National Parks

Through historical images and regional folklore step into the past of the ""Grand Canyon of the East.""

Letchworth State Park, now a century old, grew out of a generous donation made by William Pryor Letchworth to the State of New York. The park's remarkable history reaches back as far as the last ice age. From the Portage Gorge to the mighty highbanks at Mount Morris, Letchworth State Park follows the flow of the Genesee River, exploring the natural and human events that have shaped this inspiring landscape. Drawing on historical images and regional folklore from the collections of the authors, the park, and various local sources, the reader is invited into the past of a park that has been called the ""Grand Canyon of the East.""

Over 200 images bring Niagara Falls' past to life and documents the people and places as they were in the 1860s-mid-1960s.

The photographs presented here contain views of the city of Niagara Falls and trace the community's roots in the villages of Suspension Bridge, Niagara Falls, and LaSalle. Many different faces of Niagara are depicted in this rare glimpse of the past. Residents and tourists alike will enjoy viewing the never-before published images gracing the pages of this volume. Images of industry, tourism, the development of hydroelectric power, business districts, streets, homes, and even daredevils all appear in this excellent collection of images.

Here we find the story of the Love Canal's origins in the 1890s, when this project's ultimate goal was to create an almost utopian city. Also included are several photographs of President William McKinley in Niagara Falls, only hours before his assassination. Other famous visitors mentioned include Theodore Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Lord Kelvin, Abraham Lincoln, Nikola Tesla, the Prince of Wales, Mikhail Gorbachev, Thomas Edison, Princess Diana, George Westinghouse, and John F. Kennedy.

200 images from the archives of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and the National Park Service that tell the history of the Appalachian Trail in NY, NJ and CT.

Crossing through 14 states from Maine to Georgia, the Appalachian Trail enters New Jersey through the Delaware Water Gap, crosses New York's Hudson River, and rises over Connecticut's Lion's Head. The area is considered by some to be the pathways birthplace, for in 1923, just two years after Benton MacKaye originally proposed the trail, the first few miles specifically constructed for the Appalachian Trail were built by volunteers in New York's Harriman and Bear Mountain State Parks. These photographs and the corresponding narrative present a historical perspective on what it took to create the trail, including the thousands of volunteers and the arduous tasks they performed, those who lived along the trail before and during its creation, the many people who have enjoyed the trail through the years, and the original routes that are no longer part of the present-day Appalachian Trail.

Join National Park ranger, author and historian Scott Einberger as he traces the human, natural and urban history of Rock Creek Park, the largest park in the nation's capital.

Washington, D. C. 's Rock Creek Park stands as a wild and wonderful natural gem among a burgeoning metropolis. But while local residents flock to its trails and roads on weekends to hike, jog and bicycle, they are largely unaware of its diverse history. The park's grounds were the site of the bloody Civil War Battle of Fort Stevens, and presidents like Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson exercised and picnicked in the park the same way many visitors do today. From the cabin of eccentric poet Joaquin Miller to the oldest house in Washington today, the many stories and legends surrounding the park are sure to entertain and inform.

Learn the history of the effort to bring the Appalachian Trail through West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania in this collection by author Leonard M. Adkins and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy.

Unlike counterparts on other sections of the 2,180-plus-mile Appalachian Trail who could locate the pathway within national parks and forests, builders of the 270 miles of trail detailed in Along the Appalachian Trail: West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania did not have vast tracts of federal lands on which to construct the footpath, yet they succeeded in creating a trail within many of the states' scenic areas. Hundreds of vintage photographs - provided by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, National Park Service, state archives, and local trail-maintaining clubs - present an illustrated narrative of the Herculean work and dedication it took for volunteers to plan, build, and continue to maintain the trail in these states.

High Point State Park and the Civilian Conservation Corps explores the history of the fascinating landmark, which was a gift of Colonel Anthony and Susie Kuser to the people of New Jersey in 1923. The famed landscape firm Olmsted Brothers of Brookline, Massachusetts, was retained to design the park's facilities. The job of carrying out many of the proposals in the plan fell to the Civilian Conservation Corps, a Depression-era federal agency that combined work relief efforts with conservation work. The laborers, known as the CCC boys, developed the layout of the park from 1933 to 1941. Much of their work remains and is still used by visitors today.

Immerse yourself in the stunning flora and fauna, trails, ruins and other wonders the Patapsco Valley State Park provides.

Patapsco Valley State Park is nestled in four Maryland counties - Carroll, Baltimore, Howard, and Anne Arundel. From its humble beginnings in 1907 as a 43-acre forest reserve to its expansion to over 16,000 acres today, this hidden gem has become a refuge for wild animals and native vegetation and a retreat from suburban and city life. With its eight developed recreation areas and over 200 miles of trails, more than a million visitors annually explore this vast area rich with history. Visitors have discovered the park's National Historic Landmark, the Thomas Viaduct, which remains in use today with modern trains passing over the first multiple-arch stone railroad viaduct in the United States. Other marvels from the past include remains of 19th-century mills and mill towns, the Civilian Conservation Corps' Camp Tydings, and the popular and scenic swinging bridge. Visitors to the park today continue to experience the joy of the great outdoors like millions before them.

Patterson Park is an urban oasis, a sacred green space surrounded by red brick row homes and generations of diverse cultures and neighborhoods. This refuge is also an urban emerald with many facets.

For almost 180 years, Baltimoreans have picnicked under tall tulip poplars, strolled the deeply curved paths, and enjoyed the rich architectural design of this 137-acre East Baltimore park. Patterson Park is not simply beautiful landscapes, scenic vistas, and tree-lined pathways. Patterson Park has served as the defenses of Baltimore during the War of 1812, a Civil War surgical hospital, and a picturesque home to herons, wood ducks, and painted turtles. Patterson Park has a free outdoor gym with tennis courts, volleyball nets, and an ice rink, as well as paths for relaxing walks around the boat lake. Since its beginnings in 1827, Patterson Park has been a prime example of how urban open spaces can complete and unify diverse communities.

From theater to landing plce for immagrants, this is the photographic hsitory of 200 year old Castle Garden and Battery Park.

Few buildings in Manhattan have had a richer and more varied life than 200-year-old Castle Clinton, the magnificent red sandstone structure that lies in historic Battery Park. Although originally built as a fortress just before the outbreak of the War of 1812, its actual fame rests on the years when it was known worldwide as Castle Garden, a name that underlined its intimate connection with the surrounding park. Under that name, it served successively as Manhattan's preeminent public events hall and theater (1824–1855), then as America's first great landing place for millions of immigrants (1855–1890), and finally as the oldest and grandest municipal aquarium in the United States (1896–1941). Castle Garden and Battery Park invites readers to step back in time and dip into this legendary monument's dramatic story and learn how it has managed to survive into the 21st century.

The Rancocas Creek was a vital waterway in the Burlington County, New Jersey, area for hundreds of years.

Initially a source of transportation for trade routes and nourishment for the Lenni Lenape Indians, various industries developed adjacent to the creek after the European settlers arrived. There were ironworks, mills, and phosphorus production. Steamships took patrons from Philadelphia up the Rancocas so they could enjoy the amusement parks, hotels, and respite. Others enjoyed paddling a canoe, and some swam in the flowing cedar water. As the area became more residential in the 20th century, the runoff from the development caused the Rancocas to fill in with dirt, sand, and debris. While many of the homes are still there, the industries have relocated or closed down, and most of the creek has reverted back to a simple waterway with a wide variety of birds, wildlife, and vegetation along its banks. 

Stephanie Marks Sawyer is a lifelong resident of Burlington County, New Jersey, and the author of Arcadia Publishing’s Mount Laurel. She has collected historic photographs of the Rancocas Creek and its surroundings for years. Sawyer also met with residents who lived, summered, or vacationed along the Rancocas who shared their experiences and private collections of family photographs. 

Venture into flora and fauna of Pennsylvania's Moraine State Park and uncover the hidden histories behind its natural treasures.

About 20,000 years ago, the late Wisconsinan glaciation reached its maximum extent. Glacial deposits identify the moraine, or farthest area covered by the glacier. Muddy Creek was a north-flowing stream that was blocked by the south-advancing glacier, forming a huge lake that lasted until the glacier dam began to retreat. The lake rapidly drained, eventually exposing the vast Muddy Creek basin. Dr. Frank Preston envisioned recreating the ancient glacial lake and worked with the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy to begin the project that became 16,725-acre Moraine State Park. Its centerpiece, man-made Lake Arthur and the surrounds, provide outstanding outdoor recreation and relaxation opportunities.