Name: Camarillo
Brand: Jeffrey Wayne Maulhardt
SKU: 9780738546582
Price: 24.99 USD
Availability: InStock

Camarillo

9780738546582

$24.99

Before Camarillo, there was Springville, and before Springville there were the Ranchos Los Posas, Calleguas, and Guadalasca. The evolution of these ranchos into the community that became the city of Camarillo is a California story of hardscrabble ranching replaced by dry farming, followed by success as an important point in the growth of the walnut and lima bean trades. The magnanimous Camarillo family left its surname, as well as a regionally famous line of white show horses, to the community. The city was also home to Camarillo State Hospital, which for generations was a West Coast mainstay for patients with mental health issues. Today Camarillo is a vibrant city of more than 75,000 people that retains the charms of both its Spanish and Mexican heritages.

Cover image for Camarillo, isbn: 9780738546582

Oroville

9780738518541

$24.99

Oroville, California, has always been a land of innovation and resource. While the Feather River was dredged for millions in gold in the late-19th century, the climate of Oroville was discovered to be well suited to growing oranges and olives, as well for a viable logging industry. One of America's first electric railroads passed through the town, and in 1937, the Feather River Highway stretched all the way to Reno. In 1968, the largest dam in the nation was constructed, and that feat of engineering provided electricity to a large number of California residents. Captured here in over 200 vintage images, James Lenhoff shows readers a California town that boomed with the Gold Rush and today remains a thriving community. Showcasing photographs from personal and community collections, the images in this book portray the residents that made Oroville what it is today, from the famous miners to the local farmers. Here are stunning vintage and rarely seen photographs of Oroville, including the foothills, the Feather River Canyon, and the building of its famous dam.

Book cover for Oroville California showing a sepia town scene with a horse drawn wagon parade in front of a brick building.

Five Points Neighborhood of Denver

9780738518701

$24.99

By the 1870s, the word was out about Colorado. East coast and Midwest prospectors, European immigrants, and African Americans newly freed from slavery, rushed to Denver to find work and their fortune in silver and gold. Captured here in almost 200 vintage images is the story of the African Americans who escaped the oppression and racism of the post Civil War South, and created a city within a city: the Five Points neighborhood of Denver. Named in 1881 for a bustling five-way intersection, the Five Points area became the commercial and social sector for African American churches, businesses, clubs, and homes, and the heart of Denver's black community. Showcased here are the photographs of once thriving Five Points businesses in the Welton Street business district, such as Otha Rice's Tap Room and Oven and the Rossonian Hotel, as well as the familiar faces of the Cosmopolitan Club, Madame CJ Walker, and Dr. Justina Ford, Denver's first African-American female doctor.

Cover image for Five Points Neighborhood of Denver, isbn: 9780738518701

Georgetown

9780738581132

$24.99

At the beginning of the 20th century, historian Herman Daniel Jerrett noted that there was no other part of the world with a placer seam formation filled with small gold-bearing veins and veinlets, so great or so crumpled, crushed and its fold mashed together, as that on the Georgetown Divide. First a simple base and supply camp for early miners, Georgetown survived despite repeated challenges from fires and economic slumps. Now rebuilt, it offers physical proof of the hardy pioneer spirit that settled this small town in the Sierra Nevada foothills. Historic Main Street offers numerous examples of fireproof architectural styles, more hopeful than realistic, including the 100-foot-wide Main Street itself, unique in Mother Lode mining towns.

Cover image for Georgetown, isbn: 9780738581132

Mining in Yuba County

9781467132909

$24.99

Mining in Yuba County illustrates the story of how this geologically unique part of California drew multitudes of people from around the world during the early days of the Gold Rush. It depicts the region's evolution from anarchy to civilization. It gives faces to the individuals who were instrumental in creating society in Yuba. It elaborates on incidents in which Yuba influenced the nation, on matters as historically significant as California entering the Union as a free state and affecting the outcome of the Civil War. Mining in Yuba fostered technological advancement precipitated by the depletion of surface gold and the necessity to get to the obscured gold. Conflicts between miners and agriculturists over hydraulic mining were litigated, and landmark legal decisions regarding the regulation of hydraulic mining all but ended the practice and were the beginnings of environmental protectionism and water rights issues in California. Finally, it reveals that despite heavy regulations that exist today, there is still mining in Yuba County.

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Point Cabrillo Light Station

9780738559506

$24.99

Point Cabrillo Lighthouse, on the rugged coast of Mendocino County in Northern California, was first lit as an aid to navigation on June 10, 1909. The light station continues to serve mariners and is regarded as one of the crown jewels of lighthouses on the West Coast. In July 1850, just north of the future site of the lighthouse, the clipper brig Frolic wrecked in its journey from China to Gold Rush-era San Francisco. European settlers in search of salvage from the cargo found instead Mendocino's vast strands of virgin redwood timber stretching inland from the coast. Getting this valuable lumber to market in the mid-19th century required ships, and ships needed lighthouses to guide them. In 1909, the light known today as Point Cabrillo was built on a windswept promontory two miles north of the village of Mendocino.

Sepia cover of Point Cabrillo Light Station showing a wooden house with a family posed in front.

San Diego's Little Italy

9780738547800

$24.99

Italian immigrants settled along San Diego's waterfront in the early 1900s and formed the "Italian Colony," a tightly knit community that provided refuge, shared culture, and heritage. Extended families, new businesses, and church traditions formed the foundation for a lasting social code. It was no coincidence that the area would become known as "Little Italy"--it was exactly that for its inhabitants--a home away from their native land. But by the mid-1960s, changes brought by
war and urban modernization began to unravel the community. Take a compelling journey through this unique immigrant enclave. Vivid images and descriptive captions highlight essential elements of this community, such as labor and longing, fishing and family, ritual and revitalization. Through photographs contributed by local community members, this volume traces the evolution of a humble fishing village into the chic urban neighborhood that is Little Italy today.

Historic sepia group portrait in front of a building used as the cover for Images of America San Diego's Little Italy

Long Beach Art Deco

9780738546704

$24.99

At 5:55 p.m. on March 10, 1933, Southern California was rocked by a massive earthquake. Wood-frame bungalows lost their chimneys, and engineered concrete buildings suffered minimal damage. But unreinforced masonry buildings near the epicenter failed catastrophically, and Long Beach was particularly hard hit. Nearly three-quarters of the school buildings, as well as many other structures, were rendered unusable until repaired or rebuilt. The Art Deco style, in addition to being fashionably modern in 1933, met the criteria of earthquake safety, and many new structures showed its influence. Both the Zigzag Moderne style of the 1920s, which boasted many structures that survived the earthquake, and the Streamline Moderne style that came into vogue in the 1930s relied on sleek lines with decoration incorporated into the design. This volume celebrates, in both word and image, the Long Beach that rose from the rubble to become a premier Art Deco city.

Book cover for Long Beach Art Deco with an ornate art deco building facade.

San Luis

9781467132473

$24.99

Established on April 5, 1851, Colorado's oldest town, San Luis de la Culebra, remains remarkably true to its heritage. Nestled below the Sangre de Cristo Land Grant in the San Luis Valley, San Luis and its descendants sustain a way of life and preserve a culture in this high, isolated desert region. Eighteen men migrated north from New Mexico into the northernmost area of Spanish exploration in the mid-1800s to settle San Luis along the Culebra River. These pioneering families brought their use of communal land and water and a language dating back to 16th-century Castilian Spain. They carried on a deep faith from the Old World into the New. The traditions of San Luis and the surrounding villages--Chama, San Pablo, San Pedro, San Francisco, and San Acacio--continue today among the young and old who remain the keepers of culture.

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Downtown Pasadena's Early Architecture

9780738530246

$24.99

At sunset, the San Gabriel Mountains form a rosy sculptural backdrop for Pasadena, a city of stately street trees and lush gardens. Attracted by a paradisiacal climate, health seekers and wealthy Easterners flocked to its resort hotels--the Green, the Maryland, the Huntington, the Painter, the Raymond--and built grand residences along Orange Grove and Grand Avenues. Scores of commercial and industrial buildings rose downtown, punctuated by public works, civic buildings, schools, and churches that doubled as works of art, like the Colorado Street Bridge, the Christian Science Church, and the California Mediterranean-style city hall. Preservation efforts have succeeded in putting Old Pasadena and the Pasadena Civic Center on the National Register of Historic Places, and continued restoration has made the city's unique architectural treasures a major attraction in Southern California.

Cover of Downtown Pasadena's Early Architecture showing a sepia street scene from the town's early days.

Moss Beach

9780738580753

$24.99

Moss Beach has long been a picturesque seaside place with scenic cliffs and unusual marine gardens. The town is separated from the dense San Francisco area by Devil's Slide, a moody geographical barrier of tumbling rocks that now supports U.S. Highway One. The developers of the Ocean Shore Railroad envisioned Moss Beach as one of a string of resorts along the San Mateo County coastline. The railroad did not endure, but the automobile era brought prosperity to the secluded area, which hummed with activity during Prohibition and became a strategic and controlled location during World War II. Early settler Jurgen Wienke, who built the original Moss Beach Hotel in the 1880s, would be amazed at how this little town has evolved. Abundantly endowed with natural beauty, the Moss Beach of yesterday can still be discovered today.

Moss Beach historic seaside scene with people on the sand and a shack labeled The Reefs

Greeley

9781467133463

$24.99

In October 1869, Nathan Meeker, the New York Tribune's agricultural editor, visited the Colorado Territory. Impressed with the scenery, people, climate, and resources, he wrote an article, A Western Colony, for the Tribune, inviting principled people with money to invest in a temperance and agricultural colony. Over 3,000 prospective colonists wrote to Meeker. On December 23, Meeker founded the Union Colony, a joint-stock colonization company, and chose 737 of the best applicants as members. In April 1870, the company established the town of Greeley, named for Tribune editor Horace Greeley. Founded on the principles of temperance, religion, education, agriculture, irrigation, cooperation, and family values, Greeley became the Weld County seat in 1877. Agriculture and water development ensured Greeley's reputation as the Garden Spot of the State. Potatoes became its first commercially viable crop. From 1900 to 1950, agricultural expansion ushered in a succession of immigrants, including Germans from Russia, Japanese, Hispanics, and Mexican nationals, looking for work and new opportunities. Greeley's economy, growth, and diversity remain rooted in the land and its people.

Cover image for Greeley, isbn: 9781467133463

Azusa

9780738547107

$24.99

If Azusa lived up to the reputation aggrandized from the glib assessment that it was the city with "everything from A to Z in the U.S.A.," no one would want to live anywhere else. Hyperbole aside, many Azusa residents love the place just as it is. This vibrant city grew from a citrus town to a bustling suburb nestled in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. Also known as the "Canyon City" on
the banks of the San Gabriel River, Azusa initially was a village of the Gabrieleno tribe before becoming Henry Dalton's Rancho Azusa during rule by Spain and later Mexico, and continued to grow during
California's fledgling era of U.S. statehood. Founded by Los Angeles banker Jonathan Sayer Slauson in 1887 as a stop on the Santa Fe Railroad, the city was incorporated in 1898.

Azusa cover from Images of America depicting a dusty street lined with palm trees and soldiers.

Denver's Historic Homes

9781467130585

$24.99

Images of America: Denver's Historic Homes provides a mere introduction into the myriad of architectural styles and the unique blending of cultures that have made the Rocky Mountain region so remarkable, from the city's inception as a mining claim to what it has become today. From itinerantly used sod and log homes to mansions that rivaled the grandest of their period, Denver's eclectic gathering of early residents produced a landscape of architectural monuments that attest to the people's needs, desires, values, and occasional eccentricities.

Denver's Historic Homes cover featuring a large sepia Victorian house with a dark title badge

Missions of Central California

9780738596808

$24.99

After the discovery of Alta California, the Spanish Crown charged the first Franciscan friars to enter into the New World through Lower Baja, with a succession of conquistadors, explorers, and soldiers, on a trail called El Camino Real or The Royal Road. The settlement began in 1769 at Mission San Diego de Alcalá, a new port and military presidio with buildings of mud, brushwood, and tule grass. Fr. Junípero Serra, the legendary mission presidente and founding father of nine missions, traveled along a worn path lined today by symbolic bell markers leading to many remarkable, modern cities. After 1772, settlements were spread to California's central coast region, filling with native neophytes who became the residents and builders of all mission settlements. The Spanish missions had brought dramatic changes to California's landscape and forged the underpinnings of its earliest history, founded serendipitously with the American Revolution and birth of the United States.

Cover image for Missions of Central California, isbn: 9780738596808

Lone Pine

9780738547848

$24.99

Lone Pine's history is as dramatic and violent as the magnificent landscape in which the town is located. Long before the first white settlers arrived during the Gold Rush, small groups of Paiute-Shoshone Indians lived in the area. With the discovery of gold and silver, miners and ranchers supplying food for the mines came into violent conflict with the native inhabitants between 1860 and 1865. In the 1870s, the Cerro Gordo mines (the largest silver strike in the state) buoyed the growth
of Los Angeles. At the turn of the century, the City of Los Angeles clandestinely bought up land and water rights and initiated a period of conflict with the Owens Valley. In the 1920s, Hollywood discovered the Sierra Nevada Mountains and high deserts of the area. Over 400 films and countless commercials have been filmed in Lone Pine, featuring such stars as John Wayne, Gene Autry, Errol Flynn, Tyrone Power, Rita Hayworth, Barbara Stanwyck, and Brad Pitt.

Lone Pine book cover from Images of America with a sepia western scene

Morgan County

9781467115650

$24.99

Pioneers came by the thousands, drawn by the promise of wealth in the Rocky Mountains. The dry, arid plains were a pass-through to most, but a few hardy souls saw potential in the region. They faced the harshest conditions; howling winds, little rainfall, intense heat followed by bone-chilling cold, isolation, and hostile Native American tribes were constant threats to survival. The pioneers of Morgan County were men and women of vision, perseverance, and inner strength. They were problem solvers who dug reservoirs and irrigation canals, built roads and railroads, and created an economy out of what others refused to see. Today, Morgan County is a place of an active agricultural lifestyle, supported by the businesses in the area. Its rich cultural diversity encompasses residents whose countries of origin span the world.

Cover image for Morgan County, isbn: 9781467115650

Sacramento's Land Park

9780738529653

$24.99

Sacramento wasn't always so proud of the area now called Land Park. In fact, due to a notorious roadhouse at Sutterville and Riverside roads, the city took great pains to distance itself from here in the early days, calling the roadhouse and environs a "foul plaguespot" and a "sink of iniquity," and purposely excluding it from city borders! But times change, and the 1911 death of hotelier and philanthropist William Land set the stage for Land Park's remarkable renaissance. A bequest in Land's will directed that some monies be used to find "a recreation spot for the children and a pleasure ground for the poor," and so began the pleasant area of homes, parklands and riverfront paths we know today.

Book cover Sacramento's Land Park with a sepia photo of riders on horseback along a palm lined path.

Havre

9781467133043

$24.99

Tucked in a valley on the banks of the Milk River, Havre's history is incredibly diverse. It was populated first by American Indian tribes, who lived here for centuries and successfully lived off what the land, waters, and skies could provide. White settlers and other ethnic groups came later, bringing with them their own ways of life. Ladies and gentlemen arrived, looking for opportunities to build a new life and working to smooth out the rough reputation Havre had earned during its early days. Vice and virtue worked and lived alongside each other to create the largest community on Montana's Hi-Line.

Cover coming soon placeholder for Havre book.

Port Hueneme

9780738530642

$24.99

Port Hueneme is a city of 25,000 residents surrounded on three sides by the City of Oxnard, with the Pacific Ocean as its western front. Port Hueneme's identity and character have endured valiantly despite the outside influences of the much larger city, a sometimes violent ocean, and the world's greatest armada. The U.S. Navy arrived in an enormous way at Port Hueneme during World War II to take command of the only deep-water port between San Francisco and Los Angeles. The servicemen stayed during the Korean War, maintaining an abiding relationship with the community. And still, the town itself has the strength of longevity, being three decades older than Oxnard and with a pioneering legacy of farmers, fishermen, merchants, and families. They survived, repeating the requisite spelling and pronunciation ("Y-nee-mee") of their city's name, which is Chumash Indian for "halfway" or "resting place" between Point Mugu and the estuary of the Santa Clara River.

Port Hueneme Images of America cover shows a historic pier with ships and people along a sepia-toned quay.

Early Burbank

9781467131384

$24.99

Burbank is an innovator, a world traveler—a city with artistic flair and creativity. From the entertainment industry taking up residence in the early 20th century to the Lockheed Aircraft Company opening shop in 1928, Burbank's masterpieces have transcended the coasts. Films shot on Burbank back lots and streets have entertained audiences worldwide. Lockheed planes built on Burbank soil flew across the world with the likes of Amelia Earhart and Charles Lindbergh. Once a robust farming community, Burbank, founded on May 1, 1887, and later incorporated as a city on July 8, 1911, dons its name from Dr. David Burbank, a New Hampshire–born dentist who, in 1867, bought over 9,000 acres of land amid the sun-kissed foothills of the Verdugo Mountains—land that was awaiting creative cultivation.

Cover image for Early Burbank, isbn: 9781467131384

Towns of Mount Lassen

9780738547206

$24.99

The imposing and dormant peak of Mount Lassen, the southernmost volcano in the Cascade Range, has been held in awe and wonder since well before the California Gold Rush. The Yahi Nation called the volcano Waganupa, meaning the center of the world, and the volcano's peak, named after the Dutch immigrant and prospector Peter Lassen, is the centerpiece of the scenic Lassen Volcanic National Park. Within the guarded perimeters of this park--inducted into the park system under Woodrow Wilson in 1916, hardly a year after the devastation of its most recent eruptions--there was once a thriving lumber industry, narrow-gauge railroad system, and flume network that sustained a community of lumber camps and the lost town of Lyonsville, all threatened by volcanic destruction and the changing West.

Towns of Mount Lassen book cover featuring a vintage group portrait outdoors

Ocean Beach

9781467128025

$24.99

Water defines Ocean Beach by its unique location where the Pacific Ocean meets the mouth of the San Diego River, alongside Mission Bay, formerly known as False Bay, which connected to tidal marsh areas. The beach town's natural attractions and new prospects brought early settlers to Ocean Beach when it was established in 1887 by William Billy Carlson and Frank Huggins. Ocean Beach's landmass history is shaped and reshaped by major storms, wave and tidal surges, and droughts, which in turn transform the community's natural habitat, culture, and development. For example, the Ocean Beach Woman's Club's (OBWC) Flatiron Building, constructed on the shoreline, was destroyed by several storms from 1939 through 1941 and later removed, and the area where it once stood was turned into a park. The OBWC later moved its permanent headquarters away from the beach. The history and fabric of this unique ocean community is made up of an assortment of characters and spirited generations of individuals who have left their loving marks through their homes, gardens, businesses, stories, achievements, and community activities.

Cover image for Ocean Beach, isbn: 9781467128025

Woodland

9780738589008

$24.99

The images in this book document the intertwining of country and city in the character of Woodland, California, since the town's birth in 1853. The flat, rich land of the Great Central Valley, along with its Mediterranean climate and access to water for irrigation, enabled Yolo County to become a top producer of diverse agricultural products, ranging from almonds and tomatoes to grapes and rice. The wealth of the county flowed into Woodland, the county's seat of government, the largest market town, and the major agricultural processing center. As a result, Woodland produced distinguished architecture, abundant cultural and leisure activities, and prosperous businesses. The city's history reflects its ties to local agriculture but also to nearby metropolitan Sacramento and to larger events affecting American society, including technological and organizational innovations, war and social movements, and changing patterns of immigration.

Woodland Images of America book cover featuring a crowded early 20th century street scene.

Sebastopol

9780738528526

$24.99

Since the 1850s, the soothing countryside hamlets of Sonoma County have beckoned settlers of every stripe-farmers, homesteaders, businesspeople, and commuters. Sebastopol has always been among the county's loveliest towns, retaining its small-town feel even as its population has steadily grown. This book of vintage photography presents Sebastopol's journey through time, the early Mexican land grants and initial settlements, Luther Burbank's far-ranging botanical experiments, and the rich farming industry that made this town one of California's premier agricultural zones, producing grapes, hops, cherries, and dairy products. In these pages readers will experience Sebastopol's turn-of-the-century days at the Apple Fair, with its astonishing fruit sculptures. The first days of railroads are illustrated with images of the Petaluma & Santa Rosa Railway, an electric train system that took passengers to and from Sebastopol Depot. The architecture of the region and the stories of local businesses and institutions are all shown here, along with Sebastopol's early religious institutions, schools, sawmills, factories, and even its small airport in the 1920s. Together with views of the town's sporting teams, natural history, outlying communities, and important citizens, these photographs tell a unique story of a unique place that transcends the generations.

Cover image for Sebastopol, isbn: 9780738528526

Yorba Linda

9780738529622

$24.99

Through the mid-20th century, Yorba Linda epitomized the Southern California pastoral experience during the advent and heyday of the citrus boom, with its vast cattle-grazing lands and fruit trees to the horizons. Among the families working this fertile Orange County land in the 1910s was that of President Richard M. Nixon, who was born in Yorba Linda in 1913. The land was named for Bernardo Yorba, son of original Californio Jose Yorba, an explorer who was awarded a 62,000-acre land grant from the king of Spain in 1809. In the 19th century, John Bixby planted orange and avocado groves and grazed cattle over much of the same area, which was incorporated as a city in 1967. An affluent community today, the city has retained its agrarian heritage through hundreds of miles of hiking and horse trails.

Book cover for Yorba Linda with a vintage photograph of a girl in a white dress and a small brass band outdoors.

Silent-Era Filmmaking in Santa Barbara

9780738547305

$24.99

Between 1910 and 1921, the American Film Company was one of the fledgling movie industry's most successful studios, with production facilities in Santa Barbara and business offices in Chicago. Nicknamed for its distinctive winged "A" logo, the "Flying A" produced nearly 1,200 films, starring such favorites of the day as Mary Miles Minter, J. Warren Kerrigan, Wallace Reid, and King Baggot. The company's rather patriotic motto invited patrons to "See Americans first." The studio's films also documented the picturesque and developing Pacific seaside community of Santa Barbara and served as a training ground for some of Hollywood's greatest directors, including Allan Dwan, Henry King, Victor Fleming, Frank Borzage, George Marshall, William Desmond Taylor, and Marshall Neilan.

Book cover for Silent-Era Filmmaking in Santa Barbara featuring a vintage film crew on a bustling set.

Garden Grove

9780738530024

$24.99

While its name connotes a pastoral vision beyond a pleasant wide place in the road, Garden Grove has expanded exponentially since pioneers founded it in 1874. Early cattle ranches gave way to walnut and citrus groves during the 20th century, as this land between the cities of Long Beach and Anaheim grew into one of Orange County's most populous municipalities, incorporating in 1956. Hotels sprang up in Garden Grove in reaction to the nearby vacation draws of Disneyland, Knott's Berry Farm, and the county's popular beach communities. In later decades, Garden Grove's distinctive identity was further shaped by its role as home to one of the largest Korean-American communities outside of Korea and home to televangelist Robert Schuller's famed Crystal Cathedral.

Historic Garden Grove building with a large group of children posed outside

Lafayette

9780738547558

$24.99

Today's Lafayette is a modern East Bay suburb with a long and intriguing history of people, agriculture, and commerce. The story began in the summer of 1846, when Elam Brown and 13 families left St. Joseph, Missouri, in wagon trains and embarked on a sixmonth journey west to establish new homes and lives. By February 1848, Brown and his family had purchased the Rancho Acalanes in Contra Costa County from a San Francisco financier and had established the settlement that would later became Lafayette. Gradually Brown sold his land to other settlers, and the community began to grow. Eventually homes, stores, roads, schools, and churches were built. In these pages, the genesis of Lafayette, along with the story of its creators and early residents, is revealed in stirring early imagery.

Cover image for Lafayette, isbn: 9780738547558

Lighthouses of San Diego

9780738558417

$24.99

As his ship rounded the high point off Point Loma, San Diego, in 1859, Richard Henry Dana wrote, "We were greeted by the cheering presence of a light-house." In reality, beams from San Diego's first lighthouse were repeatedly lost in cloud and fog, and all too soon came agitation for a more effective light at a lower elevation. By 1891, two new lighthouses were constructed to achieve what one could not--a major light on the low tip of Point Loma and a secondary light at Ballast Point. Although abandonment of the first lighthouse structure was nearly catastrophic, it still survives today to charm millions of visitors. Now, and long overdue, are new glimpses of the famous and lesser-known lighthouses of San Diego thanks to the memories and photographs belonging to families of the men who kept the lights burning.

Lighthouses of San Diego book cover featuring a lighthouse on a rocky coastline

Monterey's Waterfront

9780738530031

$24.99

On Monterey's waterfront the words sardine, salmon, mackerel, pompano, albacore, abalone, flounder, and squid were music to the ears of fishermen. With its deep underwater canyon, Monterey Bay hosted a sealife jamboree long before the native Rumsien set out in small tule boats to harvest its bounty. It has sounded a siren call to fishermen and biologists ever since. Chinese fishermen pioneered modern commercial fishing in the 1850s, clustering in villages along Monterey's rugged coast. The cry "Baleia!" sounded through town, summoning Portuguese whalers to their longboats. Japanese divers in primitive hard-hat gear brought a sea snail called abalone to national attention, while Sicilians earned Monterey the title "sardine capital of the world." The railroad opened the way for visitors to discover this natural coastal paradise, now a tourist mecca.

Monterey's Waterfront cover featuring a sepia photo of a group of men by a stranded whale on the beach

Morgan Hill

9780738529776

$24.99

Morgan Hill lies at the foot of stately El Toro Mountain in southern Santa Clara Valley. Martin Murphy Sr. settled here in 1845, and only a generation later the Murphy family had managed to acquire 70,000 acres. Martin's son Daniel owned over a million acres in the western United States when his only daughter, the beautiful Diana, secretly married Hiram Morgan Hill in 1882. Hiram and Diana inherited part of the original ranch, where they built their lovely Villa Mira Monte. Although the Southern Pacific Railroad tried to name the nearby depot "Huntington," passengers always asked to stop at Morgan Hill's ranch, a popular christening of a community surrounded by thriving orchards and vineyards. After World War II, Morgan Hill became a desirable suburb and has remained so through the birth of Silicon Valley.

Cover image for Morgan Hill, isbn: 9780738529776

Palmdale

9780738581224

$21.99

One of the nation's fastest growing cities and a center for the aerospace and defense industries, Palmdale began in 1886 with the doomed colony of Palmenthal in a land plentiful with Joshua trees and jackrabbits but very little water. The gateway to the southern Antelope Valley, Palmdale has enjoyed a rich, diverse, and eventful history while resourceful pioneers created neighboring communities of unique character. Littlerock, a "pearadise," became the fruit basket for the Antelope Valley. Neil Armstrong, before becoming the first man to walk on the moon in 1969, resided in Juniper Hills. Pearblossom's rustic landscape was ideal for early cowboy movies. The crumbling site of Llano del Rio is the location of perhaps the most important nonreligious utopian colony in Western American history. Valyermo owes its existence to the San Andreas Fault, and the Big Rock Creek area became known for Noah Beery Sr.'s Paradise Trout Club, a favorite rendezvous for many Hollywood movie stars and notables.

Palmdale book cover in sepia featuring a wooden building and a group of people gathered on the front porch.

Seal Beach

9780738529806

$24.99

Situated along the Pacific Coast Highway, Seal Beach is the coastal portal between Los Angeles and Orange Counties. This vacation spot and largely residential community separates the City of Long Beach from the broad, open, southerly beaches of the OC--Sunset, Bolsa Chica, Huntington, Newport, Laguna, and beyond. The regional fame of Anaheim Landing and Anaheim Bay preceded the founding of Bay City, which became Seal Beach after too much mail intended for Bay City found its way to the "City by the Bay," San Francisco. In the early 20th century, the popular Joy Zone was a huge beachside amusement park in Seal Beach enjoyed by thousands of vacationers brought south by the Pacific Electric Red Car Line. This entertaining retrospective documents these landmarks, as well as local residents, events, Seal Beach Pier, the nearby U.S. Naval Weapons Station, and other points of interest.

Seal Beach book cover showing a crowded vintage beach scene with many umbrellas

Mission Beach

9780738547855

$24.99

Mission Beach has always been a favorite destination for San Diego's beach-loving locals and tourists. Every year, millions crowd onto this spit of white sand separating tranquil Mission Bay from the frothy waves of the Pacific Ocean. Bicyclists, skateboarders, in-line skaters, walkers, and joggers can also enjoy the beach while navigating the 2.5-mile-long cement boardwalk along the ocean's edge and historic Belmont Park. But this is also a neighborhood of narrow streets with homes that began in the early 1900s as modest summer vacation cottages, many of which are now being replaced by million-dollar-plus condominiums. This new volume pays tribute to the residents and visitors who played a part in the development of this classic seaside community.

Vintage airplane above the Mission Beach coastline on the cover of Mission Beach

Carmel

9780738547053

$24.99

Carmel is a microcosm of California's architectural heritage, sited at one of the most scenic meetings of land and sea in the world. Mission San Carlos Borromeo became a root building for California's first regional building style, the Mission Revival. "Carmel City," as it was called in the 1880s, was marketed as a seaside resort for Catholics. Its pine-studded sand dunes survived the imposition of a standard American gridiron street pattern, with a Western, false-front main street, to become "Carmel-by-the-Sea." Artists, academics, and writers embraced the arts-and-crafts aesthetic of handcrafted homes built from native materials, informally sited in the landscape. In the mid-1920s, Tudor Revival and Spanish Romantic Revival styles enhanced the storybook quality of the community. Carmel's architectural character is primarily the product of working builders. Its design traditions have been interpreted and modified for modern times by noted architects, building designers, and craftsmen. Individual expression continues as an ongoing aesthetic theme.

Cover of Images of America Carmel A History in Architecture showing a timber framed cottage with two people reading outside.

Wrangell

9780738574981

$24.99

Wrangell is named after Baron Ferdinand von Wrangell of the Russian American Company, who was charged with extending Russia's fur trade into Southeast Alaska. To that end, he ordered a fort to be established in 1833, on Wrangell Island near the mouth of the Stikine River. The Stikine Tlingit Indians, who were scattered in villages nearby, moved closer to take advantage of fur trading opportunities. In 1839, the fort passed into the hands of the British Hudson's Bay Company. With the purchase of Alaska in 1867, the need was urgent to enforce the United States' presence in its recently acquired territory. An American fort was built, which the US Army occupied during a series of gold rushes, ending with the Klondike Rush in 1898. Wrangell began to grow beyond its boom-and-bust origins during the 20th century, becoming a thriving hub for lumber, fishing, and mining, as well as the newly minted tourist industry.

Wrangell cover from Images of America showing a historic town along the water with people in front of a wooden building.

San Jacinto

9780738558424

$24.99

Many villages of native Luiseño Indians were originally located in San Jacinto Valley. When Spanish explorer Don Juan Baptista de Anza of Tubac, Arizona, passed through this area in 1774, he named it San Jacinto, which translates to St. Hyacinth. After Spain ceded the area to Mexico, the Estudillo family of San Diego received a land grant in 1842 that included the San Jacinto Valley, and the settling of immigrants from the east soon followed. The City of San Jacinto was= incorporated in 1888, but two major earthquakes in 1899 and 1918 destroyed all of its brick buildings, which were never again rebuilt. Agriculture crops were the main industry until the 1980s, when the housing boom began, and today San Jacinto is considered a desirable and progressive city to live in.

San Jacinto Images of America cover featuring a desert town street with mountains in the background.

Early Redlands

9781467130677

$24.99

Redlands saw rapid town building from 1880 to 1920, with an expanding citrus industry and a growing, energetic populace. Many early residents came for their health and for the mild winters. These included the wealthy, who brought immediate income to a small town, introducing beautiful mansions, parks, and philanthropic investment. This economic boon allowed over 30 professional photographers to come and go in this young town, producing the legacy of high-quality photographs that illustrate this book. Tourism created the need for souvenir photographs, schools meant graduation pictures, and business promotion demanded commercial views. Walk through the life of days gone by into the stores, neighborhoods, homes, schools, and town entertainment in Early Redlands. A chapter is provided to help other communities locate their local photographers while sharing the rich history of Redlands.

Cover of Images of America Early Redlands showing a sepia street scene beneath a palm arch.

Denver's Park Hill Neighborhood

9780738580449

$24.99

The stately yet welcoming Park Hill neighborhood, located just east of downtown Denver, was platted from prairie lands in 1871 by energetic real estate speculators. A horse-drawn rail car began transportation service in later years to and from Denver as homes in Park Hill became popular. Eventually, Denverites invested in Park Hill lots and wealthy citizens built architecturally sophisticated homes, creating an enclave of Denver society. When automobiles became popular in the 1910s, Park Hill became a popular place to raise a family and has continued as an attractive residential area for more than a century. The home of Denver's elite for decades, including mayors and other leading politicians, Park Hill has embraced diversity in the 21st century, encompassing blue-collar workers along with the physicians, attorneys, and professional athletes.

Cover of Denver's Park Hill Neighborhood with a sepia photograph of a girl at a wrought iron gate.

Newhall

9780738580258

$24.99

Newhall's many firsts include the first gold discovery in California and the first commercially successful oil well, which led to the first pipeline and oil refinery in California. Some of the earliest movie location filming was done here. First recorded by Juan Crespi on the Sacred Expedition of 1769, the Little Santa Clara Valley was recognized by the Spanish as an important junction between the mountain ranges separating Northern and Southern California. The early city fathers of Los Angeles saw the settlement of Newhall as an integral part of their strategy for growth from the days of the stagecoach and railroad through to the building of Ridge Route and Interstate 5. This book tells the story of the town that never quite lived up to its potential but still managed a varied history with a colorful cast rivaling those of the movies filmed here.

Cover image for Newhall, isbn: 9780738580258

Tehama County

9781467117456

$24.99

Tehama County—its name is a mystery but its sense of place is not. The county portrays a friendly Norman Rockwell–like America, with everything from May Day picnics and parades to fall harvests, rugged lumbermen, tough cowboys, and rodeo roundups. Carved out of three Northern California counties in 1856, Tehama County is largely rural, with fertile open spaces dominated by ranching and agriculture. To the east and west are lofty mountains and deep-set canyons sculpted by fast-moving streams to delight recreationists. These streams tumble into the mighty Sacramento River that courses through the middle of the county on its way to the Pacific Ocean. While rural, Tehama County has a rich and colorful heritage reflected in its people. Some of the more notable residents have included Ishi, a Yahi Indian considered the last of his people; William B. Ide, commander in chief of the brief Bear Flag Republic; and railroad magnate and governor of California, Leland Stanford, who built the largest vineyard and brandy distillery in the world here.

Cover image for Tehama County, isbn: 9781467117456

Historic Stage Routes of San Diego County

9780738574684

$24.99

Stagecoaches and the routes they traveled capture our imagination because of the romance, excitement, danger, and new experiences they represent. San Diego was part of one of the most significant stagecoach lines in history. The San Antonio-San Diego Mail Line was the first to provide fast and reliable mail service to and from the east. This was followed by the Butterfield Overland Mail. Many other stage lines crisscrossed the county. Stage stations were built to provide food, water, and a safe haven for people, plus water and feed for the animals. Thousands of emigrants, adventurers, and the military followed the stage routes. This is the story of the stage lines, stage stations, stage drivers, and the people who were born, married, and died along these routes.

Historic Stage Routes of San Diego County cover showing a group of horse drawn carriages and riders in a dusty landscape

Alhambra

9780738576077

$24.99

Known as the Gateway to the San Gabriel Valley, the land that would eventually become Alhambra was bought by pioneer Benjamin D. Wilson after he decided to abandon a trip to China in 1841. In 1873, the Southern Pacific Railroad built a line directly through the area and brought with it many settlers, ushering in the "Boom of the 1880s." The community struggled through the 1890s as the boom went bust, but the residents looked ahead to the 20th century with great optimism. Their enthusiasm paid off on July 11, 1903, when Alhambra was incorporated as a city. In 1915, the city became one of the first chartered cities in Southern California. Throughout the 20th century, the city of Alhambra grew by leaps and bounds, and such expansion continues to this day.

Vintage sepia photograph of a 1920s Fremont Service gas station with patrons on the Alhambra Images of America cover.

Dunsmuir

9780738580562

$24.99

In the 1880s, the Central Pacific Railroad labored through the rugged upper Sacramento River canyon to connect California with the far northwest. Where the canyon's steep walls open up to a view of snowcapped Mount Shasta, a railroad switching yard, a depot, a roundhouse, a turntable, and repair shops were constructed. Surrounded by virgin timber, rushing waters, and dramatic geologic formations, this railhead camp--named for a Canadian collier--grew.
?Completion of the rail line brought commerce and growth as timber was harvested and streams were prospected for gold. Visitors were, and continue to be, drawn by the pure mountain air, scenic beauty, healing mineral waters, hunting, and world-class trout fishing. Though facing many obstacles, including storms, fires, and floods, the town thrived. Incorporated in 1909, Dunsmuir became the headquarters for the Southern Pacific Railroad's fabled Shasta Division in 1916. Today Dunsmuir is known as California's Historic Railroad Town and is recognized in the National Register of Historic Places.

Group of children in vintage clothing around a fountain on a sepia Dunsmuir cover.

Ferndale

9780738528908

$24.99

The enchanting "Victorian Village" of Ferndale in the Eel River Valley is designated a "Distinctive Destination" by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and is a California Historical Landmark. Named by its founders, the Shaw brothers, to honor the six-foot-tall ferns that once choked the thickly forested valley floor, the town became a vital center for goods bound by water for San Francisco and a crossroads for stages to Eureka and Bear River. For many years after the Shaws first paddled their canoe across the Eel River in 1852, travelers forded it by ferry. This changed when Fernbridge was constructed in 1911, at that time the longest reinforced concrete-arch span bridge in the world.

Images of America Ferndale book cover showing a bustling historic street with shops and pedestrians

Twin Falls

9780738580272

$24.99

Images of America: Twin Falls tells the story of the transformation of a sagebrush plain into productive farmland at the beginning of the 20th century. Engineers and investors found a way to capture the water of the Snake River for extensive irrigation and completed Milner Dam and the related canal system in 1905. The success of the Twin Falls South Side Irrigation Tract was associated with other reclamation projects in the region, resulting in the permanent settlement of south-central Idaho. New residents built modern schools, fine homes, and imposing business blocks. Prosperous farms and orchards dotted the landscape. Twin Falls became a wholesale center for storing, processing, and shipping agricultural commodities in the United States and abroad.

Twin Falls cover depicting a crowded Main Street parade with vintage storefronts and power lines.

Cedar City

9780738595009

$24.99

Cedar City was first settled on November 11, 1851, with the arrival of a group of 35 men to establish an ironworks. Beginning with the demise of the ironworks in 1858, the town's economy became agrarian in nature, though iron mining continued strongly through World War II and into the 1980s. The coming of the railroad to Cedar City in 1923 exposed Utah's national parks to the world of tourism, and Cedar City was touted as the "Gateway to the Parks." The railroad also provided an outlet for the products of the iron mines. The Utah Shakespeare Festival, the Festival City USA designation, and the Utah Summer Games propelled Cedar City into a new era.

Cedar City book cover in Images of America with a sepia toned street scene of shops and mountains in the background.

Indio

9780738556185

$24.99

Located halfway between Los Angeles and Yuma, Arizona, Indio came into being as a railroad town in 1876 when the Southern Pacific Railroad completed this last link in its southern transcontinental route. Settling this arid land took ingenuity and courage, and Indio's early residents had both. In the 1930s, Indio became a mining town when 92 miles of tunnel were dug through its eastern mountains for the Los Angeles Aqueduct, the largest construction project in the United States during the Depression. World War II brought Gen. George Patton's Desert Tank Corps to train nearby and crowd into Indio for rest and relaxation. The completion of the Coachella Branch of the All-American Canal brought Colorado River water to the desert in the late 1940s, and a land boom ensued. Today Indio's reputation as the "Date Capital of the United States" and "City of Festivals" is long held and well deserved.

Indio Images of America cover in sepia shows a woman walking with dogs beneath palm trees

African Americans of Denver

9780738556253

$24.99

The city of Denver was born during the great "Pikes Peak or Bust" gold rush of 1859 when flakes of placer gold were found where the South Platte River meets Cherry Creek. With the discovery of more gold, Denver became a boomtown, and African American pioneers began to arrive in search of prosperity and a better future. Initially, Denver's African Americans lived scattered throughout the city and in the Cherry Creek area. By the late 1890s, most had relocated to the Five Points Neighborhood. Many worked in Denver during the week and farmed their homesteads in Dearfield on the weekends. They often spent their holidays at Winks Lodge and summers at Camp Nizhone.

Images of America cover African Americans of Denver showing a sepia banquet scene.

Long Beach's Los Cerritos

9781467131292

$24.99

Evolving from a 27,000-acre rancho, to a colony of farmers, and then to a neighborhood subdivision, Long Beach's Los Cerritos is the story of a fiercely independent community established prior to William Willmore's vision of a city of Long Beach took hold. Life centered around the historic Rancho Los Cerritos throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries as John Temple's cattle ranching was replaced by Jotham Bixby's sheep ranching and tenant farming operations. Jotham Bixby sold off land for small farms to create the Cerritos Colony, and further subdivided land to create the Los Cerritos neighborhood. Invaded by oil drilling rigs after the discovery of oil in nearby Signal Hill, fires and noise caused the residents to flee. Los Cerritos declined but rebounded in the 1930s, aided by the presence of the Virginia County Club, stately homes designed by world-renowned architects, and the restoration of the historic rancho adobe by the Bixby family.

Cover image for Long Beach's Los Cerritos, isbn: 9781467131292

California Lighthouse Life in the 1920s and 1930s

9780738508832

$24.99

Like giant sentinels standing guard, California's lighthouses keep silent vigils over the turbulent waters of the Pacific. In 1850, Congress appropriated funds to build eight lighthouses on the West Coast, and three years later, construction began on the project. The first lighthouse to become operational on the West Coast was that on Alcatraz Island on June 1, 1854. While the other seven were being completed, Congress authorized funds to construct a second set of eight lighthouses, and by 1930, California boasted 40 light stations. This new photographic history contains over 200 rare and beautiful images featuring lighthouses of the South Coast, San Francisco Bay, and the North Coast, as well as lightships and support facilities.

Book cover showing a sepia lighthouse scene with the title California Lighthouse Life in the 1920s and 1930s

Lake Tahoe

9780738589121

$24.99

Lake Tahoe's legendary scenic beauty is witnessed annually by millions of visitors. While the lake's first sighting (in 1843) by a nonnative was made from a mountain peak, the lake's maritime history began a scant seven years later. Although most of the early steamers were designed for industrial use, the sight of a boat venturing out into the vast, deep blue expanse of Lake Tahoe attracted the attention of residents and visitors alike. After the inevitable decline of extractive industries, tourism became the main economic engine in Lake Tahoe. The steamer era and the evolution of wooden-boat racing are celebrated today by the romantic races of the two paddle wheelers and the annual Concours d'Elegance boat show.

Lake Tahoe maritime history book cover with vintage boats on the lake

Warm Springs, Fremont

9780738596631

$24.99

The land area of Warm Springs and the warm bubbling waters for which it was named slope from just below Mission Peak to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay. Native Americans established early settlements near the springs. Rancho Agua Caliente defined the borders of the hamlet of Harrisburg, later named Warm Springs. The Warm Springs Health Resort on this land was known worldwide in the 1850s. In 1869, Gov. Leland Stanford purchased the resort area as a private estate that his brother Josiah developed into a famous winery. Henry Curtner farmed large tracts of land planted in wheat, barley, and grapes. Products were shipped from Dixon and Warm Springs Landings to the large markets in San Francisco. The town of Drawbridge was established off its shores as a sportsman's haven and is now a ghost town. A Portuguese festival drew 10,000 people in 1935. The popular Weibel Winery and Hidden Valley Dude Ranch were established just after World War II.

Images of America Warm Springs Fremont cover with a sepia farmland scene and a vintage tractor

Lower American River

9781467105941

$24.99

Flowing through Sacramento County, the American River has long been a dynamic neighbor to those living along its waters. As the American River flooded, its banks were leveed, and its course was corrected to allow for further settlement and industry. Sacramento, in a feat of civic engagement, raised its business district above the floodplain, echoing the earthen mounds the Nisenan people used to raise their homes. Massive dredgers tore the riverbed in search of California's famous mineral. Railroad tracks, and later roads, were built to accommodate for more and more people living along its banks. The American River pressed those banks, but the residents of the Sacramento Valley persisted and created a vibrant capital for one of the world's largest economies.

Historic family portrait on a rocky riverbank with a bold Lower American River title plaque.

Murrieta

9780738546698

$24.99

In the 1870s, the Spaniard Juan Murrieta and his business partners found green pastures for their sheep in the Temecula Valley, where Native Americans had lived for centuries in southwestern Riverside County. The Spaniards owned 52,000 acres consisting of two Mexican land grants, the Temecula and Pauba Ranchos, until the partnership dissolved. Murrieta stayed on his 1,000-acre ranch until 1884, when he sold his land to a developer who named the new town site Murrietaville. Two years earlier, the Southern California Railroad opened a line into the Temecula Valley. In 1900, a girl named Hale Sykes was born. With her box camera, she documented the growing town as she saw it from her home in the Fountain House Hotel across the street from the Murrieta Train Depot. In the 21st century, the city of Murrieta numbered more than 85,000 residents.

Cover of Murrieta from Images of America, sepia photograph of a crowded outdoor dining scene.

La Verne

9781467104982

$24.99

Founded in 1887 and located at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains, Lordsburg was poised to grow with the railroads and prosper with the citrus industry. Although some cities faded into obscurity when the Southern California land boom went bust, Lordsburg survived largely due to the intervention of four members of the German Baptist Brethren Church who bought the unoccupied Lordsburg Hotel and surrounding land. They established an academy that eventually became the University of La Verne. In 1917, Lordsburg was officially renamed La Verne. Church of the Brethren families settled in the area to further their children's higher education. Housing demands after World War II, followed by the declining citrus industry, transformed the landscape from rural to residential. Much of La Verne's small-town feel is preserved in its downtown and many original residences, while the centrally located university enlivens the community with its diverse student population. Attention to public art and care for La Verne's senior residents reflect civic pride.

Historic crowd around a La Verne feed store wagon on a vintage street.

Salinas Valley

9780738530482

$24.99

The Salinas River meanders through the center of a long, lovely valley, sometimes ducking underground in summer, or diverting into canals to water fields that stretch away to the chiseled Santa Lucia Mountains. Memorialized by novelist John Steinbeck, and often called the salad bowl of the nation, Salinas Valley was the site of the Spanish Mission Soledad, founded in 1791. During the rancho era, vast herds of cattle waded though grasslands and later, failed gold miners founded towns like Salinas at well-traveled crossroads. Flourishing grain crops attracted the Southern Pacific Railroad, and as the shining track was laid, Chualar, Gonzales, Soledad, King City, San Lucas, San Ardo, and Bradley sprouted alongside them. Resorts like Paraiso Springs once brought visitors to the foothills, while people of many nationalities came to live and work in settlements like Greenfield, where irrigation soaks the dark, fertile loam by the sinuous river that now supports a mighty $3 billion agricultural industry.

Cover image for Salinas Valley, isbn: 9780738530482

Lake San Marcos

9781467132411

$24.99

In 1962, the Frazar brothers purchased 1,648 acres of land, which included a 40-acre lake, in San Diego's North County with the goal of building a lakeside community of homes and two golf courses. By 1964, the lake was enlarged to 80 acres and the land was reshaped to accommodate 1,500 homes (eventually growing to over 2,500 homes); two golf courses, one a private country club and the other a public course; and a bridge across the lake. A motel, restaurant, shopping center, and residents' recreation center were later added. In 1967, the National Home Builders Association Convention in Chicago awarded the Lake San Marcos design the title of "Best Planned Lakeside Community in the Nation."

Sepia-toned cover of Images of America Lake San Marcos showing a lakeside scene with a sailboat and hills.

Sanger

9781467130189

$24.99

The arrival of the railroad in 1887 brought rumors of Kings River Lumber Company's plan to build a flume for shipping lumber from the forest to the valley floor, and the town literally boomed overnight. Founded in 1888, Sanger officially incorporated in 1911 and was named in honor of Joseph Sanger, secretary of the Southern Pacific Railroad Yardmasters Association. In 1866, early pioneer Mary Jane Hazelton planted the area's first orange grove. Later, Harvey Akers established the first vineyard. In the 1920s, after many years of struggle, the lumber era came to a close and was replaced by agriculture. Packinghouses sprang up around Sanger, and area fruit was shipped around the country via the railroad.

Cover of Images of America Sanger with sepia town panorama and a dark banner reading Sanger

Sacramento's Midtown

9780738546568

$24.99

As Sacramento's neighborhoods grew eastward from Fifteenth Street to Thirty-first Street (later Alhambra Boulevard), the area evolved into a complex mix of housing and businesses known as Midtown. Sutter's Fort was still popular, and community groups like the Native Sons of the Golden West restored its last remnants for future generations. In 1927, the city built Memorial Auditorium, a tribute to fallen soldiers, as a large central venue that continues to serve as an important setting for graduations, concerts, and conventions. The J and K Street business corridors expanded from downtown, and identifiable neighborhoods such as Poverty Ridge, Boulevard Park, and New Era Park developed as people settled and established businesses in these growing areas. Today's Midtown supports numerous Victorian mansions and Craftsman bungalows, as well as the legacies of such employers as the California Almond Growers' Exchange, California Packing Corporation, Buffalo Brewery, Sutter Hospital, and the Sacramento Bee newspaper.

Cover image for Sacramento's Midtown, isbn: 9780738546568

Marina del Rey

9781467131803

$24.99

To increase trade to the Orient, commercial harbor development in the Ballona wetlands of western Los Angeles was attempted several times from 1880 to 1900, only to be destroyed by disastrous storm-fed floods. After the US Army Corps of Engineers installed revetments on Ballona Creek and moved tons of earth to raise the ground above sea level, Marina del Rey was federally authorized in 1954. Funded by federal, state, and Los Angeles County funds, the largest man-made marina in the nation was built to provide public recreational boating facilities and water access. Private financiers developed restaurants, hotels, premier yacht clubs, Fisherman's Village, and a residential marina lifestyle on county-owned leaseholds. This world-class seaport will celebrate 50 years of dynamic growth on April 10, 2015.

Sepia toned harbor scene at Marina del Rey with boats docked along piers on a historic cover

Redding

9780738529349

$24.99

Pierson B. Reading settled on a large land grant in Shasta County in the 1840s, planting California's first cotton and northern California's first grapevines on his Rancho Buena Ventura, which included the current town of Redding. Although first nicknamed Poverty Flats by the early settlers, the Southern Pacific Railroad chose this spot for its turnaround roundhouse in 1872, ignoring the neighboring mining boomtown of Shasta. To honor a powerful Sacramento politician who acted as their general land agent, the railroad named the new town Redding.As Redding grew, so did the tug-of-war with the town of Shasta over the location of the county seat, a contest Redding won in 1884. Redding experienced two growth spurts, one during a copper mining boom before World War I, and the other at the end of the Great Depression, when thousands of workers poured in to build Shasta Dam. A gateway city to the large recreational area that surrounds it, Redding now enjoys fame for its world-renowned bridge designed by Santiago Calatrava.

Cover image for Redding, isbn: 9780738529349

Hollister

9780738595795

$24.99

The history of Rancho San Justo and Hollister began in 1839 when Gov. Juan Alvarado gave the land grant to Jose Castro. Castro sold the land to Francisco Pacheco, who, in turn, sold the land grant to William Hollister and his partners Llwellyn Bixby and Thomas and Benjamin Flint. In 1861, the men agreed to split the property. The site for the town was surveyed in 1868 with plans to divide the site into 50 homestead lots. Colonel Hollister sold his portion of the rancho to a group of men who called themselves the San Justo Homestead Association. At that time, the town of Hollister was still in Monterey County; however, the homestead association started agitating for a division of the county. An act to create the county of San Benito was approved by the governor on February 12, 1874, and Hollister became the county seat.

Hollister Images of America cover with three men in a vintage general store interior.

Palos Verdes Estates

9780738581446

$21.99

Situated on the westernmost cliffs of the Palos Verdes Peninsula, the city of Palos Verdes Estates continues to fulfill former landowner and developer Frank Vanderlip's vision of the area as the nation's "most fashionable and exclusive residential colony," and it remains one of Los Angeles County's most affluent cities. Development of open land began in 1922 under the direction of landscape designer Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. One of the first master-planned communities in the United States, Palos Verdes Estates (PVE) became the first of the four peninsula cities to be incorporated, in 1939. Early community life revolved around the Palos Verdes Golf Club, La Venta Inn, Malaga Cove School, and the charming Malaga Cove and Lunada Bay commercial areas, both of which have been graced by their own distinctive fountains. The Malaga Cove Library, a fine example of Early Californian design executed by architect Myron Hunt in 1930, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.

Palos Verdes Estates book cover with sepia photo of an outdoor ceremony around a fountain statue and seated crowd.

Stone Architecture in Santa Barbara

9780738569680

$24.99

Building with stone requires a commitment to permanence, like the extraordinary, almost citywide conviction of builders in Santa Barbara from the 1870s through the 1930s. As Santa Barbara was evolving from a dusty little port and outlying resort into a vibrant and growing city, there occurred an extraordinary era of stone construction. This was made possible by a fortuitous conjunction of factors: abundant material, a cadre of expert artisans, and almost unlimited financing. This period provided an atmosphere not only conducive to the building of public spaces, homes, bridges, walls, and an assortment of other stonework, but encouraged some exceptional expressions of the stoneworkers' art. Many of these artistic fabrications remain a testimony to the skills and tastes of their creators and add a distinctive element to the particular ambiance that makes Santa Barbara the special place that it is.

Vintage sepia cover showing a group of men posed before a stone wall for Stone Architecture in Santa Barbara.

Rancho Santa Fe

9780738571850

$24.99

Nestled amongst a forest of eucalyptus trees and hidden behind private gates are the beautiful homes of the ultra-successful: CEO s of major corporations, sports celebrities, movie stars, musicians, politicians, and astronauts. This exclusive community is Rancho Santa Fe, and it is truly the town the railroad built. Though it began as a failed attempt to grow lumber for its railroad ties, the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway soon transformed the area into an exclusive community offering "gentlemen's estates." Among the first to sign on were Hollywood's reigning couple, Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford. Santa Fe officials hired the best engineers, architects, landscape architects, and naturalists to affect a utopian community. It was not long before Rancho Santa Fe was home to celebrities such as Bing Crosby, Howard Hughes, and astronaut Wally Schirra.

Rancho Santa Fe cover from Images of America showing a woman on a balcony overlooking a desert valley.

Fort Ross and the Sonoma Coast

9780738528960

$24.99

The Kashaya Indians made foot trails through the grassy mountain slopes of Sonoma's northern coast for centuries before colonists from the Russian-American Company arrived in 1812. These Russians, the vanguard of European settlement, built Fort Ross from virgin redwood on a bluff overlooking the sea. Although they stayed only 30 years, they left behind a heritage that includes the earliest detailed scientific and ethnographic studies of the area and California's first ships and windmills. Soon others came to ranch, lumber, and quarry, shipping their harvest and stone to help build and feed San Francisco. Ranches and mill sites evolved into towns, often bearing the names of the rugged men who first settled there. Much of the coastline remains as it was in centuries past, its rich history still visible in ship moorings and chiseled sandstone, and new residents and visitors are still drawn to this dramatic meeting of blue Pacific and forested coastal mountains.

Cover of Fort Ross and the Sonoma Coast showing historic wooden forts along the shore.

Filipinos in Hollywood

9780738555980

$24.99

The memoirs of Filipinos in Hollywood span more than 80 years, dating back to the early 1920s when the first wave of immigrants, who were mostly males, arrived and settled in Los Angeles. Despite the obstacles and hardships of discrimination, these early Filipino settlers had high hopes and dreams for the future. Many sought employment in Hollywood, only to be marginalized into service-related fields, becoming waiters, busboys, dishwashers, cooks, houseboys, janitors, and chauffeurs. They worked at popular restaurants, homes of the rich and famous, movie and television studios, clubs, and diners. For decades, Filipinos were the least recognized and least documented Asians in Hollywood. But many emerged from the shadows to become highly recognized talents, some occupying positions in the entertainment industry that makes Hollywood what it is today--the world's capital of entertainment and glamour.

Filipinos in Hollywood book cover featuring a sepia photograph of a crowd gathered outside a wooden building.

Sausalito

9780738530369

$24.99

Sausalito got its Spanish name, meaning little willow grove, from British seaman William Richardson. He hoped that this deep-water anchorage, so close to the Golden Gate, would become the entrance to a busy city. But the tall ships mostly rushed past his Whaler's Cove to anchor in San Francisco. Later Sausalito's gentle hills and sun-washed harbor became a favorite playground and retreat for wealthy San Franciscans, and large hotels like the El Monte prospered. Before construction of the Golden Gate Bridge, Sausalito was a transportation nexus for trains and ferries, and in a sudden mobilization during World War II, 22,000 people a day worked three shifts building liberty ships at Marinship. Sausalito was homeport for many seafaring adventurers, daring rumrunners during Prohibition, and later for beatniks, poets, hippies, and artists drawn to Sausalito's spectacular vistas and relatively rural atmosphere. Making their abodes on riotously rickety houseboats or in cabins perched on steep slopes, they left an artistic legacy to the community.

Sausalito book cover from Images of America featuring a sepia harbor scene with boats and hillside houses and the Sausalito title at the top

Vietnamese in Orange County

9781467133210

$24.99

Vietnamese Americans have transformed the social, cultural, economic, and political life of Orange County, California. Previously, there were Vietnamese international students, international or war brides, or military personnel living in the United States, but the majority arrived as refugees and immigrants after the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. Although they are lumped together as refugees, Vietnamese Americans are diverse in terms of their class, ethnic, regional, religious, linguistic, and ideological backgrounds. Their migration path varied, and they often struggled with resettling in a new homeland and rebuilding their lives. They are dispersed throughout the country, but many are concentrated in central Orange County, where three cities—Westminster, Garden Grove, and Santa Ana—have Welcome to Little Saigon signs. They constitute the largest population of Vietnamese outside of Vietnam and have created flourishing residential neighborhoods and bustling commercial centers and contribute to the political and cultural life of the region. This book captures snapshots of Vietnamese life in Orange County over the span of 40 years and shows a dynamic, vibrant community that is revitalizing the region.

Cover image for Vietnamese in Orange County, isbn: 9781467133210

Poway

9780738555973

$24.99

The area that would become Poway was once the roaming grounds of the Diegueno and Luiseno Indians, several hundred years before the appearance of the Spaniards. It was also a pasturing place for mission stock, a ranch area for adventurous white settlers, a potential railroad stop that never materialized, and today is a diversified, thriving "city in the country" located within San Diego County. The story of Poway is one of many cultures, of many changes, and of many triumphs. Today it is a very desirable city in which to live, raise families, and send children to school; it is home to about 57,000 residents glad to have found the pleasures of living in Poway.

Poway cover from Images of America with a sepia toned photo of a horse and people near a small house.

Emeryville

9780738530062

$24.99

Emeryville, one tough square mile wedged between Oakland and Berkeley with its back to the bay, has a gritty, colorful history and a bright future. Before the Gold Rush, its creek-fed grasslands served as a huge slaughtering ground for the Peralta family's hide and tallow operations. Later, railroad tracks crisscrossed a community formed on the fringe of Oakland to catch its cultural and industrial refuse. The stench from stockyards and slaughterhouses, the happy roar of a crowd at the Oakland Oaks Ball Park, acidic plumes from steel and petroleum manufacture, pomaded swells rubbing elbows with rowdies at the racetrack, and smoky gambling dens were all part of old Emeryville. Recently, an innovative, business-friendly city government brought about a striking economic transformation, making once-blighted Emeryville--now home to corporate giants like Pixar Animation Studios and IKEA--the envy of its neighbors.

Cover for Emeryville from Images of America with a vintage street scene and a horse drawn vehicle amid onlookers.

Ripon

9780738581668

$24.99

Like California, the valley town of Ripon owes it beginnings to early adventurers. A group of Mormons looking for the "Promised Land" in 1846 were the first Europeans to settle along the Stanislaus River near Ripon. In 1850, another adventurous early pioneer, William H. Crow, settled in the region, and the first school to be established in the county was subsequently named for him 12 years later, in 1862. William H. Hughes purchased 1,300 acres in 1857, and in 1872, he gave the railroad a right-of-way and provided land for the depot known as Stanislaus Station. Amplias B. Crook, postmaster of this station, proposed in 1874 to rename the community in honor of his hometown, Ripon, Wisconsin. Hence California's Ripon was established on December 21, 1874.

Vintage sepia cover featuring a storefront with a horse and people in front and the title Ripon

Pasadena

9780738547787

$24.99

Few cities boast a business history as rich and varied as Pasadena's. In the early agricultural days, a brandy distillery and citrus and olive groves helped propel the economy, while the 20th century saw Pasadena emerge as a thriving resort and health town. Together the community's diverse businesses have played a substantial role in determining the fortunes of the "Crown City." In this volume, evocative images recall an extensive range of establishments, from large resort hotels to corner soda fountains, law offices to dry cleaners, restaurants to science labs, local industries to national powerhouses. Seldom-seen photographs from both the Pasadena Museum of History's archives and private collections trace a business legacy unique to Pasadena, one that still thrives on generations-old family businesses and has also embraced corporate headquarters and regional franchises.

Pasadena a Business History book cover featuring a vintage group portrait

Hot Springs State Park

9781467106726

$24.99

They came first for the healing. Whether it was Native Americans, settlers, or early visitors, the goal was to seek relief at the "Big Spring.'? Many came, including Chief Washakie of the Eastern Shoshone, Chief Sharp Nose of the Northern Arapaho, Butch Cassidy and outlaws, Buffalo Bill, and others. The area around the Big Spring became the town of Thermopolis (Hot City), Wyoming, in 1897. Later, the estate of William and Carrie Gottsche of Rock Springs, Wyoming, helped establish a nationally recognized rehabilitation center in Thermopolis. Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt made a brief stop near the springs to affirm his belief (like Washakie and Sharp Nose) that the water could be used for the good of humanity. Today, Hot Springs State Park is host to hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. They enjoy the mineral waters that originate at the Big Spring at 125-127 degrees and cool to a comfortable 104 degrees in water parks, hotels, and a state bathhouse. The Big Spring is one of the largest flowing hot mineral springs in the world.

Ceremonial procession of Native Americans along a rocky riverbank on Hot Springs State Park cover

Union City

9780738558097

$24.99

Union City was formed by the merging of two communities, Alvarado and Decoto. In the early 1850s, Alvarado was founded as a place to ship local produce to San Francisco. When Alameda County was created in 1853, Alvarado became the county seat and the hub of business activity for the county. The proximity of Alameda Creek to Alvarado, with its yearly floods, would cause the county seat to move to San Leandro and then Oakland. In the 1870s, Decoto was founded as a rail town on the new transcontinental railroad. Agriculture formed the start of Decoto, and eventually canneries cropped up along the railroad tracks, making local produce available around the country. In 1938, Pacific States Steel created jobs that expanded the town, making it the largest employer in Decoto for many years. In 1959, the towns of Alvarado and Decoto joined to form Union City. The first mayor of Union City, Tom Kitayama, was the first Japanese American mayor in the United States.

Cover image for Union City, isbn: 9780738558097

Cambria

9781467133104

$24.99

Located on the Pacific coast between San Francisco and Los Angeles, Cambria developed as a hub for lumbering, mining, whaling, and dairying in the 19th century. Situated in a pine forest and populated by immigrants from the eastern United States and numerous Swiss-Italians, it became the second largest town in San Luis Obispo County. When the railroad bypassed Cambria, the pace of life quieted for a time, and ranchers raised cattle for beef. But affordable automobiles and the construction of roads to the north and east turned the locale into a vacation destination. The cool climate, rugged cliffs, beaches, and signature Monterey pine forest brought a sizable new development called Cambria Pines. The opening of Hearst Castle as a state park assured Cambria's future as a tourist destination. The ways in which people have engaged with the local forest is a leitmotif in the account of these developments.

Cambria cover placeholder with the message Cover Coming Soon.

Auburn

9780738559445

$24.99

Auburn, the county seat of Placer County, was founded during the Gold Rush in 1848. Unlike many such towns in the Mother Lode, Auburn has remained a vibrant and growing town ever since. This city's relevance since the initial influx of gold seekers is due in part to its location at a nexus of transportation routes, both old and new. Halfway between San Francisco and Reno and at an elevation of just over 1,000 feet--above the fog and below the snow--Auburn is a very attractive place to live. Furthermore, it is a place with sincere respect for its roots, as evidenced by its restored old town, preserved courthouse building, and other historic structures throughout town.

Cover image for Auburn, isbn: 9780738559445

Historic Dance Halls of East Central Texas

9781467131506

$24.99

Texas dance halls are iconic structures that have played a prominent role in the state's culture from its earliest stages. They became central institutions in the earliest European settlements and provided these immigrant communities with a common, central space in which to build new ways of life in a new land. The settlement patterns of the mostly German, Czech, Polish, and other central European migrants of this period gave East Central Texas the state's greatest concentration of dance halls. Thousands of these halls were built throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, but at present, their numbers have dwindled considerably, and many are at risk.

Cover image for Historic Dance Halls of East Central Texas, isbn: 9781467131506

Hillsboro

9780738599588

$24.99

Situated on the "Main Street of Texas," Hillsboro's influence has radiated far beyond its locale on Interstate 35 in Central Texas. Once a part of the Texas frontier, the area was settled by pioneers in the 1840s, and in 1853, the Texas legislature created Hill County. Located east of the Brazos River on the Blackland Prairie, the dusty cattle town of Hillsboro soon became the county seat. In 1881, the railroad transformed Hillsboro, attracting migrant farmers and merchants from the Old South. By 1900, Hillsboro was a center for cotton production, and public buildings and homes still testify to the influence of "king cotton." Politics have long been a staple of the culture, and Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock, Attys. Gen. Thomas S. Smith and Crawford Martin, Speakers of the House T.S. Smith, Robert Lee Bobbitt, and Robert W. Calvert, and Sam D. Johnson have all called Hillsboro home.

Hillsboro book cover from Images of America showing a vintage fire engine and a group of men

Seabrook

9780738579405

$24.99

Seabrook enjoys a prime location on Galveston Bay at the outflow of Clear Creek. Formerly a Spanish land grant known as Morris Cove, the town began to assume its modern shape in 1895 when Seabrook Sydnor purchased part of the Morris league and platted the town site. Brothers Albert and Ernest Fay founded the Seabrook Shipyard in 1938, which went on to build submarine chasers and rescue boats during World War II. The year 1961 was a landmark moment for Seabrook: Hurricane Carla hit on September 11, and a week later, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced that its Manned Spaceflight Center would be built in nearby Clear Lake, launching a period of accelerated growth. Fearing annexation by Houston or La Porte, Seabrook leaders took steps toward incorporation that same year. Today Seabrook is listed on the Great Texas Coastal Birding Trail and is part of the third-largest boating community in the United States.

Cover image for Seabrook, isbn: 9780738579405

African Americans of Houston

9780738584874

$24.99

Texas is a Southern state, and in many ways, Houston is a typical Southern city. While Houston did not experience the types or degrees of racial violence found in other Southern cities during the Jim Crow era, black Houstonians nonetheless found themselves often relegated to the margins of society. For decades there were two distinct Houstons: one white and the other black. However, Houston's black community created businesses that flourished and schools that educated children and developed a culture that celebrated the accomplishments of their parents while eagerly anticipating the accomplishments of future generations. Images of America: African Americans of Houston captures the many facets of black Houston. From churches to nightclubs; city parks to city hall; and political giants Barbara Jordan, Mickey Leland, and Sheila Jackson Lee to the driving beats of Archie Bell and the Drells, the Ghetto Boys, and Beyoncé, black Houston is alive with a determination that past injustices will never dampen the future opportunities for greatness.

Cover image for African Americans of Houston, isbn: 9780738584874

Dumas

9780738570617

$24.99

In 1891, Louis P. Dumas heard about cheap land in the Texas Panhandle. He left his successful enterprises in Sherman and chose a section of grassland in Moore County to "build a town." He had not bargained for the harsh elements that came with the territory, though. Within five years he abandoned his town, as did most of the other residents. Dumas was a ghost town three times in its first 10 years, but gradually, a quiet village developed. Oil and gas discovered in the 1920s brought about growth and continues to support the economy. Phil Baxter, who wrote the song "Ding Dong Daddy from Dumas," spoke of the friendliness and spirit of the people he met there in 1927. Today those qualities endure in the people of Dumas.

Book cover for Dumas showing three women in 19th century dresses on a porch

Richmond

9781467131193

$24.99

In 1822, a group of Americans immigrating to Stephen F. Austin's colony stopped at a bend in the Brazos River and built a fort. Originally called "Fort Bend" and "Fort Settlement," Richmond was incorporated in May 1837. A prosperous river port, Richmond became a boomtown with the completion of the first railroad in Texas in 1855. One of the most notorious episodes in Richmond's history was the Jay Bird-Woodpecker War in 1888-1889, which led to a gun battle on the streets between the two political factions. Richmond was home to notable historical figures, including Jane Long, "Mother of Texas;" Mirabeau B. Lamar, second president of the Republic of Texas; "Deaf" Smith, Texas Revolutionary scout; Carry A. Nation, temperance activist with a penchant for smashing up saloons with a hatchet; and Hilmar Moore, longest-serving US mayor.

Richmond Images of America cover portraying a group of people posing in front of a hardware store storefront.

Marfa

9780738558554

$24.99

In the rugged High Chihuahua Desert of West Texas, Marfa lies in the northeast corner of Presidio County, 60 miles from the Mexico border. Originally established as a water stop for the Galveston, Harrisburg, and San Antonio Railroad in 1883, it soon became the county seat and heart of a thriving commercial center built around ranching. Marfa's Fort D. A. Russell, first known as Camp Albert and later Camp Marfa, has been home to numerous military units from the early 1900s through the end of World War II. This military presence, combined with the development of the famous Highland Hereford that propelled local cattle ranching to a nationally recognized level, provided the economic and social base for the community well into the 1950s. Marfa's proximity to Mexico contributes tremendously to a remarkable blend of cultures, and today the once remote frontier town has established itself as a sophisticated arts and cultural mecca.

Cover image for Marfa, isbn: 9780738558554

Oklahoma City Rediscovered

9780738551494

$24.99

Oklahoma City has a fascinating history. By 1907, when Oklahoma became a state, the diversity of business, entertainment, industry, manufacturing, and transportation was experiencing rapid development. Contained within Oklahoma City Rediscovered is the story of four aspects of that development: Deep Deuce with the rise of blues and jazz music, town site development with the goal of establishing a seat of government with the founding of Capitol Hill, manufacturing that led to the warehouse district that evolved into the premier entertainment area known as Bricktown, and transportation with the love affair of the automobile along a major thoroughfare downtown that was devoted to showcasing the latest models of cars to capture the fancy of the public.

Historic sepia photograph of a crowded Oklahoma City street with vintage storefronts and large billboards.

The Austin Dam Disaster of 1900

9781467127455

$24.99

The Austin Dam Disaster of 1900 recreates the era of Gay Nineties Austin, then--as now--a city on the rise and on the make. In 1891, at the behest of ambitious city fathers, the little city of just 15,000 people gambled its future on a project of breathtaking size--a massive hydroelectric dam across the Colorado River. This book follows the epic construction project and the brief golden era of the pleasure resort at Lake McDonald. Though troubled and controversial from the get-go, the dam embodied all of Austin's dreams. Then, on Friday, April 6, 1900, it began to rain . . .

Sepia Images of America cover The Austin Dam Disaster of 1900 with workers on the dam under construction.

The Phoenix Area's Parks and Preserves

9780738548869

$24.99

Metropolitan Phoenix is one of the country's fastest growing areas, contains the nation's fifth largest city, adds more than 100,000 residents each year, and rapidly consumes the surrounding desert. However, it is not losing all of its open space. One can stand anywhere in the Valley of the Sun and look toward the horizon--in just about any direction the glories of nearly 100 years of preservation efforts are visible. All told, over 300 square miles of the most beautiful desert and mountain scenery are preserved or targeted for preservation in the Phoenix area. This book celebrates the beauty of these special places, and the foresight, determination, and efforts required to preserve this critical link to the great outdoors. Using more than a century's worth of historical photographs, it tells the stories of the acquisition and development of seven of the Phoenix area's most important parks and preserves.

Cover of The Phoenix Area's Parks and Preserves showing a desert camp with a cactus and a vintage truck against distant mountains

Hatch Valley

9781467133142

$24.99

The headline said it all: "Chili Industry Gains Foothold in the Hatch Community." The Las Vegas Daily Optic of January 17, 1929, reported that the "Farmers of [the] Hatch community, who have developed the chile industry as one which threatens the laurels of King Cotton, are moving out shipments to market." The article reported that just three years prior, only a mere 300 pounds of chile had been marketed in the entire Rincon Valley, of which the Hatch Valley was a part. As of 1929, farmers estimated that 250,000 pounds of chile were being sent to market. The Hatch Valley was on its way to being known as the Chile Capital of the World. True to the nature of a pioneer, the hardy residents of the Hatch Valley have fought against the devastation of floods, the Great Depression, and a changing economy. Their tenacity has made the Hatch Valley what it is today.

Hatch Valley cover coming soon placeholder image

African Americans of Galveston

9781467130271

$24.99

In the 19th century, Galveston shores were a gateway for immigrants to Texas and destinations beyond. Slaves, the forced immigrants, were brought to Galveston as property for sale. The largest slave trade operation in Galveston was implemented by Jean Laffite, a pirate. His slave trade business began around 1818. However, for the most part, slaves entering the port of Galveston were destined for other Texas cities and other states. Images of America: African Americans of Galveston presents the community life and accomplishments of Galveston slaves, the descendants of slaves, and descendants of those who migrated to Galveston after the Civil War. The book celebrates Galveston's African American culture from the 1840s to the 1960s.

Cover image for African Americans of Galveston, isbn: 9781467130271

Pima County

9780738595313

$24.99

In the southwestern United States, Pima County encompasses a mosaic of cultures and history. Living together in this region are Native American tribes with roots going back to prehistoric times, descendants of Spanish settlers who colonized the valley in the late 1600s, Mexican families who settled the area before the 1854 Gadsden Purchase, and current generations of late-19th-century American pioneers who ventured into the borderland of the Arizona Territory seeking new beginnings. Signs of a rich cultural heritage are everywhere. The Tohono O'odham and Yaqui peoples are a vital part of the community. Preserved missions, presidio fortresses, and ranches are evidence of the legacy of Spanish exploration, mission building, and colonization that began in the late 1600s. Streets in Tucson, lined with Sonoran-style adobe houses, recall when this region was part of Mexico. Ghost towns, old mines, military forts, and Territorial-era ranch houses are visible reminders of a series of gold and silver rushes, the settling of the West, and the rise of a cattle industry.

Pima County Images of America cover features a sepia desert scene with tall cacti and a group of people.

Paris

9780738585260

$24.99

Paris and Lamar Counties were first settled by Americans during the Republic of Texas period, but their history stretches back into dim antiquity--as local Indian mounds testify. Although it was never a cow town, Paris was once home to one of the Old West's most famous cattle barons. It was never as lawless as other Western towns, but Frank James, whose brother was the infamous Jesse, at one time called Paris home. Although Paris has undergone a number of devastating natural and economic tragedies, its citizens have never given up on themselves or their city.

Images of America Paris book cover with a milk carton robot and a welcome to Paris Texas sign

Gilbert

9781467132855

$24.99

Gilbert is one of the fastest growing communities in the country. There were only 500 residents when the town was incorporated in 1920. Since 1980, the population has doubled every five years. But how did this small desert community come to have such explosive growth in just over 30 years? Early pioneers began arriving in 1890, and in 1902, the Arizona Eastern Railway decided to build a rail line from Phoenix that went through Florence to the mining town of Kelvin. After purchasing land from Bobby Gilbert, a depot was built in 1905, and the town began to grow. Because of the creation of canals and Roosevelt Dam, Gilbert became a thriving agricultural community. In 1971, Gilbert had less than 2,000 residents, and in 1975, the town council approved a land annexation that added over 53 square miles to Gilbert. In 2014, that population number approached 250,000. By 2040, Gilbert is expected to be the fourth largest community in Arizona with approximately 330,000 residents.

Cover image for Gilbert, isbn: 9781467132855

Casa Grande

9780738579535

$24.99

Casa Grande, Arizona, is located on desert and farmland between Tucson and Phoenix and began as the end of an unfinished railroad line—thus its early name, Terminus. On May 19, 1879, when early summer heat halted construction of the railroad in what would soon become Casa Grande, only three buildings and five residents constituted the town. The names reflect the ethnic diversity of the sparse population: Buckalew, Ochoa, Smith, Watzlavocki, and Fryer. In September 1880, executives of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company named the town Casa Grande after the prehistoric Hohokam Indian ruins located 20 miles to the east. This volume illustrates how a desert railroad stop grew into a city. Today, as Casa Grande's population increases, new neighborhoods, schools, malls, and entertainment venues provide exciting new reasons for living here. However, as the population grows, the town struggles to retain its identity as an agricultural community.

Cover image for Casa Grande, isbn: 9780738579535

Tulsa

9780738507811

$24.99

Tulsa, Oklahoma, "the oil capital of the world," has a long and varied history. Evidence of a possible Norse presence dates to 1000 AD. An ancient people known as the Mound Builders populated the area, then disappeared just prior to the arrival of Spanish conquistadors in the 1540s. Osage Indians, as well as other members of the Five Tribes, called this part of Oklahoma home. French trappers made a brief appearance. Finally, outlaws like "Pretty Boy" Floyd and "Machine Gun" Kelly cooled their heels in Tulsa while running from the law in the 1930s. What Tulsa is really known for, however, is oil. The discovery of oil fields in Tulsa at the turn of the century caused an economic and social revolution. The formerly small town became a center of power, and fortunes worth millions of dollars were gained and lost. J. Paul Getty got his start in Tulsa along with his father, who was one of the first to ride Tulsa's tsunami-like oil wave. The town boomed through the 20s and 30s, and oil money built the town of Tulsa into the city it is today. Tulsa currently hosts a population of 380,000 people, and, in honor of its oil legacy, is home to one of the most prominent petroleum schools in the world.

Cover image for Tulsa, isbn: 9780738507811

Building Modern Houston

9780738585246

$24.99

Founded in 1836, Houston is now the country's fourth-largest city. In the early 20th century, Houston's economy shifted from agriculture to oil, fueling the city's explosive growth in the following decades. Houston grabbed the reins and saw a building boom in commercial, residential, and civic architecture redefine the city and skyline. Modernism was a new and fresh architectural expression and the perfect complement to the city's can-do entrepreneurial spirit. The 1960s brought ground-breaking ceremonies for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) headquarters, while residents and tourists alike lined up to tour the revolutionary new Astrodome. Building Modern Houston tells the story of Houston's architecture during its transformation from "Bayou City" to "Space City."

Couple on a sunlit tarmac in front of the Astrodome on the Building Modern Houston cover.

Huntsville Penitentiary

9780738599618

$24.99

The state of Texas, home to one of the largest prison systems in the country, opened its first penitentiary in 1849. The Walls Unit in Huntsville was the genesis of a prison system that became the home of notorious convicts and the focus of much debate about incarceration and the death penalty in the United States. The Walls Unit housed gunslinger John Wesley Hardin, members of the Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker gang, and infamous drug cartel leader Fred Carrasco. Built using convict labor, the Walls Unit was heralded as a modern approach to incarceration in Texas. The prison dominated the landscape of the town of Huntsville when it was built and remains central to that community today.

Cover image for Huntsville Penitentiary, isbn: 9780738599618

Lake Havasu City

9780738530123

$24.99

Founded in 1964 as a planned community, Lake Havasu City is nestled amid craggy desert peaks on the Colorado River in western Arizona. Perhaps best known as the American home of the famous London Bridge--moved to town, piece by piece, in 1971 and painstakingly reconstructed--Lake Havasu City was first home to natives of the Mohave and Chemehuevi tribes. Steamboats plying the waters of the Colorado, mining interests in the region, and the construction of Parker Dam, which resulted in the 45-mile-long Lake Havasu, all played important roles in the development of this unique community. Today, the city's more than 50,000 residents and 2.5 million annual visitors enjoy myriad recreational opportunities in this desert oasis,
as well as a historical legacy unlike any other.

Historic sepia cover photo of Lake Havasu City featuring a bridge and sailboats.

Cemeteries of Yavapai County

9781467130387

$24.99

Yavapai County, Arizona, is regarded as the most historically significant area within the state. After Arizona was proclaimed an American territory by Pres. Abraham Lincoln in 1863, it was here that the first territorial government was established. Yavapai County history and culture is reflected in its simple but deeply reverent burial grounds where many of Arizona's early pioneers are buried. The county has many cemeteries, and this book focuses on the most historic of these, from Prescott to Southern Yavapai ghost towns, where people ranging from Big Nose Kate to Sharlot M. Hall are interred, and examines the Old West's attitudes toward death and burial.