New Book Releases

The Walnut Street YMCA and YWCA opened in September 1940 to much excitement and anticipation within the African American community in Wilmington, Delaware. Jeanne D. Nutter, PhD, an oral historian, has compiled two other books on African Americans in Delaware. She has amassed an array of historical images from the archives and collections of the Walnut Street YMCA, the Delaware Historical Society, the Washam family, and numerous members of the local African American community.

During segregation, the building became the center of cultural, athletic, and civil rights activities of African Americans in the area. Both youth and adults benefited from the numerous offerings. The activities were impressive, with an award-winning basketball team and an expansive swim program that produced outstanding swimmers and divers. The beautifully designed facility offered an indoor swimming pool, bowling alley, auditorium, cafeteria, library, gymnasium, workshop, game room, meeting rooms, and dormitories. Care was taken to enhance the interior with paintings by noted African American artist Edward Loper Sr. and others. The exterior was adorned with sculptural friezes that paid homage to such luminaries as Marion Anderson, Booker T. Washington, Paul Robeson, and George Washington Carver. The illuminated clock tower became a beacon for the community.

Radio station WRR, the United States’ first fire and police dispatch network, originated in 1920 thanks to the innovative thinking of Dallas police and fire signal superintendent Henry Garrett, who realized the potential of communicating via the then brand-new medium of wireless radio transmission. When dispatchers began broadcasting music between fire alarms, citizens listened on their homemade sets, and the Dallas, Texas, radio station was born. In August 1921, operating with 50 watts, WRR became the first federally licensed radio station west of the Mississippi River and the second in the United States. During the last 103 years, the WRR call letters have been at the heart of both an AM and an FM station, and North Texas listeners eagerly tuned in to both frequencies. 

John Hairr is an award-winning author and maritime historian who explores the past of unique and often forgotten places. He returns to the Cape Fear country for his latest photographic look into the region’s past. 

Kure Beach, North Carolina The sandy dunes stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Cape Fear River may not have looked impressive, but Fort Fisher, North Carolina, was a key part of the coastal defenses protecting the most important link in the lifeline of the Confederacy. Blockade runners and naval raiders alike sheltered for cover under the protection provided by powerful artillery batteries, which warships of the Union Navy dared not challenge. Modeled by the fort’s commander, Col. William Lamb, after Russian-engineered designs, the sandy ramparts defending the New Inlet entrance to the Cape Fear River eventually became the largest fortifications in the South, gaining the nickname “Confederate Gibraltar.” During the waning days of the war, Union commanders went to great lengths to destroy the fort, thus closing the vital port of Wilmington to Confederate blockade runners. The woefully undermanned defenders fought bravely, turning back the first Union assault in December 1864 and would no doubt have repulsed the second had promised reinforcements arrived. After fierce hand-to-hand combat, the garrison was overwhelmed by superior numbers, and Fort Fisher fell on January 15, 1865.

The rural landscape of Henry County, Indiana, offers a bumper crop of captivating stories deeply rooted in history.

John “Snowball” Merida’s towering, crowd-thrilling home runs could have landed him in the Major Leagues were it not for his skin color. Native son Gen. Omar Bundy refused to retreat in World War I. His decision in all probability saved Paris from the Germans. A solitary chimney stack is an oddity in a green landscape, but it was in this spot more than a hundred years ago that a decision changed the course of New Castle history.

Compiling stories of brave veterans and basketball heroes, nationally known catchphrases and political could-have-beens, author and local historian Darrel Radford uncovers lost gems from Henry County’s past.

Explore the city of yesteryear

East Chicago, Indiana, was a melting pot. The Indiana Harbor neighborhood drew comparisons to Ellis Island as immigrants flocked from all over the world to work at its steel mills. Once home to more than a hundred nationalities, the “Workshop of America” made metal and many other products. Despite issues like pollution and political corruption, it earned the nickname “City of Champions,” winning state titles, sustaining a historic high school rivalry, and producing greats like Gregg Popovich and Junior Bridgeman.

Award-winning Region journalist and Lost Hammond author Joseph S. Pete explores bygone landmarks like Washington and Roosevelt High Schools, Inland Steel Christmas parties, the zoo, Taco Joe’s, the Mademoiselle Shoppe, movies palaces, the gym where Michael Jordan played his first Bulls game, and more.

In 1805, a member of a survey crew working on building a road through New Hampshire’s Franconia Notch walked down to Ferrin’s Pond (today’s Profile Lake), gazed up the side of Cannon Mountain, and was mesmerized by what he saw—the state’s most iconic symbol, the Old Man of the Mountain profile.

A few years later, the Flume Gorge, an 800-foot-long natural gorge, was discovered. These natural curiosities quickly gained national attention, and by the mid-1800s, Franconia Notch was a tourist mecca; the limited stagecoach travel through the notch became daily, and the simple overnight accommodations were replaced with the Flume House and the Profile House, two grand hotels that could accommodate hundreds of overnight guests. After fire destroyed the Profile House in 1923, the property was put for sale. A joint effort between the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, the State of New Hampshire, and the New Hampshire Federation of Women’s Clubs led to the creation of the Franconia Notch Forest Reservation and Memorial Park (today’s Franconia Notch State Park) in 1928.

This book takes readers on a journey through the rich and fascinating history of Franconia Notch during the mid-19th to late 20th century.

The United States Air Force Academy became the fifth US Federal Service Academy on April 1, 1954, a mere six and a half years after the Air Force became an independent service branch. The Air Force Academy has distinguished itself from other institutions of higher education not only by its iconic modern architecture and dedication to technological advancement, but also through its rigorous and innovative academy and military training programs. Air Force Academy cadets have a unique college experience-guided by core values and bound by an honor code-and upon graduation, they are commissioned into the US military. Over the last 70 years, the academy has built a tradition of excellence and honored its mission: to educate, train, and inspire leaders of character ready to serve the nation in the Air and Space Forces.

Author Amanda K. Hess has spent the last 10 years immersed in the history and heritage of the United States Air Force Academy. With the support of the Friends of the Air Force Academy Library, she has curated this book from the extensive photographic collection located in the Clark Special Collections Branch of the Air Force Academy McDermott Library.

The entrance of the United States into World War II in 1941 completely transformed the nation. During this time, the small Nebraska towns of Mead and Wahoo in Saunders County were chosen to be the site of the Nebraska Ordnance Plant, one of three such plants in the state. The plant operated for 20 years—from 1942 to 1962. It served as an ordnance plant during World War II and the Korean War, then as an Atlas missile site from 1960 to 1962. Since then, the land has been sold to various interests, including the University of Nebraska and the Nebraska National Guard. The Nebraska Ordnance Plant uses over 150 photographs and their accompanying captions to tell the story of the profound effect the plant had on the social, economic, and environmental life of the county. 

Jennifer Garza is the assistant at the Saunders County Historical Society and a lecturer in the history department at the University of Nebraska. Erin Hauser is the curator at the Saunders County Historical Society.

Originally a World War II infantry training center, followed by a brief stint as a US Air Force base, Camp Wolters was redesignated a US Army installation in July 1956, and its primary mission was to train helicopter pilots.

Mineral Wells offered an ideal climate and terrain for flight training with predominately clear skies, rolling open ranch land, high bluffs, and the Brazos River valley. An integral part of Mineral Wells’ economy, the flight school expanded in the 1960s due to escalation of the Vietnam War. During the war, with the exception of the US Navy, all helicopter pilots receiving primary flight training passed through Fort Wolters. During its 17 years of operation, over 40,000 pilots were trained, which included international students from 33 countries. The last Fort Wolters pilots graduated in 1973, and it was formally closed in 1975 and was converted into an industrial center.

Wes J. Sheffield is an aviation/aerospace professional and historian. He has taught history at Dallas Baptist University and is an active member of the West Texas Historical Association, serving as the organization’s social media editor. His interest in Fort Wolters began while employed with Bell Helicopter, where he met and later interviewed former Vietnam War helicopter pilots while writing a narrative history of Fort Wolters, US Army Helicopter School. 

A City of Excellence

Located at the confluence of the Arkansas River and Fountain Creek, Pueblo, Colorado, began as a trading post but formally incorporated as a city in 1870. An important location in the Colorado Gold Rush of 1859, by the time that Pueblo became an actual town, steel was the most important metal. Early visionaries quickly developed business, heavy industry, and other enterprises that, in turn, attracted diverse communities making the city what it is today.

A stunning history of the development and preservation of the marble halls deep within the Siskiyou Mountains.

The cave was discovered by Elijah Davidson in 1874. In 1909, the Oregon Caves National Monument was dedicated and placed under the jurisdiction of the US Forest Service, and in 1922, the highway to the cave was completed. In 1923, the US Forest Service awarded the first concession contract to the Oregon Caves Company, which intended to build a hotel at the monument as soon as possible. The Chateau was completed and opened to the public in 1934 (shortly before control of the monument shifted to the National Park Service in 1936) and was designated a national historic landmark in 1987 as a significant example of rustic architecture with many original interior finishings and most of the original Monterey furniture collection intact. Outside of necessary repairs following a flood in 1964, shockingly few changes were made to the Chateau between 1934 and 1987. In 2014, the designation of the monument was changed to the Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve, and its footprint was increased to 4,554 acres.

The timeless home of our 28th president, perfectly preserved from the 1920s, serves as an unforgettable backdrop for learning about our past as Americans. The Trust opened the doors of the museum in 1963 for visitors to explore this significant site with over 8,400 one-of-a-kind historic artifacts. The book boasts a treasure trove of images from the Trust museum’s archives, offering a visually stunning journey through history. 

On March 4, 1921, Woodrow and Edith Wilson moved from the White House into their new home – just a mile and a half away – at 2340 S Street NW in Washington, DC’s Kalorma neighborhood. The former president lived here until his death in 1924. Edith called it home until her passing in 1961, at which time she bequeathed the house and its furnishing to the National Trust for Historic Preservation to serve as a monument to President Wilson. A century after Woodrow Wilson left office, his policies and legacy continue to animate our national conversations about American foreign policy, race relations, and the meanings of progressivism and democracy. 

The President Woodrow Wilson House’s executive director, Elizabeth A. Karcher, presents a meticulously researched and engaging narrative that illuminates the house’s evolution from private residence to a dynamic cultural institution. The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a private, nonprofit organization that works to save America’s historic places, owns and operates the Woodrow Wilson House.

This volume explores the history of Vicksburg National Cemetery, reveals recent discoveries, and notes how the addition of various elements through the years helped to beautify this sacred ground. It examines the lives of a small fraction of the cemetery’s approximately 18,000 interments, which include veterans of the Mexican-American and Civil Wars through the Korean War and three Vietnam memorials. Included among the interments are cemetery superintendents, a Civil War nurse, a female veteran, a member of a popular local band (the Red Tops), a former Vicksburg alderman, a Tuskegee airman, and a Vick family descendant (Vicksburg’s namesake). Military service is the common thread that all of them share. This book focuses on the untold stories of those interred within the hallowed ground of Vicksburg National Cemetery.

Elizabeth Hoxie Joyner—a retired employee of the National Park Service, museum curator, and author of USS Cairo in Arcadia Publishing’s Images of Modern America series—has tracked down images from a variety of sources around the country to illustrate who these people were, what they did, and the sacrifices they made to protect this great nation. A burial index is also included that documents the section and number of each interment to aid in grave location.

San Francisco is one of the most recognized and beloved cities in the United States, brilliantly illustrated through a visual history of 493 designated local, state, and national landmarks.

San Francisco's attributes speak to us through stunning topography, the arts, and a unique array of architectural styles. The city inherited the imprint left by the Spanish with Mission Dolores, by the Gold Rush with Jackson Square, and by 20th-century entrepreneurs with the Bank of Italy. The period from the 1920s to 1950s brought a growing cosmopolitan metropolis with such landmarks as the Mark Hopkins Hotel and the Golden Gate Bridge. Residents and visitors want to know why there is a monument in the neighborhood park and why the delightful Victorians next door have a historic plaque by their front steps. Each landmark embodies the characteristics of the surrounding community and the history of the City by the Bay. Enjoy the rich history of San Francisco’s landmarks in this collection of 15 historic black-and-white postcards.

Bend, astride the Deschutes River at the eastern foot of the Cascade Range, got its name from a place on the river that runs through it.

Pioneer travelers called the place Farewell Bend because it was where they had their last view of the double bend in the river that afforded a good place to camp and to ford the waterway, otherwise flowing through deep canyons. When the U.S. Post Office Department approved a name for a post office established there in 1886, it settled on a shorter version-Bend-because there already was a Farewell Bend on the Snake River in eastern Oregon. Arrival of a railroad in 1911 connected Bend with a market for Central Oregon's vast timber resources. Large sawmills began operations in 1916 and Bend grew tenfold in 10 years. And it kept on growing into a favored place to live. By its centennial in 2005, some 75,000 people called Bend home. Enjoy the rich history of Bend in this collection of 15 historic black-and-white postcards.

Denver is the Mile High City, the Queen City of the Plains, and the Gateway to the West. Today, the city attracts thousands of new residents each year, including the LGBTQ people from the rural West and digital nomads from around the nations seeking a welcoming community where they can thrive. In LGBTQ Denver, Phil Nash showcases how the city evolved from its pre-1970s history of rebuking gay people to a magnet for LGBTQ residents and the capital of the first state to elect and reelect the nation’s first openly gay governor.

Russell County, Kansas, is the heart of the heartland.   

Settled in 1871 by a colony of Volga Germans from Ripon, Wisconsin, the area that would become Russell County attracted homesteaders from as far away as Russia, Poland, and Germany. The county was a hub for farming, livestock, and eventually oil and was served by stagecoaches, the railroad, and the interstate highway system. The city of Russell, with a population that has never surpassed 7,000, was the childhood home of two US senators—Bob Dole and Arlen Specter. The county is best known as the home of Wilson Lake (renowned for the clarity of its water), for its buildings and fences made of native limestone, and for the hearty breed of people who continue to make this their home. 

Author Linda Crowder has worked with the Russell County Historical Society to select images that best tell the story of the county’s first 150 years. The city of Russell is home to half of the county’s population, but the communities of Milberger, Dorrance, Dubuque, Fairport, Paradise, Waldo, Luray, Lucas, Bunker Hill, and Gorham are an important part of the story. The history of Russell County is the history of the American prairie.

The Georgia Air National Guard units in Marietta, Savannah, Warner Robins, and other locations have played a role in major conflicts around the world. Clint Smith, a retired member of the Georgia Air National Guard uses images from the Georgia National Guard history office and the Historical Society of the Georgia National Guard to illustrate its history since the guard's official creation in 1947.

The founder of the colony of Georgia, Gen. James Oglethorpe, served as the first Georgia Guardsman. He embodied the legend of the minuteman, a tradition carried forward by the Georgia Army National Guard. In May 1941, the first distinct aviation unit was created at Candler Field in Atlanta—the 128th Observation Squadron. In September 1947, a federal act officially created the Air National Guard. 

Clint Smith served at state headquarters at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, Georgia. He had many responsibilities, including command historian. A board member of the Historical Society of the Georgia National Guard, Smith served eight years in the Georgia Legislature, where he led on military and security issues. The author of two novels, Smith has published columns on public policy and history.

Settled in 1868, Prineville was the first community in Central Oregon.  Primarily focused on the livestock industry, the area experienced a period of vigilante action in the 1880s and sheep-and-cattle wars just after the turn of the 20th century. Prineville remained the predominant community in the region until about 1915, when major railroads arrived and passed over it. This book showcases key images of Prineville, beginning with its first-known photograph in 1881 up until the early 2000s. /Steve Lent has authored several books on local history and provides historical perspectives to both the past and present photographs.

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.

While the name of the city New Orleans itself implies reinvention, among its traits most beloved by residents and visitors alike in the 21st century are the things that have not changed much over time. Jazz, flavor, celebration, and a warm welcome are always on the menu.  Lifelong resident and author Troy Broussard recounts the more than three-century story of a city as familiar with rebuilding and rebirth after tragedy as it is with revelry.

The real estate development called West University Place was part of a trend in the early 20th century of building affordable neighborhoods away from city centers; it was never meant to be a city on its own.

Early residents wanted Houston to annex their land, but when Houston declined, A.D. Foreman raised enough money to supply electricity, water, and phone service. Lewis and Mae Ryon took the next step by petitioning their neighbors to apply for a city charter, which was granted on January 2, 1924. Slowly, over the next century, West University Place evolved from treeless farmland into one of the most livable small towns in Texas—but the journey was not easy. More than once, the enterprise could have failed. If not for the actions of visionary leaders and dedicated residents, things may have turned out quite differently. 

Freelance science writer Richard Cunningham is on the City of West University Place Parks and Recreation Board. In 2021, he originated research into the location of the 1894 Harris County Poor Farm, which led to the approval of a historical marker on the Edloe Street pathway. Richard and his wife, Lily Ann, live on Ruskin Street in a 1948 cottage that they remodeled in 2007. 

The history of Bingham Canyon begins in 1848. Lead Mine served as a precipitation plant where steel was turned into copper. Dry Fork Canyon branched off Bingham Canyon, known for placer gold mining, the Copperton test mill, and the train shop. Frog Town, where Bingham Canyon’s population began to grow, was home to the Yampa smelter and large aerial tram terminals. This book includes images of Bingham’s schools, Markham Gulch, and Markham Bridge, as well as Main Street and the businesses that lined the canyon. At the confluence were Bingham Mercantile and City Hall, where Bingham Canyon branched off to Highland Boy or Copperfield. The valuable story of Bingham Canyon is about the people who lived here. The town has vanished into thin air, eaten away by the expanding open-pit mine, and the rest of Bingham Canyon is now filled with waste rock.

Tim Dumas worked at Bingham Canyon Mine like his father and grandfather before him. His mother was born in Bingham. Many of the images in this book came from people like Larry Sax, Berry Skinner, and Don Strack, who saved photographs as they were being discarded and has posted many of them on his website, UtahRails.net.

Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlours was an iconic restaurant chain that originated in Portland, Oregon. Originally opened by Bob Farrell and Ken McCarthy in 1963, the family-friendly chain would become known for classic ice cream sundaes and birthday party celebrations. The restaurants were designed using a turn-of-the-20th-century theme with a marble-topped soda fountain, Tiffany lamps, and waiters dressed in colorful vests and skimmer hats. While continuing to open new stores in Portland, Farrell and McCarthy developed a franchise program to expand Farrell’s into other cities in Oregon, Washington, and Northern California.

Patrick J. Baker worked at Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlours in Greendale, Wisconsin, from 1981 to 1985 and later became an investor in Farrell’s when the chain was revived from 2003 to 2019. Taken from numerous personal interviews and correspondence with Bob Farrell and Ken McCarthy, Baker shares the history of the chain up to the 1972 sale to the Marriott Corporation. This book uses photographs from the author’s extensive collection of images of the Farrell’s in Oregon, which were commissioned by Farrell and McCarthy in the 1960s.

The Maitland Art Center, historically known as the Research Studio, is one of the most intact examples of Mayan Revival architecture in the United States. With over 2,500 hand-carved reliefs and sculptures, the winding stucco and concrete compound was founded in 1937 as a winter artist’s retreat and for over 80 years has continuously provided artists with a sanctuary for artistic exploration. At the heart of this living historical site is a story, and at the heart of this story is one man: the site’s founder, Jules André Smith, whose singular artistic vision led to the creation of one of the most ambitious artistic communities in the nation. This pictorial retrospective of the history of the Research Studio introduces readers to Smith’s early years as a Cornell-trained architect, his later exploration of surrealist expressions that would inspire the center’s fantasy design, and the golden years of the Research Studio, in which Smith welcomed over 60 nationally acclaimed artists to live and work at the site.

Calaveras County is one of the original 27 counties created when California was formed in 1850. At the time, it encompassed Alpine, Amador, and Mono Counties. Amador was the first to be separated in 1854, with Mono County following in 1861 and Alpine County in 1864. With the discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill on January 24, 1848, Calaveras County saw immigrants from every corner of the world. These pioneers brought with them the drive to make it rich and to make their lives and their families’ lives better. Some did, and some lost their lives trying. Between 1848 and 1965, the county produced about nine million ounces of gold, valued today at over $18 billion. Today, tourism in Calaveras County supports approximately 2,400 jobs and contributes about $6 million to state and local taxes. Miners still find gold in the streams and rivers, families drive the back roads exploring the old towns and mines, and wine lovers enjoy wine tastings at the more than 50 tasting rooms scattered throughout the county.

Newton Falls was founded in 1806 and named after Newtown, Connecticut, a homage to the Connecticut Land Company, and the waterfalls on the East and West Branches of the Mahoning River. The small community was a transportation town with access to the Mahoning River, eventually the Pennsylvania & Ohio Canal, and a myriad of railroads that crisscrossed throughout Newton Falls. As the industrial revolution took hold of Newton Falls, factories came and provided locals with jobs. Eventually, the Ravenna Ordnance Plant, often referred to as the Ravenna Arsenal, opened in 1942 and provided many jobs for those in Newton Falls during World War II and on. Today, Newton Falls is known for its infamous zip code, 44444; the F5 tornado that hit the city in 1985; and one of the oldest covered bridges to remain in the state of Ohio.