Images of America

Explore the rare photographs, diaries, historical documents, and interviews to uncover fascinating information about the Syosset-Woodbury area's past, from its humble beginning in 1648 to its transformation into a booming residential suburb in the 1950s.

A bustling suburb that hosts a wide array of businesses and retail shops, a top-rated school system, and a largely affluent, ethnically diverse population, Syosset has become one of Long Island's most desirable places to live. Yet, as the years have passed, much of the community's early history has been lost. For example, did you know that Native Americans once hunted in the area of Humphrey Drive or that the British army had an encampment in Syosset during the American Revolution? Can you guess when the Long Island Rail Road first chugged through Syosset? (Hint: Soldiers rode the train out of Syosset on their way to fight in the Civil War.) These and other captivating facts, including some surprising revelations about poet Walt Whitman's disastrous stint as a teacher in Woodbury, the presence of the Ku Klux Klan in Syosset, and the eccentric behavior of some of Syosset's most colorful Gatsby-era ""estatespeople,"" are all documented in text and rare photographs collected over more than a decade.

The city's harbor and the arrival of the railroad brought new industry, from the manufacture of rail cars to glassmaking and flour mills. Michigan City even pitted itself against Chicago in a race to become the major port on Lake Michigan. The early twentieth century saw a rise in tourism as lakefront attractions sprang up. Excursionists arrived by boat and train for bathing, shooting galleries, a merry-go-round and roller coaster, and the Oasis Ballroom. As a result of the city's dune preservation efforts in the 1960s and 1970s, the city continues as a haven for water sports and a resort for Chicagoans and others in the Midwest.

Photos in the book reveal the architectural and physical evolution of a vibrant Main Street, which was and still is the very heart of the town. After 1872 town life began to interact with that of the new state university placed in Blacksburg; this study includes many engaging images of life at Virginia Tech over the years. Fascinating photos of people, places, homes, businesses, and important events in the town's history complete the collection. In this contribution to the Images of America series Straw has provided us with an informative look into an earlier period of life in this most interesting and appealing community.

Bloomfield is a compilation of nineteenth- and twentieth-century photographs showing the lives of those who most influenced and characterized the communities of Wintonbury and Bloomfield. It is a pictorial history that revisits the early days, when industry was just beginning, and more recent times, as the town thrived with a progressive educational system and became the home of Connecticut General Insurance Company. While enjoying its closeness to Hartford, Bloomfield has developed a unique culture of its own, which is revealed in this fascinating history.

Beginning as a small collection of tents and log cabins, the Village of Hibbing was incorporated in August of 1893. It became one of the largest of the mining towns along the Mesabi Range, attracting immigrants of many backgrounds such as Finnish, Italian, Slavic, Swedish, and Greek. This mixture of diverse backgrounds gave Hibbing a unique culture that remains evident today. From Minnesota's famous dual in 1910 between friends Sam Kacich and Pete Radovich, to the relocation of the entire village in the 1920s, Hibbing, Minnesota takes us back in time to the days of pioneers, horse-drawn carriages, and a love of the land that has been passed on from generation to generation.

From a small agricultural community in northern Florida into a thriving city, many people have helped transform Gainesville into what it is today.

After befriending the Timucuan Indians who originally inhabited the region, Spanish colonizers began recruiting other settlers to move to the area. Despite the early foundations set, the people who brought the railroad to Gainesville deserve the most credit for giving the town its start. Soon after tracks were laid throughout the city, small businesses sprouted and opportunities for new industries arose. The city's population expanded along with its economic growth, and more people began to witness the unique potential of Gainesville. In 1905, the city became home to the University of Florida, and a rich educational heritage began. The university brought great attention to the town and subsequently made Gainesville not only one of the most important cities in Florida, but one of the most prominent educational epicenters in the South.

Take a fascinating journey through the history of Huron County, Michigan with more than 200 vintage photographs and anecdotes from the locals who experienced it.

Huron County, Michigan, was organized by the Michigan legislature in 1859 and quickly became known for its abundant natural resources-in particular, lumber. In the summer of 1881, disaster struck, as 1,500 square miles of forest burned. Huron County rose again, replacing lumbering with agriculture as its major industry. This agricultural tradition, along with commercial fishing, continues to this day.

In Huron County, Michiganthe Huron County Historical Societyshowcases the histories of the communities of Bad Axe, Bay Port and Ora Labora, Caseville, Elkton, Harbor Beach and Port Hope, Pigeon, Port Austin, Sebewaing, Ubly, and White Rock, using over 200 vintage photographs. Stop by the Caseville Mercantileor visit the old Caseville High School. Go back in time to the 1933 Sebewaing Farmers and Merchantsparade that wound its way through the downtown area. A 1920s Prohibitionscene comes to life in Bad Axe as Deputy Duncan McKenzie dumps illegal whiskey into the sewer at the site of today's old City Hall.

Using more than 200 vintage photographs, this volume depicts the early settlers, businesses, homes, and churches of Sedro-Woolley. Other historic images depict changes in local transportation, from the only early means of travel available-the canoe-to the eventual trains that arrived three times a day and fostered commerce and community. Many of the images collected here were taken by the noted photographer Darius Kinsey and his wife Tabitha, who were residents of Sedro-Woolley at the turn of the century.

Featuring nearly 200 vintage photographs, Sauk Rapids and Benton County takes the reader on a historic tour of the past from the Indian settlements of the Ojibwe, to the Great Northern Railroad, to the Sauk Rapids cyclone of 1886, to the Benton County ancestors, and to their present-day descendants with their businesses, industries, and daily activities.

A fascinating look into the beginnings of one of Tennessee's oldest counties, Blount.

Blount County is the 10th county formed in the state of Tennessee. It was carved out of Knox County in 1795 and named for William Blount, the governor of the Territory South of the River Ohio. Maryville is the county seat and was named for Blount's wife, Mary Grainger Blount. The abundance of natural resources that once drew hardy settlers now attracts tourists from all over the world, especially to Cades Cove, a pioneer settlement in the Blount County section of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Blount County has been home to the legendary Sam Houston; U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander, who also served as Tennessee's governor; and Bessie Harvey, a world-renowned folk artist.

Join Thomas as he delves into the mystery and legacy of Indianapolis's bygone days.

In 1816, the U.S. Congress decided to give the newly formed State of Indiana four square miles of land to lay out a capital city. Just where the capital city would be platted, however, was unknown. Four years later, the spot was finally chosen near where Fall Creek meets the White River. From that moment forward, despite a few bumps along the way, Indianapolis began its development into one of the nation's great cities. Over the course of that development, many buildings, companies, legends, and people have come and gone. While they are now only shadows of the past, they help to form the history and heart of Indianapolis.

Lakeland offers an entrancing mix of urban, rural, and historic aspects that earn it the title of ""Florida's Best Town.""

Munnville, Rome City, and Redbug were just a few of the suggested names for the small Central Florida community that would come to be known as Lakeland. Not long after its founding, other descriptive monikers-""Lovely City of Lakes"" and ""Highest, Healthiest, Busiest""-would be applied. Recently ranked as the tenth ""Best Place to Live"" of medium-sized cities in the South, Lakeland today offers an entrancing combination of contrasting elements that all work well together. Fields of strawberries and rolling hills covered with citrus groves surround a growing city comprised of a mixture of structures, both new and old, modern and beautifully preserved. Commercial entities join with cultural organizations in mutually beneficial relationships to produce a quality of life that many other cities only hope to attain. Lakeland may well be as it was advertised in 1905-""Florida's Best Town.""