the Marlboro Inn, and the Bellevue Theater as they originally appeared, and discover the vanished predecessors of the Japanese-style mansion on Upper Mountain Avenue and the Rockcliffe Apartments off Crestmont Road.

In its very early years, Butler County was a vast wilderness of untamed forests. The fi rst pioneers suffered insurmountable odds while scratching out an existence in this frontier west of the Allegheny River. With determination, they succeeded, and the 1800s brought the development of many towns from the scant settlements. Butler City, the county seat, was laid out in 1800, and many smaller towns followed suit. With the arrival of oil after the Civil War, the county grew. The railroads and trolley lines that expanded into the area furthered the growth and helped industries prosper. Butler County Revisited celebrates the history of the area with 200 postcards, including scenes of the Chicora Whip Factory, a Memorial Day parade in Evans City, the Buhl Trolley Trestle over Connoquenessing Creek, and a large bear wrestling his trainer on Bruin Street.

Shoreham and Wading River is an illustrated tale of two good neighbors vividly told through the magic of historic postcards.

Wading River, settled by New Englanders in 1671, is reminiscent of a classic New England town with its steepled Congregational Church, village green, ancient cemetery, horse farms, and colonial homes. Shoreham, settled at the turn of the last century, went high-tech with the arrival of brilliant inventor Nikola Tesla and his famous tower and laboratory and highbrow as an eastern outpost of the Gold Coast. The two communities are linked by geography and shared traditions, such as a railroad line (sadly abandoned in 1938), a beautiful beach for summer fun, summer camps galore, an equestrian tradition, and glorious tennis--an unbroken rivalry since 1924. Postcards are from the Shoreham Village historical archives, the Wading River and Suffolk County Historical Societies, and private collections.

Often characterized as the ""American Rhine,"" the Hudson is a vast tidal river that moves in two directions.

The Hudson River Valley, from the Capital Region south to where the river meets the Atlantic Ocean in New York Bay, is one of the most varied and exciting areas of America-a region rich in splendor and beauty, history and grandeur, poverty and decay. It shaped a region.

Discover how East Hampton evolved from a fishing and farming community in the 1600s to a popular summer destination by the late 18th century.

Within a year of its construction in 1796, the Montauk Lighthouse was already attracting tourists to East Hampton. By the mid-19th century, steamships and railroads were taking visitors to see the magnificent beaches and stay in the boarding houses. The smaller East Hampton communities, such as Montauk, Amagansett, and Wainscott, also became favored locations for people escaping the heat of the cities, and they remain highly sought-after destinations today.

Prior to 1870, the main routes of commerce entering Swedesboro were Kings Highway by land or Raccoon Creek by water.

When the Swedesboro Railroad was completed in October 1869, it started a new era of growth in the Swedesboro-Woolwich area. Produce was loaded on railcars for distant markets.Warehouses and industry exploded adjacent to the rail yard. New banks, hotels, and businesses crowded along both sides of Main Street. Economic expansion brought more residents and new housing construction. The prosperity of the Swedesboro area from 1870 to 1950 is preserved in detail on postcards and in photographs reprinted on these pages.

Lois M. Stanley is a retired high school English teacher and longtime Swedesboro resident. Russell C. Shiveler Jr. grew up in Woolwich Township and is a farm boy at heart. Both coauthored an earlier work published by Arcadia Publishing entitled Images of America: Swedesboro and Woolwich Township. This book is produced with the cooperation of the Swedesboro-Woolwich Historical Society.

Manhattan's Chinatown is an enclave located in the oldest section of New York City, Manhattan's Lower East Side. For most who reside there, Chinatown serves as the quintessential microcosm.

It is a place to do business, buy groceries, and raise families. For many Chinese immigrants, it provides a stepping stone to a perceived better life that may only be achieved through hard work, determination, sacrifice, and assimilation. Chinatown's main sources of income and employment lie in its many restaurants, factories, small shops, and businesses. However, for generations of New Yorkers and visitors, Chinatown represents the very embodiment of exotica. With its ancient tenements, temples, fragrant food aromas, neon signs, colorful sites and sounds, and aromatic curio shops, it provides the ultimate journey of the senses, revealing an energetic and vibrant world. Through vintage postcards, Manhattan's Chinatown chronicles how this community has continually evolved over 150 years.

The Erie Canal was completed in 1825 and became the backbone of an economic and cultural explosion that defined the image of New York.

The canal's development spurred successful industry and a booming economy, sparking massive urban growth in an area that was previously virtually unexplored wilderness. People poured west into this new space, drawn by the ability to ship goods along the canal to the Hudson River, New York City, and the world beyond. Erie Canal is a compilation of 200 vintage images from the Erie Canal Museum's documentary collection of New York's canal system. Vintage postcards depict life and industry along the canal, including not only the Erie itself but also the lateral and feeder canals that completed the state-wide system.

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.

Calvert County documents the fascinating history of this

From its early Piscataway heritage to the advanced research laboratories of today, from the tobacco farms to the sandy beaches, Calvert County has had a fascinating and diverse past. Established in 1654, Calvert played a role in both the American Revolution and the Civil War. Hosting decades of vacationing beachgoers, the region has also been called home by the many who, for centuries, have built their lives on the bounty of the Chesapeake Bay.

The Wildwoods: 1920-1970 follows a path of progress and preservation in a beach community situated along the Atlantic Ocean in historic Cape May County.

Starting out in the 1920s, vintage postcards illustrate this shore town's transformation from a sleepy seaside resort into a summer vacation hot spot. Look through a window into the past and see Zaberer's Restaurant in North Wildwood, the Starlight Ballroom on the boardwalk, and the Wingate Motel in the center of Wildwood.

With its prime location along the Ohio River downstream from Pittsburgh, Sewickley was destined to become a great American town.

In 1753, a young George Washington traveled through the area on his way to inform the French that the British crown would not tolerate French trespass in the Ohio Valley. Meriwether Lewis mentioned the obstacle presented by its waterfront eddies in his 1803 journal. Eventually the area became home to river men, including the captains of steamers that plied the Ohio. After the arrival of the railroad, many of the railroad brass made their homes in Sewickley. With the automobile came the industrial barons of Pittsburgh, who erected their palatial summer ""cottages"" on Sewickley Heights. The town learned quickly to adjust to celebrities, taking in stride the likes of iron pioneers Henry Oliver and Benjamin Franklin Jones, author Mary Roberts Rinehart, composer Ethelbert Nevin, and Capt. Frederick Way Jr. Using historic postcards, Sewickley illustrates the history of this community, which maintains its status as the queen of Pittsburgh suburbs.

The Thousand Islands are more than 1,800 islands located in 35 miles of the upper St. Lawrence River between Upstate New York and southeastern Ontario.

During the latter half of the 19th century, the region evolved as a vacation destination, initially for Canadian and American urbanites drawn by the restorative powers of spectacular scenery and relaxed summer life. Tourism expanded rapidly, and by the early 1900s, the Thousand Islands boasted dozens of grand hotels, daily railroad connections to New York and Philadelphia, steamship service to Montreal and Toronto, innumerable sightseeing and guided fishing excursions, and the best that North America's premier vacation spot could offer.

A fascinating history of Fort Ticonderoga, which played an important role in both the French and Indian War as well as the American Revolution.

Called ""the Key to the Continent"" and ""the Gibraltar of the North,"" Fort Ticonderoga controlled the strategically critical portage between Lakes George and Champlain in the eighteenth century and played an important role in both the French and Indian War and the American Revolution. French troops began construction of the fort in 1755, calling it Fort Carillon. The British captured the fort in 1759 and renamed it Fort Ticonderoga. The storming of the fort on May 10, 1775, by Benedict Arnold, Ethan Allen, and the Green Mountain Boys was America's first victory of the Revolutionary War.

Manhattan is an important site in the evolution of all the major innovations in American music, ranging from vaudeville and big bands to folk music, modern jazz, and rock and roll. Manhattan's Musical Heritage, a fascinating postcard history, takes readers on a journey back in time and place to the scenes of seminal musical events and performances. Individual musical greats from Al Jolson to John Lennon are featured, as this book details the locations forever associated with their lives and careers. Armchair travelers and those who enjoy walks in the streets of Manhattan will find this volume useful in discovering the amazing musical history of this special place.

Perkasie, named after William Penn's country manor in Upper Bucks County, was a boomtown that sprang up along the North Pennsylvania Railroad in the late 1870s.

From the 1880s to the 1920s, Perkasie grew rapidly, becoming a transportation and cultural center and drawing crowds with commerce, industry, summer retreats, and even an amusement park. Through nearly 200 vintage postcards, Perkasie chronicles the expansion of this once small town as well as its impact on neighboring rural communities such as Rockhill, Bedminster, and Silverdale. The postcards in this book re-create a visual memory of the economic and social changes that worked to shape this dynamic community.

Rare and vintage images act as postcards, telling the fascinating stories of Monmouth County, New Jersey.

From the 1890s through the 1930s, the postcard was an extraordinarily popular means of communication, and many of the postcards produced were works of art. Postcard photographers traveled the length and breadth of the nation snapping photos of busy street scenes, documenting local landmarks, and assembling crowds of local children only too happy to pose for a picture. These images, printed as postcards and sold in general stores across the country, survive as telling reminders of an important era in America's history. This fascinating new history of Monmouth County showcases more than two hundred of the best postcards available of this region of New Jersey.

Northern Chester County follows a path of progress and preservation in an area often referred to as "the New Main Line." Starting out in the late 19th century, vintage postcards illustrate the area's transformation from pastoral countryside to a much-sought-after suburban locale. Look through a window into the past and see Simpson's General Store in Lionville, the Paoli Inn on Lancaster Avenue, and the French Creek Falls Hotel in St. Peter's Village.