Name: Redlands
Brand: Nathan D. Gonzales
SKU: 9780738528830
Price: 24.99 USD
Availability: InStock

Redlands

9780738528830

$24.99

The home of sunshine, snow-capped mountains, and oranges, Redlands is the model city of the Southern California dream. Founded by two Easterners seeking "health, pleasure, and residence," this jewel of the Inland Empire grew to become the center of a worldwide citrus empire. Both navel oranges and visitors flourished in the warm, dry climate, each nourishing the wealth and philanthropy that would become the hallmark of Redlands. At the industry's zenith, more than two dozen packing houses shipped the golden fruit around the world. Money also grew in orange groves that carpeted the area. Citizens proudly watched as monuments, parks, homes, and buildings blossomed, beautifying the town and giving physical form to the generous local character. Through the years, a unique sense of philanthropy and community improvement, begun by the Smiley Brothers, proved infectious to the town spirit, and remains a guiding source of inspiration today.

Sacramento's Chinatown

9780738580661

$24.99

Sacramento's Chinatown has played a central role in the history of the Chinese in America since the Gold Rush. It was named Yee Fow (Second City) by the early Chinese pioneers because it was the second stop by steamboat on the way to the gold country. In the 1960s, Sacramento's Chinatown, one of the oldest Chinatowns in America, was largely torn down by redevelopment, but today Chinese Americans in the capital city are planning a Yee Fow Center for History, Culture, and Trade as they seek to remember the past and look to the future.

Green River and the Gunnison Valley

9780738558776

$24.99

Early Utah pioneers passed through the area that is now Green River and decided that the land would not support a farming community. The Farrer family did not agree with this assessment, however, and they opened one of the first stores in Green River around 1883. Always a diverse town, Green River has a long-standing tradition of religious tolerance and the coexistence of different faiths. John Wesley Powell passed through during his exploration of the Colorado and Green Rivers, and the local museum was named after him. The region's economy has seen booms and busts, having survived on uranium mining and the missile base as well as on agriculture. Friday night football and the old opera house have come and gone, and now tourism has become Green River's main industry as travelers from all over the country discover the incredible beauty of the eastern Utah landscape.

Al Zampa and the Bay Area Bridges

9780738529967

$24.99

Most of the commuters who daily cross the Alfred Zampa Memorial Bridge do not know much about its namesake. Yet Alfred Zampa (1905-2000) lived a remarkable life that touched not only the bridge named in his honor, but many of the other bridges around the Bay Area. An active ironworker from 1925 on, he typified a worker who was hardy and tough, but with the skill to perform extremely precise work under hazardous conditions. He often worked hundreds of feet above the San Francisco Bay with only the spindliest of support, and he fell from the Golden Gate Bridge in 1936. Caught by the safety net, he became a charter member of the ultra-exclusive "Halfway to Hell" club. Zampa died at the age of 95, six weeks after attending the groundbreaking of his namesake Alfred Zampa Memorial Bridge, the only bridge named in honor of a building tradesman.
The Images of America series celebrates the history of neighborhoods, towns, and cities across the country. Using archival photographs, each title presents the distinctive stories from the past that shape the character of the community today. Arcadia is proud to play a part in the preservation of local heritage, making history available to all.

Mono Lake Basin

9780738559094

$24.99

Mono Lake dominates the volcanic landscape east of the Sierra Nevada between Yosemite National Park and Nevada. The lake's unusual water chemistry produces algae and brine shrimp, feeding millions of birds and creating strange mineral formations called tufa, for which the lake is famed. From the early days of the Kuzedika Paiutes to the arrival of miners and settlers in the late 19th century, the lake has stood sentinel for the surrounding camps, mines, and towns. Around the lake, the town of Lee Vining has served travelers and residents since 1926, and Carson Camp has been a recreational destination for generations. Some of the world's earliest hydroelectric plants were established here, and Los Angeles began diverting streams and channeling their waters beneath the Mono Craters to the city's aqueduct in the 1940s. Impacts of those water diversions gradually became apparent, generating controversy around this otherwise placid landscape.

Murrieta Hot Springs

9780738559568

$24.99

The sulfurous, effervescent waters of Murrieta Hot Springs have long attracted visitors. Native American petroglyph and pictograph images directed weary travelers to the springs where Juan Murrieta later bathed his sheep and a San Diego firm laundered clothing. In 1902, an enterprising German immigrant named Fritz Guenther developed acreage around the springs into a world-class resort and health spa at the Murrieta Hot Springs. After the Guenther family sold the resort, a stream of owners reportedly laundered money for the Teamsters Union and vended cancer cures, vegetarian foods, and holistic philosophies to those who ventured near enough to inhale sulfur rising in thick clouds of steam. Now the springs bubble under the watchful eye of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa. They have renovated the grounds and buildings to honor the resort's former glory and have developed it into Calvary Chapel Bible College and Conference Center.

Legendary Locals of Ogden

9781467100304

$24.99

Incorporated in 1850, Ogden was first settled by Mormon pioneers. In 1869, the transcontinental railroad was completed and Ogden became known as the "Junction City." With the rise and fall of the railroad as a backdrop, Ogden's legendary locals emerged in business, politics, and culture. Famous entrepreneurs, like David Eccles and the Wattis brothers, left their mark across the West, while actors like Robert Walker, Moroni Olsen, and Gedde Watanabe took on Hollywood. Richard Richards left Ogden to shape national politics as chairman of the Republican National Committee, while Fred Kiesel challenged the local majority to become Ogden's first non-Mormon mayor. Through it all, Ogden's everyday citizens have helped shape the community as well. From Willie Moore, whose barbershop has stood on Ogden's infamous 25th Street for decades, to the women of the Red Cross who served food to over a million servicemen in transit during World War II, Ogden's history is full of local legends.

The Thacher School

9781467130691

$24.99

Sherman Day Thacher, a Yale-trained lawyer, moved west in 1887, intending to join his brother as an orange rancher in California's Ojai Valley. However, after accepting a request from a Yale colleague to tutor his nephew, Thacher's focus changed from cultivating oranges to cultivating young minds. His small educational enterprise eventually became The Thacher School. Combining unmatched academics with a unique horse and camping program, Thacher has prepared more than 5,000 young men and women to become contributing members of society at the local, state, and national levels since its founding in 1889. With an educational philosophy based around Sherman Thacher's precepts of "honor, fairness, kindness, and truth," The Thacher School continues to be recognized as one of the premier secondary schools in the country.

Mount Lowe

9780738581231

$24.99

Tucked away in Southern California's San Gabriel Mountains, the Mount Lowe Railway was an internationally renowned tourist destination, serving nearly four million passengers between 1893 and 1936. Few riders of "The Railway to the Clouds" are around to relate their experiences now, but postcards and photographs remarkably reflect the history of this amazing attraction. Virtually nothing of the once-famous landmark remains on the mountain today, except a few timeworn foundations and part of the original right-of-way, which has become a hiking trail into the Angeles National Forest.

Ukiah

9780738570402

$24.99

Nestled in the Yokayo Valley, surrounded by coastal ranges, Ukiah officially became a town in 1859 when it broke away from being governed by Sonoma County. Spanish settlers put down roots through land grants and brought their rich culture to the area. Pomo Indians who lived in Ukiah wove baskets, which are collectors' items today throughout the world. Vichy Springs Resort, built in the mid-1800s on the outskirts of Ukiah, had many notable visitors, including Presidents Grant and Harrison, Mark Twain, Robert Lewis Stevenson, and Jack London. Today Ukiah is a city where people still ride their bicycles, and the high school has a homecoming parade before the big game. Farmers, ranchers, and vineyard owners work side by side. Summer months bring the annual Sunday in the Park free concerts, and the area is home to an active performing-arts community as well as several art galleries.

Cover image for Ukiah, isbn: 9780738570402

Mount Tamalpais Scenic Railway

9780738559421

$24.99

A hundred years ago, high on the summit of Mount Tamalpais, stood a grand lodge with a breathtaking view. For 33 years, elegantly dressed men and women came to visit on the gritty steam trains of a famous twisting railroad known affectionately as the Crookedest Railroad in the World. They could dine, dance, and spend the night, and in the morning coast down the mountain in a gravity car. The Mount Tamalpais Scenic Railway had 281 curves in 8 1/5 miles. It had a branch into Muir Woods. It was built by business-minded conservationists in seven months in 1896 and climbed from a depot on the dirt streets of Mill Valley through a redwood forest and on to the rocky summit one-half mile above San Francisco Bay.

Irish Denver

9780738589077

$24.99

The very first Irish in Denver came as miners, railroad workers, soldiers, and domestic servants. These workers, cogs of an expanding American industrial empire, later gave way to 20th-century politicians, priests, and business leaders who defined Irish respectability. Denver has always been a prominent stopping point for Irish patriots and cultural icons on their way to California. Former visitors include Oscar Wilde, Michael Davitt, Eamon de Valera, and Mary McAleese. Irish cultural institutions and businesses continue to flourish across Denver, which today boasts of having the second-largest St. Patrick's Day parade in the nation.

Ursuline Sisters of Great Falls

9780738595214

$24.99

Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, the richly patterned six-story brick and terra-cotta Ursuline Academy has graced the city of Great Falls for over a century. A grand marble entryway and a beautiful two-story chapel inside the building remind us of post-frontier educational opportunities provided by the Ursuline Sisters. The former academy was renamed Ursuline Centre in the 1970s and continues to be a quintessential symbol of education and community. Today, the building serves as a meeting and retreat center and features exhibit rooms, a museum, an auditorium, and a gymnasium. Images of America: Ursuline Sisters of Great Falls draws on photographs and research from Ursuline Archives. It explores a continuing voyage in central Montana, where the Ursuline Sisters have impacted many lives.

Early Livermore

9780738530994

$24.99

Englishman Robert Livermore jumped ship in Southern California in 1822, yet just 15 years later became the respected owner of the 40,000-acre Las Positas land grant. Here he built his new Californio wife an adobe house in 1839. The wealth that flowed into California during the gold rush allowed Livermore to import a two-story house around the Horn, but entrepreneurs and squatters flowed in as well. Nathaniel Patterson opened the first hotel in the old Livermore adobe, frequented by miners on their way from the South Bay to the Sierra gold mines. Laddsville, a village built where the roads to Stockton and Dublin met, was also a going concern until the Central Pacific pushed over the Altamont Pass. On this line grew the town founded by William Mendenhall in 1869, named for pioneer Livermore, who had died more than a decade earlier. Soon Livermore became the valley's commercial center for hay, wheat, barley, wine grapes, and ranching.

Grover Beach

9780738555966

$24.99

The city of Grover Beach is nestled in the dunes of the California coastline in San Luis Obispo County. In 1842, Jose Ortego received a Mexican land grant and made the first claim on the area. Ortego sold his 8,838 acres to Isaac Sparks in 1867, and Sparks later sold half to John Price. Price sold his share to Dwight William Grover for $22,982.20 in gold. By 1887, Grover had filed with the county and founded the Town of Grover. Developers John F. Beckett in 1892 and Horace V. Bagwell in 1935 followed. Growing gradually, the city incorporated in 1959, changed its name to Grover Beach in 1992, and received Amtrak rail service in 1996--a permanent connection to the surrounding communities and commerce. The city has come full circle, from D. W. Grover's dream to reality.

Lighthouses of Greater Los Angeles

9781609496197

$21.99

Despite news of shipwrecks along California's dangerous coastline, a burgeoning maritime trade came to what would become the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The shipping complex became the nation's busiest, in part because of the bright navigation lights that enabled reliable access for early vessels. In 1874, sister lighthouses Point Fermin and Point Hueneme were lit on the same day, followed by the Los Angeles Harbor Lighthouse in 1913. Nicknamed the Hollywood Lighthouse for its frequent use in movies, in 1926, Point Vicente was established to light the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Today, they are joined by the Anacapa Island Light Station, Long Beach Light and the private aid to navigation, Lions Lighthouse for Sight. Together with the U.S. Coast Guard, these historic beacons continue to illuminate and protect the coast of Greater Los Angeles. Join author Rose Castro-Bran as she explores their storied history.

Cover image for Lighthouses of Greater Los Angeles, isbn: 9781609496197

Western Colorado Fruit & Wine

9781626197800

$21.99

Enterprising pioneers transformed the isolated lands of the North Fork and Grand Valleys into blossoming oases. Sowing cultural roots in this arid rocky landscape, the settlers cultivated what became delectable destinations boasting world-class wine and award-winning fruit. Midwestern immigrants cultivated orchards, Europeans produced their own table wine and growers delivered their harvest by horse and wagon to the first locavore market—area miners. Sit down, pour a glass of wine or cider and join journalist Jodi Buchan on a journey through the Western Slope's fruit and wine country. Meet orchardists and viticulturists, and celebrate the discoveries, traditions and innovations thriving today across the region.

Cover image for Western Colorado Fruit & Wine, isbn: 9781626197800

Mission Hills

9781467132688

$24.99

Several visionaries shaped the character that defines present-day Mission Hills. First, there was Sarah Miller, stepdaughter of Captain Johnston of the SS Orizaba. She inherited land from him and built a dream home overlooking Old Town and the Pacific Ocean. There was also Kate Sessions, the mother of Balboa Park, whose nursery growing grounds just outside the original Mission Hills subdivision proved difficult for her clientele to traverse, leading her to convince transportation mogul John D. Spreckles to expand the streetcar route to accommodate her business. In 1905, George Marston, a San Diego civic leader, commissioned landscape architect and urban planner John Nolan to implement a development plan for the city. Nolan's plan, however, was never adopted. In 1908, as if to prove what was possible, Marston's syndicate formed the restricted subdivision of Mission Hills. Then, in 1909, the city announced plans to celebrate the opening of the Panama Canal. The fuse was lit, and the boom that followed brought builders and skilled artisans to San Diego. As a result, Mission Hills became architecturally magnificent.

Calaveras Big Trees

9780738581187

$24.99

Augustus T. Dowd could scarcely believe his eyes when he stumbled upon one of nature's majestic wonders in 1852. Hunting down a wounded bear in the hills above the mining camp of Murphys, Dowd instead found a tree of mammoth proportions. After initial skepticism about the size of these trees, news of Dowd's discovery quickly spread. Local businessmen soon acquired the grove of 100 mammoth trees, or giant sequoia, and built accommodations for travelers. Thus began one of California's earliest tourist attractions in 1853. Dedicated as a California State Park in 1931, Calaveras Big Trees State Park hosts 250,000 annual visitors who come from around the world to marvel at these wondrous giants in their magnificent natural surroundings.

Cover image for Calaveras Big Trees, isbn: 9780738581187

Helena

9780738518985

$24.99

From its origins as a dusty mining camp, Helena quickly grew into a bustling cosmopolitan city, eventually to become the capital of pioneer Montana. At the heart of this growth and development was the vision of Colonel Charles A. Broadwater. Featured here in over 200 vintage photographs is the history of this pioneer town, its involvement in the settlement of the West, and the towering achievement and mysterious decline of the Colonel's tribute to the Queen City of the Rockies, the Broadwater Hotel and Natatorium.

The community of Helena was established in 1864 shortly after gold was discovered in Last Chance Gulch, today's main street area. It quickly grew as a supply center for area mining camps. Colonel Broadwater, a self-made man, announced the construction of a grand resort in honor of Helena's prominence as the Queen City of the Rockies: The Broadwater Hotel and Natatorium. The story of the Broadwater, inextricably linked to the story of the development of Helena, is captured here in vintage photography, including turn-of-the-19th-century Helena, its growth from a mining camp into a financial center, its fires, earthquakes, and magnificent rebuilding.

Marin County

9780738555713

$24.99

Marin County has long been known for its beautiful woodlands, seashores, and hills, but its towns, people, and architecture tell an equally compelling story. The largest of the Bay Area's nine counties, Marin has an amazingly varied makeup in both its populace and its natural setting. From the sparse, rocky seascapes and sandy beaches along the Point Reyes Peninsula, Bolinas, and Stinson Beach, to the suburban tracts of San Rafael, Corte Madera, and Novato, this county runs the gamut of California lifestyles and landscapes.

Postcards from the State of Jefferson

9780738596662

$24.99

The "State of Jefferson" refers to the rugged and wilder portions of Southern Oregon and Northern California. With majestic Mount Shasta at its heart and the Cascades as its backbone, this area has been home to several Native American tribes for generations. It became known as the "northern mines" during the famous Gold Rush of 1849. Today, the area is famous for its wild rivers and forested mountainsides. While mining, logging, and ranching were the "state's" first industries, recreation and tourism now compete as major industries. Throughout its history, the desire to create a separate state has remained as strong as it was in the 1850s. In 1941, citizens rallied to create a 49th state. The would-be Jeffersonites held a gubernatorial election and even created a state seal: a gold pan etched with two Xs, signifying the double-cross by Salem and Sacramento politicians. The seal can be seen on flags and other State of Jefferson memorabilia, and those who reside here still manifest the independent spirit that has characterized the region.

Torrance Airport

9780738546629

$24.99

Californians were panicked by the Pearl Harbor attack of December 7, 1941, and civilian flights within 200 miles of the coast were immediately terminated. Airfields were commandeered and new ones hastily built. One of these was the Lomita Flight Strip, known today as Zamperini Field, the Torrance Municipal Airport, or TOA. This 490-acre parcel sent four squadrons of P-38 fighter pilots off to war with one commanded by the judge of the Charles Manson trial, an ex-Flying Tiger. Six other pilots became generals, two became commandants of cadets at the Air Force Academy, and one became the only fighter pilot with combat victories in both World War II and the Vietnam War. Japanese Americans returning from World War II internment camps found temporary housing at the field, and the world's largest manufacturer of civilian helicopters settled there in 1973. The first runway takeoff of a Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) aircraft was pioneered at TOA, and aerobatic champ Bob Herendeen trained at the site.

Sacramento

9780738559001

$24.99

California's capital city, Sacramento, has played many roles over time, including Gold Rush boomtown, railroad terminus, regional industrial center, and seat of state government. These varied roles meant dramatic changes as the city grew outward and upward.

Willows

9780738580609

$24.99

Hot, thirsty range cattle led cowboys to a shady, spring-fed pond midway between the coastal and sierra foothills in Northern California. The area was referred to as the Willows. It was a place no doubt well known to the native Wintun Indians long before white men came exploring. Settlers began buying up land at $4 an acre after the Gold Rush. Milton French was ranching to the west of town as early as 1857. In June 1876, Johnson and Hochheimer opened a general store. Daniel Zumwalt provided land to railroad magnate Charlie Crocker, who extended train service to the the Willows by 1878. Broad streets were laid out in an east-to-west orientation. The town was on its way to becoming the center of one of the most productive agricultural areas in the state, thanks to the development of deep-water wells and the building of canals.

Cover image for Willows, isbn: 9780738580609

Magalia to Stirling City

9780738530185

$24.99

The West Branch of the Feather River in northern Butte County was once a rich mining region. In 1859, an incredible 54-pound gold nugget washed from the flanks of Sawmill Peak, named for the ridge's other main industry, logging. An intricate web of stage roads, and later railroads, linked the little mining and lumber towns that dotted these peaks covered in giant white and ponderosa pine. Steam engines hauled huge logs to mills like the Diamond Match Company, crossing steep canyons on wooden trestles stretched to heart-stopping heights. Some early mining towns like Magalia (once known as Dogtown--site of the gargantuan nugget) and Stirling City, are still there. Others like Nimshew, Lovelock, Toadtown, Powellton, Chaparral, Coutelenc, and Inskip, are ghost towns, inhabiting only the photographs that memorialize their short heyday.

Cloverdale

9780738559148

$24.99

Cloverdale lies nestled among forested hills and colorful vineyards at the north end of Sonoma County's famed Alexander Valley. Originally inhabited by the Makahmo Pomo with white settlers beginning to arrive in the 1850s, the town later became known as "The Orange City" because of its flourishing groves of citrus. In the latter years of the 19th century, Cloverdale welcomed trainloads of visitors arriving to enjoy its signature event, the annual Citrus Fair, to relax at Russian River resorts or to experience the geothermal wonders of The Geysers. During the same period, unique communities developed outside of town--a religious colony around a charismatic healer, a utopian community of French socialists, and an agricultural settlement of Italian immigrants that became the unparalleled Italian Swiss Colony winemaking enterprise. Over the years, Cloverdale has been a farm town, a regional transportation hub, a stopping point for Redwood Highway travelers, and a thriving lumber town. More recently, Cloverdale has been refashioning itself into a distinctive tourist destination while retaining its identity as a friendly hometown.

Cover image for Cloverdale, isbn: 9780738559148

San Diego's Balboa Park

9780738547541

$24.99

Balboa Park began in 1868 when San Diego's civic leaders dedicated 1,400 prime acres to create an urban oasis. Originally the land, crisscrossed with canyons and dominated by native scrub, was called
simply "City Park." In later years, Balboa Park hosted two successful world expositions: the 1915-1916 Panama-California Exposition and the 1935-1936 California Pacific International Exposition. The unique evolution of the park included occupation by the U.S. Navy, a zoo, a Native American village, and even a nudist colony. Balboa Park also suffered periods of neglect and demolition before citizens groups united to save and restore the beloved Spanish Colonial Revival buildings.

Livermore

9780738596976

$24.99

Mid-century Livermore saw a demographic shift from farms and ranches to suburbanization and continuing support of the existing health care industry, New Deal programs, a naval airbase, and two national laboratories. The health care industry flourished with the dedication in 1925 of a veterans' hospital, which is still operational today; the Livermore Sanitarium for the treatment of alcoholism and mental disorders; and the Del Valle Sanitarium for the treatment of tuberculosis. During the 1930s, Livermore residents supported the Hetch Hetchy Project and numerous efforts of the Works Progress Administration. A naval airbase for training pilots was established in 1942, during World War II. This base became the Lawrence Livermore Radiation Laboratory in the 1950s and was soon accompanied by an extension of Sandia National Laboratories across the street.

California's Lamson Murder Mystery

9781467136532

$21.99

On Memorial Day 1933, Stanford executive David Lamson found his wife, Allene, dead in their Palo Alto home. The only suspect, he became the face of California's most sensational murder trial of the century. After a judge sentenced him to hang at San Quentin, a team of Stanford colleagues stepped in to form the Lamson Defense Committee. The group included poets Yvor Winters and Janet Lewis, as well as the Sherlock Holmes of Berkeley, criminologist E.O. Heinrich. They managed to overturn the verdict and incite a series of heated retrials that gripped and divided the community. Was Lamson the victim of aggressive prosecutors, or was he a master of deception whose connections helped him get away with murder? Author and Stanford alum Tom Zaniello meticulously examines the details of a notorious case with a lingering legacy.

Cover image for California's Lamson Murder Mystery, isbn: 9781467136532

Legendary Locals of Moscow

9781467102070

$24.99

The rich and fertile land upon which Moscow sits has sustained a vibrant community of hard working thinkers, creators, and activists for more than 125 years. Just as the area's first inhabitants returned to camas fields in Paradise Valley year after year, pioneers settled in Hog Heaven because they found ready access to life's necessities. Businessmen like Nathaniel Williamson and Frank David tied their fortunes to the local farming economy to the same degree as seed pioneer Willis Crites or sustainability advocate Mary Jane Butters. While the bounty that surrounds Moscow feeds its growth, the town's cultural lifeblood is pumped by the University of Idaho. The university has provided Moscow with inventors such as Malcolm Renfrew, talented athletes like Olympian Dan O'Brien, and colorful characters, perhaps best embodied by Dean of Women Permeal French. The picturesque hills of the Palouse roll through the history of this unique town, rooting tomorrow's leaders in the work of yesterday's groundbreakers.

Cover image for Legendary Locals of Moscow, isbn: 9781467102070

Tuolumne City

9780738589183

$24.99

Tuolumne City traces its history back to the historic Gold Rush of the mid-19th century. Founded in 1854, the town--first named Summersville, then changed to Carters in the 1880s before finally becoming Tuolumne in 1906--played host to one of the most prominent gold- and quartz-mining outposts in the region. When many of the more profitable camps along Turnback Creek and Tuolumne River began to wane, the industry of choice for Tuolumne shifted to timber, which would drive the town and shape its character for the greater part of the 20th century. The West Side Lumber Company harvested huge, lucrative stands of virgin pine, fir, and cedar, reaching deep into the forest alongside treacherous 40-degree to 60-degree curves and along a unique narrow gauge track. Tuolumne's lumber-rich past is celebrated to this day with the annual Lumber Jubilee.

Walnut

9780738595474

$24.99

The city of Walnut is approximately 8.9 square miles and is home to more than 32,000 people. It is primarily a residential community, but it has more than 600 businesses. The city has a rural charm that is preserved by a well-defined general plan. Nestled at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains and approximately 22 miles east of Los Angeles at the junction of four counties--Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino--Walnut is considered a bedroom community with rural charm and cultural diversity.

Crockett

9780738529141

$24.99

The small town of Crockett rests on the shore of the Carquinez Strait, a narrow shipping waterway running from San Francisco Bay into the Sacramento Delta region. Crockett's early history was heavily influenced by the shipping industry, and the shoreline was filled with warehouses and wharves. Twin cantilever bridges across the Carquinez Strait at Crockett distinguish the town's skyline from other ports in the area. A third span was recently added across the strait and named in honor of Crockett native Alfred Zampa. Much of Crockett's identity has been associated with the C&H sugar refinery, and for more than 50 years, Crockett was a devoted company town.

Cover image for Crockett, isbn: 9780738529141

Baseball in Colorado Springs

9780738599540

$24.99

From Boulevard Park and Memorial Field to Security Service Field (formerly Sky Sox Stadium), Colorado Springs is a baseball town. Professional baseball arrived in 1901; the Brown Bombers, a semiprofessional black team, came in the 1940s; and the original Sky Sox won the Western League Championship in 1953, 1955, and 1958. Local players such as Ed Kent, Bill Everitt, Jim Landis, Sam Hairston, Connie Johnson, Vinny Castilla, and Todd Helton have made it to the major leagues. Rich Goose Gossage, a Colorado Springs native, went directly from Class A ball to the Chicago White Sox, starting his hall-of-fame career in 1972.

Cover image for Baseball in Colorado Springs, isbn: 9780738599540

Dillon and Silverthorne

9780738570167

$24.99

Lake Dillon sits at almost 2 miles high in the Rocky Mountains. The dam and reservoir that produced this Summit County resort, along with Dillon Village on its shore and the town of Silverthorne just below it, are collectively one of Colorado's winter-summer fun destinations. Dillon Dam is 5,288 feet long by 231 feet high, creating a large freshwater source for the city of Denver, as well as 25 miles of scenic shoreline. The dam stores 85.5 billion gallons of water from the Snake and Blue Rivers and Ten Mile Creek. On cue, these waters rush eastward to the South Platte River Basin through the Transmontane Project, or Roberts Tunnel—augered hundreds of feet under the Continental Divide in one of the West's most controversial water relocation epics. Today Dillon, Silverthorne, and the Blue River Basin on Colorado's western slope see their share of sailboating, snow and Nordic skiing, windsurfing, and snowboarding.

Cover image for Dillon and Silverthorne, isbn: 9780738570167

The Norconian Resort

9780738555591

$24.99

The Norconian Resort Supreme was a magnificent disaster. A chance discovery of "hot sulfur water" in 1926 led entrepreneur Rex Clark to construct one of the finest and most comprehensive recreation facilities on the West Coast. Movie stars, Olympic champions, and the richest of the rich flocked to it. Sadly the Norconian debuted just months before the onset of the Great Depression, and very quickly Rex Clark's $4.5-million dream became known as "Rex's Folly." The resort eventually became one of the preeminent naval hospitals in the nation, a top-secret think tank, and a medium-security prison.

Miraculously most of the original structures still exist. The old hotel, despite its placement on the National Register of Historic Places, has become a political hot potato and now sits languishing in the middle of the California Rehabilitation Center--abandoned yet stunning, with fabulous chandeliers, tile work, and breathtaking paintings still intact.

Salt Lake City

9780738594811

$21.99

Within the memory of the present generation the map of North America represented the region now covered by the Territories of Utah, Wyoming, Arizona, the State of Nevada and the western part of Colorado, as the Great American Desert. In fact, until the explorations of Bonneville and Fremont, little if anything was known of its character. As early as 1833, Captain Bonneville had trappers on Green River--a tributary of the Colorado--and in July of that year he sent a party from that point westward, to explore this vast region. Passing down what is now called Ogden River, they discovered the Great Salt Lake. Colonel Fremont came afterwards, in 1842, and remained exploring in and around the Great Desert until 1846, but save for these travelers, the country was visited only by trappers and hunters. The advent of civilization into the Great American Desert was on the arrival of the Mormon Pioneers, after their exodus from Nanvoo, in Illinois.

Cooke City

9780738575841

$24.99

Northeast of Yellowstone National Park, between precipitous mountains along Soda Butte Creek, lies the old mining town of Cooke City. Ramshackle buildings of yesteryear and scars of exploitation still remain, quietly telling stories about this quaint community. When Adam "Horn" Miller picked up a piece of rich galena ore in the vicinity of the Clark's Fork drainage, it was destined to play an important part in the mining and development of the area. Early explorers, prospectors, and settlers were thwarted by Indians, rugged mountains without roads, and winters in the high country. Until 1877, most of the work was prospecting, then smelters were built. A railroad was expected but never materialized, so only marginal profits were made in mining. The area's scenic wonders, however, are Cooke City's true wealth.

Communities of the Palmer Divide

9780738581903

$24.99

Native American tribes once traversed the east-west anomaly of the Rocky Mountains known as the Palmer Divide as a passage between the high ranges and the Great Plains. Lying between Denver and Colorado Springs, and named for William Jackson Palmer, founder of Colorado Springs, the offshoot range divides the great Platte and Arkansas River systems. Settlers homesteaded, farmed, and ranched the area. Railroad construction in the 1870s led to towns supporting commerce and tourism, particularly in the western section of the Palmer Divide, in what eventually became known as the Tri-Lakes Area. The area drew tourists who enjoyed hiking, wildflowers, and the outdoors, and facilitated such local industries as ice harvesting, lumber milling, ranching, and potato farming. A vast area north of Colorado Springs, the Palmer Divide retains a picturesque rural nature and cohesive small-town feeling--creating such social events as the Rocky Mountain Chautauqua and the Yule Log Festival, as well as the enduring Palmer Lake Star on Sundance Mountain.

Lake Arrowhead

9780738547022

$24.99

Lake Arrowhead is Southern California's premier alpine resort located in the heart of the scenic San Bernardino Mountains. From the 1920s to the 1950s, the resort's "golden years" offered city-weary urbanites a sophisticated rural playground of camping, boating, golfing, horseback riding, hunting, fishing, luxurious lodging, and dining--all showcased here in many vintage images never before published. Taken from author Keller's private collection of postcards, this history of Lake Arrowhead offers a true window into the past with images and evocative postcard sentiments about this remarkable community.

Legendary Locals of Fillmore

9781467101929

$24.99

Since its beginning as a Southern Pacific Railroad town 100 years ago, Fillmore has been the setting of many legends and true tales, like the St. Francis Dam disaster, the 1994 earthquake, and the Hollywood film shoots. Joaquin Murietta hid in the hills, and the story of the T. Wallace More murder in Rancho Sespe in 1877 was the murder of the century. Rancho Camulos, owned by the del Valle family until 1924, signifies the last of the Californios. Today, it is owned by the descendants of August Rubel. Tales of the sycamore tree abound, and it is an icon on Highway 126, as is the tower of the Sanitary Dairy, which was ordered from the Sears, Roebuck & Company in Chicago. Oil was discovered early in Shiells Canyon and brought Texaco to town. The fruit industry prospered, and Sunkist was welcomed. Hugh Warring installed indoor plumbing in the Piru Mansion. The likes of Booty Sanchez, Marcelino Woody Ybarra, Gene Wren, Kevin Gross, Jim Fauver, and Dorothy Shiells still influence the community.

Cover image for Legendary Locals of Fillmore, isbn: 9781467101929

San Pedro

9780738547077

$24.99

Arcadia Publishing's second collection of postcard images concerning the Los Angeles Harbor community of San Pedro follows the 2005 Postcard History Series volume San Pedro Bay. Where that work concentrated on the harbor and water aspects of the colloquially known "Peedro," this new volume looks at the town and its development, buildings, businesses, streetscapes, and residences. The port village and town that grew from it has a rich and varied past with vital influence on the histories of the city of Los Angeles and California, and others no less epic than the sagas of the U.S. military, American labor unions, and world cargo shipping.

Santa Monica in Vintage Postcards

9780738520551

$24.99

Santa Monica was founded in 1875 and by 1887, the area was caught up in the real estate frenzy of the time with advertisements suggesting that it had "one of the grandest panoramic views the human eye has ever rested on . . . " In over 200 vintage postcards, here is Santa Monica in all its coastal splendor, including views of the bathing beaches, the Roosevelt Highway, and private citizens' beautiful Chinese Gardens.

Security-Widefield

9781467130929

$24.99

On the southern outskirts of Colorado Springs lies the peaceful community known as Security-Widefield. With the installation and expansion of nearby Camp Carson, a vision unfurled of a suburb convenient for military families, including affordable homes, parks, recreation programs, schools, and easy access to the Mountain Post. Fred Sproul first purchased dairy and truck farms in the Fountain Valley and developed the area into Security Village, and later, Jules Watson developed more farmland into Widefield. With no mayor and no town council, the two neighborhoods have uniquely come together through Widefield School District No. 3, which has been instrumental in maintaining the parks and library, as well as delivering top-notch education. Together, the school district and volunteer fire department have provided community activities for nearly 60 years. Many of the first families to reside in the area are now seeing their great-grandchildren reap the blessings of growing up in Security-Widefield.

Oakland Fire Department

9780738529684

$24.99

For over 150 years, brave firefighters have battled to preserve the lives and property of the citizens of Oakland. Beginning in 1853, volunteer engine and hook and ladder companies organized and the Oakland Fire Department formed in 1869. Until 1922, teams of magnificent horses pulled steamers belching black smoke and embers, with firemen holding on for dear life. These gallant fire horses were as much firefighters as the rugged men of Oakland who extinguished blazes with leather hoses and brass nozzles. After waging an internal battle of racial integration--a 35-year struggle that began in
1920--the Oakland Fire Department became one of the first in the nation to hire women firefighters beginning in 1980.

Half Moon Bay

9780738529639

$24.99

First dubbed San Benito and then "Spanishtown," Half Moon Bay is a coastside town with a long and intriguing story. Many know it for its lovely natural surroundings, quaint downtown architecture, and relaxed atmosphere, but not many people know that this town was the first to be established in San Mateo County as a result of 1840s land grants to early Spanish settlers. Isolated on the coast for a time, it became home to Mexican, Chilean, Italian, Portuguese, and other cultures after the 1850s, when roads finally reached over the mountains. During the 20th century, a wide variety of businesses thrived here, as people arrived by road, water, and even railroad. Farms, churches, schools, businesses, and homes sprang up, and the town modernized, though today's Half Moon Bay looks much like it did 100 years ago.

Cover image for Half Moon Bay, isbn: 9780738529639

Cordova

9780738581699

$24.99

Cordova's part in Alaska's early history and contribution to the fishing industry, culture and growth are uncovered in this fascinating history.

Cordova is built upon a rich foundation of bounties from both the sea and the land; add to that the traditions of many cultures of people and the result is a novel Alaskan community. Natives lived near the shores of the lake, and coastal areas of Prince William Sound guaranteed a food source with the return of the salmon each spring. Salmon also attracted others; by 1887, two canneries were operating in the Odiak Slough area. By 1915, Cordova became known as the ""Razor Clam Capital of the World."" High in the Wrangell Mountains lays the rich Kennecott copper lode; Cordova's deepwater port was selected as the most accessible terminus for copper ore shipment. A 196-mile railroad delivered the first train loaded with copper ore to Cordova in 1911, beginning an era of prosperity and growth. Cordova has since survived the loss of the railroad, devastating fires, nature's earthquakes, and man-made oil spills.

Pasadena in Vintage Postcards

9780738508191

$24.99

The postcard has been a popular part of American communication for over a century, documenting both the interest of a place and its history. Captured here in nearly 200 vintage postcards is the unique history of this California town, translated in Chippewa as Crown of the Valley. The City of Pasadena, just north of Los Angeles, sits against the majesty of the Sierra Madre mountain range. Incorporated in 1885, the city was originally known as a resort city, filled with tourists from all over the world. Showcased here through the use of the author's personal postcard collection are vintage images of Millionaires Row, the Tournament of the Roses Parade, the Mt. Lowe Railway, and the Alpine Tavern.

Cover image for Pasadena in Vintage Postcards, isbn: 9780738508191

Powerhouses of the Sierra Nevada

9780738547572

$24.99

The historic powerhouses of the Sierras have been powering much of California's growth for the past hundred years or so. Located in canyons where water can be dropped thousands of feet from ridges above, they were California's first source of electrical power. The oldest powerhouses were built by survivors of the original gold rush, who turned metalworking and pipe-fitting skills to the task of generating electricity. The resulting machines were curious amalgamations of steam valves, riveted pipes, waterwheels, and rudimentary electrical devices imported from the East Coast. These views show how miners chipped out a small ledge on a granite cliff hundreds of feet below Spaulding Lake dam to create an anchor point for a powerhouse that seems embedded in the rock itself. They also celebrate the genius of mining-camp tinkerer Lester Pelton, who, in 1880, invented a more efficient waterwheel capable of spinning a generator shaft at high speed. His invention bore his name, and the basic design is used to this day throughout the world.

Rancho Sespe

9781467124966

$24.99

In 1833, Rancho Sespe began as a Mexican land grant with 8,881 acres stretching along the Santa Clara River from Piru to Santa Paula. The face of Rancho Sespe is not just the bunkhouse or the family housing that stood on this land; it is, rather, seen in the stories of those who lived and worked on the ranch. Their struggles and triumphs are shared in this book and illustrated with many vintage photographs. The Spaldings developed Rancho Sespe into a very successful ranch for citrus and livestock for over 30 years, and it became a quasi-feudal society as a self-contained working ranch in the 20th century. When the ranch later sold, it ushered in changes for Rancho Sespe to become a part of the modern age, and gone was the worker housing along with other remnants of the past. Many of the families continue to live in the surrounding area generation after generation.

The Humboldt Wagon Road

9780738576435

$24.99

This book offers readers an opportunity to ride the historic Humboldt Wagon Road from Chico to Susanville through images that have been collected since the 1860s. Many never-before-published photographs and oral histories tell a story of people who established what has been called this "small corner of the West." In the 1850s, John Bidwell, a California pioneer, agriculturist, businessman, and politician, envisioned a freight and passenger route that would connect San Francisco, the Sacramento River, and his newly established community of Chico. He wanted it to cross the mountains to the gold and silver mines in Idaho and Nevada. Bidwell financed, constructed, and opened the road for horses, wagons, stagecoaches, and eventually trucks and automobiles. From the Civil War era until the present, the road has carried everything from lumber to tourists.

Legendary Locals of Los Gatos

9781467101356

$24.99

In 1878, Charles Erskine Scott Wood, builder of the Cats Estate, wrote "Good citizens are the riches of a city." From its beginning, Los Gatos has suffered no shortage of hardworking, inventive, entrepreneurial, and gifted people. Early orchardists found the land unbelievably productive, but their crops were threatened with disease and pesky infestations of gophers. John Bean and Zephyr Macabee provided solutions. Louise Van Meter was an unconventional teacher who championed the new concept of kindergarten. Neta Snook Southern defied traditional female roles to become a pilot. She taught Amelia Earhart to fly before retiring to Los Gatos, where she raised prunes, apricots, and miniature horses. John Steinbeck wrote The Grapes of Wrath during one long, hot summer in town. Steve Wozniak settled in Los Gatos and donated computers to schools. The lives presented here have contributed to the sparkling legacy of the "Gem City of the Foothills."

The Avenues

9780738585352

$24.99

East of Utah's domed state capitol and near downtown Salt Lake City, a residential district sharply climbs the foothills of the Wasatch Range. The neighborhood is known as "The Avenues." Settlement of the oldest portion of the area took place from the 1860s until the late 1930s. The proximity of the neighborhood to the central business district and transportation hub made it a convenient living location for middle- and upper-class citizens involved in many trades. The streets were originally named mostly after trees. Then in 1885, the north-south streets became A through V Streets, and the east-west streets became First through Fourth Avenues. This change in street names gave the area its popular title. After a long period of decline, The Avenues was declared a historic district in 1980. Today, residents strive to restore the celebrated treasures of their neighborhood.

Norco

9780738530352

$24.99

Norco's motto, "City Living in a Rural Atmosphere," is clearly reflected in this town where horses trot down the street next to cars and are frequently seen hitched up outside of local shops. In the late 1920s and 1930s, Norco was the home of the Norconian Club, an out-of-the-way hot spot for the Hollywood crowd. Built by city founder Rex B. Clark in 1928, the 900-acre luxury resort featured a 55-acre lake, hot sulfur spring, five-story hotel, casino, golf course, and a private airport. The club was sold in 1941 and eventually became the U.S. Naval Warfare Assessment Center, as well as the California Rehabilitation Center. The home of national rodeos and other premium equestrian activity, this unique community of more than 25,000 residents is tucked into Riverside County's southwestern corner and crisscrossed with 90 miles of horse trails. The archival photographs in this chronological compendium depict the founding, growth, and modern development of Norco.

Cemeteries of San Diego

9780738547145

$24.99

San Diego has a rich and unique cultural history that can be effectively told through the commemoration of its dead. Local cemeteries throughout the city reflect San Diego's multiethnic cultural dynamism and pinpoint marked shifts in power from Native American to Spanish to Mexican to American governance. They also reveal the current struggle for space in a burgeoning metropolis. Graveyards, with their individually detailed and hauntingly beautiful monuments, offer an unrivaled historic yet continuous glimpse at the essence of this diverse community. The story of San Diego's cemeteries is a telling narrative that offers remarkable insight into the evolution of "America's Finest City."

Cover image for Cemeteries of San Diego, isbn: 9780738547145

Hermosa Beach

9780738547091

$24.99

Unlike most Los Angeles County beach communities, the City of Hermosa Beach owns its own beach. But perhaps more than most coastal Southern California destination cities, Hermosa Beach represents shared experience, detailed on thousands of postcards over the decades. This greater square mile of sand, surf, and sun has conjured cherished memories for fishermen, surfers, and volleyball players as well as jazz fans, diners and tavern celebrants, and simply lovers of the beach who found lifelong or short-term happiness in Hermosa. These postcards recall many bygone landmarks and changing lifestyles and celebrate the Hermosa Beach century (1907-2007).

Lake Tahoe's Rustic Architecture

9781467116541

$24.99

Lake Tahoe is the gem of the Sierra Nevada. Those who visit this beautiful Lake of the Sky may share Mark Twain's impression of the place as he camped on its shore in 1861: As it lay there with the shadows of the mountains brilliantly photographed upon its still surface I thought it must surely be the fairest picture the whole earth affords. Twain's quote, from Roughing It, includes the trinity of Tahoe's landscape—sky, mountains, and lake—that people still find inspiring. This explains, in large part, why the man-made environment around the lake is predominantly rustic, a style of architecture noted for its compatibility with its surroundings through the use of natural materials in construction—logs, stone, and wooden shingle—along with muted shades of green and brown. Through its homes, resorts, and other assorted buildings, Lake Tahoe remains the fairest picture.

Cover image for Lake Tahoe's Rustic Architecture, isbn: 9781467116541

Ka'u District

9781467133340

$24.99

Ka‘u is the largest district in Hawai‘i and the southernmost. Historically, it is important as the most likely landing area for the first Hawaiians and the location of the first settlement. It was the location of some of the last battles for control of Hawai‘i island, and the decision of Ka‘u's last ali‘i, Keoua Ku‘ahu‘ula, to agree to a meeting with Kamehameha, which he believed would lead to his death, was a crucial event in the creation of a unified Hawaiian kingdom. After Western contact, the sugar industry dominated the economy of Ka‘u, and ranching was also important. Although the sugar industry closed in 1996, the rural character has been maintained, and Ka‘u now enjoys some of the longest stretches of undeveloped highway and coastline in the state. The appeal of the district's natural beauty owes much to the Kilauea and Mauna Loa volcanoes, and Ka‘u has a unique location between the two segments of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park.

Lemon Grove

9780738571935

$24.99

Lemon Grove dates to 1892 when it first appeared in the San Diego County records as Lemon Grove. The tiny, whistle-stop town emerged during the second gold rush, the rise of California's citrus industry, which was facilitated by the 1849 Gold Rush, the break up of the Mexican ranchos in Alta California, and the advent of statehood for California in 1850. Land speculators poured into California, lured by the exquisite climate, five growing seasons, and the possibilities for success in agriculture and business. Lemon Grove became home to gentlemen farmers from the East and Midwest, whose descendants live on in the community to this day.

Cover image for Lemon Grove, isbn: 9780738571935

Montana Women From the Ground Up

9781467137232

$21.99

Growing up on the family ranch, Linda Finley fought hard to gain the acceptance and respect as a ranch hand that her brothers took for granted. Arlene Pile barely remembers learning to ride a horse and run machinery—she was so young. She learned to drive on an 8N Ford tractor with a buck rake. Lee Jacobsen became the first woman in the state licensed to artificially inseminate cattle. Meet these and other Montana women passionate about caring for their land and determined to make the lifestyle their own. Many never doubted for a moment that they would spend their lives in agriculture, while others speak of their surprise and delight to find themselves living on the land. All agree that they wouldn't be happy doing anything else.

Cover image for Montana Women From the Ground Up, isbn: 9781467137232

The Haunted Heart of Denver

9781609492939

$21.99

The Gates of Hell are rumored to lie below a hotel near Denver's capitol building, and there are tales of restless spirits of those buried in Cheesman Park. Above the subterranean darkness, the city streets are haunted by the murderous poltergeist of the Capitol Hill Thug. Even the stately mansions of Millionaires' Row hide their own secrets, a sad Victorian lady begs for help before vanishing in the Sheedy Mansion, and an eerie face appears on the facade of the Cresswell House. Join tour guide and reluctant ghost hunter Kevin Pharris as he takes a chilling journey through The Haunted Heart of Denver.

Cover image for The Haunted Heart of Denver, isbn: 9781609492939

Brief History of Eastvale, A

9781609499501

$21.99

The vibrant and beloved community of Eastvale was once an agrarian paradise. Developed initially as ranchlands, this area tucked along the Santa Ana River was transformed by industrious farmers who produced alfalfa and other crops, raised poultry and eventually thrived as dairymen. Eastvale's latest agents of change, however, weren't cattlemen or farmers but real estate agents. Indeed, land developers saw the same potential in Eastvale as the initial ranchers did. Beginning in the 1990s, developers created charming homes and planned neighborhoods for former city dwellers eager to live in Riverside County. Despite the changes, the bucolic ambiance of the bygone era remains. Authors Loren P. Meissner and Kim Jarrell Johnson recount the dynamic changes, important people and exciting events that created Eastvale.

Santa Margarita

9781467133746

$24.99

Santa Margarita de Cortona was founded in 1775 as part of the original Spanish mission system. Its asistencia, in fact, has been considered a lost mission. Santa Margarita Ranch was later founded from a Mexican land grant. In 1889, the arrival of the Southern Pacific Railroad, with its terminus in Santa Margarita, created a boomtown with dance halls, blacksmiths, hotels, pool halls, saloons, and a jail. And with the popularity of auto travel half a century later, Santa Margarita was once again revitalized with garages, gas stations, motor inns, restaurants, and bars. It fell into a deep sleep, however, as Highway 101 bypassed the town in the mid-1950s. Landlocked by the 17,000-plus-acre Santa Margarita Ranch, the town has remained frozen in time until recently.

Cover image for Santa Margarita, isbn: 9781467133746

Ocean Beach

9781467131988

$24.99

Ocean Beach, a neighborhood of San Diego, California, is known throughout the city, county, and beyond as a unique and quirky place with the feel of a small town, despite being a stone's throw from the center of a major metropolis. Founded in 1887 in a coastal area known for its beautiful cliffs and rock formations, Ocean Beach went through growing pains in the early 1900s before establishing itself as a family-oriented, self-contained beach community by the mid-1930s. Full of mom-and-pop stores and very walkable, Ocean Beach is a favorite destination for thousands of tourists and San Diegans each year.

Cover image for Ocean Beach, isbn: 9781467131988

Forgotten Tales of Utah

9781467137300

$21.99

Characters ranging from Mormon pioneers to Butch Cassidy all helped give the Beehive State color and tenacity. Uncover the state's hidden gems with stories like the first group of Latter-day Saints who arrived in the Salt Lake Valley days before Brigham Young proclaimed it as "the right place." Meet an ancient prophet believed to have walked the arid landscape, offering his blessing on several sites long before the pioneers arrived. Learn why a former lawyer was buried without a proper headstone. Discover the state's quirky side with the strange goings-on at an obscure ranch and the alleged monsters once believed to haunt some of Utah's lakes. Author Andy Weeks offers this quirky and informative collection of little-known tales about the forty-fifth state.

Early San Rafael

9780738559414

$24.99

The Coast Miwok and the early friars of Mission Dolores chose San Rafael both for its good weather and running streams, and the mission was named after the Archangel Raphael, the patron saint of bodily healing. When looking for a country estate, many wealthy San Franciscans sought the clean air and ideal weather here to escape the city's damp fog. San Rafael grew fast thereafter--it was the first city in Marin County to incorporate, the first to build a railroad, and the first to build a luxury hotel. San Rafael is the seat of county government, the center of commerce, and a cosmopolitan community in a natural setting. The dusty village of long ago was refined by fine schools and churches, the coming of the library, and by the ambitious efforts of the San Rafael Improvement Club. These early efforts made this a charming place to live, with Victorian homes, sylvan streets, and historic buildings in the business district. The pioneers would be pleased with the state of today's San Rafael.

Commerce City

9780738580203

$24.99

Among Colorado's fastest growing cities in the 21st century, Commerce City was settled in the 1850s, located today 8 miles northeast of Denver's capitol building. Known for hog farms, truck farms, and dairies, as well as refineries and grain elevators, Commerce City was, during World War II, the site of the enormous Rocky Mountain Arsenal, a U.S. Army weapons manufacturing facility. Incorporated in 1952 as Commerce Town, the name was changed to Commerce City in 1962, which adopted home rule in 1970. Commerce City is regionally famous and nationally recognized for parks and recreation, Buffalo Run Golf Course, Mile High Kennel Club (dog racing), and nearby Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge. The new Commerce City Civic Center and Dick's Sporting Goods Park, which is home to pro soccer's Colorado Rapids, were completed in 2007. Commerce City remains a speedily changing municipality with a diverse cultural mix and generations of residents with strong community roots.

Camp Mather

9780738558479

$24.99

Since the 1920s, Camp Mather has beckoned to outdoor enthusiasts to come enjoy restful, carefree times in the Sierra. Bordering Yosemite National Park, Mather was established as a construction camp for laborers building the O'Shaughnessy Dam in the Hetch Hetchy Valley. The camp began welcoming San Franciscans after construction was completed and then, as now, offers a welcome respite from city life. Guests stay in employee cabins and swim in the lake near the site of a former sawmill. Horseback riding, hiking, swimming, and three-squares-a-day have long been hallmarks of the Mather experience. From its humble Hog Ranch beginnings through the Mather Station days, Camp Mather has been a cherished spot enjoyed by multiple generations of San Francisco families.

Nicasio

9780738558028

$24.99

Situated in the geographic center of Marin County, Nicasio was home to the Coast Miwok village of Echatamal and likely named for a Tamal Indian and alcalde, Guequistabal, who was baptized as Nicasio at Mission Dolores in 1802. As European settlers arrived, many established themselves as dairy ranchers and timbermen. Soon a town square began to take shape, complete with a merchandise store, a butcher shop, two saloons, a racetrack, a livery stable, a Catholic church, and a luxurious three-story hotel. These pioneers aspired to make Nicasio the county seat, a bid that was ultimately lost by a single vote in 1863. The land reserved for civic buildings was repurposed as a baseball diamond, which at one time hosted semipro games and continues to serve local little leaguers. The Rancho Nicasio now stands in place of the hotel, yet the town otherwise appears untarnished by time. Not surprisingly, a number of residents have roots tracing back to Nicasio's founders, with newcomers drawn to its pastoral charm and a lifestyle in deep contrast to that of nearby San Francisco.

Cover image for Nicasio, isbn: 9780738558028

Baldwin Park

9780738574844

$24.99

Known as the Hub of the San Gabriel Valley due to its location as the geographic center of the valley, Baldwin Park formerly consisted of cattle-grazing lands for the San Gabriel Mission. Known as Vineland by 1880, and renamed after legendary investor and landowner Elias J. Lucky Baldwin in 1906, the city incorporated in 1956. Baldwin Park evolved as a diverse community along the San Gabriel River, where Ramona Boulevard and Maine Avenue became major thoroughfares. One of the city's thriving businesses was the very first of the famous In-N-Out Burger stands, opened by Harry and Esther Snyder in 1948, southwest of where Francisquito Avenue passes under Interstate 10. From the area's first schoolhouse at what became North Maine and Los Angeles Avenues through the award-winning adult school of the Baldwin Park Unified School District, pride in education has remained a Baldwin Park constant.

Cover image for Baldwin Park, isbn: 9780738574844

San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Department

9780738575452

$24.99

Since 1850, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Department has proudly served the community as the chief law enforcement agency. The office of sheriff was originally created by the California Constitution to meet the public safety needs of each county. From horseback to gigabit, the sheriff and his deputies have responded to the needs of the citizens by providing the highest quality of protection. While the manner in which service is delivered has changed significantly since 1850, the quality of protection has remained high throughout history and is chronicled in this unique portrayal.

Redwood Valley

9781467134507

$24.99

Redwood Valley was named after the majestic redwood groves between Road M and Calpella. Prior to 1857, the Pomo Indians occupied the valley along with grizzly bears, mountain lions, and eagles. The valley became a melting pot of nationalities, with people coming into it from Italy, Germany, Scotland, and Finland. They plowed the land, herded their flocks, harvested their crops, and established unique industries. The early pioneers set the tone for the valley community with their ambitions and hard-work ethic. Together, they paid for and supported schools, churches, an improvement club, the grange, fire and water districts, post offices, agricultural improvements, and stores. The infamous People's Temple was located here. Redwood Valley's 150-plus years of recorded history is rich in what it takes to make a valley into a community.

Fruita

9780738581729

$24.99

William Pabor arrived in Western Colorado before the advent of irrigation, and the land presented a barren and desolate sight. But he saw something entirely different. "In the spring of 1884, lying on the bare floor of a log cabin on the site of what is now the town of Fruita, I watched the moonbeams play on the Roan Cliffs and across Pinon Mesa," Pabor wrote. "The silence of centuries seemed resting upon the plain. . . . But visions of the possibilities of the future swept before me. I saw homes founded, I saw family circles gathered together. I saw vineyards and orchards, and rose-embowered cottages in which love and happiness and contentment abode. . . . I heard the merry voices of children yet to be born. I heard the singing of harvesters bringing in the sheaves of golden grain." Pabor soon turned vision into reality and founded the town of Fruita.

Chinatown and China City in Los Angeles

9780738581651

$24.99

By 1900, the Chinese population of Los Angeles City and County had grown to over 3,000 residents who were primarily situated around an enclave called Old Chinatown. When Old Chinatown was razed to build Union Station, Chinese business owners led by Peter SooHoo Sr. purchased land a few blocks north of downtown to build New Chinatown. Both New Chinatown and another enclave called China City opened in 1938, but China City ultimately closed down after a series of fires.

West Las Vegas

9780738581965

$24.99

Original Las Vegas faced stiff odds with fluctuating fortunes throughout the 20th century. Celebrated as the McWilliams Townsite in 1904, Las Vegas's first commercial enterprise was quickly crushed by savvy developers owning most of the water rights on the southeast side of the railroad tracks. Deprived of resources and services, the tent-riddled ground soon earned the name Ragtown and was populated by the area's poorest, the majority being minorities. During the 1940s and 1950s, a soaring influx of blacks from small plantation towns in the South descended upon Las Vegas, seeking a promised land during the boom of wartime industry, but Jim Crow laws flew in with them. Ironically, segregation led to the emergence of the Westside as an enclave of successful businesses, services, entertainment and casino venues, dozens of churches, and middle-class housing. Although integration brought an exodus and decline, a bold new generation of West Las Vegans is once again revitalizing the original Westside community.

Cover image for West Las Vegas, isbn: 9780738581965

Idaho State University

9781467125512

$24.99

Idaho State University (ISU) opened in 1901 on 10 acres of land donated by the residents of Pocatello east of the Oregon Short Line Railroad tracks. From its humble beginnings as a school for vocational training with four faculty and fewer than 100 students, ISU has grown into a research institution serving over 12,000 students in undergraduate, master's, and doctoral programs. The university has witnessed four name changes and weathered the adversity of two world wars and the ebb and flow of the economic fortunes of the Intermountain West. But Idaho State University has survived and thrived because of the efforts of its supporters, the commitment of its alumni, and the spirit of its students.

Riverside in Vintage Postcards

9780738529783

$24.99

Riverside has been a vital center of agriculture and government throughout the growth of Southern California. Postcards sent from this city to those far away usually depict it as a resort, situated on the western edge of the Colorado Desert, where the historic Mission Inn has been a vacation destination for generations. Illustrating many facets of this world-renowned, garden-like gathering spot, these attractive images also showcase Riverside's Main Street, public buildings, parks, broad avenues, the sharply rising Mt. Rubidoux on the edge of town, and the influence of the citrus industry.

Hot Rodding in Santa Barbara County

9781467132183

$24.99

California's central coast was fertile ground for hot rodding, and all motor sports in general, during the 1940s and 1950s. Hot Rodding in Santa Barbara County takes the reader back in time with a collection of remarkable photographs from the earliest days of the hot rod movement. This book includes images of the first drag strips in the country, rough-and-tumble jalopy racing, early road-racing action, and lots of great hot rods and customs. Follow local hot-rodders as they take trips to El Mirage dry lake and the world-famous salt flats at Bonneville, Utah, and visit a long-lost world as seen through photographs taken from the personal albums of people who contributed to the birth of a culture that would spread across the nation.

Old Torrance Olmsted District

9780738530659

$24.99

The City of Torrance anchors Los Angeles County's South Bay area and is known widely as a "headquarters city" for corporate giants Exxon Mobil, Nissan, Honda, and others. Yet the city's unique history often gets glossed over. "Downtown Torrance," also known as "Old Torrance" and the "Olmsted Districts," was laid out in 1912 by Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., the influential urban-designer son of the "Father of Landscape Architecture," F. L. Olmsted Sr. The town founder and patriarch, Jared Sidney Torrance, gave Olmsted Jr. the imperative to create a unique industrial city. The results are in the streets, buildings, and parks between Western Avenue and Crenshaw Boulevard, north of today's Plaza Del Amo and south of Dominguez Way. Some structures in this district were designed by renowned architect Irving Gill, including the Southern Pacific Railroad Bridge and the Pacific Electric Railway depot.

Captain Benjamin Bonneville's Wyoming Expedition

9781467148641

$21.99

In 1832, Benjamin Bonneville led the first wagon train across the Continental Divide on the Oregon Trail. Financed by a rival of the Hudson's Bay Company, Bonneville and more than one hundred traders and trappers traveled from Fort Osage on the Missouri River, up to the Platte River and across present-day Wyoming. Washington Irving first gave the U.S. Army officer a brand by chronicling the three-year explorations in the 1837 book The Adventures of Captain Bonneville. Historians have long suspected that the captain, under the guise of commercial fur trading, was preparing for an eventual invasion of Mexico's California territory. Bonneville's 1833 report concerning his first year in the Wind River Range and beyond remained lost for almost a century before resurfacing in the 1920s. Author Jett B. Conner examines the intriguing details revealed in that historic document.

Captain Benjamin Bonneville's Wyoming Expedition

Wilmington

9780738556109

$24.99

The Port of Los Angeles neighborhood of Wilmington was included in the 1784 Spanish land grant of Rancho San Pedro and was known as New San Pedro from 1858 to 1863, when it became the city of Wilmington. It was named by "Father of the Harbor" Phineas Banning after his Delaware birthplace. The City of Los Angeles annexed Wilmington in 1909, and today it and neighboring San Pedro form the waterfront of one of the world's largest import/export centers. Wilson College, precursor to the University of Southern California, opened here in 1874 as the first coeducational college west of the Mississippi. Entrepreneur and sportsman William Wrigley built innovative housing in Wilmington that was dubbed the "Court of Nations." From the Union Army's Drum Barracks headquarters of the Southwest in the Civil War to the port's myriad maritime activities during World War II, Wilmington has long-standing ties to the U.S. military.

Madera

9780738529844

$24.99

Madera almost didn't exist. In 1876 there was nothing where this thriving city now stands, but the California Lumber Company was looking for a western terminus for its massive logging flume under construction. Prompted by a deal from early landowners, the company chose this spot and put up a temporary boardinghouse for its workers. Soon
the town was platted out, lots were sold, and the city grew as the completed flume began to bring in lumber from the hills, meeting the railroad. Hotels, stores, a post office, and citizens followed, making Madera (Spanish for "lumber") an important place of business, life, and leisure. In 1893, the city became the county seat of the newly minted Madera County, and structures continued to spring up along Yosemite Boulevard and beyond. The flume is gone now, but Madera owes its existence to early logging.

Indian Valley

9780738558363

$24.99

It is estimated that Indian Valley in Plumas County was inhabited by the Maidu people for 10,000 years. It was then and is still a beautiful valley, surrounded by lush forests and flowing rivers. Pioneer Peter Lassen was the first white man to see its beauty. The Gold Rush caused the first population boom, and towns sprang up around the valley. Huge copper finds, in later years, increased the valley's population once again and brought in the railroad. After the mining started to fade there were many farmers, ranchers, and loggers working to replace the jobs lost from the mines closing. Today Indian Valley is home to several picturesque towns such as Taylorsville, Greenville, and Crescent Mills.

Yukon Quest Sled Dog Race

9780738596273

$24.99

The Yukon Quest is more than just a sled dog race. It was the dream of two Fairbanksans--a recreational musher and an amateur historian--who conceived of a race closer to the roots of Alaskan dog sledding. The Yukon Quest is a 1,000-mile slog through trails used only for this race that cross mountains, rivers, and lakes in some of the harshest weather on the planet. It celebrates the history of the dogs that carried freight and delivered mail, dogs that many times over saved lives before the advent of aviation and snowmachines made them obsolete. The inaugural Yukon Quest Sled Dog Race of 1984 was a great success with the wholehearted support of the Fairbanks community, and it has become a much-anticipated annual event ever since.

Fallon

9781467132220

$24.99

In the mid- to late 19th century, nonnative populations first settled Fallon, Nevada, and the surrounding areas in Churchill County. Tracts of land were claimed from a desert floor, watered sporadically by the Carson River, which, in good years, flows abundantly through the region. Fallon can be seen as a palimpsest, having once exclusively been home to Native Americans and then becoming an overland crossroads. In the mid-1890s, Jim Richards established a store at the crossing and Mike Fallon opened a small post office nearby. Now referred to as the Oasis of Nevada, it is home to thousands. Lahontan Dam, completed in 1915, strengthened early agricultural roots and inspired rural dreams of verdant plenitude. Churchill County presently supports dairies and vineyards as well as farms and ranches. The city of Fallon has developed in significant ways, taking pride in its cultural life, schools, parks, businesses, and city-owned utility enterprises.

Cover image for Fallon, isbn: 9781467132220

Lander

9780738581507

$24.99

Before Lander became a town, the area had already been the summer hunting grounds for numerous Native American tribes, seen a few rendezvous, and had become a freighting hub. Supplying goods for the miners in the South Pass area and goods for the cavalry and natives at Fort Washakie, the freight wagons rolled year-round. When the Lander townsite was plotted in 1880, the main road remained wide enough that a 20-hitch team could turn around. As more people settled in the area, Lander became an agricultural-based town. It was known throughout the state for its abundance of produce, hay, blooded horses, cattle, and sheep. But it was not all work for the settlers; the Wind River Mountains also beckoned. Lander, located at the edge of the southern half of the Shoshone National Forest, became an outfitting stop for alpinists, scientists, and others seeking adventure. Once word of the vast elk and deer herds and the abundance of trout in those high mountain lakes was out, hunters and fisherman came from all over. It also did not take long for Western adventure writers to highlight that Lander was a good place for tourists who wanted to experience the romance of the west through horseback riding, camping, and mountain adventures.

Apple Valley

9780738547497

$24.99

From its earliest days, the entrepreneurs who created Apple Valley found treasure lying beneath its surface of sand. Just two years after gold was discovered in neighboring Holcomb Valley, the Homestead Act of 1862 ushered in a new population to Apple Valley. Max F. Ihmsen, publisher of the Los Angeles Examiner newspaper, moved to the area in 1915 and made his fortune in apple farming. News of his great success spread quickly, enticing a steady migration of Southern California residents to relocate to the nearby desert. The rich and famous, as well as the colorful and inspired, flocked to Apple Valley. Clark Gable, Carol Lombard, Gregory Peck, and Joe Louis all visited area guest ranches. Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Desi Arnaz, and Roy Rogers frequented celebrityrich parties at the Apple Valley Inn. In less than 100 years, Apple Valley earned itself a unique reputation in Hollywood history and became suburban America to many famous residents.

Lost Forts of Casper

9781467119221

$21.99

Three army outposts built before and during the Civil War protected critical routes along the western trails at the North Platte River near what later became Casper. All had been abandoned by 1867, and their dramatic stories are mostly forgotten. The Post at Platte Bridge was a vital outpost on Albert Sidney Johnston's Utah War supply route. Camp Dodge and Platte Bridge Station, also called Fort Caspar, guarded telegraph lines from Native American sabotage. Violent winds, horrendous blizzards and scorching summers made life miserable. Tension reached a fever pitch at the Battle of Platte Bridge when Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapaho attacked a cavalry detachment led by Caspar Collins. Today, a reconstructed Fort Caspar stands as a vigilant reminder of the struggles at those lonely frontier stations. Local historian Johanna Wickman chronicles military efforts to keep the peace, wage war and merely survive.

Cover image for Lost Forts of Casper, isbn: 9781467119221

Banning

9780738529929

$24.99

Comings and goings in Banning often amounted to coming and going. Located in the San Gorgonio Pass between Mt. San Gorgonio and Mt. San Jacinto, the city was once a way station for stagecoach travelers, as well as a midway rest stop for motorists making the trip between Riverside and Palm Springs. The headquarters crews that built the Colorado River Aqueduct made longer stopovers. Gen. George S. Patton Jr. bivouacked his tanks in the deserts east of Banning to train prior to their deployment in North Africa's Sahara to fight the Second World War. But many stayed in Banning, too, and ranched the badlands; grew almonds, peaches, and other crops; built plants to dry the fruit and manufacture plastic goods; and generally stuck around "the pass," making it much more than just a place in the rearview mirror.

Manhattan Beach Pier

9780738530239

$24.99

A destination for beachgoers for a century, the Manhattan Beach Pier extends 928 feet out over the Pacific with the octagonal Roundhouse situated at the far end. Both the pier and Roundhouse have, through the years, come to symbolize this affluent seaside community. The concept for a pier at its present location can be traced to 1898, when the Potencia Townsite Company acquired the land. The first survey map, recorded in 1902, clearly labeled the object at the end of Center Street (now Manhattan Beach Boulevard) as the Old Iron Pier. The pier has been storm-ravaged, rebuilt, and restored while a century of recreation, world-class sporting events, and celebrity visitors have added to its appeal as one of Los Angeles County's notable coastal attractions.

Cover image for Manhattan Beach Pier, isbn: 9780738530239

San Ramon Chronicles

9781467118439

$21.99

Though a relatively young city, San Ramon has history stretching back to California's founding. Ohlone Indians first inhabited the area before rancheros grazed the land more than a century ago. Drawn by the Gold Rush, pioneers and prospectors settled the place promoters labeled a Garden of Eden. Diversified farming of the valley, full of orchards and plentiful fields, sustained the rural population. Sitting in the shadow of historic Mount Diablo, San Ramon is a growing city recognized for its extraordinary parks, schools and active citizenry. Local author Beverly Lane brings to life San Ramon's vibrant past.

Cover image for San Ramon Chronicles, isbn: 9781467118439

Roxborough

9781467116367

$24.99

Paleo-Indians hunted Ice Age mammoths and ancestral bison in what is now Roxborough, Colorado. In 1820, Stephen A. Long's expedition traveled west across the plains into America's western frontier and camped along the South Platte River where water rushed into the Platte Valley from Rocky Mountain peaks. They discovered an area described by their geologist as a range of naked and almost perpendicular rocks . . . resembling a vast wall, parallel to the base of the mountain . . . the whole scenery truly picturesque and romantic. During the next 200 years, Roxborough has been home to Native Americans, mountain men, homesteaders, farmers, miners, dam builders, ranchers, railroad men, cowboys, and rocket scientists. Families live in sight of hogback formations, soaring red rocks, foothills, and mountains. Thousands arrive each year to hike trails in Roxborough State Park, Waterton Canyon, Colorado Trail, and Highline Canal. Roxborough's history, geologic wonders, and wilderness is a story of those whose eyes reached toward the stars.

Cover image for Roxborough, isbn: 9781467116367

Nevada's Lost City

9780738593272

$24.99

Nevada's Lost City was buried under the sands of the Mojave Desert until its existence was reported to Gov. James Scrugham by brothers John and Fay Perkins from Overton, Nevada. Excavations of the archaeological ruins began in 1924, when archaeologist Mark Raymond Harrington identified the ruins as Ancestral Puebloan (more commonly known as Anasazi), a significant archaeological discovery in Southwestern archaeology. Harrington named the world-famous sites Pueblo Grande de Nevada, but the media dubbed them the Lost City, and the name stuck. Excavation continued into the 1930s, when the National Park Service took over the excavation of the sites using young men employed by the Civilian Conservation Corps. The CCC boys not only helped to excavate but they also built the Lost City Museum, an institution devoted to highlighting the archaeological wonders of the Lost City.

Corona

9780738546728

$24.99

More lemons once were shipped from Corona than anywhere on Earth, as a dozen citrus packing houses were located along the railroad tracks in this rural Riverside County enclave known for its circular boulevard and hard-working inhabitants. The postcards collected for this trip down Corona's memory lane reflect its six decades of citrus-industry dominance and portray the past in street scenes, commerce, ranches, schools, churches, homes, and the outlying resorts of Glen Ivy and the Norconian Club. The Corona Road Races-spectacular national affairs in 1913, 1914, and 1916-are also depicted.

Black Rock Desert

9781467130202

$24.99

The Black Rock Desert, located in northwestern Nevada, has been the site of many human activities, from ancient hunters to the arrival of the pioneers to present-day motion pictures, land-speed records, commercial photography, and a weeklong art festival. This book focuses on the art history of the Black Rock Desert playa up until 1990, laying the groundwork for the larger, participatory art events of recent history. Events include art from the Lassen Trail; The Winning of Barbara Worth, starring Gary Cooper, in 1926; and a wild horse roundup as documented by Gus Bundy. Also included are recent works of art such as Doobie Lane and a croquet match in which trucks were used as mallets. Historical images feature the towns of Sulphur and Gerlach, nearby ranches, and the Empire gypsum mine.

The 1960 Winter Olympics

9781467130141

$24.99

The 1960 Olympic Winter Games were a long-shot effort that succeeded beyond the wildest expectations. Working in a sparsely populated valley in the Sierra Nevada with only rudimentary facilities, organizers created a world-class Olympic site in four short years. For the only time in Olympic history, the venues and athlete residence halls were located in a compact, intimate setting that encouraged sportsmanship and interaction between athletes. There was elaborate pageantry in the ceremonies and decorations. The underdog American ice hockey team won the first-ever USA gold medal in that sport. American figure skaters swept gold in the individual events. Well-trained Soviet and Scandinavian athletes dominated the speed skating and cross-country skiing events. American women proved their mettle in the Alpine skiing events. German skiers made surprise upsets in the Nordic combined and ski jumping contests. And CBS-TV was there to capture the most exciting moments and make groundbreaking live broadcasts to American audiences.

Brewing in Montana

9781467109086

$23.99

Montana can trace its brewing roots back more than 150 years to when a barrel of beer was brewed in Virginia City and carried to the town saloon. Since then, Montana has seen breweries large and small erupt along cattle trails and at train stations and riverside trading posts. Some of the brewers and breweries set in Montana were the foundations of future, national-brand breweries, having unique ties to Olympia Brewing and Pabst Brewing Company. And like many other states across the country, Montana was not immune to Prohibition, though not every brewer laid down without a fight. The breweries in the Big Sky state showed resilience when needed, but more so, they were reflections of the diverse communities and economies the state fostered. Fortunately, when Montana's mines began to dry up, agriculture took over, and even in the early 20th century, state officials documented in the Seventh Annual Report 1900-1901 that Montana could be "one the chief beer producing states in the nation" because of the amount of barley growing on the land.

Ashley Valley

9780738585079

$24.99

Situated within northeastern Utah's mountainous Uinta Basin, the Ashley Valley takes its name from William Ashley, a trapper who passed through the area in 1825. Both beautiful and rugged, the Ashley Valley's landscape required a lot of grit from its first settlers. An early expedition party sent out by territorial governor Brigham Young called the area unfit for settlement. This delayed permanent American settlement until 1876, when a few hardy families formed communities in the area, including Ashley, Vernal, Maeser, Dry Fork, Glines, Naples, Davis, and Jensen. The valley was rich in minerals and oil and saw its share of boom-and-bust cycles, as miners and oil-workers struck out to find fortune and left facing government regulations. The Ashley Valley pioneers were a stalwart, hardworking mix of settlers, farmers, miners, and other hardy folk who left a rich legacy. Today, as visitors come over the valley hill, they will encounter a community with a developing oil and gas industry, modern growth, and traditional small-town appeal.

Central Americans in Los Angeles

9780738571638

$24.99

The second-largest Latino-immigrant group in Los Angeles after Mexicans, Central Americans have become a remarkable presence in city neighborhoods, with colorful festivals, flags adorning cars, community organizations, as well as vibrant ethnic businesses. The people from Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama living in Los Angeles share many cultural and historical commonalities, such as language, politics, religion, and perilous migratory paths as well as future challenges. The distinctions are also evident as ethnicities, music, and food create a healthy diversity throughout residential locations in Los Angeles. During the 1980s and 1990s, an unprecedented number of new Central Americans arrived in this cosmopolitan city, many for economic reasons while others were escaping political turmoil in their native countries. Today they are part of the ethnic layers that shape the local population. Central Americans have embraced Los Angeles as home and, in doing so, transported their rich heritage and customs to the streets of this multicultural metropolis.