Massachusetts

This history of the holiday is an endless delight, with stories about all your favorite Christmas traditions, from Mystic to Maine, the Berkshires to Boston.Here are some of the more than fifty New England holiday traditions traced and described in this enchanting treasury: Charles Follen and the Christmas Tree ChurchFlying Santa, Silent Santa, and Secret SantaRudolph, the Most Famous ReindeerA Magical Ride on the Polar ExpressLouis Prang, Father of the American Christmas CardCandlelight Strolls at Old Sturbridge Village and Strawbery BankeA Norman Rockwell ChristmasCapt. James Magee's Holiday Party

The Boston Elevated Railway broke ground in 1899 for a new transit service that opened in 1901, providing a seven-mile elevated railway that connected Dudley Street Station in Roxbury and Sullivan Square Station in Charlestown, two huge multilevel terminals. When the EL, as it was popularly known, opened for service, it provided an unencumbered route high above the surging traffic of Boston, until it went underground through the city. The new trains of the EL were elegant coaches of African
mahogany, bronze hardware, plush upholstered seats, plate glass windows, and exteriors of aurora red with silver gilt striping and slate grey roofs. They stopped at ten equally distinguished train stations, designed by the noted architect Alexander Wadsworth
Longfellow. All of this elegance, let alone convenience, could be had for the price of a five-cent ticket. The popularity of the EL was instantaneous. The railway continued to provide transportation service high above Boston's streets until 1987, when it was unfortunately ended after 86 years of elevated operation. Today, the squealing wheels of the Elevated trains, the rocking coaches, the fascinating views, and the fanciful copper-roofed stations of the line are a missing part of the character of Boston, when one could ride high above the city for a nickel.

When land started to run out in central Massachusetts, the state's National Guard units began to search for sufficient space on which to hold their annual training. They found what they needed on Cape Cod. This land would become Camp Edwards and later the Massachusetts Military Reservation and the Otis Air National Guard Base. When World War II loomed, the reservation became a significant training area for units heading overseas, a proving ground for amphibious operations landing vehicles and equipment, and a major duty station in the lives of thousands of America's military men and women.

Discover the story behind the Nantucket Civil War Monument, King Alcohol and more in Hidden History of Nantucket.

The celebrated history of Nantucket's great whaling days often overshadows the fascinating changes that took place in the years following. Learn about some named on the Civil War Monument, some left off and some who may not belong. Meet the Cold Water Army of seven hundred schoolchildren who paraded against King Alcohol in hopes that the island would become a temperance oasis. Little remains of the bathing pavilion and water slide of the long-lost town of Coatue that once had big plans for expansion. With surprising facts and captivating tales, authors Frank Morral and Barbara Ann White explore these and other lost accounts of the faraway island.

During World War II, with Allied merchant and navy ships under the threat of German U-boats, the eastern seaboard was on high alert. The Cape Cod Canal, a vital waterway for commercial and military traffic, underwent a period of strict control, occupation, and defense. This pictorial history documents the activity during that time and the extensive array of weaponry and manpower brought to bear in coastal defense.

In The Military History of the Cape Cod Canal, the abandoned foundations at Sagamore Hill and throughout most of Buzzards Bay are explored, as well as the weapons, devices, and personnel assigned to ensure the canal's integrity throughout the war. Although the responsibilities of the U.S. Army's Coast Artillery are a focal point, the actions of the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the air arms of all the military services during World War II are also included. The Military History of the Cape Cod Canal documents the mishaps, collisions, and war-damaged ships in and near the canal, as well as the joint military protection forces and plans in effect during World War II.

The salty waves and sandy beaches of majestic Cape Cod disguise its fascinating and nearly forgotten history.

From Provincetown to Falmouth, the Cape's fifteen towns offer a plethora of hidden and enchanting tales. Learn why one of the most famous rescues in Coast Guard history spent nearly fifty years in the shadows without public notice. Discover which wild creature went from the nineteenth-century soup pot to enjoying conservation protection under state law. Historian Theresa Mitchell Barbo explores these mysteries and more, from the lost diary of a nineteenth-century schoolteacher to the reason Cape Codders call their lunch the noontime dinner. Join Barbo as she lifts the lid on the quirky and remarkable character of Cape Cod and its forgotten happenings.

Boston's South End, built on mostly man-made land, had become the city's premier neighborhood by the 1850s and featured many parks embellished with cast-iron fountains and distinctive fences. Over the next century, the South End became a thriving melting pot of ethnicities, races, and religions. Boston's South End shows how this area's brick row houses, lush green parks, upscale restaurants, and Boston Center for the Arts have made the South End both an attractive destination and a popular residential area.

Boston is one of America's most historic cities, but it has quite a bit of unseen past.

Riotous mobs celebrated their hatred of the pope in an annual celebration called Pope's Night during the colonial era. A centuries-long turf war played out on the streets of quiet Chinatown, ending in the massacre of five men in a back alley in 1991. William Monroe Trotter published the Boston Guardian, an independent African American newspaper, and was a beacon of civil rights activism at the turn of the century. Author and historian Dina Vargo shines a light into the cobwebbed corners of Boston's hidden history.

Published in association with the Martha's Vineyard Historical Society, this comprehensive illustrated history of the island was written by its foremost authority.

Blending personal reminiscence and history, this affectionate look at the life on Martha's Vineyard in the recent past and present chronicles its change from a predominantly farming and fishing community to a tourist haven

This accurate and exciting pictorial history will acquaint the reader with the seacoast defense of New Bedford. Fortified since the 1700s, seacoast defenses provided important protection for the New Bedford area. By the time of the Civil War, a strong granite fortress was under construction to guard the seaward approaches to the harbor of New Bedford and, later, powerful long-range guns were installed to protect the seaport. In The Military History of New Bedford, great care has been taken to identify more than two hundred vintage photographs of the harbor defense systems at all the points of Buzzards Bay, coastal fortifications, and the observation and radar towers from the Cape Cod Canal to Westport. The book identifies and explains the long-abandoned granite and concrete monoliths of New Bedford. It touches upon Gen. Robert E. Lee's role in the construction of the granite fort at Clark's Point (Fort Taber) and describes the impact that Henry Martyn Robert had in the area by writing Pocket Manual of Rules of Order for Deliberative Assemblies, later known as Robert's Rules of Order.