Name: Whittier
Brand: Michael Garabedian
SKU: 9781467109567
Price: 23.99 USD
Availability: InStock

Michael Garabedian

Whittier

9781467109567

$23.99

“Ye Olde Friendly Towne of Whittier” grew from a small colony of Quaker pioneers who arrived in 1887 into a center for the production of agriculture and oil around the time the city was incorporated in 1898, and not long after that into a commercial hub, college town, and flourishing Los Angeles suburb. Whittier’s beginnings also coincided with the so-called “Golden Age of Postcards,” when folks everywhere mailed and collected billions of the then new medium, and Whittier boosters and civic leaders published dozens that celebrated the things that made their Whittier one-of-a-kind—a trend that continued throughout the 20th century.

This book features many of these vintage postcards, selected by Whittier historians Erin Fletcher, Mike Garabedian, and Tracy Wittman from public archives and private collections. Described with an eye toward remembering the past—including long-gone landmarks—the book also charts Whittier’s trajectory through the unique features and places in town of which 20th-century Whittierites themselves were proudest.

Cover image for Whittier, isbn: 9781467109567

Gilberto Villahermosa

Rosendale

9781467103459

$24.99

Founded in 1680 by Jacob Rutsen, Rosendale was a quiet hamlet until 1825, when natural cement was discovered, giving rise to one of the largest industries in Ulster County and New York State. At its peak, Rosendale’s cement industry produced 10 million barrels of natural cement a year, employing 5,000 miners in more than a dozen mines. The creation of artificial cement, however, heralded the end of Rosendale cement. Rosendale rebounded, marketing itself as a “Vacationist Rendezvous.” The Catskill and Shawangunk Mountains, the Wallkill River and Rondout Creek, and the region’s many mountain houses attracted tens of thousands of visitors each year. Construction of the New York State Thruway in the 1950s led to the demise of Rosendale’s booming tourist industry. Today, Joppenbergh Mountain and the trestle bridge stand guard over the town, while Rosendale’s many historic buildings and the remnants of the Delaware & Hudson Canal harken residents and visitors back to an earlier age.

Cover image for Rosendale, isbn: 9781467103459

Russell C. Shiveler

Swedesboro and Woolwich Township

9781467103749

$24.99

Prior to 1870, the main routes of commerce entering Swedesboro were Kings Highway by land or Raccoon Creek by water.

When the Swedesboro Railroad was completed in October 1869, it started a new era of growth in the Swedesboro-Woolwich area. Produce was loaded on railcars for distant markets.Warehouses and industry exploded adjacent to the rail yard. New banks, hotels, and businesses crowded along both sides of Main Street. Economic expansion brought more residents and new housing construction. The prosperity of the Swedesboro area from 1870 to 1950 is preserved in detail on postcards and in photographs reprinted on these pages.

Lois M. Stanley is a retired high school English teacher and longtime Swedesboro resident. Russell C. Shiveler Jr. grew up in Woolwich Township and is a farm boy at heart. Both coauthored an earlier work published by Arcadia Publishing entitled Images of America: Swedesboro and Woolwich Township. This book is produced with the cooperation of the Swedesboro-Woolwich Historical Society.

Cover image for Swedesboro and Woolwich Township, isbn: 9781467103749

Jonathan Baggs

Decatur

9781467102940

$24.99

Established in 1820 on the banks of the Tennessee River, Decatur, Alabama, has always had its destiny tied to the water. It is the city's lifeblood and obstacle.

A railroad, an iron river between Tuscumbia and Decatur, was built to overcome the natural obstacle so it could be used as an asset. This effort worked. War, pestilence, economic downturns, labor, and social unrest all imbued residents with a resilience of spirit. Residents knew it, and visitors sometimes described it in quick notes on cardstock. These postcards from Decatur, Alabama, traveled across the land and the world. Presented here for the first time are some of those cards, dating between 1874 and the latter 1970s.

Cover image for Decatur, isbn: 9781467102940

L. Thomas (Tom) Roberts

Johnson City

9781467129664

$24.99

Johnson City's growth was transformed through development of transportation in East Tennessee. Trails first blazed by migrating buffalo and Native Americans evolved into trails for stagecoaches, tracks for rail lines, and paved roads for automobiles. Henry Johnson realized the potential for the area and took a risk in 1854 when he bought a parcel from Abraham Jobe at the junction of the proposed East Tennessee & Virginia Railroad and the stage road to build a home, store, and depot. The community that arose around this complex was known by many names in its early days, including Blue Plum, Haynesville, and Johnson's Depot. However, on December 1, 1869, Johnson City received its first charter of incorporation from the State of Tennessee. As Johnson City approaches the 2019 sesquicentennial of the city's incorporation, this collection of postcards provides a look back at the people, places, and scenery around Johnson City.

Cover image for Johnson City, isbn: 9781467129664

Richard Weaver

The Citrus Industry in the Sunshine State

9780738503028

$24.99

From the 1890s through the 1920s, the postcard was an extraordinarily popular means of communication, and many of the postcards produced during this golden age can today be considered works of art. Postcard photographers traveled the length and breadth of the nation snapping photographs of busy street scenes, documenting local landmarks, and assembling crowds of local children only too happy to pose for a picture. These images, printed as postcards and sold in general stores across the country, survive as telling reminders of an important era in America's history.

Cover image for The Citrus Industry in the Sunshine State, isbn: 9780738503028

Martin Earl Smith

Ridgewood

9781467127141

$24.99

Given that Ridgewood lies within 20 miles of Lower Manhattan, it would be easy to dismiss this little town as another New York suburb. Settled by Johannes Van Emburgh in 1700, this slice of New Jersey was a pivotal safe haven for the founding fathers, such as George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and Aaron Burr. In 1894, the State of New Jersey incorporated the area as a village, and what followed were 100 years of business and leisure with places like Woolworth's, the Erie Railroad Company, and First National Bank dominating the landscape. Today, Ridgewood serves as a home for those who wish to evade the city life of the boroughs. With its distinct mix of history and comfort, Ridgewood is unique in comparison to other towns in New Jersey and a fine place to call home.

Cover image for Ridgewood, isbn: 9781467127141

Carole A. Briggs

Jefferson County

9781467127202

$24.99

Situated among the rolling hills of north central Pennsylvania, Jefferson County was formed in 1804. Brookville became the county seat in 1830 by virtue of its location at the confluence of the North Fork Creek and Sandy Lick Creek, forming Redbank Creek, and its centrality in the more than 1,000 square miles that comprised the original county. Settlers timbered, farmed, and rafted products to market when water was high. With the completion of the Allegheny Valley low-grade railroad in 1874 and the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh Railroad in 1882, mining dominated the area. Rail transportation made possible the development of glass, iron, silk, sheet metal, clothing, and furniture factories. During World War II, several companies manufactured materials in support of the Allies. Today, timbering flourishes, as do the powdered metal and glass container industries. The Allegheny National and Cook forests to the north and historic Brookville, Punxsutawney Phil, and the nationally renowned Coolspring Power Museum all attract many tourists.

Cover image for Jefferson County, isbn: 9781467127202

Gail Unzelman

Sonoma County Wineries

9780738546674

$24.99

Sonoma County, where California's state flag first flew, is also the birthplace of Northern California's wine industry. This vintage postcard journey reveals some of that rich history in its trek through Sonoma County's fertile plains and sun-drenched hillsides, from the vintner's cradle in the town of Sonoma, to its northernmost frontier near Cloverdale. Stops along the route include Glen Ellen and the Valley of the Moon, the Russian River valleys, and such industry giants as Italian-Swiss Colony and the California Wine Association. Once boasting the world's largest vineyard, wine tank, and grape arbor, Sonoma County has long bested its more famous neighbor in number of wineries and grape acreage.