New Book Releases

Ghost stories from Southwest Pennsylvania have never been so creepy, fun, and full of mystery! 

The haunted history of Prescott comes to life—even when the main players are dead. Walk across the haunted bridges of Beaver County. Or take a drive down Shades of Death Road, but beware of wandering spirits. Dive into this spooky chapter book for suspenseful tales of bumps in the night, paranormal investigations, and the unexplained; just be sure to keep the light on.

Chestnut Hill, in northwest Philadelphia, is one of America's most beautiful urban villages thanks to the fusion of physical setting, notable architecture, historic preservation, and careful planning.

During the Colonial period, Chestnut Hill was a rough-hewn village of farmers and millers; after the railroad reached the area in 1854, Chestnut Hill's natural splendor and healthful atmosphere made it a popular spot for Philadelphia's wealthy. Soon, it was ringed by magnificent estates designed by Frank Furness, T.P. Chandler, and Horace Trumbauer, though living side-by-side with the wealthy were hardworking communities of Italian, Irish, and German immigrants. This fascinating photographic record of Chestnut Hill's past reveals some surprising secrets about this vibrant community, such as the current community center was once the site of a perpetual motion machine hoax that swindled 19th century Philadelphians, and how one local hotel provided liquor (and perhaps other illicit services) to Chestnut Hillers during Prohibition. The stunning photographs and riveting stories of Chestnut Hill include those of the anti-Catholic Know-Nothings, who threatened to halt the construction of Our Mother of Consolation Catholic Church in the 1850s, and of Richard Norris Williams II, who survived the sinking of the Titanic and went on to win the national tennis championship twice at the Philadelphia Cricket Club.

Reading and Berks County's first documented Jewish settlers, Lyon Nathan, Meyer Josephson, and Israel Jacobs, arrived in the 1750s. Another wave of Jewish immigrants, mostly from Eastern Europe and Russia, came in the late 1800s to escape the Russian army draft or persecution. Many of these early settlers' families still remain, and their established synagogues and organizations are a vital part of the community. Reform Congregation Oheb Sholom, the oldest surviving synagogue, was founded in 1864. On October 18, 1945, the Jewish Community Center of Reading was completed and dedicated. The Jewish community is committed to improving the lives of everyone in the area by sharing their time, talents, expertise, and financial resources with the larger region.

The diverse landscape of gay and lesbian Philadelphia is a story of highs and lows. From rustic post-Civil War days when Camden poet Walt Whitman crossed the Delaware River on a ferry or caroused Market Street "eyeing" the grocery boys, to the beginnings of ACT UP more than one hundred years later, the gay and lesbian community in Philadelphia has never lost its flair for the dramatic.

Gay and Lesbian Philadelphia is a historical look at the neighborhoods, events, and people that have been a part of this community. The 1920s saw the birth of private dance bars on Rittenhouse Square. It was a time when drag shows in straight bars were the order of the day, as was the presence of men in drag during the annual Mummer's Parade on New Year's Day. The pre-Civil Rights era, when segregation was the status quo, saw the proliferation of African American house parties in neighborhoods such as North Philadelphia, where black gays and lesbians formed a community. During the 1950s and 1960s, Rittenhouse Square was the site of informal public gatherings. These gatherings of friends and strangers helped set the stage for the Annual Reminder, the first public protest in support of "homosexual equal rights," which took place every Fourth of July at Independence Hall. Throughout all of these eras, members of the community faced challenges, celebrated victories, and continued to try to blend their lives with those of their gay and straight neighbors.

On July 12, 1926, Frances Bowermaster McBride, a forty-year-old divorcee, called off her affair with twenty-seven-year-old Norman Morrison. Driven into a rage, Morrison tracked Frances to her home in Carlisle's East End, where she sat on the porch with her three-year-old daughter, Georgia, on her lap. Morrison shot and killed Frances before turning the pistol on himself. Morrison lived but was blinded. Young Georgia fell to the pavement unharmed. Eventually standing trial, Morrison was convicted of first-degree murder. Historian Paul D. Hoch goes beyond the conviction as he traces the later lives of Morrison and Georgia McBride as she came of age in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Hoch spins a tale of murder, perseverance and, ultimately, redemption.

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

In 1984, the former Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad yard became the home to a millionaire's train collection. Nine years and many improvements later, the Steamtown National Historic Site opened its door to welcome over 100,000 visitors annually. Steamtown occupies an estimated 65 acres of the old Scranton railroad yard with several of its original structures remaining on the site. It also includes a visitor's center, two museums, a restored roundhouse, and a plethora of exhibits and locomotives much to the delight of railfans of all ages. The Steamtown National Historic Site is an integral part of the preservation of railroad history, as it is representative of a steam-era gone by.

The unsolved 1878 murder of a young woman walking home from Hanover and a lethal 1901 love triangle in Chanceford Township that led to murder by strychnine are but two incidents in York County's history of deadly deeds and misdoings. While the 1969 York Race Riots are the most infamous instance of mayhem in the county, the strangest is perhaps the Hex Murder that left a North Hopewell Township powwow doctor a practitioner of the local folk magic dead at the hands of those trying to lift a curse. Follow author Joseph David Cress on the lonely country roads and harsh city streets as he goes on the trail of the body snatchers, hooligans and black widows of York County, Pennsylvania.

From the horrific Enoch Brown Schoolhouse Massacre of 1764 to settlers who hunted local tribes for a bounty, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, has long had a violent and bloody history. As more people came to the region, murder and mischief of every kind only multiplied. Local author Joseph David Cress explores the dark side of history, from little-known cases such as that of Sarah Clark--who became the first woman hanged in the county after she poisoned a family to dispatch a romantic rival--to high-profile crimes like the shocking 1955 courtroom slaying that left one person dead and three injured. Join Cress on a hair-raising walk down Hell Street as he investigates the underbelly of Cumberland County.

When the Henry Belin Jr. Waverly Community House and Park was dedicated in 1920, Margaretta E. Belin intended both to honor her husband and benefit residents of Abington Township. The community house was envisioned by its progressive donor as the educational, cultural, and social heart of rural Waverly. By 1930, when Margaretta and Henry's six children added land and two wings to the original building in honor of their mother, chautauquas, concerts, clubs, sports teams, and Scout troops were filling the annual calendar of events. On site, a post office provided mail delivery, a canteen supplied merchandise from ammonia to pencils, and residents of Dalton, Factoryville, Clarks Summit, and Clarks Green pumped gasoline. No activity, however, was more celebrated both locally and regionally than the annual fair that united Waverly in purpose, labor, and pleasure at summer's end. Since its inception, the Waverly Community House has set and achieved ambitious goals to enrich community life, a mission that successive generations have strived to follow.

The Landis family of Landis Valley was ordinary and extraordinary at the same time. Its members were typical Pennsylvania Germans of their era, focused on farming and family, yet they also traveled, edited magazines, and became the founders of the Landis Valley Museum. The Landis family settled in Lancaster County in the 18th century, where Henry Harrison Landis and his wife, Emma Caroline Landis, raised their children, Henry Kinzer, George Diller, and Nettie Mae, in a cross-cultural environment. Descended from Mennonite and Reformed Church families, the Landis family formed an appreciation for both cultures, and recognizing the valuable contributions of Pennsylvania Germans to American culture, they collected images and objects to chronicle their unique way of life. Using historic photographs, many never before published, The Landis Family: A Pennsylvania German Family Album provides insights into the family life, customs, and agricultural traditions of this unique region.

In 1755, Major General Edward Braddock and two army regiments set out from Alexandria with the objective of capturing Fort Duquesne, near present-day Pittsburgh.

To transport their sizable train of artillery and wagons, they first had to build a road across the rugged Appalachian Mountains. It was almost 289 treacherous miles from Alexandria, Virginia, by way of Fort Cumberland in Maryland and on to the French fort; the road they built was one of the most impressive military engineering accomplishments of the eighteenth century. Historian Norman L. Baker chronicles the construction of the road and creates the definitive mapping of those sections once thought lost. Join Baker as he charts the history of Braddock's Road until the ultimate catastrophic collision with the combined French and Indian forces.