Arcadia Bestsellers

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

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

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

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

Diners of the North Shore is a fascinating collection of many previously unpublished images from the golden age of the diner.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

Discover the lively and lesser-known history of the Green Mountain State.

Vermont's history is marked by fierce independence, generosity of spirit and the saga of human life along its steep slopes and fertile valleys.

Meet the widow who outwitted Tories and may have spied for the Green Mountain Boys. Encounter the family who gained a national following by summoning spirits. Discover why one governor opposed women's suffrage and how that may have involved spirits of another sort. Visit an island retreat where Harpo Marx cheated at croquet and satirist Dorothy Parker wore nothing but a garden hat.

Historian Mark Bushnell offers a glimpse of the Green Mountain State rarely seen.

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

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

The story of Vineyard transportation and the story of evolution and innovation.

Getting to Martha's Vineyard has never been easy. Native Americans built canoes for the journey, and early settlers crossed Vineyard Sound in small sailing packets. Steamships dramatically changed island life. On the island, the horse-drawn trolley evolved into the electric trolley. Tourists and residents crowded railroads until they were replaced by the automobile. The story of Vineyard transportation is the story of an evolution of man and machine, of opportunity and necessity, of dependence and cooperative efforts. Join local historian Tom Dresser as he traces the changes in island living brought about by these transportation innovations.

Join Bielawa as he navigates a precarious path through the unforgettably macabre and scandalous misdeeds of Bridgeport.

Beneath the smokestacks of the gritty cityscape of Bridgeport, Connecticut is the shocking criminal underbelly of this New England community. Sin and vice have long had a home on the shores of the Long Island Sound, and Bridgeport's sinister past is littered with tales of pirates, mobsters, bizarre Victorian murders, and even rumors of a doctor's attempts to reanimate the dead. Historian Michael J. Bielawa investigates such bizarre crimes as the unsolved murder of philanthropist James Beardsley, and the grisly discovery in Yellow Mill Pond during the 19th century, which helped legitimize forensic science. Join Bielawa as he navigates a precarious path through the unforgettably macabre and scandalous misdeeds of Bridgeport.

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

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

Maine gravestones from the 1800s were decorated with snapped flower buds, broken tree branches, and cracked columns to reveal that those buried below died before their time. From lightning strikes to shipwrecks, accidents to disease—and even a sensational murder—there were many causes for these untimely deaths. Bessie Oliver came home to South Portland to die, bringing secrets she’d kept from her family that wouldn’t be revealed for one hundred years. In Biddeford in 1878, Rose Vincent became a victim of a sensational murder perpetrated by her jealous boyfriend. Priscilla Burnham was a pauper in Scarborough who lived most of her life under town care and was buried twice without a gravestone. Award-winning cemetery historian and guide Ron Romano uncovers how mysterious symbols, epitaphs, monument forms, and cemetery landscapes tell the stories of those whose lives were cut short.

The Era of Grand Hotels and Resorts, and the Efforts to Preserve Vermont's Past.

Northern Vermont was bustling with resorts and grand hotels in the nineteenth century.

New Englanders came to take in the country air. Patients from across the country drank from the mineral springs and tried to improve their health. People from around the world visited and experienced the unmatched beauty, the quiet calm, and the small-town atmosphere. French Revolutionary War hero General Lafayette, Henry David Thoreau, and famous speakers like Henry Ward Beecher all came to this part of the country to write and reflect.

From Burlington to Sheldon, from Highgate to the Lake Champlain Islands, some of the buildings have faded from memory, while others have been lovingly restored to their former glory.

Award-winning teacher and author Jason Barney uncovers slice-of-life stories, humorous moments, and the history behind some of the state’s most beautiful hotels.

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

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

Home to Yale University and once inhabited by Native Americans and settlers, New Haven has a long and fascinating history.

Originally inhabited by the native Quinnipiac, the Puritans traded blankets and wares in 1638 to acquire land destined to be a prosperous mercantile port. New Haven became a manufacturing center and was the carriage and corset capital of the world, while also being a leader in clocks, firearms, hardware, and oyster harvesting. Charles Goodyear and George W. Bush once called this city home, and Yale has attracted famous people such as Eli Whitney and Bill and Hillary Clinton. Within New Haven, antique and modern views are juxtaposed and vividly display the effects of mass redevelopment and industrial decline in the Elm City, while showing the development of community and economic prosperity in the 21st century.

The ultimate office, man-cave or fan-cave decoration for the Boston sports fan, this full-color matted poster print features the jerseys of five Boston sports legends - Boston Red Sox legend Ted Williams #9, the great Larry Bird #33 of the Boston Celtics, iconic Boston Bruins player Bobby Orr #4 and the winningest Super Bowl Quarterback of all-time, Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots. The poster art is from "B is for Boston," the beloved alphabet book that features the the things that make Boston so special, including the most iconic Boston players. This bold, graphic print is printed on high-quality paper and is ready for framing. This print makes the perfect gift for fans of Boston sports.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Boston has a long history with distilled spirits, from Colonial times through Prohibition. More recently, there has been a resurgence in the craft distilling industry from Cape Ann to Cape Cod.

Regional standouts such as Boston Harbor Distillery, Bully Boy Distillers and Short Path Distillery have opened up a new era, with more than a dozen new businesses now on the scene.   The ingredients, production processes and marketing techniques are as varied as the beverages themselves.

Join author Zack Lamothe as he reveals the backstory of the popular craft spirit movement in the greater Boston area.

Author Christopher Pagliuco reveals the all-but-forgotten stories of these Connecticut heroes.

When Puritans Edward Whalley and William Goffe joined the parliamentary army against King Charles I in the English civil wars, they seized an opportunity to overthrow a tyrant. Yet when his son, Charles II, regained the throne, Whalley and Goffe were forced to flee to the New England colonies aboard the ship Prudent Mary--never to see their families or England again. Even with the help of New England's Puritan elite, including Reverend John Davenport, they struggled to stay ahead of the authorities in Boston, New Haven, and the outpost of Hadley, Massachusetts. Though forced to live out the rest of their lives fugitives, these former major generals survived frontier adventures in seventeenth-century New England, and became embedded in early United States history.

Blending personal reminiscence and history, this affectionate look at the life on Martha's Vineyard in the recent past and present chronicles its change from a predominantly farming and fishing community to a tourist haven