Arcadia Bestsellers

Cleveland's Ohio City Neighborhood is a testament to unity and resilience, and the ability of neighbors to come together and live in harmony despite their differences, creating a thriving urban melting pot.

Ohio City’s story begins with conflict. The 1836 “Battle of the Bridge” pitted neighbor against neighbor, yet the story evolved into one of connection, symbolized by the grand bridges that would later unite Cleveland’s east and west sides. Following its 1854 annexation to Cleveland, Ohio City developed into a remarkable urban tapestry where immigrant workers’ homes and mansions shared the same neighborhood. The iconic West Side Market has anchored a vibrant commercial district through generations, its clock tower standing sentinel over a neighborhood shaped by breweries like Leisy and Schlather that reflected the area’s strong German heritage. Franklin Boulevard emerged as the west side’s “Millionaire’s Row,” home to industrialists and civic leaders, including the Rhodes family and Marcus Hanna. Through decades of change—from urban renewal to today’s thriving craft brewery scene—Ohio City’s historic architecture and cultural landmarks have endured.

Thomas Kaschalk, founder of My Cleveland History and volunteer researcher for the Cuyahoga County Archives, brings Ohio City’s rich heritage to life through vintage photographs. Drawing from the Cleveland Public Library Photograph Collection, the Cleveland Memory Project, and various historical archives, this visual history captures the spirit of one of Cleveland’s most distinctive neighborhoods.

Readers will be drawn to the quaint feel of suburban Pennsylvania that author Michele Murray has captured within these pages.

Drexel Park, founded in 1924, is a result of the city of Philadelphia bursting at its seams as it experienced an industrial boom fueled by advances in manufacturing, transportation, and technology. Having maintained dominance as the largest port in North America for nearly 150 years, rapid industrial growth led to mass overcrowding, which forced the expansion of urban neighborhoods and the creation of new suburban neighborhoods. The founder of Drexel Park, Thomas Conway Jr., was educated at the University of Pennsylvania and was a professor of finance at the Wharton School. He originally established himself as an interurban railroad innovator by transforming failing railroad lines into profitable businesses. Conway revolutionized suburban planning by leveraging existing railroad connections to develop a rural community near Philadelphia. He donated land for a local public hospital and used cutting-edge marketing techniques to attract clients, shaping his vision of an “ideal community.”

The Drexel Park Homeowners Association celebrated Drexel Park’s centennial in 2024. Committee chairperson Michele Murray, working with the history committee, researched Drexel Park’s unique history and compiled its origins and development, drawing on photographs and anecdotes from residents, local historical societies, and museums.

Venice’s remarkable history covers its growth as an agricultural community in the nascent days of the Florida land market expansion with developers and promoters such as Bertha Honoré Palmer and Dr. Fred Albee.

Its growth seemed assured when the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers decided to develop it as a planned community to be a vacation spot and retirement destination. The Great Depression dashed those plans, and the city teetered on the edge of becoming a historical footnote until it was saved by two key occurrences. The Kentucky Military Institute decided to take advantage of its climate and its railroad to use it for its winter quarters. The other was based on the efforts of another local promoter, Finn Caspersen, who in the days before World War II convinced the Army that the local vacant land and year-round flying weather would be perfect for an Army Air Corps training base. These events reinvigorated the area and foretold its growth into the city known today.

Author Margaret Mackle Kapustiak is a local historian, genealogy speaker, and researcher. The images in this book are courtesy of local city and county museums, libraries, archives, and historians. 

The modern city of Alamo, where “Winter Texans” come to enjoy the “Land of Two Summers,” is far different from what Peter Ebenezer Blalock and George T. Hawkins from Mississippi envisioned as a great cattle ranch when they purchased 32,000 acres of Spanish land grants on the north side of the Rio Grande. In 1909, the land was sold to John T. Beamer and his backers, who envisioned a sugarcane empire; they formed the Alamo Land and Sugar Company. The sugar market collapse led to colonization, bringing trainloads of prospective buyers to Alamo who would mainly farm and open businesses. The Alamo townsite was incorporated in 1924 and celebrates its 100-year anniversary in 2024. In that time of development, the community witnessed steady economic growth. Its history includes raids by Mexican bandits, a taxi driver helping catch a bank robber, a mayor and a former police chief duking it out, the tragedy of a train/truck crash killing 34 farmworkers, damage from Hurricane Beulah, and gaining one of the largest flea markets in Texas.

History buff authors are Alejandro Oyoque, director/curator of the City of Alamo Museum, and Herb Moering, a 20-year Alamo resident and a journalist originally from Wisconsin. Both are Friends of the Alamo Museum members.

Ever since Rev. Abraham Pierson of Bradford, Connecticut, brought his collection of 400 books to Newark in 1666, the city has had libraries. First attached to churches and schools, these private libraries catered to audiences for specific purposes; they were not open to all. In 1887, the citizens of Newark voted to establish a free public library, the Newark Public Library, which became the seventh in the state of New Jersey. Since then, trustees, directors, and staff members have contributed to the overall success of the library through their dedication to its services and collections. They have done so at the main library on Washington Street, built in 1901, and at the various branches constructed across the city in the 1920s. A legacy, consisting of dedicated librarians and clerks who provide excellent services and inspiring programs based on unique collections, has been maintained with community support for over a century.

William A. Peniston was the librarian and archivist at the Newark Museum of Art for 25 years (from 1995 to 2021). He was also the archival consultant for the Librariana Collection (the institutional archives) at the Newark Public Library from 2013 to 2014. He is the author of Images of America: Newark Museum of Art (2023).

The town of Vassalborough, Maine, was incorporated in 1771. The town clerk modified the spelling of the town to Vassalboro’ in 1851 and then to Vassalboro in 1861. The town is nearly 48 square miles in size and is comprised of six distinct areas. With a connection to the Kennebec River and its lakes and ponds, Native Americans had a presence here for over 8,000 years, establishing seasonal villages and using the waterways for fishing. Shipbuilders rolled their completed ships to the Kennebec River, and many mills used waterpower provided by the streams. The American Woolen Mill in North Vassalboro won a gold medal for its cassimere fabric at the world’s fair in London in 1851. Wonderful historic buildings still line the streets, including the Vassalboro Historical Society’s Taylor’s House and Blacksmith Shop and Lampson’s Harness Shop as well as the town’s first firehouse. The Revere House in East Vassalboro once provided lodging to guests who were often ferried to the nearby Bradley’s Island in China Lake for bowling, dancing, and dining. Oak Grove School brought to Vassalboro students from all over the world. While Vassalboro has changed from the mill town it was in the 1800s, it remains a family-focused community, providing a sense of warmth, history, and continuity.

The Vassalboro Historical Society is proud to share the photographs and information from its vast collection. 

Long known for its Dutch heritage associated with windmills, tulip festivals, and distinct surnames, there is more to share about the town of Clymer. Traveling country roads through the rolling hills of southern Chautauqua County, a fertile valley with a village at the center that features a lone flashing red traffic light can be found. Established in 1821, Clymer has a rich history and a proud tradition of both individual and community accomplishment. Self-reliance and an entrepreneurial spirit led to the creation of public utilities, flourishing businesses, and schools that educated future professionals and farmers alike. Its small-town charm remains today, with an amazing one-stop general store, an all-you-could-need hardware store, and a widely known and popular restaurant with delicious sweet rolls.

As a retired teacher who grew up in Clymer, Rod Beckerink shares photographs and stories that act like individual pieces of a puzzle that, when put together, give a better understanding of what shaped the Clymer of today. With images primarily collected from the Clymer Area Historical Society, readers can take a trip down the nostalgic memory lane of Clymer’s past to catch a glimpse of the people, places, and events of the area’s interesting history.

Hampstead is a charming New Hampshire town with a deep history dating back to its founding in 1749, when Gov. Benning Wentworth incorporated the land surrounding his farm property on what is now known as Governors Island. Hampstead, both past and present, evokes an appreciation of a quaint village lifestyle. Included in this curated collection of the town’s history are early photographs of well-known landmarks like the Old Meeting House, built in 1745, and its Paul Revere Jr. bell that still proudly rings today as well as generations of Hampstead families enjoying everyday recreation, including summers spent on the three town lakes. The impact of the railroad coming to town in 1876, the factories and farming economies, celebrated town officials, and school days of the past can all be found in these pages.

Established in 1874 as an agricultural lifeline, La Plata County, Colorado, has played many roles. /

European Americans were drawn to the region by the promise of mineral wealth and the mining industry. Agriculture, smelting, transportation, and commerce grew to offer support. As the county matured, its Old West features were discovered, and it was dubbed “Hollywood of the Rockies” when movies were filmed there from the 1940s to the 1960s with notable stars such as Clark Gable, Jimmy Stewart, Marilyn Monroe, Paul Newman, and Robert Redford. The 20th century brought energy extraction and commercial growth, but as the recreational opportunities in the region started to be discovered, La Plata County became a destination for outdoor pursuits. The county has 14,000-foot peaks, rivers, and hundreds of miles of hiking, biking, and ski trails. Today, tourism and recreation drive the economy much as the mining industry once did. /Within these pages, historical photographs from the archives of the La Plata County Historical Society illustrate the many facets of this Colorado county. Edward Anthony Horvat is a third-generation La Plata County native; his grandparents all came to the county between 1905 and 1911. A retired nurse-paramedic, Horvat volunteers at the historical society’s Animas Museum and writes the weekly And the West Is History feature in the Durango Herald newspaper.

The Odd Fellows of North Portland were ordinary blue-collar workers who were able to have an extraordinary impact on their community through the tools they learned from organizing as a lodge. Lodges were a safety net for these workers, as they were one of the only sources at that time for insurance and sick pay. William Killingsworth, a charter member of Peninsula Lodge and whom Killingsworth Street is named after, believed this to be true, so he formed an investment company that began connecting the other North Portland communities via rails. As these communities were connected, Odd Fellows lodges sprang up. First was Peninsula Lodge No. 128. Then there were Woodlawn, Laurel Lodge, and Kenton Lodge, which later became Star Lodge, a lodge for police officers. Over the years, other lodges formed as well. Now, they have all closed except for Peninsula, which thrives because it was able to adapt to a modern approach for operating a lodge. 

Author David D. Scheer is a fifth-generation Odd Fellow and has been involved in the fraternity for 43 years. Bruce Haney is the author of two other Oregon history books. Many of the photographs come from the archives of the Museum of Odd History as well as the St. Johns Heritage Association and the Odd Fellows Grand Lodge of Oregon.

Explore the history, architecture, and people, from the very rich to the very poor, who have chosen Woodmere Cemeteryto be their final resting place.

In 1867, a roomful of men gathered in the office of a noted attorney to discuss Detroit's need for a rural cemetery. They decided to form an association and invested their own money to purchase a plot of land that had once been occupied by Native Americans and then French settlers, a few miles from the heart of the city.

They chose this heavily wooded area because it offered many acres of land that could accommodate the growing need for more burial space, and it became the cornerstone of one of the city's oldest and most historic cemeteries, Woodmere Cemetery. Cemetery acreage has been bought and sold, and buildings on the grounds have been raised and later razed. Funeral procedures have changed, as well as cemetery ownership. Still, Woodmerehas remained one of Detroit's most beautiful treasures, where visitors can take a historical step back into time.

Through archival images, Detroit's Woodmere Cemeterytakes a look at the movers and shakers of Detroit found in these bucolic grounds and glimpses the ordinary citizens who have lived and died through extraordinary circumstances.

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

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

This fascinating photographic history tells the story of Hudson, a peaceful New England town with a rich history.

The first resident of Hudson, John Barnes, came to the area in 1698 and built a gristmill by a waterfall on the Assabet River. Later, a sawmill was built, followed by several small industries that huddled around the mill. By 1850, railroads came to the area, now called Feltonville, as did many factories. In 1886, the area became the Town of Hudson, and it continued to grow with modern factories, a more diversified industry, banks, schools, and a wonderful new town hall. The people of Hudson have always had an exemplary pride and courage in times of struggle. During the Civil War, several local homes were stations in the Underground Railroad, and many Hudson men took up arms to defend abolition. In 1894 disaster struck when a fire grew into an inferno and destroyed more than 40 buildings in the heart of the town. The same citizen zeal and courage that originally built the town built a new town to rise in place of the ashes.

Atlantic City Revisited documents the fascinating history of this famous New Jersey city.

In 1854, a group of engineers and railroad businessmen drew a straight line from Philadelphia to the New Jersey coast, built a railroad along the line, and created Atlantic City. From the 1850s to the 1950s, the city attracted the creme of American society and the working class alike and gave birth to the beauty pageant, rolling chair, boardwalk, saltwater taffy, jitney, and the successful Monopoly board game. But the onset of air travel in the 1950s and the aging grand hotels brought Atlantic City to its knees. The opening of Resorts International in 1978 and the prosperous gaming business that followed in its wake helped the city rise from its own ashes, and a year-round tourism industry exploded. Garish and opulent casino hotels replaced many of the boardwalk dowagers, and new palaces transformed the once desolate marina section into a vibrant destination.

Founder Henry S. Sanford envisioned a place that would become the transportation hub for all of southern Florida and dubbed it ""The Gate City of South Florida.""

The city that became Sanford, named for its founder, is located in central Florida on the shores of Lake Monroe and the St. Johns River, a short distance from old Fort Mellon; with its railroad and riverboat connections, as well as well-planned businesses and residential areas, Sanford became a great center for trade. The citrus industry thrived in Sanford, as well as the harvesting of celery, and by the early 1900s, Sanford was one of the largest vegetable shipping centers in the United States and was nicknamed "Celery City'?. A disastrous fire, disease, and a deep winter freeze were just some of the early setbacks the city overcame, and today, Sanford is a progressive city that still retains its quaint charm and is dedicated to remembering its beginnings.

From its humble beginning as the Hopkin Club to its current status in the 21st century, the Scarab Club in Detroit focuses on fine, performing, and technical arts and is still housed in its original 1928 building.

On the cusp of its centennial anniversary, the Scarab Club (founded in 1907) weaves itself into the city of Detroit's and the state of Michigan's artistic cultural heritage, a historic local, state, and national landmark. The club's exhibitions, programs, and costumed balls, the prominent visitors' and members' signatures on the second-floor beams, and the architectural decor of the clubhouse combine for its unique distinction. From its inception, the Scarab Club's mission has been to educate and enlighten its members and the community in the arts. The organization maintains a clubhouse for the exhibition of arts, provides facilities for artists for the advancement of their craft, and for other activities directed toward the education in the arts.""

VIew Cincinnati via photography and the history of the Italians that began immigrating and populating the area since the 1800s.

Italians of Greater Cincinnati focuses on the Italian immigration into the Cincinnati area beginning in the early 1800s. The northern Italians were the first to arrive, followed by those in the south of Italy, including Sicily. In the spring of 1892, plans were being made to build a Catholic church for the estimated 4,000 Italian immigrants. In 1897, two biological Italian immigrant sisters, who had joined the religious order of the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati, Sr. Blandina and Sr. Justina Segale, began their life's work with the poor immigrants living in the Cincinnati area. Today descendants of these early immigrants, as well as those who arrived in the 20th century, continue to celebrate their rich Italian heritage through social clubs and community involvement. The photographs contained in this volume detail the lives of the Italians as they strived to become Americans.

Starting as an ice-cream truck in 1929; Carvel has became the standard of ice-cream franchises across America.

When an unassuming, wide-eyed, young Greek immigrant arrived in America in 1910, the world did not yet know that this boy named Tom Carvel would grow up to be an inventor, an innovator, and, ultimately, an American icon. Holding a host of jobs, from drummer to mechanic, Carvel's relentless entrepreneurial spirit led him down a path less traveled. At 26 years old, Carvel met his future wife, Agnes Stewart. He borrowed $15 from her and began selling ice cream out of the back of his truck. What started as an old truck plugged into a pottery store is now more than 500 franchised locations throughout the nation and abroad and is one of the best loved and most recognized names in the industry. Fulfilling the American dream, Carvel is credited for patenting machinery, coining the ""buy one get one"" coupon, starring in his own commercials, and being the ""father of franchising.""

Assateague, a sandy, marshy, and swamp-like land off the coast of the Delmarva Peninsula, is a paradise to beach lovers, bird watchers, photographers, hunters, and fishermen.

The Native American tribes who inhabited the area for generations before the first European colonists found an abundant supply of waterfowl, fish, and shellfish for hunting and fishing; Assateague was patented in 1687, and early settlers farmed, raised livestock, cut timber, and had salt works. The construction of the Assateague Lighthouse in 1833 encouraged the growth of the village, and in 1875, the Us Life Saving Station was established. Between the 1930s and 1960s, villages migrated from the area, lured by amenities on nearby Chincoteague, the effect of land surrounding the village being purchased by the government and the automation of the lighthouse, as well as a number of devastating storms that caused significant damage to the barrier island. The US Fish and Wildlife Service purchased the island in 1943 as a national wildlife refuge, and the national seashore was established in 1965 to preserve Assateague and its surrounding waters.

Daphne, the Jubilee City, is home to people who came to partake of the rich resources of Mobile Bay's eastern shore.

They gathered to collect seafood miraculously washing ashore during the phenomenon of jubilee. They gathered under the spreading oaks to hold councils and along the bayfront to escape the perils of yellow fever across the bay in Mobile. They gathered for clean spring waters and rare pottery clay, to greet the bay boats, and to farm the rich soil. Daphne's heritage is one of a gathering of peoples, and Images of America: Daphne documents that heritage.

In 1915, the general assembly appointed the Providence Water Supply Board to condemn 14,800 acres of land in rural Scituate. The hardworking people of the five villages were devastated.

By December 1916, notices were delivered to the villagers stating that the homes and land they had owned for generations were to be taken and destroyed. Construction was well under way by 1921, and water was being stored by November 10, 1925. On September 30, 1926, the treatment plant began operation. It now serves more than 60 percent of Rhode Islanders. The $21 million project was the largest ever undertaken in the state at the time. The dam that annihilated the villages is 3,200 feet long and 100 feet high and holds back more than 40 billion gallons of water. Today these quiet villages lie up to 87 feet beneath the cold, dark waters of the Scituate Reservoir.

Located in upstate New York on the western banks of the Mohawk River, Schenectady's Historic Stockade District is recognized as New York's first local historic district.

As one of the oldest European-settled areas in the United States, the Stockade contains the highest concentration of historic buildings in the country, over 40 of which are older than 200 years. As a result of the Stockade's longitude, a mix of architecture from 17th century Dutch to modern US design exists within the four blocks that make up the historic Stockade. Through photographs and maps, Schenectady's Stockade: New York's First Historic Districttells the story of one of America's earliest and longest lasting communities.

Hudson River Bridges documents how these structures remain beautiful testaments to cooperative efforts during trying times in America's history.

The Hudson River Valley, an invaluable connection between New England and the rest of the colonies during the American Revolution, continues to be a major crossroads today. The Hudson River bridges were architectural marvels of their time. The Bear Mountain Bridge was the longest suspension bridge, while the Newburgh Beacon second span was built with a new type of weathering steel. The bridges were constructed during important times in history. The Bear Mountain Bridge was built as the automobile became an integral part in the country's development, and the Mid-Hudson Bridge was built during the Depression. Labor disputes helped develop labor laws, and world wars led to changes in activity on the bridges.

Explore the fascinating history of Detroit’s Gesu Catholic Church and Schoolthrough the images and stories of the people who were there.

In a reconfigured farmhouse just a mile outside of the city limits of Detroit, a Jesuit priest and 25 men, women, and children gathered to celebrate Sunday mass on March 19, 1922.

The Reverend John McNichols named the Catholic mission church Gesu, the Italian word for Jesus.Gesubecame one of Detroit's landmark parishes. Its history illustrates the Motor City'sboom, bust, resilience, and resurgence. It was the home parish of four Detroit mayors, powerful members of Congress, auto industry titans, sports legends, artists, authors, and actors. At its peak in the mid-1960s, GesuSchool enrolled 1,600 students. Because of Detroit's decline and its racial and economic struggles, Gesuis one of only four Catholic elementary schools that remain in the city. But as Detroit rebounds, Gesu Schoolis growing again.

Author Patricia Montemurri is an award-winning Detroit journalist whose in-laws were the church's architects and stained-glass designers.Gesu'shistory unfolds here through vintage photographs from the parish archives, the Sisters Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the University of Detroit Mercy, the Walter P. Reuther Library, the Michigan Catholic, and the albums of Gesuparishioners and graduates.