Arcadia Bestsellers

Unbeknownst to most of the city’s inhabitants, a rural community of garbage workers once existed on a now-vanished island in New York City.

Barren Island was a swampy speck in Jamaica Bay where a motley group of new immigrants and African Americans quietly processed mountains of garbage and dead animals starting in the 1850s. They turned the waste into useful industrial products until their eviction by Robert Moses in 1936, all in the name of progress. Barren Islanders built businesses, fought fires, demanded a public school and worshipped at churches as they created a quintessentially American community from scratch. Author Miriam Sicherman tells the story of a Brooklyn neighborhood lost in the annals of New York City history.

Explore Seabreeze Park, one of America's oldest amusement parks, and the tragedy that spawned a revitalization of the historic park.

In operation since 1879, Seabreeze Park is the fourth-oldest operating amusement park in the United States. Mixing old and new within its gates, the park's attractions range from a vintage 1920 Jack Rabbit roller coaster and a tree-lined midway to a kiddieland and waterpark. George Long Sr. came to the shores of Lake Ontario as a concessionaire in 1904, and his son assumed ownership of the park by the 1940s. Over the years, the Long, Norris, and Price families have propelled the park through changing times and perilous fires. In 1994, fire destroyed the heart of the park, its carousel. Recognizing the damage as an opportunity to revive the cherished ride, the family relied on more than a century of experience to inspire and hand-craft a new antique carousel. In an age of corporate theme parks, Seabreeze Park endures as one of the country's favorite family-owned and -operated parks.

Discover the history of Folly Beach and how it transformed over the years from Coffin Island to a popular vacation destination.

Folly Beach was not named for its carefree inhabitants' lifestyles, but it is a fitting moniker nonetheless. Originally dubbed Folly for its dense foliage and forests just across the marsh from James Island and Charleston, the six-mile sliver of land has served as an outpost for Civil War soldiers, an inspiration to George Gershwin, and a place of fond memories for thousands of residents, vacationers, and day-trippers seeking time to relax in the sea and sand. Long before Folly became a place for respite and relaxation, however, it served as a quarantine island for sick sailors, forebodingly referred to as Coffin Island. By the 1950s, Folly's dark history was sufficiently replaced with an amusement park, bowling alley, and moonlight dances out on the pier.

Cups, Cones & Claims to Fame in the Buckeye State

Pawling, New York is a charming town offering stunning scenery steeped in history.

Originally formed from the Beekman Precinct on May 20, 1769, the town of Pawling has been called the Hudson Valley’s best-kept secret. Despite being connected to Manhattan via the Harlem Line, the town and village of Pawling have never let go of their picturesque charm. The grand vistas continue to provide the same unimpeded views they have for centuries. Pawling was the site of General Washington’s headquarters in 1778 and the residence of two-time Republican nominee for president Gov. Thomas E. Dewey. It has been called home by some of the richest and most famous people in the United States, and yet it retains its modest and unassuming character. Pawling has always been a curious mix of farmers, politicians, merchants, artists, and entrepreneurs. For more than 200 years, both the affluent and ordinary men and women of the area have benefited from the undeniable scenic beauty of Pawling.

In Pawling, author Max Weber has written a comprehensive history of this remarkable area. He has worked at the Book Cove for over 12 years and is a member of the Historical Society of Quaker Hill and Pawling. This book is a product of his gratitude for the community and its inhabitants.

Drink up the history of one of the most famous beer towns in the world.

Milwaukee is most famous for its booming brewing industry, which is directly tied to a surge in German immigration in the 1840s. These new citizens brought along their work ethic, culture, and a love for their native beverage. Not all immigrants arrived from Europe; many, like Richard Owens, came from Britain. Owens has been credited with establishing the first commercial brewery in the area in 1840. Other men followed, many of whom were already experienced in brewing, and seized the opportunity to start new businesses. Brand names were carved on the front of brewery buildings, deals were made with a handshake, partnerships were cultivated, and factory cities were raised. By 1860, nearly 200 breweries were in operation in Wisconsin, with more than 40 in Milwaukee alone. Of the original 40, four have stood the test of time: Blatz, Pabst, Schlitz, and Miller are still brewed in Milwaukee, right where they were born.

Nicknamed "Liquor Island," Long Island was rumrunner's paradise during Prohibition.

With its proximity to major markets and coastal communities for easy transit, Suffolk County was awash in illegal hooch. Smugglers bringing cases of booze from offshore often secretly hid product temporarily in local garages and sheds, leaving a bottle as a thank-you. Coded communication crisscrossed the county on shortwave radios arranging sales and logistics. Violence from criminal outfits disrupted previously quiet towns, as locals too often were swept up in dangerous unintentional engagements with bootleggers.

Pour one out and join author Amy Kasuga Folk as she recounts stories from Suffolk County's Prohibition era

Regardless of how the name came to be, many agree that Jamaica Plain is one of the loveliest areas of New England.

Stories abound as to how Jamaica Plain derived its name; some trace it to the flow of rum shipments to the port of Boston following Oliver Cromwell's seizure of Jamaica in 1660, but whatever the true origin of the name, the area has a rich and colorful history that flows from its rural, pastoral beginnings in the 17th century and into the 21st. Jamaica Plain today is one of Boston's great suburban neighborhoods, but it has not always been connected to the city. Jamaica Plain first became a part of Roxbury, and later West Roxbury, and served as a summer playground for influential Bostonians before becoming part of Boston in 1874. The neighborhood's beauty has been protected by such visionaries as Benjamin Bussey, who bequeathed his estate to Harvard College for what is now the Arnold Arboretum, and Henry A.S. Dearborn, the former mayor of Roxbury who established the Forest Hills Cemetery. Today, the neighborhood is a bustling suburban spot that has preserved its natural beauty and resources.

The lives of the Native American, African, and European inhabitants of Bertie County have not only shaped, but been shaped, by its landscape.

One of the oldest counties in North Carolina, Bertie County lies in the western coastal plains of northeastern North Carolina, bordered to the east by Albemarle Sound and the tidewater region and to the west by the Roanoke River in the piedmont.

The county's waterways and forests sustained the old Native American villages that were replaced in the eighteenth century by English plantations, cleared for the whites by African slaves. Bertie County's inhabitants successfully developed and sustained a wide variety of crops including the ""three sisters""-corn, beans, and squash-as well as the giants: tobacco, cotton, and peanuts. The county was a leading exporter of naval stores and mineral wealth and later, a breadbasket of the Confederacy.

Bertie County: An Eastern Carolina History documents the long history of the region and tells how its people, at first limited by the landscape, radically altered it to support their needs. This is the story of the Native Americans, gone from the county for 200 years but for arrowheads and other artifacts. It is the story of the African slaves and their descendants and the chronicle of their struggles through slavery, the Jim Crow era, and the Civil Rights Movement. It is also the story of the Europeans and their rush to tame the wilderness in a new land. Their entwined history is clarified in dozens of new maps created especially for this book, along with vivid illustrations of forgotten faces and moments from the past.

Safety Harbor’s five natural mineral springs have drawn visitors and residents to the shores of Old Tampa Bay for centuries.

A ceremonial mound erected by indigenous peoples offers proof of human life stretching back before written history. Spanish explorers landed here in the 16th century, and 300 years later, the first seeds of Florida’s citrus industry were planted by Odet Phillipe. The Florida boom of the 1920s brought development and population growth. Expansion stalled during the Great Depression, but after World War II, Safety Harbor became a tourist destination for the rich and famous, permanently changing the city’s future. Images of the past create a nostalgic reminder of hardy people and their perseverance despite devastating hurricanes and fires. The timeless tranquility of sunrises and sunsets and Spanish moss draped from massive oaks endures throughout this historical, artsy city on the bay.

Laura Kepner is coauthor of A Brief History of Safety Harbor, Florida; author of the children’s book When Lourdes Was Big; and former editor of the literary journal Odet. She serves on the boards of the Safety Harbor Museum & Cultural Center and the Whispering Souls African American Cemetery. Since 2008, Kepner has walked the land of the Tocobaga, ever in awe.

From Durham, North Carolina's start in the tobacco and textile industries, the stories of the history and evolution of the Bull City are fascinating and sometimes unexpected.

From the Cigarette City to the City of Medicine, Durham has progressed from a country crossroad, famed for rum and rowdiness, to a prosperous metropolis, renowned for medical research and advanced technology. Recognized as a thriving point in North Carolina's Research Triangle, the city began along industrial and commercial networks as early as the seventeenth century, paving the way for famous beginnings in the distinctive tobacco and textile industries. From its roots in the agrarian Carolina backcountry to its foundation as a railroad stop, growth into a tobacco-based industrial area, and transformation into a coming-of-age city, the Bull City story is wrought with tales of coincidence, good fortune, and unexpected outcomes. Durham exists through quirk and happenstance, derived from a slave's drowsiness, a textile tycoon's authority, and the union of a widower and the county's loveliest girl. The developing city embodies the spirit of these unique beginnings.

Starting long before North Carolina was established and extending to the present, Durham: A Bull City Story recounts the engaging, comprehensive history of an environmentally and culturally rich area of the state. A myriad of first-hand accounts allow the reader to mingle with Durham's residents throughout significant historical times.

Known for The Fest, Less Than Jake and Hot Water Music, Gainesville became a creative hub in the 1980s and '90s for many of punk rock's greats.

Whether playing at the Hardback or wild house parties, earnest acts like Against Me!, Spoke and Roach Motel all emerged and thrived in the small northern Florida city. Radon burst onto the scene with chaotic energy while Mutley Chix helped inspire local torchbearers No Idea Records. Through this succinct history, author Matt Walker traces each successive generation's contributions and amplifies the fidelity of the Gainesville scene.

From Tory plantation to a thriving and diverse city, discover Greenville's transformation through time and the prominent people who called the city home.

In a state famous for secession and Old South ideals, Greenville stands as one of South Carolina's most precocious and complex communities. Settled in the inviting shadows of Paris Mountain along the Reedy River, both city and county struggle between the traditional values of a distinct Southern heritage and the progressive trends of a growing and diverse population. Throughout the mid-1800s to the late 1960s, Greenville embraced, even thrived, on this conflict, turning tension into opportunity and creating a remarkable society of savvy entrepreneurs, enlightened educators, talented writers, and triumphant athletes. In this volume of over 200 seldom-seen images, Greenville offers a fascinating glimpse at the people, the schools, and the businesses that dramatically transformed a Tory plantation into a sprawling metropolis. From the rustic portraits of mineral springs and mansion resorts to the snapshots of fast trolleys and overcrowded cantonments, this book highlights a special place that was home to Shoeless Joe Jackson and Jesse Jackson and played host to global notables, such as Albert Einstein and Ronald Reagan.

From 1837 to 1900 the tiny borough of Stonington, Connecticut was a major transportation hub on the route between New York and Boston. Steamboats leaving Manhattan followed Long Island Sound to Stonington Harbor where passengers boarded trains for the rest of the journey to Providence or Boston.

Stonington's Steamboat Hotel, built in 1838 near the piers and railroad yard, was home to saloons, restaurants, a pool hall, a cigar shop, a tailor and a barber shop. Merchants, hotel keepers and saloon workers passed through the building, each with their own unique story. Many of them were immigrants or first-generation Americans, and they are a window onto a late 19th-century class of merchants and service workers.

Join local author Stuart Vyse as he reveals a lively portrait of remarkable harmony in a small village that was far more diverse than it is today.

In 1685, Dutch merchants Francis Rombout and Gulian Verplanck received their Crown patent for the purchase of what is known as the Rombout Patent.

This was the first and largest portion of Dutchess County to be licensed for purchase from the Wappinger Indians. The town of Fishkill covers only a small portion of this 85,000-acre parcel of land, but it played an important role for years to come in the shaping of the region and the nation. In this vibrant new pictorial history, over 200 vintage images bring to life the changes that have occurred over the past century in this Hudson Valley community, from Dutchess Junction, Timoneyville, Glenham, and Brockway, to Baxtertown, Osborn Hill, and Brinkerhoff Ville. Readers learn more about the key role that Fishkill played during Revolutionary times, and view area homes where notables like Lafayette, George Washington, and Generals von Steuben, McDougal, and Putnam headquartered.

Leslie Pielack tells the story of those whose lives intertwined with the Saginaw Trail, the ancient path that transformed early Michigan.

The Saginaw Trail led from the frontier town of Detroit into the wilderness, weaving through towering trees and swamps to distant Native American villages. Presenting a forbidding landscape that was also a settlers' paradise, the road promised great riches in natural resources like lumber and agriculture, and a future of wheeled vehicles that would make Michigan the center of a global industry.

Middleburg was established in 1787 by Leven Powell, one of Virginia's founding fathers.

Following a long decline after the Civil War, the arrival of foxhunting in 1904 gave the town an international reputation for breeding, showing, and racing Thoroughbred horses. Over the ensuing decades, Middleburg would undertake significant historic preservation, but the town would also be remarkable for its laissez-faire attitude toward the rich and famous. Movie stars and presidents were seduced not only by Middleburg's horses, hounds, and history, but also by its respect for the privacy of its more renowned residents and visitors. In Middleburg, photographs from the collections of local residents Howard Allen and Tyler Gore as well as from the National Sporting Library, the Library of Congress, and other sources were chosen to reflect the character and charm of this historic village.

Cape Cod has a rich tradition of local lore, stretching back to a time before the Pilgrims arrived.

Ancient Wampanoag legends like Granny Squannit and Princess Scargo are as familiar as tales of pirates and explorers, including Black Sam Bellamy and Donald Baxter Macmillan. Felines often blocked Cat's Alley in pursuit of food from fishermen's boats. The remnants of Billingsgate Island can be seen at low tide, and visits from Jenny Lind and Helen Keller contrast with the mysterious stories of the Lady of the Dunes and New England's Dark Day. Author Robin Smith-Johnson shares historic tales of shipwrecks, murders, hauntings and more from the Cape.

Recapturing the people and places that made downtown Rochester's golden era special.

Downtown Rochester is defined by Main Street, State Street and the major crossroads of those streets. It is the core of one of New York State's most important cities.Rochester's Downtownrecaptures the time when it bloomed as a mecca for daytime workers and shoppers and for an evening's entertainment at vibrant social centers. It celebrates the people of this great city as they progress from their early beginnings to create a dynamic business center. This excellent collection of images regenerates the excitement of riding the trolley, watching a movie at the Palace or the Capitol, window-shopping at the Duffy-Powers Store and tasting frosted malteds at Sibley's or warm doughnuts from the Mayflower Donut Shop or spoonfuls of roasted peanuts from Mr. Peanut Man. The narrative recalls Scrantom's as the place to buy books, Neisner's having the latest 78-rpm records, McCurdy's and Edward's with their special holiday displays, Eddie's Chop House for memorable dinners, and the Century Sweet Shop for after-theater sundaes among the many unforgettable venues of this great city.

This strategic location brought development and prosperity to Zionsville as people traveling through Indiana stopped to discover the distinctive flair of this small but industrious community. Local historian Joan Praed Lyons depicts the spirit of a town in which a rousing game of donkey softball raised money for a new park and neighbors formed bucket brigades when fires broke out. In this delightful collection of vignettes, Lyons brings new life to Zionsville's history through her engaging and meticulously researched prose.

Thomas White spins a beguiling yarn with tales that reach from the misty hollows of the Alleghenies to the lost islands of Pittsburgh.

Oppaymolleah's Curse. General Braddock's buried gold. The original man of steel, Joe Magarac. Such legends have found a home among the rich folklore of Western Pennsylvania. White invites readers to learn the truth behind the urban legend of the Green Man, speculate on the conspiracy surrounding the lost B-25 bomber of Monongahela and shiver over the ghostly lore of Western Pennsylvania.

The creation of Lake Jocassee by Duke Power Company's massive Keowee-Toxaway Project in the late 1960s and early 1970s flooded a quaint mountain valley whose earliest recorded history was in 1539, when Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto led an expedition through the present-day Jocassee Gorges.

In 1971, hundreds watched the slow retreat of the Whitewater, Thompson, Horsepasture, Toxaway, and Keowee Rivers as they formed one large lake, smothering homes, lands, and farms in the process. Years of monitoring the water flow through the valley proved initial estimates correct, and Lake Jocassee became the deepwater source it was intended to be, providing an adequate supply of water to generate electricity. Today, a new generation enjoys many recreational activities on what is known as the Jewel in South Carolina's Crown, a pristine lake surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains in Oconee and Pickens Counties.

While it may not have had the same historical impact as its Italian predecessor, the history of Rome, New York, is not to be sniffed at.

This central New York crossroads witnessed the siege of Fort Stanwix during the Revolutionary War, the digging of the Erie Canal, and the development of industry that followed. At one time, Rome boasted one-tenth of all copper produced in the country, earning the nickname "the Copper City.'? This historical collection depicts the people, the great streets, and the structures that all created Rome's rich history.

Venture off the beaten path down forgotten roads and discover where a hidden South Carolina exists.

Time-travel and dead-end at a ferry that leads to wild islands. Cross a rusting steel truss bridge into a scene from the 1930s. Behold an old gristmill and imagine its creaking, clashing gears grinding corn. See an old gas pump wreathed in honeysuckle. Drive through a ghost town and wonder why it died. When's the last time you saw a country store's cured hams hanging from wires? How about a vintage Bull Durham tobacco ad on old brick? Author Tom Poland explores scenic back roads that lead to heirloom tomatoes, poke salad, restaurants that were once gas stations, overgrown ruins and other soulful relics.

An engaging pictorial history of the Slovak community in Chicagoland, documenting their journeys and struggles through rare and vintage images.

The story of Slovak Americans in Chicagoland is a tale of the American dream. In a few short years, emigrants from Slovakia with little to their names came to the United States and succeeded beyond their highest hopes. This fascinating story of ""rags to riches"" has been documented in historical photographs in Images of America: Slovaks of Chicagoland. Many Slovaks came to America with few assets, no more than a sixth-grade education, and no knowledge of the English language. They went to school and became naturalized citizens. Many took menial jobs in stockyards, steel mills, and oil refineries. They saved their money and opened grocery stores, banks, construction firms, and other businesses. Slovaks built beautiful churches, quality schools, and recreational facilities. They raised their families to be proud Americans and incorporated traditions from Slovakia into their daily lives, including the important role of religion.

What was once a whale-processing center in the 1700s emerged as a destination for sun and fun by drawing the biggest names and the classic American families of the early twentieth century.

Nestled along the New Jersey coastline and built to be one of the original seaside tourist destinations, Ocean City still sets the standard for resort living along the mid-Atlantic. As our country's search for the ideal vacation grew, this 7-mile stretch of beach cultivated a rich history and a reputation as one of the most alluring communities on the East Coast.

Trace the development of Clinton from a tiny town in the 1800s though vintage photographs of everyday life there.

At the edge of the Piedmont region of South Carolina lies the small town of Clinton. A town built upon nurturing others, Clinton boasts a picturesque village and countryside inhabited by warm-hearted residents. Beginning as little more than an intersection of highways, Clinton has become the home to institutions such as the Thornwell Home for Children, Presbyterian College, and the Presbyterian Home. The small-town charm and quaint beauty that once attracted the town founders still permeates throughout. In this attractive volume of vintage photographs, readers will visit the Clinton of yesteryear, experiencing the area as it was when the earliest visitors and settlers came, including Christian followers of several denominations, railroad travelers en route between Laurens and Newberry, and historical figures such as William Plumer Jacobs, founder of both the orphanage and the college. Covering Clinton's history from its beginnings in the 1800s to its presence in the new millennium, this visual history touches upon aspects of everyday life, the remaining and the lost architectural treasures, and the social activities of the decades.