Arcadia Bestsellers

A heritage crafted of elegance and strength.

The wrought and cast ironwork of New Orleans is lauded worldwide for its intricacy and timelessness. Generations of artisans have labored to create the unyielding filigrees that guard windows, doors, and, gardens. Now, award-winning author Kit Wohl eloquently marries her passions for art, photography, and metalwork in this stunning tour of Crescent City craftsmanship. Graced with photographs of the city’s most famed works, histories of each piece and its location transport readers on a journey of elegance and beauty. From the famous cornstalk fence to the storied splendor of the Pontalba Buildings, these vignettes illuminate New Orleans’s rich artistic legacy.

A classic look at old New Orleans.

First published in 1948, this collection of Louisiana tales provides a vintage look at local history. From General Andrew Jackson to Marie Laveau to Paul Tulane, colorful legends of the early Crescent City convey a fascinating, antiquated landscape and its captivating traditions. Cajun's lively characters and locations etch an animated past in which the bayou of yesteryear is authentically recreated on every page.

This book invites the reader to step back in time and imagine the days when ancestors traveled through wooden spans to reach their daily destinations.

Starting in the early 1800s, Pennsylvania's rich forests provided natural material for the construction of more than 1,500 covered bridges across the state. The first covered bridge was built in 1805. Pennsylvania's Covered Bridges looks at the earliest covered bridges as well as those that have survived modern progress. Images also show rare railroad covered bridges that have been saved from destruction over the years.

This section of Uptown New Orleans gets its name from the various colleges and universities, including Tulane and Loyola, that have existed within its boundaries. The architecture of this area ranges from the Gothic universities to the grand mansions of St. Charles Avenue to the modest shotgun homes and cottages scattered around the perimeter.

The Morris Canal was not the longest canal in the world, but it did have one superlative to its credit—it climbed higher than any other canal ever built.

In its time, it was world famous, visited by tourists and technical people from as far away as Europe and Asia.For nearly 100 years, it crossed the hills of northern New Jersey, accomplishing that feat with 23 lift locks and 23 inclined planes.From Lake Hopatcong, the canal ran westward through the Musconetcong valley to Phillipsburg, on the Delaware River, and eastward through the valleys of the Rockaway and Passaic Rivers to tidewater at Newark and Jersey City—a little over 100 miles horizontally and a total rise and fall of nearly 1,700 feet vertically.The Morris Canal, once an important soldier in the American Industrial Revolution, has been gone for most of the 20th century, but its memory lives on in the many photographs, postcards, and other memorabilia that its unique presence inspired.

INDEPENDENT PUBLISHER BOOK AWARDS BEST REGIONAL NONFICTION OF THE SOUTH GOLD MEDAL

“When an elderly couple is charged with murder in the drowning deaths of thirty-five bed-ridden residents of St. Rita’s Nursing Home, an emotional edge-of-your-seat thriller takes off like a shot! The players: a wily and profane defense lawyer, a ferocious prosecutor, vengeful families of the victims, and a ravenous media that brands the defendants ‘Monsters of Hurricane Katrina.’ My advice—block out enough time to read this wonderful book in one sitting.”
—John Berendt, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

  “A passionate and personal book, artfully constructed.”
—Washington Post

  “A war story of jurisprudence. . . . a book you wish wouldn’t end.”
—Daily Beast

Explore the city on the historic New Orleans streetcars!

The streetcar evokes a sense of nostalgia while representing the legacy of America's transportation history. Only in New Orleans can you ride the oldest operating streetcar line in America to reach some of the most interesting places in the city. With detailed maps of all current and anticipated street car lines across the city and stops along the way, this is a practical guide for both tourists and locals alike.

Strange True Stories of Louisiana is Cable’s compilation of seven unusual, factual accounts of life and history in the area. They include tales of two French sisters who made the dangerous trek to the unsettled lands of North Louisiana at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Focusing on New Orleans, Cable adds the story of “The ‘Haunted House’ in Royal Street” and evil socialite Madame LaLaurie, which spurs the imaginations of ghost hunters more than a century after its original writing. There is also a diary account, in its first published form, of a Union woman trapped behind the battle lines during the Civil War.

At the turn of the century, people outside of New Orleans viewed the city through the eyes of journalist and author George Washington Cable. His writings portrayed a tropical European city nestled on the banks of an American river still teeming with the literary, artistic, and social developments of a late Renaissance. In his own romance with Louisiana, Cable came upon many stories written by its denizens. While Cable assisted some authors in finding places to publish their works, there were many stories he kept for himself. Much of this collection can be found in Strange True Stories of Louisiana.

“They are mine by right of discovery,” writes Cable. “From various necessities of the case I am sometimes the story-teller, and sometimes, in the reader’s interest, have to abridge; but I add no fact and trim naught of value away. Here are no unconfessed ‘restorations,’ not one. In time, place, circumstance, in every essential feature, I give them as I got them—strange stories that truly happened, all partly, some wholly, in Louisiana.”

Through historic images, discover the story of Central Illinois’ most integral place in the mid-19th to 20th century: the train depot.

These buildings, home to wooden benches, telegraph equipment, and old train schedules hanging on the wall, were the gateway to the rest of the world. One could catch a train to almost anywhere in the United States back in the day, but during the postwar years of America, the railroad depot faded into history. Decreased train ridership due to the increasing popularity of air travel and automobiles led to thousands of these once-important buildings closing and later being burned or torn down. From larger union depots in cities like Bloomington and Peoria to smaller isolated stops, Central Illinois Train Depots tells the story of buildings that once played vital roles in the development of communities throughout Central Illinois.

Thomas Dyrek, a resident of Central Illinois, is a railroad and history buff who has spent years researching and documenting the area’s railroad history. Historic photographs from his collection as well as several other local railroad fans and historians were selected for this book to tell the story of the area’s railroad depots and their interesting history. Jack Keefe is a noted Central Illinois historian who has written many articles on the area’s railroad history and photographed many local railroad depots in the 1960s and 1970s.

The first inhabitants of Grosse Pointe can be traced back to the mid-18th century, when French farmers occupied ribbon farms on the shores of Lake St. Clair.

Since then, Grosse Pointe has come a long way. The once rural farming community, located on marshland and notoriously difficult to reach, has become home to some of the most prestigious residences in the country. During the early 20th century, Grosse Pointe transitioned from a popular summer retreat for wealthy Detroit families to a permanent home for prominent professionals, who hired the finest architects money could buy to build grand mansions. By the 1930s, Georgian and Tudor residences were commonplace, and Grosse Pointe was a thriving community awash with renowned families, natural beauty, historical architecture, and grand estates.

Katie Doelle is a writer and designer. Originally from England, she moved to Grosse Pointe in 2012 and became fascinated by the architecture. In 2014, she joined the Grosse Pointe Historical Society (serving on the historic plaque committee for two years) and began writing a weekly architectural blog for local realtor Higbie Maxon Agney (HMA). The majority of the images used in the book are from HMA’s archives.

Striking photographs document a time-honored pastime unknown to many outside of New England.

Candlepin bowling is hard.So hard, in fact, that no one has ever bowled a perfect game.The pins are tall and skinny, the balls are small enough to fit in a player’s hand, and the fallen pins are not cleared between rolls.Originating in Worcester, Massachusetts, in the late 19th century and played today mostly in New England and eastern Canada, the game has a rich and colorful history.In the days before automation, sure-footed pin boys manually reset the pins and returned the balls.A long-running, top-rated Boston television show regularly transformed unassuming candlepinners into regional celebrities.And the game has something called a Half Worcester.Author and photographer Susan Mara Bregman bowled at dozens of candlepin centers, combed through dusty archives, and interviewed industry insiders to create this affectionate look at one of America’s quirkiest pastimes.

Founded as a humble trading post along the Mississippi River 250 years ago, St. Louis has since grown into a thriving metropolis.

It appears to be a calm city, but like the mighty Mississippi, it has powerful undercurrents.Known as the “Gateway to the West,” St.Louis was a port city and home to many manufacturing businesses making everything from shoes to ships.St.Louis, though, is perhaps best known for its breweries and distilleries.St.Louis: Out and About in the Gateway City captures the energy of people bustling along the street, dining out and going to movies, hopping a trolley, swimming, picnicking, clip-clopping along in horse and carriage, ice skating, or driving an automobile.It also touches upon issues of the day that had to be overcome—suffrage, the Great Depression, and civil rights, to name a few—and shows the resilient spirit of the people of St.Louis.

A great read for those interested in Wisconsin history as well as those who like a great campfire story, Wisconsin Legends & Lore explores a rich diversity of stories from around the state.

Wisconsin is a land rich with stories. It was the “mother of all circuses,” a place of buried treasure and home to eerie ghosts and monsters. Native American legends, tall tales told at lumberjack camps and taverns, ghost lore and modern urban legends all form the wonderful mythology of the Dairy State. Many know of Rhinelander’s famous Hodag, the Beast of Bray Road in Elkhorn, Milwaukee’s haunted Pfister Hotel and the Ridgeway Ghost. But few have heard obscure tales like the Christmas Tree Ghost Ship of Two Rivers, the Goatman of Richfield’s Hogsback Road and the legend of the Witch’s Tower of Whitewater.

Author Tea Krulos, an expert in all things strange and unusual, digs up Wisconsin favorites and arcane lore.

Accelerated Reader® Selection

Jake and his library book are in a sticky situation in this cumulative tale, an original adaptation of the classic The House That Jack Built. There's the jelly mishap that leads to the hungry rat, whose luck runs out when he's chased by the cat, all before a dog shows up and, well, that's that for the book that Jake borrowed! Will the librarian Jake adores let him have another book? Find out in this hilarious tale filled with hijinks narrated in mixed-media collages and text from Texas librarian extraordinaire Susan Holt Kralovansky!

Repetitive phrases and simple choruses make this an easy beginning for young readers, while the cut paper and fabric collage illustrations add humorous depth to the sequence of unfortunate events surrounding Jake's library book.

Selección de Accelerated Reader®

Jake y su libro de la biblioteca están en una situación complicada en esta historia acumulativa, una adaptación original del clásico La casa que Jack construyó. Hay el percance de jalea que lleva a la rata hambrienta, cuya suerte se agota cuando es perseguido por el gato, todo antes de que aparezca un perro y, bueno, ¡eso es todo para el libro que Jake pidió prestado! ¿La bibliotecaria que Jake adora le prestará otro libro? ¡Descúbrelo en esta divertida historia llena de travesuras narrada en collages de medios mixtos y textos de la bibliotecaria extraordinaria de Texas Susan Holt Kralovansky!

Frases repetitivas y coros simples hacen de este un comienzo fácil para los lectores jóvenes, mientras que las ilustraciones de collage de papel cortado y tela añaden profundidad humorística a la secuencia de eventos desafortunados que rodean el libro de la biblioteca de Jake.

A captivating visual guide to New Orleans's history!

Hailed as being one of the most comprehensive collections of photos, paintings, and drawings on its release in 1971, this educational and entertaining selection is now in paperback! From the city's French and Spanish beginnings to American forces fighting off British soldiers in the War of 1812, this is truly a fascinating compilation. These pages chronicle major historical moments along with the architecture, jazz, scandals, duels, cuisine, and fine arts that make New Orleans an amazing city to behold.

This presentation of the neighborhoods of New Orleans offers an expert's perspective on the city's architectural diversity and details, one block at a time. New Orleans Times-Picayune columnist Stephanie Bruno presents the best of her "StreetWalker" column in this illustrated resource. From the Garden District to Mid-City, each block included features photographs of the homes, a description of the buildings, and a map for easy access.

Possibly the longest Jewish survival account of the Holocaust. An inspirational story lingers behind tales of horror witnessed by thirteen-year-old Mayer Hersh in the labor camps of Nazi Germany. In what is possibly the longest recorded survival of its kind, Hersh would spend a total of 5 years and 2 months in 9 separate labor camps before his liberation in 1945. During this time, Hersh would lose 100 members of his immediate and extended family, witness countless inhumane acts, and live constantly on the brink of starvation. Yet, as author Colin Rushton marvels, he tells his story without bitterness, without rancor, and without hatred because, in a wonderful way, and quite literally, his humanity has triumphed over all the evil he has witnessed and suffered. This tale of a boy's release from Hell ends with a confrontation of the past during his return to Auschwitz in 2002.

Carlisle is the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania.

It is about 18 miles west of Harrisburg, the state capital.Carlisle was planned and founded in 1751 when it was a pioneer town and became the gateway to the westward movement.It was a prominent military post in the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War.Carlisle was the home of two signers of the Declaration of Independence and a heroine of the Revolutionary War, Molly Pitcher.It was also one of the most northern towns occupied by the Confederate army during the Civil War.The town was the location of a number of known manufacturers, such as Carlisle Tire and Rubber Company, Quartz Crystal Company, and C.H.Masland Company.Carlisle is known today as the “Trucking Capital of the World.” It is also the home of Dickinson College, the Penn State Dickinson School of Law, and the US Army War College.

"There is enough detail to give the reader a clear understanding of the war in the far west, which tends to be a forgotten subject."--Civil War Courier

Did you know that eleven days before Fort Sumter, South Carolina, was fired upon, the Civil War had already begun in Texas?

The Civil War in the West has not been the focus of much attention, but it was the location of fierce fighting and stormy conflicts. Not everyone wanted to secede from the Union, although between sixty and seventy thousand Texans volunteered to take up arms. Sam Houston, governor of the territory in 1861, opposed secession and was forced out after the legislature approved it. Texas troops proceeded to conquer the New Mexico Territory (all of the present-day states of New Mexico and Arizona) for the Confederacy.

The war was all the more difficult in the West, because they had a unique problem: defending themselves from hostile Native Americans and Mexican bandits while also fighting the Federal forces. Many skirmishes were fought against those enemies.

This exciting volume tells all about the war in Texas and New Mexico Territory: the intense combat, the brilliant strategies, and the heroic soldiers who fought for their homeland.

Explore Florida's everglades, its history, the native tribes that called it home, and the fight to preserve the grassy wetlands documented through a collection of images.

The Everglades once blanketed a quarter of Florida. Stretching from Lake Okeechobee to Florida Bay, its saw grass prairies, mangrove swamps, and hammocks were home to a profusion of animals, plants, and prehistoric Native Americans, as well as Seminoles, Miccosukees, and Gladesmen of historic times. In 1904, Napoleon Bonaparte Broward ran for Florida governor with the political platform of creating farmland by dredging the Everglades and spilling its water into the ocean. By 1914, this spectacular natural feature was on the verge of destruction, and environmentalist May Mann Jennings led a grassroots movement to preserve Royal Palm Hammock. In the 1930s, Ernest Coe and Marjory Stoneman Douglas fought to preserve a larger area, culminating in the creation of Everglades National Park in 1947.

When the first Tacoma Narrows Bridge opened on July 1, 1940, the bridge was in use for 130 days before it collapsed due to faulty engineering and high winds.

A decade later, following World War II, the second Tacoma Narrows Bridge opened, and it is still in use today. However, due to a population increase over the bridge’s 57 years of use, an additional bridge was opened in 2007 to alleviate increasingly high traffic. The completion of the third bridge allowed vehicle speed to increase from less than 25 miles per hour to the present speed of 60 miles per hour during commuting times. Today, the original bridge opened in 1940 is still submerged in Puget Sound but was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.

Donald R. Tjossem has driven across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge countless times in the more than 50 years he has lived in the Puget Sound region. He is a member of the Washington State Historical Society and the Pierce County Landmarks and Historic Preservation Commission. For Images of America: Tacoma Narrows Bridge, he has gathered photographs from the Washington State Department of Transportation, Tacoma Public Library, Washington State Historical Society, and the Library of Congress.

Enjoy a taste of Louisiana's freshest catches. Whether fried or baked, pan seared or grilled, fish fits any plate and is sure to please any crowd. This collection offers fish lovers an assortment of home-style recipes-which are sure to make the day's catch taste its best-with the biological facts. Also included are discussions on the Louisiana seafood industry past and present and a fascinating essay following a day in the life of a fisherman.

Allentown State Hospital, formerly known as the Homoeopathic State Hospital for the Insane at Allentown, was the first homeopathic state hospital for the treatment of the mentally ill in Pennsylvania.

On October 3, 1912, under the direction of its superintendent, Dr.Henry I. Klopp, the hospital opened its doors to receiving patients. In 1930, Dr. Klopp opened a children’s ward on the hospital’s grounds, one of the first of its kind in the world.Built to alleviate overcrowding in the state mental health system, the hospital quickly exceeded its own occupancy. By 1954, the population of the hospital hit its peak of 2,107 patients. However, Allentown State Hospital would consistently pioneer change in the mental health system until its closure in 2010. In 1993, a dedicated group of employees created the Psychiatric Emergency Response Team (PERT) process to provide a safer response to supporting patients in crisis.By 1998, this approach helped put the spotlight on Allentown State Hospital when it became the first hospital in the United States to go seclusion free.

Steven Royer is a local resident of the Lehigh Valley and supporter of preservation efforts for the adaptive reuse of the property over the alternative choice of demolition. Throughout his studies, he has reviewed over 1,000 documents and has dedicated many hours to talking with both staff and patients of the former hospital. Many of the images contained in this book come from their personal collections and aim to provide an inside view of one of the most progressive mental health hospitals in the United States.

At the turn of the century, people outside of New Orleans viewed the city through the eyes of journalist and author George Washington Cable. His writings portrayed a tropical European city nestled on the banks of an American river still teeming with the literary, artistic, and social developments of a late Renaissance. In his own romance with Louisiana, Cable came upon many stories written by its denizens. While Cable assisted some authors in finding places to publish their works, there were many stories he kept for himself. Much of this collection can now be found in Strange True Stories of Louisiana.

“They are mine by right of discovery,” writes Cable. “From various necessities of the case I am sometimes the story-teller, and sometimes, in the reader's interest, have to abridge; but I add no fact and trim naught of value away. Here are no unconfessed ‘restorations,' not one. In time, place, circumstance, in every essential feature, I give them as I got themstrange stories that truly happened, all partly, some wholly, in Louisiana.”

Strange True Stories of Louisiana is Cable's compilation of seven unusual, factual accounts of life and history in the area. They include tales of two French sisters who made the dangerous trek to the unsettled lands of North Louisiana at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Focusing on New Orleans, Cable adds the story of “The ‘Haunted House' in Royal Street,” which spurs the imaginations of ghost hunters more than a century after its original writing. There is also a diary account, in its first published form, of a Union woman trapped behind the battle lines during the Civil War.

During the 19th century, Paterson, New Jersey, grew from an idea of Alexander Hamilton into a manufacturing and commercial powerhouse. Paterson was a city characterized as “an arm of iron in a sleeve of silk.” A major producer of locomotives and the largest source of silk products in the nation became a fast-growing center of business and commerce. The architecture of the period displays a confidence in the city’s long-term future that created a distinctive and noteworthy urban environment. In addition, Paterson was a gateway city for thousands of immigrant families. Although its long-term prominence as a manufacturing center did not endure, the city’s products and people impacted the nation and the world. The photographs in this book, largely from the archives of the Paterson Museum, highlight the city’s progression during its period of greatest growth and prominence. Focusing on the city’s architectural heritage in a variety of building types, the images illuminate the city’s growth, fortunes, and the heritage of a complex community during its most dynamic period. 

Author Richard Polton is a Paterson native trained in architecture, planning, and urban history. He has compiled photographs from the period to reveal the evolution of the nation’s first intentional industrial city’s transforming the ideas of Alexander Hamilton into a vibrant place that reflects its economic prowess. 

Dive into the military history of Hill Air Force Base as author George Larson explores why this base in northern Utah has played such an important role in supporting the conflicts in both World Wars as well as in Korea and Vietnam, and has helped to develop the United States Air Force into what it is today.

Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) was carved from the environs of Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, at the height of the Cold War with the former Soviet Union.

Originally, the area was a center for cotton production and large mills, but on the eve of World War II, civic leaders sought a US Army initiative that established Redstone and Huntsville Arsenals for the manufacture and stockpile of small solid-fuel rockets and chemical weapons.After World War II, Operation Paperclip brought scientists and engineers from Germany to pursue missile and rocket development at Redstone Arsenal’s Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA) and eventually the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). After establishing the civilian NASA on July 29, 1958, Pres. Dwight D.Eisenhower dedicated the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center on September 8, 1960, to the resolute general, statesman, and “builder of peace.” The president concluded, “May this great center be ever worthy of its honored name.” Following the Mercury and Apollo programs of the 1960s and early 1970s, MSFC’s notable achievements continued with Skylab, Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, Space Shuttle, Spacelab, and the space station. Today, Marshall Space Flight Center, NASA’s leading center for propulsion systems and launch vehicles, supports the lunar missions of Project Artemis.

Cindy Donze Manto, a historian, urban planner, and the author of Michoud Assembly Facility and Stennis Space Center, has assembled a compilation of photographic images and maps culled from an array of libraries, museums, private collections, and NASA.

Based on Corey Geiger's popular Homesteader's Hope column, On a Wisconsin Family Farm flings the barn doors wide open to a cast of characters who built America's Dairyland.

In 1905, twenty-eight-year-old Anna Satorie, granddaughter of Bohemian immigrants, went against cultural norms and became the sole owner of her family's homestead when she purchased the farm from her father. The next year, Anna married neighboring farmer John Burich, also of Bohemian extraction, and the couple went about building a thrifty family farm. But pioneer life was fraught with trials and tribulations. Polio and tuberculosis claimed loved ones, and the difficulties of Prohibition forced the family to fabricate the death of John's bootlegging brother to keep gangsters away from the farm. Neighbors pitched in as fellow immigrant families helped construct farmsteads and support one another through unsanctioned bank loans, daring dynamite work, and barn raisings. Leaving work aside, this vibrant community also threw parties met by the rooster's early-dawn crow.

Pairing his rural roots with lively storytelling, Geiger captures six generations of farming, family, and faith.

Homes of Hollywood Stars highlights the souvenir postcards and folders that were sold to millions of tourists who visited Hollywood between 1920 and 1970—an era known as the Golden Age of Hollywood.

Some of the actors of those years permitted their elegant residences to be photographed for the pleasure of their fans who wanted to know something about the off-screen lives of their favorite players.* Usually located in exclusive communities like Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Bel Air, Holmby Hills, Pacific Palisades, or Palm Springs, the houses were designed to show that the performer had achieved the sort of wealth and acclaim that only Tinseltown could grant.* This book highlights screen favorites such as Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin, Gloria Swanson, Norma Talmadge, Rudolph Valentino, Clara Bow, Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, Norma Shearer, Bing Crosby, Ginger Rogers, Gary Cooper, and Marilyn Monroe.*

From the Age of Discovery and the earliest settlement of America, Midcoast Maine has played surprising roles in America's history.

Europeans might not have survived in the New World without the Kennebec beaver trade, the lessons of the Popham Colony and the friendships Maine's first settlers built. Experience the storied survival of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's military grandfather in precarious Revolutionary Maine and meet resilient, creative, noteworthy and notorious Midcoasters. Pat Higgins recounts Puritan power plays, the sea fight between the Boxer and the Enterprise, duels, U-boats and much more. Discover the fascinating and quirky bits of history that have remained hidden along the rocky coast from Portland to Acadia--until now..

Founded by an eccentric glassmaker named Henry William Stiegel in 1762, Manheim, Pennsylvania was born of entrepreneurship and the hardy, adventuresome spirit of early America.

Despite its founder’s unfortunate financial downfall, Manheim made it through the Revolutionary War and continued to grow into a center of commerce for the surrounding farmland. Through the 20th century, Manheim continually grew in pride of its history and in modernization, as electric lights, piping, and paved roads built up the town’s infrastructure. Today, Manheim remains rooted in industry but also offers visitors and residents a variety of boutiques, art studios, and community events. One can also stroll through the streets of Manheim as though walking through time itself, as many buildings from the early 1900s, the 1800s, and even two from the 1700s still grace the town’s streets, making it an architectural gem.

200 new puzzles about Great Moments in American History in this sequel to the best-selling Great American Puzzle Book—perfect fun for young and old alike!

This is not your average puzzle book! Inside, you will find much more than solutions--you'll also discover centuries of great American history and culture, generations of diverse people, and millions of acres of bountiful land. Whether you are matching U.S. presidents to their Secret Service codenames or combing through a word search for Bigfoot, Another Great American Puzzle Book is bound to keep you entertained for hours. Grab a pencil and happy puzzling!

Beginning in 1974 with 504 students, Atlanta Junior College (AJC) became the 31st institution of the University System of Georgia and the only public two-year college within Atlanta’s city limits. The college has evolved during its 50-year history. AJC grew into Atlanta Metropolitan College in the 1987–1988 academic year. The school underwent another name change in 2012, becoming Atlanta Metropolitan State College (AMSC), an institution that offers bachelor's degrees alongside associate degrees and certificate programs. The college reached its highest enrollment (to date) of 3,129 in 2013. With a championship-winning intercollegiate men’s basketball team, AMSC became the first Georgia institution to rank among the nation’s top five Division I junior colleges for academic performance. Although it has grown from one building to seven facilities on 65.4 acres, the institution remains committed to its mission of being a gateway to an affordable, accessible, and quality college education for students in the Atlanta area and beyond.

Although many towns have changed dramatically from the way they are depicted in old photographs, Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, is an exception.

Thanks to restorations by the National Park Service, the Lower Town of Harpers Ferry appears much as it did in 1859. Established in 1763 as ""Shenandoah Falls at Mr. Harper's Ferry,"" the town became the site of one of Pres. George Washington's arsenals and armories and later was the location for John Brown's ill-fated raid.

This unique compilation of photographs vividly illustrate the architecture, landscape, and day-to-day functioning of Worcester State Hospital from its origins in the 19th century to the present day.

The Worcester State Hospital offered a novel and compelling promise: that insanity could be cured by humane treatment in a therapeutic setting. Patients would enjoy its idyllic landscape, genteel interiors, wholesome food supplied from its farm, and the individualized attention of medical professionals. The hospital’s reputation as a “model institution” helped to position the city of Worcester as an economic center and pioneer in social reform. Yet overcrowding, insufficient funds, and the limitations of medical knowledge undermined the institution’s mission, leading to the abandonment of its original features. Despite downsizing and decay, the Worcester State Hospital continues to exert a tangible presence on the landscape. Its iconic clock tower, salvaged from demolition, stands as a reminder of its historical legacy and of the continuing role of the site—now the Worcester Recovery Center and Hospital—in the treatment of mental illness.

Madeline Ryan and Katherine Anderson have drawn upon their extensive knowledge of institutional history to craft an illustrated narrative of the Worcester State Hospital utilizing photographs held by the Worcester Historical Museum as well as images from private collections.

Located in western Washington, Pierce County includes much of the southern Puget Sound shoreline, the entirety of Mount Rainier National Park, and Fort Lewis Base McChord, along with small towns such as Gig Harbor, Fife, Eatonville, Steilacoom, and Puyallup.

With unlimited fishing and timber available, the area was first settled in the early 1800s. On December 22, 1852, the county was incorporated and subsequently named after Franklin Pierce, the recently elected president of the United States. Pierce County’s development advanced in the following decades with the formation of Frederick Weyerhaeuser’s Weyerhaeuser Company in 1900, the making of pleasure craft and fishing vessels for the county’s seaport industry, and the creation of naval watercraft for World War II. Today, Pierce County is home to almost 900,000 individuals.

Donald R. Tjossem has been a resident of Pierce County for over 30 years and is a member of the Tacoma Historical Society and Washington State Historical Society. He presently serves on the Pierce County Landmarks and Historic Preservation Commission. The images in this book come almost exclusively from the Northwest Room of the Tacoma Public Library.

What was once described as an undesirable swampland has been transformed into one of the most beautiful and wealthiest neighborhoods in America.

Chicago's Gold Coastneighborhood, developed in the late 1800s, was first called the Astor Street District. It was named after one of the first multimillionaires in the United States, John Jacob Astor—even though Astor never lived in Chicago.

In 1885, Astor Street District'sfirst mansion was built. Potter Palmer, a dry goods merchant and owner of the Palmer House Hotel, built his palatial, castle-like residence on the corner of Lake Shore Driveand Banks Street; inside the Palmer mansion were 42 lavishly furnished rooms, which required 26 servants to maintain. Many wealthy Chicagoans followed Palmer's lead and built mansions in the neighborhood. Several homes took up an entire city block and, as time progressed, the name Gold Coastwas adopted. On January 30, 1978, the entire Gold Coastdistrict was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Join authors Wilbert Jones, Maureen V. O'Brien, and Kathleen Willis Morton, longtime residents of the Gold Coast, on an engrossing journey through the neighborhood’s history. Includes archival images along with the more contemporary images of photographer Bob Dowey.

Most visitors travel to Sedona to view the towering red rock sandstone formations dotted with juniper pines and to hike and explore Oak Creek Canyon, along with other beautiful canyons that were once showcased by the Westerns filmed in Sedona.

After the ancient peoples who farmed departed the area, the Homestead Act of the 1870s advertised free land and lured cattle ranchers and farmers, but by the 1960s, tourism reigned, and Sedona became a destination for outdoor activities, art, fine dining, unique shopping, relaxation, and luxury resorts.

Discover the hidden history of the Hudson Valley's Columbia County with local author Allison Guertin Marchese.

Bordered by the Hudson River and the Berkshire Mountains, Columbia County is part of the famously picturesque Hudson Valley region, but these rolling hills hold secrets most have long forgotten. A mastodon tooth rolling down a farmer's hill in Claverack, changing the world's understanding of prehistoric times; the site of New York's last hanging at Hudson's gallows, as hundreds of ticketholders looked on; outcasts called Pondshiners who hid in the hills of Taghkanic, the only sign of their existence being the fantastic handwove baskets made from strips of hardwood. Join author Allison Guertin Marchese as she explores these little-known stories of people and places that create the history of Columbia County, New York.

Join author and Waynesboro native Richard G. Williams Jr. as he expertly traces the harrowing narrative of a prelude to the surrender at Appomattox.

In 1865, Waynesboro played host to the last gasp of the Confederate army in the Shenandoah Valley. Although the Battle of Waynesboro isn't among the most recognizable clashes, such as Gettysburg or Antietam, it still holds a special place in American history. The Union forces, led by General Philip Sheridan, included a young brigadier general named George Armstrong Custer. The battle was also the last major conflict for famed Confederate general Jubal Early, whose defeat during the fight spelled the end of his Civil War service.

Whoa, pardner! Sit y'self down for some good ole storytellin' 'bout the wild, wild West. Western writer Phillip W. Steele and country-music artist John D. LeVan have combined their talents and interests in true stories of the Old West in this exciting narrative and accompanying audiocassette.

Steele's book tells the true story of Jesse James, the Daltons, John Wesley Hardin, Gunfight at the OK Corral, Belle Starr, and Billy the Kid. LeVan's original songs are not only entertaining but also based on the true history of these personalities and events.

Untold stories of Howard County’s rich and fascinating past.

First settled in the 17th century when the area was part of Anne Arundel County, early towns formed around grist mills. Nearby quarries and mills shaped Ellicott City before the more well-known impact of the B&O Railroad in the 1830s. Cotton mills flourished, and mill towns like Savage grew. In the 20th century Savage briefly became the Christmas capital of the country. It was also a well-known sundown town. Historically Black communities dealt with battles over education as the state emerged from segregation. Development brought suburban neighborhoods and change to rural areas, and planned communities like Columbia affected Guilford and other surrounding towns.

Local authors Nathan Davis and Wayne Davis explore local myths and uncover erased histories.

A female Paul Revere, 16 year old Sybil Ludington's heroic actions helped  the army win many battles in the Hudson Valley of New York. Read the fascinating story of her life and legacy.

The Revolutionary War in the Hudson Valley inspired the rise of heroes and heroines alike. On a rainy night in 1777, sixteen-year-old Sybil Ludington mounted her beloved horse and rode forty miles through enemy-infested Putnam County to warn her father’s regiment of impending British raids. Riding twice the distance of Paul Revere and under more dire circumstances, her heroic efforts helped position the Continental army in subsequent battles. A widow at a young age, Sybil became a successful businesswoman in a male-dominated profession and lived in the region for her remaining years. Through family documents and correspondence, author Vincent T. Dacquino charts the incredible life and legacy of Sybil Ludington.

The Yuma Proving Ground’s early history began in 1849 with the establishment of Army outposts in the region.

When the United States entered World War II in 1942, the Army established a large-scale training center that expanded from eastern California into western Arizona. Gen. George S.Patton Jr. was assigned to develop the Desert Training Center as a location to train personnel and test equipment in the harsh desert for the war effort. As part of the Desert Training Center, Camp Laguna and the Yuma Test Branch were founded to conduct specific training and testing in support of the war effort. In 1951, the Yuma Test Branch was renamed the Yuma Test Station, and by 1957, the Army began training personnel on military freefall.In 1963, the Army renamed the Yuma Test Station as the Yuma Proving Ground. Today, the Yuma Proving Ground stands near the original sites with the continued task of testing equipment and training personnel.

Lt. Col. Scott Laverty is a 29-year veteran of the US Army Reserves and holds a graduate degree in military history. He has drawn on the archives of the Yuma Proving Ground Heritage Center, the General Patton Memorial Museum, the Yuma Quartermaster Depot Historic Park, the Yuma County Library District’s Heritage Library, and various other museums and archives to provide this historical account of the fascinating history of the Army’s Yuma Proving Ground.