American Biographies - History Books

The Next Generation Indie Book Awards Winner 2024

Corey Geiger, international agricultural journalist and author of On a Wisconsin Family Farm, pairs his rural roots and lively storytelling talents to capture six generations of life in America’s Dairyland.

After his mother Anna was killed by a train, Elmer Pritzl was thrown into adulthood at the tender age of sixteen. A clever and crafty fellow, Elmer quickly found work at the local foundry. Promoted to foreman by age eighteen, he began supervising men double and even triple his age during the depths of the Great Depression. However, that professional career track ended abruptly five years later when Elmer fell in love with a farmer’s daughter, Julia Burich. Six months after their wedding, Julia’s father passed away, and with no living male relatives left in her life, Julia’s mother, Anna Burich, asked, “Elmer, will you run my farm?” So, Elmer, born a city boy, transformed his life and began a love affair with a Wisconsin family farm.

Chrissie Hynde, Devo..Rubber City Rebels...The Rubber City's rebel musical roots

Music made in Akron symbolized an attitude more so than a singular sound. Crafted by kids hell-bent on not following their parents into the rubber plants, the music was an intentional antithesis of Top 40 radio. Call it punk or call it new wave, but in a short few years, major labels signed Chrissie Hynde, Devo, the Waitresses, Tin Huey, the Bizarros, the Rubber City Rebels and Rachel Sweet. They had their own bars, the Crypt and the Bank. They had their own label, Clone Records. They even had their own recording space, Bushflow Studios. London's Stiff Records released an Akron compilation album, and suddenly there were Akron Nights in London clubs and CBGB was waiving covers for people with Akron IDs. Author Calvin Rydbom of the Akron Sound Museum remembers that short time when the Rubber City was the place.

Explore the grizzly tale of Charleston's most infamous serial killers from the beginning of their reign of horror till their eventual incarceration and execution.

In 1819, a young man outwitted death at the hands of John and Lavinia Fisher and sparked the hunt for Charleston's most notorious serial killers. Former homicide investigator Bruce Orr follows the story of the Fishers, from the initial police raid on their Six Mile Inn with its reportedly grisly cellar to the murderous couple's incarceration and execution at the squalid Old City Jail. Yet there still may be more sinister deeds left unpunished, an overzealous sheriff, corrupt officials and documents only recently discovered all suggest that there is more to the tale. Orr uncovers the mysteries and debunks the myths behind the infamous legend of the nation's first convicted female serial killer.

Ghost stories from Winston-Salem, North Carolina have never been so creepy, fun, and full of mystery!

The haunted history of Camel City comes to life—even when the main players are dead. Take a look at the cursed painting that once hung in the Zinzendorf Hotel. Or look for ghosts in the houses that line Poplar Street. Dive into this spooky chapter book for suspenseful tales of bumps in the night, paranormal investigations, and the unexplained; just be sure to keep the light on.

Ghost stories from America’s Steel City have never been so creepy, fun, and full of mystery!

Pittsburgh’s haunted history and local legends come to life—even when the main players are dead. Find out if the ghostly entities at the Monongahela Incline actors or specters. Learn about the restless ghost of Henry Clay Frick lurking in his beloved Clayton. Discover that multiple Carnegie libraries are visited by the undead. Dive into this spooky chapter book for suspenseful tales of spirits and phantoms, bumps in the night, paranormal investigations, and the unexplained; just be sure to keep the light on.

Colorado’s First Tourist

In the mid-1800s, Anglo-Irish aristocrat Sir St. George Gore embarked on an ambitious expedition through the Rocky Mountains. His extravagant hunting party slaughtered thousands of animals during their tour through the beautiful Colorado Territory and left multiple landmarks bearing his name behind them. Gore Creek, Gore Lake and the Gore Range are just a few of the scenic vistas surrounding Vail, Colorado, that testify to a visit from a man who was, in essence, just a tourist passing through. Today, the legitimacy of his legacy is often questioned, although the man himself remains largely a mystery.

Join investigative journalist John LaConte as he uncovers the real story of Sir St. George Gore, who left his name scattered across the Colorado landscape.

Crime and Punishment

In the fall of 1920, two couples pulled into a campsite just off the famous Yellowstone Trail. A few weeks later, one couple drove away, while the other simply vanished. The identities and fate of the couple left behind didn’t hit newsstands until three years later. In one of the most sensational murder cases ever played out in a Montana court, Seth Orrin Danner put up a fight for his life and lost. The state executed Seth on July 18, 1924, at the Gallatin County Jail, but did he commit the crimes?

Historian Kelly Hartman follows the trail of the Danner family from Kansas to Montana and details the trial of the century, trying to decipher what truly happened in Central Park on that grisly day.

Follow your faith each day alongside Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln carried in his pocket a spiritual book of days titled A Believer’s Daily Treasure, which was originally published in the mid-1800s. There is speculation that the devotional may have been given to Lincoln by his wife Mary. Applewood’s 2015 edition of the book includes an introduction by Carl Sandburg, which was first published in a 1957 edition. Elegantly stamped in a hardback edition, this title is perfect for any person of faith, Lincoln lover or history buff.

When Rubén Castilla Herrera died suddenly in 2019, he left an acute void in Ohio's grassroots organizing community. Notably at the forefront of many regional social justice campaigns, his life and work still reverberate through the lives of those he fought so hard for: immigrants, refugees, farmworkers, the displaced, and many, many others who refuse to simply comply with injustice. Synthesizing oral histories, community voices, and ideas from queer Latinidad and migrant worker activism, Trust the Circle details Herrera's intimate and vulnerable way of seeing the world and his role in it as an agent of change. Here, you'll learn about: - His childhood in Texas and Oregon, where he and his siblings were forced into agricultural labor after the early death of their mother, and where Herrera first encountered the Chicano activism of César Chávez and Dr. José Ángel Gutiérrez. - His move to Columbus, Ohio, and the development of his unique circle-based leadership approach. - His coming-out as a queer Latinx man in middle age. - His tireless work toward the end of his life to help provide sanctuary for undocumented migrants during the Trump administration.  Marked by the voices and remembrances of those who knew Herrera best, Trust the Circle is a biography about one grassroots organizer and the profound changes he was able to accomplish. But it's also about the ways that an intersectional and inclusive approach to organizing can be applied anywhere there is injustice.

These pictorial images of Greek heritage illustrate the people and events that have shaped the culture and history of Tarpon Springs.

Beginning in 1905, large numbers of Greeks from the Dodecanese and Saronic Gulf islands settled in Tarpon Springs to work in the sponge business. They significantly expanded the industry and changed Tarpon Springs forever. Greektown flourished with residences, stores, churches, restaurants, and recreational facilities stretching from the sponge docks to downtown. Sponge fishing and related activities served as the economic base for the community. By 1913, as many as half of Tarpon Springs residents were reputedly Greek, and many businesses displayed both Greek and American flags. Today, Tarpon Springs' Greek community preserves a strong ethnic and maritime heritage. While some major US cities have a larger Greek population, no other has a greater percentage with Greek heritage than Tarpon Springs.

Swedes of Greater Worcester captures the area's Swedish heritage through a collection of images that displays everything from vintage weddings to ski-jumping events and stories known only by the families of the Swedes who first traveled to Worcester. These images represent a time when the Swedish element was a vital and vibrant part of the identity of the greater Worcester area.

For over one hundred years people have been coming to Atlantic City to swim in the ocean, walk on the boardwalk, and get away from their day-to-day lives.....

Return to the halcyon days of the sand and sun as local writers and long-time locals present stories from Atlantic City's heartwarming past.

Detailing the salacious history of Baltimore and its denizens from the city's earliest history up to and through Prohibition.

With nicknames such as ""Mob Town"" and ""Syphilis City,"" no one would deny that Baltimore has its dark side. Before shows such as ""The Wire"" and ""Homicide: Life on the Streets"" brought the city's crime rate to national attention, locals entertained themselves with rumors surrounding the mysterious death of writer Edgar Allan Poe and stories about Zelda Fitzgerald, wife of author F. Scott Fitzgerald, who spent time in a Baltimore area sanitarium in the 1930s.

Tourists make the Inner Harbor one of the most traveled areas in the country, but if they would venture a few streets north to The Block on Baltimore Street they would see an area once famous for its burlesque shows. It is only the locals who would know to continue north on St. Paul to the Owl Bar, a former speakeasy that still proudly displays some of its Prohibition era paraphernalia.

More than four decades after it occurred, the murder of Athalia Ponsell Lindsley remains notorious… and unsolved.

The only eyewitness said a man attacked Lindsley with a machete in broad daylight on the front steps of her white mansion. Gossip swirled that neighbor Frances Bemis knew who killed Lindsley and would notify authorities. Bemis was later murdered on her nightly walk. Author Elizabeth Randall puts the rumors to rest through research culled from over one thousand pages of depositions, records, official county documentation and interviews.

Milwaukee is best known for its beer - and rightfully so. But in the days of Prohibition, the big alcohol suppliers were not Miller, Blatz, Schlitz, and Pabst.

The Mafia had control, and it made its money by running alcohol as far away as Canada and Indiana, as well as with counterfeiting, the numbers racket, and two of the biggest heists in American history. From then on, the sky was the limit, as the Mafia indulged in extortion, protection rackets, and skimming from Las Vegas casinos. The Cream City had its crooked lawyers, corrupt cops, and even a mayor on the take. There was the blood of those who dared to stand in the syndicate's way, who were found dead in ditches or as victims of car bombs. The members of the Mafia included doctors, real estate men, restaurateurs, tavern owners, funeral directors, union presidents, and the most famous Milwaukee gangster of all, Frank Balistrieri. While now considered extinct, the Milwaukee Family was once a dominant force in the Midwest.

This book documents the history of Thalhimers department stores, through stories and vintage photographs.

Thalhimers was founded in Richmond in 1842 by German Jewish immigrant William Thalhimer as a humble dry goods store. It expanded over the years to become a 26-store chain across the Southeast under the leadership of William's great-grandson, William B. Thalhimer Jr. It boasted the latest in clothing, shoes, and accessories for the entire family, the most modern of housewares, and gourmet foods and baked goods, including the iconic six-layer chocolate cake. Through decades of dramatic political and social change, Thalhimers stood strong, guided by the overarching philosophies of honesty, integrity, quality, and service. Loyal and devoted employees were the heart of Thalhimers, becoming part of the extended Thalhimer family. Sadly, in 1992, as a result of retail consolidation, the Thalhimer name was dropped and the flagship downtown Richmond store closed. A 150-year legacy ended, leaving behind cherished memories, stories, and images.

Settled in the 1640s and originally a part of Charlestown, Malden grew over two centuries into a thriving residential and manufacturing city.

Meet fiery revolutionary Peter Thacher and Malden industrialist and philanthropist Elisha Converse. Explore the details of the first bank robbery homicide in the United States. Learn about Malden's instructions for independence, which predated the Declaration of Independence. Delve into the suspicion and intrigue surrounding the infamous murder of Frank Converse. Author Frank Russell brings to life the first 250 years of Malden history.

The Santa Clara Valley, with its rich soil and sunny weather, has been home to great diversity and great innovation long before it became known as Silicon Valley.

California’s first immigrants from Mexico were astonished by its beauty. “The land is moist and the hills have an abundance of rosemary and herbs, sunflowers in bloom, vines as plentiful as a vineyard,” wrote one. From the movie stars of Hollywood’s golden era who once came to play to billionaires who grew apricots for pleasure, the valley has hosted orchards, electric railroads, Army camps and even a love-struck poet.

Join author and historian Robin Chapman as she uncovers the true tales of this ever-changing place.

Ghost stories from Plymouth, Massachusetts have never been so creepy, fun, and full of mystery!

The haunted history of America’s Hometown comes to life—even when the main players are dead. Keep your eye out for the spirits of former Plymouth natives who were buried on Cole’s Hill. Or catch a glimpse of ghostly Revolutionary War soldiers wandering down North Street. Dive into this spooky chapter book for suspenseful tales of bumps in the night, paranormal investigations, and the unexplained; just be sure to keep the light on.

Ghost stories from the Ohio State Reformatory have never been so creepy, fun, and full of mystery!

The haunted history of the OSR comes to life—even when the main players are dead. Visit the reformatory and risk being punched by a long-dead prisoner. Or listen for the ghostly voices of former guards and convicts echoing through the halls. Perhaps you’ll encounter the spirit of a neighbor who still patrols the road outside the prison! Dive into this spooky chapter book for suspenseful tales of bumps in the night, paranormal investigations, and the unexplained; just be sure to keep the light on.

Ghost stories from the Grey Ghost herself have never been so creepy, fun, and full of mystery!

The RMS Queen Mary’s famous haunted history comes to life—even when the main players are dead. Meet Little Jackie, the ship’s most playful ghost, see Winston Churchill, who hangs out at the restaurant, and explore the spectral vortex in the first-class pool. Dive into this spooky chapter book for suspenseful tales of bumps in the night, paranormal investigations, and the unexplained; just be sure to keep the light on.

Ghost stories from Southwest Pennsylvania have never been so creepy, fun, and full of mystery! 

The haunted history of Prescott comes to life—even when the main players are dead. Walk across the haunted bridges of Beaver County. Or take a drive down Shades of Death Road, but beware of wandering spirits. Dive into this spooky chapter book for suspenseful tales of bumps in the night, paranormal investigations, and the unexplained; just be sure to keep the light on.

Even beyond Atlanta, this amazing, Moorish-style icon is known by most not by its legal name, the Fox Theatre, but as the Fabulous Fox.

Constructed in the late 1920s as a temple for the Yaarab Shrine, the imposing yellow-brick building was designed to out Baghdad Baghdad in its elaborate Middle Eastern appearance. But the onion-domed exterior with its faux prayer towers is nothing compared to the elaborate interior. Movie mogul William Fox leased the auditorium from the Shriners in 1929, transforming it into a movie palace like no other. The theater became a place of spectacular premieres and world-class performances until changing times threatened its very existence in the 1970s. The campaign to Save the Fox proved more dramatic than some of the performances that graced Fox's own stage. Today, the Fabulous Fox is one of Atlanta's best-known and most cherished landmarks.

A legendary Coast Guard hero, Jack Downey saved more than 700 lives in 5,000 daring New England rescues.

During a storied forty-two-year Coast Guard career, John “Jack” Downey, a Rhode Island native, would be credited with saving more than 700 mariners in distress during five thousand rescues in New England waters. Across thousands of missions, Downey and his crews rescued 11 passengers from the ferry Sea Comet and 108 elderly passengers from the Pilgrim Belle, and he participated in search-and-rescue efforts for the air crashes of JFK Jr. and EgyptAir 990.

A natural-born leader, Downey was named the Coast Guard’s first Ancient Keeper for his lifetime commitment to keeping people safe on the seas.

Authors Captain Russ Webster and Captain Michael Cicalese recount the extraordinary career of this lifesaver and how he honored the old ways of the sea while serving in three different government departments.

Same Crime, Different Time

Oregon gained statehood in 1859, but law and order had a harder time gaining a foothold in the West. Born and raised near Eugene, popular Lane County Sheriff W.W. Withers was shot while investigating a horse theft. The trial for his murder would end in the county’s last official hanging. Convicted killer Claude Branton, desperate to escape prison, went so far as to try to hold up the guards with a potato carved into the shape of a gun. The risk of death in the logging industry was high, and even technological advancements like electric streetlights posed a hazard for locals.

Author Jennifer Chambers brings to life the love, greed and madness of early Eugene.

Author Christopher A. Kennedy shares the story of the Voice of the Bulldogs. Dave Nitz was the voice of Louisiana Tech University sports for half a century, his distinctive voice emanating from Tech fans’ radios. A West Virginia native, Nitz dreamed of broadcasting in the big leagues. Little did he know that his Hall of Fame broadcasting career would take him to Ruston, Louisiana. Along the way, Nitz worked with country music icon Tom T. Hall in West Virginia and covered William & Mary University football under Lou Holtz. At Tech, Nitz gave voice to the basketball greatness of Karl “The Mailman” Malone and the national champion Lady Techsters. He called gridiron action from Maxie Lambright through unforgettable upsets of Alabama and Michigan State. Author Christopher A. Kennedy shares the story of the Voice of the Bulldogs. As Nitz would say, “You gotta love it!”

Taming a Tumultuous Territory

Hollywood westerns of the twentieth century brought a history of raucous frontier justice to life, but 1800s Colorado was anything but fiction. Bandits held up the Denver and Rio Grande train at Unaweep Switch, while another gang stole $50,000 from the express car at Cotopaxi. “The Bloody Espinosas,” who left mutilated bodies along lonely mountain trails, terrorized southern Colorado. The Reynolds Gang held up South Park stagecoaches, while Tom McCarty and Matt Warner robbed banks. These unruly times demanded a society where the law prevailed. Dave Cook started the Rocky Mountain Detective Association and improved crime fighting methods. Tom Tobin tracked down two serial killers using his wilderness skills. Doc Shores, who always got his man, earned his nickname, “the Bloodhound.” Author Nancy K. Williams hunts down the good, the bad and the ugly characters who color Colorado’s past.

Notable Quotations from Frederick Douglass

This pocket-sized hardcover book contains dozens of quotations from abolitionist, orator, social reformer and statesman Frederick Douglass.

"No man can put a chain about the ankle of his fellow man without at last finding the other enfastened about his own neck." —Frederick Douglass, Speech at Civil Rights Mass Meeting, Washington, DC, October 22, 1883

After the Civil War, Black landownership in Fairfax County increased by leaps and bounds.

By the 1870s, retired Union officers were purchasing land that they sold to African Americans like Joshua Ball, Joshua Pearson, Robert Bradley and John Coates. Merrifield, the Pines and Williamstown soon emerged as vibrant communities founded by born-free Blacks, the formerly enslaved and their descendants. These African Americans quickly established farms to provide for their families and engaged in truck farming to stimulate trade. They formed charitable organizations and a church. Unfortunately, from the 1960s through the 1980s, these towns disappeared due to eminent domain practices, modern progress and gentrification. Historian Marion Ransell Dobbins unearths the legacy of these vanished communities.

A memoir of a life in activism by one of the original defendants in the Trial of the Chicago 7, subject of the 2020 Oscar-nominated Aaron Sorkin film of the same name.

In March 1969, eight young men were indicted by the federal government for conspiracy to incite a riot at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. First dubbed the Conspiracy 8 and later the Chicago 7, the group included firebrands like Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, and Bobby Seale. But it also included a little-known community activist and social worker from the South Side of Chicago named Lee Weiner, who was just as surprised as the rest of the country when his name was included in the indictment. The ensuing trial of the Chicago 7 became a media sensation, and it changed Weiner's life forever. In this irreverent, freewheeling memoir of an indelible moment in history--which Kirkus Reviews called a welcome addition to the library of the countercultural 1960s left--Conspiracy to Riot shows how a commitment to your ideals can change your destiny forever.

With startling relevance to today's polarized political climate, Conspiracy to Riot is a book for anyone who hopes for a better, more just world, and offers a blueprint for how to make it happen.

The true story of Marshall "Major" Taylor, who overcame racial prejudice to become one of the most dominant cyclists in history. Part of Belt's Revival series and with an introduction by Zito Madu.

The Fastest Bicycle Rider in the World, which Taylor self-published in 1928, gives a riveting first-person account of his rise to the highest echelons of professional cycling. Born in Indianapolis, he eventually became the first African American cycling world champion, going on to set seven world records in the sport. Readers will learn about Taylor's exploits as an athlete, including his early taste of success in a grueling six-day race, his unparalleled dominance as a sprinter, and some of his most bitter defeats. But the man who achieved international fame as the "Black Cyclone" also details the extreme prejudice he faced both on and off the track. It's a story about one of the greatest athletes in American history but also a moving testament to Taylor's resilience and determination in the face of overt racism and seemingly impossible odds.

As he tells us himself, "I am writing my memoirs . . . in the spirit calculated to solicit simple justice, equal rights, and a square deal for the posterity of my down-trodden but brave people, not only in athletic games and sports, but in every honorable game of human endeavor."

Folktales, hidden treasures and witchcraft.

The towering skyline of New Brunswick stands in stark contrast with the swampy ceder forest it emerged from in the late 1600s. While the city grew over the original Lenape settlement of Ahanderamock, its history was passed on through whispers of tales both real and imagined. In the Buccleuch Mansion, a skeletal figure dressed as a British Grenadier is said to stagger the halls with a lantern, and at Rutgers University tales of secret societies swirl through campus. Long-lost pirate treasures, some rumored to be connected to mysterious clues etched in stone, remain undiscovered to this day.

Author Mark Neurohr-Pierpaoli uncovers the mysterious stories lurking below the surface of New Brunswick. 

A magnificent landscape of rugged peaks, impenetrable rainforest and wild coastlines, Washington’s Olympic Peninsula makes a perfect setting for the unexpected.Dive into the stories of pioneers who created wealth and celebrity out of threadbare beginnings and immigrants who found fleeting success in Port Townsend. Discover the unsavory methods of land-grabber Daniel Pullen, who became indirectly responsible for the creation of the Quileute Reservation, and the rumrunning escapades of Claude Alexander Conlin, magician and con man.Author Carol Turner shares tales of daring and desperation amid the remote towns and beautiful scenery of the Olympic Peninsula.

In the history of Cleveland television, there is no more formidable pioneer than Betty Cope .

From her entry-level position as a receptionist at WEWS in 1947, Cope rose up the ranks to become the producer of some of the area’s most memorable early local programs. Together with a group of concerned citizens, she founded Cleveland’s educational television station, WVIZ, in 1965.

Under her management, Channel 25 became one of the nation’s largest producers of instructional classroom programming. Throughout Cope’s twenty-seven-year tenure, WVIZ maintained high-quality programming standards, and she kept her station financially sound largely through the funds raised from the popular annual televised Auction. After TV, she embarked on a new career as an advocate of land conservation and park preservation./

Compiling original interviews and never-before-seen photos, author Christine Martuch tells story of one of Northeast Ohio’s most remarkable women.

Ghost stories from the Berkshires have never been so creepy, fun, and full of mystery!

Welcome to the spooky Berkshires!

Stay Alert! Ghosts lurk around every corner. Even the most unexpected places might be haunted by wandering phantoms.

Did you know that at the Mount, the former home of famous author Edith Wharton, a shadowy phantom haunts the halls? Or that a ghost train still steams through the Hoosac Tunnel? Can you believe there's a top-hatted ghost who wakes guests in the night at the historic Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge?

Pulled right from history, these ghostly tales will change the way you see the Berkshires forever, and have you sleeping with the lights on!

A small town no more.

Happy Valley’s transformation from an isolated, rural farming community to one of the most popular places to live in the Portland metro area didn’t happen all at once. With its fertile volcanic soil, it was once the ideal place to settle for many families coming to the Oregon Territory, including the Deardorffs and the Talberts. As the town slowly grew, residents like James Robnett, the first mayor and Ed Rebstock, known as “Mr. Happy Valley,” left their marks on the locals and the land. When the town’s population exploded in the 1990s, newcomers brought prosperity and growing pains as they sought a balance between green spaces and urban amenities.

Join author Mark W. Hurlburt as he traces the origins of Happy Valley.

Maine has a collection of unique characters and tales that has helped to shape its identity. Meet the Artist Who Played Robin Hood, the Hermit of North Pond and the Mysterious Billy Smith.

Uncover the state’s hidden gems with stories like the Midas Scam in Lubec, which left investors with little but salt water to show for their investment. From the tragedy of the Wreck of the Circus Ship to the uplifting story of the Schoolgirl Ambassador, Maine author and veteran storyteller Jim Harnedy brings out the offbeat characters and events that have made the Pine Tree State so unique.

Read the history of the Raytheon Company, which has played a big part in the growth of America and in WWII and the Cold War., as well as in consumer electronics.

Raytheon's history is one of the great American success stories. Launched in 1922, theCambridge-based company quickly moved to the forefront of innovation in the electronics industry. During World War II, thousands of Raytheon workers contributed to the war effort, supplying eighty percent of the magnetron tubes (vital components for U.S. and British radars), developing miniature tubes for the crucial proximity fuse in anti aircraft shells, and providing entire radar systems. Although government contracts slowed after World War II, Raytheon continued to develop military components, including leading-edge radars and missiles for America's defenses in the Cold War, but it also began to offer a host of civilian products: the famous RadaRange (the world's first microwave oven), televisions, marine radars, transistors, miniature hearing aids, and medical equipment.

Spokane’s early years were marked by an unchecked underworld of greed and sinister dealings.

Houses of ill-repute and homebrewed whiskey abounded, and hidden tunnels beneath the streets helped to stoke the lawlessness. Famous cowgirl Calamity Jane loved to deal faro when visiting the city and it’s rumored that outlaw Butch Cassidy¬¬, after a bit of plastic surgery, chose the city to live out the rest of his life in relative peace. A corrupt police department did little to curb the influence of the wealthy and those seeking to make their fortune through bootlegging, prostitution or gambling.

Join author Deborah Cuyle as she uncovers the colorful past of the Lilac City.

Discover the rich history of Moravians in North Carolina through the lens of over 200 vintage images.

Members of the Moravian Church who settled in North Carolina were meticulous record keepers, documenting almost every aspect of their day-to-day lives. A significant part of those records is preserved in the form of photographs. Moravian photographers-both professional and amateur-created an enduring legacy by capturing their society and surroundings in faithful detail. Their photographs, which record the towns of Bethabara, Bethania, Salem, Friedberg, Hope, and Friedland, as well as other communities throughout the state, provide a rare glimpse into the historic world of Moravian life in North Carolina.