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Hundreds of ornately decorated rooms, gardens and greenery and more--Walk through the history of the Biltmore Estate, one of America's many displays of personal wealth and decadence.

In the spring of 1888, George Washington Vanderbilt returned to New York after spending weeks exploring the countryside near Asheville, North Carolina. Thinking it was the perfect place to build his home, Vanderbilt promptly sent his agent to begin quietly buying contiguous tracts of land until he had several thousand acres. Soon, he began constructing what would become America's largest private residence. He commissioned two of America's preeminent designers, architect Richard Morris Hunt and landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, to collaborate with him in planning his estate, which he named Biltmore. To complement the 250-room French Renaissance-style chateau, Olmsted worked closely with Hunt to create a vast landscape of pleasure gardens and grounds with miles of scenic drives through parklands, productive farms, and the country's first scientifically managed forest. Today, Biltmore is a National Historic Landmark privately owned by Vanderbilt's descendants.

Chelsy Clark Proper, director of the Berkeley County Museum, has selected images from various sources and called on some of the area’s most knowledgeable people to share the diverse story of this once sleepy community. Through maps, photographs, and paintings, Goose Creek traces its history from settlement to the present day.

Only a decade after the settlement of Charleston on the coast, English and French families made their way up the Cooper River to Goose Creek. The waterway, and then the parish and town, was likely named for the gooseneck-like bends in its path. Because of this early settlement date, Goose Creek is home to the second-oldest church building in the state as well as one of the oldest homes. Historically the location of great wealth but also great poverty, Goose Creek has always attracted all kinds of individuals. From the early Goose Creek Men to the national attention received by Gertrude Legendre and Medway Plantation, Goose Creek has claimed a spot in the minds of people across the world. Since officially incorporating as a city in 1961, Goose Creek has grown by leaps and bounds and shows no signs of stopping. What began as vast plantations has now become the eighth-most populous municipality in the state.

Local historian Jason D. Antos has gathered rare and historic photographs to showcase the early years of this bustling Queens neighborhood.

From 1851 until 1857, John A.F. Kelly wrote a weekly column for the Daily Independent Press entitled Letters from Woodside. These dispatches sent from Kelly’s rural homestead in western Queens County described his area as “a sleepy little village with a picturesque locality . . . a mere cluster of houses built of stone or logs.” In 1867, developer Benjamin W. Hitchcock, who would later develop nearby Corona and Ozone Park, first came to the area, where he purchased the Kelly estate and created a neighborhood featuring America’s first-ever installment plan program for new home buyers. This forever changed the look of Woodside. Hundreds of working-class families quickly came from across the city to buy their first home in the newly laid out suburb whose swamps and woods had been replaced by modern homes, businesses, city sewers, and paved streets. Sunnyside also takes its cue from neighboring Woodside, providing affordable housing to the masses with the building of Sunnyside Gardens, one of the earliest garden apartment neighborhoods in America and now a New York City landmark. It is also home to the Sunnyside Yards, one the nation’s largest rail yards. This book celebrates the legacy and impact that Woodside and Sunnyside have left on New York City for almost 200 years with many rare, never before published photographs. 

The history of New York is inseparable from the history of sailing on the Hudson River. Beginning with Henry Hudson in 1609 the Dutch and English extended their empires into the Hudson Valley and extracted its bounty via sail. 

Control of the Hudson River was a lynchpin for American victory in the Revolutionary War and New York City's 19th-century rise to global prominence was powered by the sailing vessels on its waterways. Upriver, sloops and schooners delivered goods from the nation's interior and international whaling businesses operated from Hudson and Poughkeepsie and Kingston and Newburgh became noted shipbuilding centers. Yacht racing and ice yachting emerged as popular sports among wealthy families like the Astors and Roosevelts. Sailing clubs preserved these traditions into the 20th century. Since the 1960s, activists including Pete Seeger have used sailboats to galvanize a movement to revive the river ecosystem. Today, the river is home to new generations of sailors continuing these traditions into a fifth century.

Steve Schwartz has sailed and captained numerous sailing and motor vessels on the Hudson River since the 1970s. He and James Malchow are both captains on the Hudson River ferry sloop Woody Guthrie. Images in this book, collected from local libraries, historical societies, the New York State Archives, Library of Congress, and private collections, capture the people, places, and ships that have made the Hudson River an important sailing center for over four centuries.

Two centuries of Oregon’s homegrown music history are explored and documented in this new retrospective.

Rare photographs evoke bygone days, digging deep into the area’s rich folk and country roots; old-timey 1890s brass bands; Roaring Twenties dance orchestras; 1950s jazzniks, rockabilly cats, and doo-wop groups; 1960s “Louie Louie”– fueled garage rockers andpsychedelic hippie bands; 1970s blues dudes and punk pioneers; 1980s New Wave artistes, metalheads, hip-hop heroes, and pop stars; and Oregon’s quirky post-grunge, alt-rock, and Americana movements. Discover how a scrappy backwoods region built a fiercely independent music scene that has produced scores of beloved musicians along with gold and platinum record award-winning stars.

In 1944, as the Allied forces advanced across the vast Pacific Ocean toward Japan, the US Army could not relocate the large aircraft repair depots fast enough to keep up with the front line. Thus, Operation Ivory Soap was the Army’s secret project to deploy ships capable of repairing and maintaining bombers and fighters at sea. 

A specialized group of approximately 3,000 Air Corps soldiers underwent unique training for their new, nautical lifestyle. They jokingly referred to themselves as “sailjers.” The capabilities they brought to the Pacific proved vital to Allied success in World War II. These men served in Guam, Tinian, Saipan, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa, but their journey began at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear, Alabama. This is their story.

Thomas Key grew up in Point Clear, Alabama, just one mile south of the Grand Hotel. He spent his summers running barefoot around the property and hearing the stories of the hotel’s secret operation during World War II. In 2013, after 10 years in the Marine Corps, Key moved back to Point Clear. He earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Vanderbilt University and a doctorate in history from Liberty University. Thomas and his wife, Elizabeth, are raising their four children in Point Clear.

Detroit Lions: A 1950s Dynasty offers a compelling photographic narrative of the history of a revered team. This retrospective of the Detroit Lions’ glory years is an evocative reminder of what the cheering at Briggs Stadium was all about. Behind such storied figures as quarterback Bobby Layne, halfback Doak Walker, and defensive stalwarts Yale Lary, Joe Schmidt, and Jack Christiansen, coach Buddy Parker’s squad dominated the National Football League for much of the Eisenhower decade. The three-time world champions—competitive, colorful, controversial, and a mainstay on that marvelous new medium called television—helped make professional football a Sunday ritual in Detroit and around the country.

Journalist and author Richard Bak has been writing about his native Detroit for more than 40 years. His many works include biographies of Joe Louis, Ty Cobb, and Henry and Edsel Ford as well as histories of Tiger Stadium, the Detroit Red Wings, and Detroit’s Negro Leagues. He has won book awards from the Society for American Baseball Research and the Professional Football Researchers Association and two Emmy Awards as the writer and coproducer of the Tiger Stadium documentary Stranded at the Corner. 

Sports fans will find the historic photos and stories included in Sports on the Jersey Shore both enlightening and as entertaining as their favorite games. The Jersey Shore region encompasses communities in Monmouth, Ocean, Atlantic, and Cape May Counties. It is a region rich in athletics, and since the late 19th century, several athletes from the region have had significant impacts on sports like baseball, swimming, and football, among many others. The Jersey Shore communities have been connected to notable sports figures, including Doc Cramer, Gertrude Ederle, and Vince Lombardi. Over the years, the region has also been a favorite destination for star professional athletes in search of training camps and facilities along New Jersey’s scenic seashore. Athletes, especially boxers and baseball players, have flocked to the Jersey Shore to hone their skills and prepare for some of the biggest events in sports history. 

Matthew H. Ward is a historian and journalist who specializes in sports, the Jersey Shore, and Philadelphia history. He is the coauthor of Boxing in Atlantic City with John DiSanto and The Raritan Bayshore with John Allan Savolaine.

Anyone interested in the founding of libraries across the country will delight in delving into Prescott Public Library, which showcases the pivotal role the establishment played in the Arizona city's history. The Prescott Public Library was created in 1917 when the City of Prescott took over management of the formerly private library. Prescott was established in the middle of the Civil War when Union sympathizers found gold in the Bradshaw Mountains. Even in those Wild West days, territorial secretary Richard McCormick brought with him a wagon full of 300 books, establishing a library that would become the lifeblood of the territorial capital. The Prescott Library Association was founded in 1870, and it was at the helm of the Monday Club (established 1890) that a library building was constructed. This became the Carnegie Library in 1903, the first approved in the state of Arizona. This library opened with 1,300 books in its collection. In the last century, the Prescott Public Library has grown with Prescott. Now located on Goodwin Street, the library contains over 113,000 items in its collection and serves its patrons in new and exciting ways. With more to share in the future, Prescott Public Library welcomes everyone into “Prescott’s Living Room.” 

Kristen Kauffman is a librarian in Prescott and a guest writer with Sharlot Hall Museum’s Days Past articles. Several of the photographs that did not come from the Prescott Public Library’s photograph archives are used with generous permission from the Sharlot Hall Museum. 

Readers interested in World War II will enjoy this in-depth depiction of Arkansas beginning in 1941. When the United States entered World War II in the winter of 1941, Arkansas was still in the grips of the Great Depression as farmers struggled with crop failures and being able to support their families. When the United States declared war on the Axis powers, Arkansans demonstrated their patriotism as they enlisted in droves in the military. The people of the state served with honor on the battlefield and on the home front, and families rationed food and resources, bought war bonds, and served the war effort in other ways. Women, traditionally tied to working at home, volunteered to work in factories to support the war effort. The war had a darker side as hundreds of Japanese Americans suspected of disloyalty to the United States were herded into the state’s two relocation centers. Some of Arkansas’s World War II heroes, those who sacrificed on the battlefield and the home front to win the epic struggle and save the world from tyranny, are featured through archival photographs in this book.

Brian David Irby is a longtime student of history, completing his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history from the University of Central Arkansas. He has been on staff at the Arkansas State Archives since 2008, where he has been immersed in Arkansas’s history. 

Millions visit Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market each year—drawn by the food, the shops, and the rich sense of history. But behind the brick and granite walls are stories that most visitors (and even many locals) have never heard.

Faneuil Hall, opened in 1742 as a gift from wealthy merchant Peter Faneuil, was a marketplace and meetinghouse. While vendors sold meat, fish, and produce from first-floor stalls, the upstairs Great Hall hosted fiery debates and spirited gatherings on the issues that helped shape Boston and the nation—from the fight for independence to the struggle for civil rights. By the 1820s, Faneuil Hall could not keep pace with the needs of a booming Boston. Enter Quincy Market, three grand market houses that brought new life to the waterfront. Yet the market was nearly lost in the mid-20th century—until a bold reinvention in the 1970s turned the historic buildings into a national model for urban revival. Packed with colorful characters and forgotten chapters of Boston’s history, this book is perfect for everyone who wants to see the city with fresh eyes.

In 1867, “The Little Village in the Grove” began as the Round Lake Camp Meeting Association. Forty acres of land adjacent to a beautiful lake were purchased by the Troy Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church to hold revivals. Round Lake Village emerged from a camp meeting site, attracting as many as 20,000 revivalists on summer weekends to become a center for education and culture.

In 1884, camp meeting trustees planned and constructed a 2,000-seat indoor meeting space called Round Lake Auditorium, which has remained the village’s social center. Full streets of Victorian-style homes were built. Hotels, a science museum, and centers for education along with resident halls were constructed, which sadly have not survived. Today, the village’s long, narrow streets of beautiful historic homes with distinctive porches remain from the early days of the village.

Ron Kase is a sociologist residing in New Jersey. He is a retired professor of social science and senior academic administrator. He discovered Round Lake while visiting the area and understood the untold story of a magical place should be shared with everyone. Scott Rigney is Round Lake’s village historian. Rigney and his extended family have been residents of the village since 1966. He is president of the Association to Preserve/Protect/Plan Round Lake and is actively involved with every endeavor related to the village’s future. 

When Gideon Granger arrived in the area that would become Jefferson in 1803, he found an inhospitable land of dense forest, harsh winters, and sultry, humid summers. Even the most basic supplies were a day’s journey away. However, the former US postmaster general saw the potential in this land that he named for the president he had served, Thomas Jefferson. 

The city would later become the center of the US abolitionist movement in the pre–Civil War years as well as the seat of Ashtabula County government when the county was formed in 1808. Nearby Rock Creek, organized in 1819, never grew as big as its neighbor. However, the village is home to a Civil War cemetery, a picturesque creekside park, and one of Ohio’s most talented chainsaw artists. Roaming Shores, a lakeside residential community with hundreds of homes, was created in 1966–1967 when the Rock Creek dam was constructed, forming the largest private-access lake in Ohio.

Sandy Mitchell Pavick has lived in northeast Ohio for more than 25 years. She is a full-time writer and is the author of four previous titles for Arcadia Publishing. For this book, Pavick has amassed images, many of which have never been published, from dozens of private archives as well as from Jefferson area libraries, museums, and historical societies.

Jacksonville, Florida’s Gullah Geechee heritage is an integral part of the city’s story.

Gullah Geechee people, descendants of west and central Africans forcibly brought to the southeastern coast of the United States, have retained many of their indigenous African traditions through architecture, food, culture, religion, and occupations. This legacy, combined with northeast Florida’s unique blend of Indigenous, French, Spanish, and English colonial history, has contributed to the African American journey in Jacksonville. Today, Jacksonville is the largest city in the federally designated Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor, which stretches from Wilmington, North Carolina, to St. Augustine, Florida.

Ennis Davis is a Gullah Geechee descendant, urban planner, heritage advocate, and writer. Adrienne Burke is a historian, urban planner, and heritage advocate. Together they own Community Planning Collaborative, a firm working to assist communities with heritage-based urban planning solutions. Drawing from archival photographs housed in the Library of Congress, State Archives of Florida, National Archives, Jacksonville Public Library, University of Florida, University of North Florida, the Ritz Theatre & Museum, and the Jaxson magazine, each image illuminates the unique stories of the past that continue to shape Jacksonville’s character today. The foreword is provided by Saundra Morene with the Jacksonville Gullah/Geechee Nation Community Development Corporation.

St. Cloud, Minnesota, sits at the crossroads of urban and rural life, blending the modern city with agrarian landscapes. As the heart of central Minnesota, St. Cloud’s strategic location at the intersection of major highways, railroads, and the Mississippi River made it a hub of transportation, commerce, and industry.

Workers established St. Cloud’s reputation for high-quality goods and strong infrastructure. These industries also influenced local neighborhoods, as many laborers settled near their work and formed tight-knit communities where traditions, languages, and cultural practices were preserved and expanded upon. Individuals like Jane Grey Swisshelm, A.G. Whitney, and Samuel Pandolfo also helped shape the distinctive history of St. Cloud. The seat of Stearns County, a center of industry, and a haven for immigrants and refugees, St. Cloud has played a pivotal role in the history of central Minnesota since its founding.

The roots of the Stearns History Museum are found in the Old Settlers Association of the 1890s. Out of these early efforts to preserve the history of Stearns County came the organization of the Stearns County Historical Society in 1936. The Stearns County Heritage Center was constructed in 1984 to securely house and preserve the county’s historic artifacts and records. Now known as the Stearns History Museum, it remains central Minnesota’s premier destination for experiencing history. Miranda Stueckrath is its public program librarian, and Grant Wilson is its archivist.