Coming Soon

Readers who want a distinct and compelling look at the nation's first state prior to the building of Interstate 95 will enjoy the insight provided into Wilmington.

Interstate 95 was constructed as part of the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956, signed into law by Pres. Dwight Eisenhower. Francis “Frank” Victor du Pont (1894–1962), son of T. Coleman du Pont, who gave Delaware the DuPont Highway, was the US commissioner of the Bureau of Public Roads from 1953 to 1955. Frank du Pont was a key figure in promoting a national highway and for championing the need for this new interstate system to access city centers. This “Center City” requirement came into play when a lame duck Wilmington City Council on June 21, 1957, approved placing the interstate between Adams and Jackson Streets, essentially cleaving the city and ignoring various protest groups who favored a route east of the city.

Wilmington before Interstate 95 is author William Francis’s sixth book for Arcadia Publishing, all dedicated to the history of the First State. The book contains images primarily from the Delaware State Public Archives dated in the 1950s and early 1960s, highlighting west Wilmington and the neighborhoods demolished for the interstate as well as a city history and the downtown area from this bygone era. 

Along the north bank of the Missouri River, in Great Falls, Montana, there was once an industrial complex: the Great Falls Reduction Department of the Anaconda Copper Mining Company. From 1892 to 1982, it was a definitive silhouette on the skyline, used as a sign that travelers were close to home. 

At its peak, one-third of the world’s copper was smelted, refined, and molded here for direct consumption in line with the Anaconda Copper Mining Company’s slogan, “From Mine to Consumer.” Today, its existence has been wiped from the landscape, leaving a Superfund site that will take several decades to restore. Though the buildings, machinery, and workers are now gone, the memory is still imprinted heavily on the community.

The archives and operations manager of The History Museum & Research Center/Cascade County Historical Society, Megan Sanford, has created a specialized pictorial tour of the Anaconda Copper Mining Company Collection. Having collected objects, photographs, testimonies, and memories over the last half century, The History Museum & Research Center stewards the story of the Great Falls Reduction Department Plant and endeavors to share the tales of its workers and the work they did for the world.

Millions visit Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market each year—drawn by the food, the shops, and the rich sense of history. But behind the brick and granite walls are stories that most visitors (and even many locals) have never heard.

Faneuil Hall, opened in 1742 as a gift from wealthy merchant Peter Faneuil, was a marketplace and meetinghouse. While vendors sold meat, fish, and produce from first-floor stalls, the upstairs Great Hall hosted fiery debates and spirited gatherings on the issues that helped shape Boston and the nation—from the fight for independence to the struggle for civil rights. By the 1820s, Faneuil Hall could not keep pace with the needs of a booming Boston. Enter Quincy Market, three grand market houses that brought new life to the waterfront. Yet the market was nearly lost in the mid-20th century—until a bold reinvention in the 1970s turned the historic buildings into a national model for urban revival. Packed with colorful characters and forgotten chapters of Boston’s history, this book is perfect for everyone who wants to see the city with fresh eyes.

The Niles History Center has curated images from its photograph collections to showcase the area’s rich heritage, spanning from Fort St. Joseph to the mid-20th century. Christina H. Arseneau and Mollie K. Watson have dedicated nearly a decade to exploring the center’s archives and researching the people, places, and events of Niles.

Long before the city of Niles took shape, this area served as a vital crossroads for Native people traveling by land and water. The colonial era began in 1691 when the French founded Fort St. Joseph. In 1829, a small village was established, and with the arrival of the Michigan Central Railroad, Niles grew into a bustling riverfront city. Niles thrived as an industrial center, boasting the best waterpower in the state of Michigan. Notable figures such as author Ring Lardner, retailer Montgomery Ward, and auto pioneers John and Horace Dodge all called Niles home. Though industrial giants like Kawneer and Simplicity Pattern Company have left, the city remains deeply connected to its history. Niles’s roots are still visible in its distinctive downtown architecture, lush riverfront parks, and enduring institutions and events.

In 1867, “The Little Village in the Grove” began as the Round Lake Camp Meeting Association. Forty acres of land adjacent to a beautiful lake were purchased by the Troy Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church to hold revivals. Round Lake Village emerged from a camp meeting site, attracting as many as 20,000 revivalists on summer weekends to become a center for education and culture.

In 1884, camp meeting trustees planned and constructed a 2,000-seat indoor meeting space called Round Lake Auditorium, which has remained the village’s social center. Full streets of Victorian-style homes were built. Hotels, a science museum, and centers for education along with resident halls were constructed, which sadly have not survived. Today, the village’s long, narrow streets of beautiful historic homes with distinctive porches remain from the early days of the village.

Ron Kase is a sociologist residing in New Jersey. He is a retired professor of social science and senior academic administrator. He discovered Round Lake while visiting the area and understood the untold story of a magical place should be shared with everyone. Scott Rigney is Round Lake’s village historian. Rigney and his extended family have been residents of the village since 1966. He is president of the Association to Preserve/Protect/Plan Round Lake and is actively involved with every endeavor related to the village’s future. 

When Gideon Granger arrived in the area that would become Jefferson in 1803, he found an inhospitable land of dense forest, harsh winters, and sultry, humid summers. Even the most basic supplies were a day’s journey away. However, the former US postmaster general saw the potential in this land that he named for the president he had served, Thomas Jefferson. 

The city would later become the center of the US abolitionist movement in the pre–Civil War years as well as the seat of Ashtabula County government when the county was formed in 1808. Nearby Rock Creek, organized in 1819, never grew as big as its neighbor. However, the village is home to a Civil War cemetery, a picturesque creekside park, and one of Ohio’s most talented chainsaw artists. Roaming Shores, a lakeside residential community with hundreds of homes, was created in 1966–1967 when the Rock Creek dam was constructed, forming the largest private-access lake in Ohio.

Sandy Mitchell Pavick has lived in northeast Ohio for more than 25 years. She is a full-time writer and is the author of four previous titles for Arcadia Publishing. For this book, Pavick has amassed images, many of which have never been published, from dozens of private archives as well as from Jefferson area libraries, museums, and historical societies.