Name: The Eastland Disaster
Brand: Ted Wachholz
SKU: 9780738534411
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The Eastland Disaster

9780738534411

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July 24, 1915 was supposed to be Chicago's social event of a lifetime, but turned into a tragedy unlike any other.

More than 7,000 people living in the Chicago area and Michigan City, Indiana, eagerly anticipated Saturday morning, July 24, 1915. This particular Saturday was going to be anything but a routine summer day. Plans had been carefully made for it to be the social and entertainment event of the year, and for some, a lifetime. The fifth annual midsummer excursion and picnic had been organized by the employees of the Western Electric Company's Hawthorne Works. Thousands of carefree merrymakers would enjoy a festive day including a lovely cruise across Lake Michigan to an awaiting parade and day-long picnic. The day would conclude with an evening cruise back to Chicago. For thousands of hard-working immigrant laborers and their families and friends, it was going to be a day to remember.

Instead, the day's scheduled event turned into a tragedy never before seen. The SS Eastland, while still tied to the wharf, rolled into the Chicago River with more than 2,500 passengers on board. Nearly 850 people lost their lives, including 22 entire families. The ensuing struggle for survival, and the resulting death, heroism, cowardice, greed, and scandal gripped the city of Chicago.

Outer Banks Shipwrecks

9781467124102

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Ever since ships began navigating the coast of North Carolina, the area has maintained a reputation for being dangerous. Weather, geography, war, piracy, and human error have all contributed to this dense shipwreck zone.

Today, the region that stretches from the Currituck Outer Banks south to Bogue Banks is referred to as the "Graveyard of the Atlantic." From the 1585 grounding of the English ship Tiger off the Outer Banks to the 2012 loss of the Bounty, more than 2,000 shipwrecks have occurred in the Graveyard of the Atlantic. The stories behind the shipwrecks illustrate the best and worst of mankind, showing courage and compassion as well as the atrocities of war. This history informs readers about commerce, technology, war, environment, maritime life, and the complexity of the human element.

Augusta Surviving Disaster

9780738514635

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Augusta: Surviving Disaster allows readers to glimpse the changes that mother nature and human error have wrought on the landscape and design of the "Garden City." These disasters did not only alter the city's landscape; many were the impetus for change in Augusta. The ravaging floods led to the construction of the levee along the Savannah River in 1919, to prevent flooding, and spurred the creation of the Clark Hill Dam and Reservoir. Within this volume, readers will get a glimpse of the damage
caused by the floodwaters of the Savannah River and the Augusta Canal. The remains of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, as well as other homes and businesses, after the Great Fire of 1916 are captured. Historic photographs reveal the damaged remains of the Lower Market after the 1878 tornado. Culled from the extensive collection of the Augusta Museum of History and the personal collection of
Joseph M. Lee III, these images provide testimony to the resiliency of the human spirit and the courage to move forward and rebuild. The citizens of Augusta have a long history of uniting for the common good, and this volume is a tribute to those who overcame
obstacles to create the thriving community that exists today.

Oak Lawn Tornado of 1967

9781467110457

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Sodaro's book reveals the deadly 1967 tornado that struck towns of Belvidere and Oak Lawn in northern Illinois and left a 16 mile long path of destruction.

The morning of April 21, 1967, was crisp and clear, marking the arrival of spring. As the day progressed, dark clouds covered the skies over Oak Lawn, and a deadly tornado touched down in the village just before 5:30 p.m. Cutting through the intersection of 95th Street and Southwest Highway and striking elsewhere, the storm left mountains of debris and over 30 people dead in its wake. Oak Lawn Community High School, St. Gerald Catholic Church, and the Fairway Super Mart were among the structures damaged or destroyed by the high winds. After the disaster, rescue workers and volunteers poured into Oak Lawn to search for survivors, while Christ Community Hospital and other institutions treated more than 400 injured people. The immense cleanup, which took weeks to complete, saw debris hauled out or disposed of in controlled fires. Despite the scope of the devastation, many of the affected structures were repaired or rebuilt within 12 months.

The Silver Bridge Disaster of 1967

9780738592787

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Point Pleasant's Silver Bridge, the first eyebar suspension bridge in the United States, was an engineering marvel when it was constructed in 1927 and 1928. Located on US Highway 35, the bridge spanned the Ohio River and linked Point Pleasant, West Virginia, with the towns of Kanauga and Gallipolis, Ohio. For almost 40 years, the structure provided dependable service for travelers in the region. On December 15, 1967, this service came to a dramatic and disastrous end. At 4:58 p.m., during the height of rush hour, the bridge suddenly collapsed. Rescue and recovery operations started immediately but were hampered by poor weather conditions and freezing rain. The cause of the collapse was linked to the bridge's innovative design. Undetected corrosion stress cracks caused an eyebar on the Ohio side to fracture; because the eyebars were linked together in a chain, the failure of one led to the catastrophic collapse of the entire bridge. In total, 46 lives were lost in the disaster.

1968 Farmington Mine Disaster

9781467123785

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Coal in the United States was discovered in the 18th century by landowners and farmers on the slopes of the hillsides in the Appalachian region. It was not until the late 19th century that this black rock would become a part of an industrial revolution. One of the first mines to commercially produce coal was in Fairmont, West Virginia, and began the Consolidated Coal Corporation. On November 20, 1968, the Farmington No. 9 mine explosion changed the course of safety for future mining and the lives of 78 families whose sons, husbands, fathers, and loved ones never came back from the cateye shift the next day.

St. Francis Dam Disaster

9780738520797

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Minutes before midnight on the evening of March 12, 1928, the St. Francis Dam collapsed. The dam's 200-foot concrete wall crumpled, sending billions of gallons of raging flood waters down San Francisquito Canyon, sweeping 54 miles down the Santa Clara River to the sea, and claiming over 450 lives in the disaster. Captured here in over 200 images is a photographic record of the devastation caused by the flood, and the heroic efforts of residents and rescue workers.

Built by the City of Los Angeles' Bureau of Water Works and Supply, the failure of the St. Francis Dam on its first filling was the greatest American civil engineering failure of the 20th century. Beginning at dawn on the morning after the disaster, stunned local residents picked up their cameras to record the path of destruction, and professional photographers moved in to take images of the washed-out bridges, destroyed homes and buildings, Red Cross workers giving aid, and the massive clean-up that followed. The event was one of the worst disasters in California's history, second only to the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire.

Historic Fires of New York City

9780738538570

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Fire has shaped New York City's skyline and has transformed its political and cultural landscape. Historic Fires of New York City traverses the five boroughs, exploring the historic fires that have occurred since the very beginning of the metropolis. Starting with bucket-wielding Dutch burghers and accelerating with the appointment of 35 "strong, able, discreet, honest and sober men," the effort to bring order out of chaos has been a constant concern of the city for more than three centuries.

Florida's Shipwrecks

9780738554136

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The Sunshine State has a rich maritime history spanning more than five centuries. Tragically, part of that history includes thousands of ships that have met their fates in Florida waters.

Potentially more than 5,000 shipwrecks reside off Florida's 1,200 miles of coastline, with hundreds more lost in the state's interior rivers. In and of itself, the Florida Keys archipelago, consisting of approximately 1,700 islands stretching 200 miles, is littered with the remains of close to 1,000 shipwrecks. In fact, many features of the Florida Keys were named after various shipwreck events, such as Fowey Rocks, which earned its name after the 1748 wrecking of the British warship HMS Fowey, and Alligator Reef, where the schooner USS Alligator met her demise in 1822. Florida's Shipwrecks utilizes captivating images to illustrate dramatic stories of danger and peril at sea, introducing readers to a fascinating cross-section of Florida's shipwreck history.

Mount St. Helens

9781467130554

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The story of Mount St. Helens is that of an active volcano and human interaction with it. The mountain is culturally important to the regional native people. Its Cowlitz name, Lawetlat'la, means "Person From Whom Smoke Comes." Early European settlers saw opportunities to make a living from the natural resources, and people fell in love with the forested valleys and slopes of the glacier-clad peak with the blue lake at its foot. Forgotten were the eruptions of the 19th century and the fact that the landscape was a product of frequent violent explosions. A report from the 1970s reminded locals that Mount St. Helens is an active volcano and could erupt again before the end of the 20th century. Only a few people at that time were aware of what the mountain was capable of, and many were surprised at the events that took place in 1980.

Troy and the Great Flood of 1913

9780738590592

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The rain began to fall on Easter Sunday, March 23, 1913. In Troy, 15 people lost their lives during the flood due to drowning, and in the weeks and months that followed an unknown number died from flood-related diseases. The story of what happened in Troy has often been overlooked, but in 1976 the Troy Historical Society Oral History Committee interviewed Troy flood survivors as a project for the bicentennial of the United States. These interviews, preserved on audiotapes, provide researchers firsthand accounts of what happened in the town. The late Mrs. Lois Shilling Davies, a past president of the Troy Historical Society who lived in Troy during the flood, deserves much of the credit for this invaluable resource, for it is she who conducted many of the interviews. Images of America: Troy and the Great Flood of 1913 relates how residents endured without having any instruction or experience in emergency preparedness. This is a celebration of human bravery, kindness, and ingenuity--of people who triumphed over tragedy.

The Teton Dam Disaster

9780738548616

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While cameras rolled, the newly completed Teton Dam collapsed shortly before noon on June 5, 1976. The resulting wall of water, 80 billion gallons strong, battered town after town during its three-day rampage through the Upper Snake River Valley in eastern Idaho. Impounding the flood-prone Teton River, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation dam failed during the reservoir's initial fill, ripping homes from foundations, drowning thousands of livestock, and stripping acres of valuable topsoil. Amazingly only 11 lives were lost during the disaster, as most residents heeded the flood warnings. Presenting photographs from local newspapers, archives, museums, historical societies, and witnesses, this book documents the dam's spectacular failure, the tremendous damage, and the Herculean cleanup and rebuilding process following one of the worst engineering disasters of the last 50 years. Today the investigation into why the 305-foot-tall earth-fill dam crumbled-ironically a dam built for flood control-still prompts debate.

Shipwrecks of Coos County

9780738581576

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European settlement of Coos County began with a shipwreck. The Captain Lincoln wrecked on the north spit of the Coos Bay in January 1852. The crewmen built a temporary camp out of the ship's sails and named it "Camp Cast-Away." This was the first white settlement in the area. The men eventually traveled overland to Port Orford, where they told other settlers about the Coos Bay and its many natural resources. By December 1853, Coos County was established by the territorial legislature, and several towns were founded; the history of the area had been completely altered by a single shipwreck.

1957 Fargo Tornado

9781467126731

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On the evening of June 20, 1957, a tornado ripped through Fargo, North Dakota. It caused the deaths of seven children and five adults and left 116 injured. The tornado destroyed 359 buildings and damaged 2,543 more. The nine-mile path of destruction covered over 66 blocks in town, leaving more than 2,000 people homeless and causing approximately $20 million worth of damage. Following the tornado, first responders quickly united to aid those in need, setting up disaster headquarters, finding shelter for over 600 people, and distributing more than 100 tons of clothing and bedding. Dr. Tetsuya Fujita, a meteorologist, studied the Fargo tornado when creating the Fujita scale (F-scale) and later rated it an F5, the most destructive rating. Images of America: 1957 Fargo Tornado, shines a light on the tornado's destruction and the rebuilding of a united and vibrant community.

Delaware's 1962 Northeaster

9781467122627

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Delaware's March 1962 storm caused unprecedented destruction to life and property. Unusually high wind-driven tides carried breaking waves inland, destroying buildings and structures that, ordinarily, would have been beyond the reach of the surf. These photographs and the story they tell about devastation and destruction carry a strong message about hazards, risks, and the vulnerability of Delaware's communities and environments.

Rhododendron

9781467106832

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In the mid-19th century, pioneers made their way west along the Oregon Trail to a perilous portion of the path down the Columbia River. Searching for a less dangerous route, Sam Barlow forged the Barlow Trail, and tolls were collected to help build and maintain that trail. Past the final tollgate, there was a wide spot along the trail where pioneers could rest before embarking on the last leg of their journey west into the Willamette Valley. This land eventually became known as Rhododendron, Oregon. In 1905, Henry Rowe, former Portland mayor, built an inn there, and in 1920, the US Postal Service established the Rhododendron Post Office, named for the beautiful native rhododendrons that blossomed in the area. Throughout the 20th century, the town of Rhododendron flourished. It grew to be a recreational vacation destination for nearby Portlanders, and businesses developed as summer homesites were established. Today, Rhododendron is home to over 1,000 permanent residents.

The 1910 Wellington Disaster

9781467102735

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The town of Wellington was located by the Stevens Pass summit in the Cascade Mountains. During the last days of February in 1910, the snow was relentless in the Cascades, falling as much as one foot per hour and rising up to 20 feet deep in areas. Rotary plows could not keep the lines open as snow covered the railroad tracks almost immediately after being cleared. The Seattle Express, coming from Spokane, and a fast mail train were stranded just beyond the "safety" of the Cascade Tunnel, where they remained unmovable for almost a week under the snowpacked mountains. On March 1, an avalanche swept away the tracks and passengers aboard the two trains as well as several of Wellington's buildings and homes. Almost 100 individuals were killed in just a few seconds, creating America's deadliest avalanche and train disaster in history. Today, the site is part of the Iron Goat Trail off Highway 2, east of Skykomish. The snowshed, the abandoned original Cascade Tunnel, and various scraps of the trains left in the ravine are the only evidence that remain of Wellington, its long-forgotten inhabitants, or the disaster.

Virginia Shipwrecks

9781467108096

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Virginia has more shipwrecks than any other state in the continental United States. With 112 miles of Atlantic coast, Virginia includes almost half of the Chesapeake Bay and many major tributaries: the Lynnhaven River, the Elizabeth River, the James River, the York River, and the Rappahannock River. Since the Jamestown settlement in 1607, hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of military and merchant vessels have sailed through "the Capes,'? an important economic lifeline linking the United States to the rest of the world. With 3,315 miles of tidal coastline and natural enemies such as water, fire, wind, age, and human fallibility, countless ships and lives have been lost. Virginia Shipwrecks vividly illustrates their story.

The Floyd Collins Tragedy at Sand Cave

9781467124423

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Floyd Collins is perhaps the most famous person you've never heard of, but this young man's tragic death made him celebrated as "the Greatest Cave Explorer Ever Known."

Collins was a Kentucky cave explorer in the early part of the 20th century, characterized by his lack of fear when exploring the most difficult cave passages, and few people could match his persistence and endurance. In the winter of 1925, Collins became trapped for more than two weeks in a cave located within the boundaries of what is now Mammoth Cave National Park. The story of Floyd Collins becoming trapped and ultimately dying alone in a cave held a powerful grip on the hearts and minds of people the world over. The resulting media coverage put Mammoth Cave on the map and helped usher the actual designation of Mammoth Cave as a national park. His explorations laid the foundation for others to later discover the truth of Mammoth Cave, the longest cave in the world.

Omaha's Easter Tornado of 1913

9780738531847

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On Sunday, March 23, 1913, the burgeoning city of Omaha, Nebraska, fell victim to one of the worst tornado disasters in American history. Downtown was spared, but the fashionable neighborhoods of the city's western fringe and the ethnic neighborhoods of north Omaha were destroyed. Over 100 lives were lost, and millions of dollars in property damage was done. Photographers descended upon Omaha, rendering astonishing images of the storm's aftermath. This book uses nearly 200 of those photographs, many of which are drawn from the Durham Western Heritage Museum archives, to document the tornado's path of destruction, as well as stories of survival, compassion, reconstruction, and the remarkable unity and resilience of the Omaha community.

Oregon City Floods

9781467133586

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Native American legends from times long ago tell of great floods that covered the earth in the Pacific Northwest. Early fur trappers describe the Willamette River as a sheet of water covering the land as far as the eye can see in the early 1800s. As American settlement of the Oregon Territory began in the 1840s, a great flood carried away many of the new businesses at the base of majestic Willamette Falls. Again and again the rivers rose, inundating the historic city to the north and south. But Oregon City, the first incorporated city in the Oregon Territory, survives, thrives, and grows despite these floods.

The 1938 Hurricane along New England's Coast

9780738557595

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Documenting the destruction caused by the 1938 hurricane along New England's coast and the ways in which victims united to rebuild their communities.

The Hurricane of 1938 was one of the most devastating storms to strike New England's Atlantic coast. It forever changed the landscapes of cities and towns in its path. Throughout the hurricane, the Coast Guard worked tirelessly to provide aid to countless displaced residents. Entire communities were leveled by the hurricane's powerful winds and waves.

After the storm subsided and the destruction was evident, the enormous task of rebuilding and reuniting the community began.

The 1938 Hurricane along New England's Coast

The Great Fires of Lynn

9780738545530

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No city can be spared the devastating effects of fire, but Lynn has seemingly experienced more than its share. More than most communities, Lynn measures its epochs in terms of these catastrophes. From the Christmas night blaze of 1868 to the conflagration of 1981, generations of Lynn residents have witnessed major fires that have changed the face of the city. Many of the significant fires have occurred in the very heart of the city, the downtown area. While some of these great fires have been more tragic and debilitating than others, each has in its own way contributed to the evolution of the city, making Lynn what it is today.

Hurricane in the Hamptons, 1938

9780738545486

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The 1938 hurricane, the most severe and terrifying storm to hit Long Island in living memory, struck on September 21, a day that had dawned bright and fair in the seaside communities between Westhampton Beach and Montauk Point. Unaware of the storm whipping itself into a frenzy just miles away, village residents were going about their normal tasks when it struck, killing more than 30 and wreaking unprecedented destruction before nightfall. In Hurricane in the Hamptons, 1938, the story is told in more than 150 photographs, most of them taken by stunned residents in the immediate aftermath of the storm.

Hurricane Agnes in the Wyoming Valley

9781467126052

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Although history records the hurricane that struck northeastern Pennsylvania in June 1972 as "Agnes," residents of the Wyoming Valley affected by the storm and the resulting damage simply refer to it as "the flood." As the Susquehanna River rose to over 40 feet and left her banks, citizens could do nothing but watch as their lives were forever changed. A raging torrent unearthed dozens of previously resting bodies in the Forty Fort Cemetery, houses were knocked off their foundations or swept away entirely, and citizens took to their boats to rescue those who did not heed the warnings of the sirens that wailed when the waters began to surge through the city streets. And yet, amidst the drama, a wedding--scheduled long before the storm--proceeded, though not quite as envisioned by the bride and groom.

The New York City Triangle Factory Fire

9780738574035

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On March 25, 1911, flames rapidly consumed everything within the Triangle Waist Company factory, killing 146 workers. Until September 11, 2001, the Triangle fire was the deadliest workplace disaster in New York City history.

The victims, mostly young Jewish and Italian immigrant women, died needlessly due to unsafe working conditions, such as locked or blocked doors, narrow stairways, faulty fire escapes, and a lack of sprinklers. Mass grief and outrage spread from New York's Lower East Side across the country. Garment union membership swelled, and New York politics shifted dramatically toward reform, paving the way for the New Deal and, ultimately, the workplace standards expected today. Through historic images, The New York City Triangle Factory Fire honors the victims' sacrifice and serves as a reminder of the ongoing struggle for the dignity of all working people.

Rhode Island Shipwrecks

9781467125062

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Rhode Island, the Ocean State, has more shipwrecks per square mile than any other state. The south coast and Block Island are the resting places of many shipwrecks, with many more located in Narragansett Bay. The record of shipwrecks in Rhode Island begins immediately after the arrival of Europeans in the early 17th century with the grounding of a Dutch trading vessel, and thousands more vessels came to grief in its waters in the following centuries, through bad weather, human error, equipment failure, and military action. Some of these shipwrecks were epic disasters, with many fatalities and the total loss of the vessel; others were relatively minor misfortunes in which the ships were salvageable. Many shipwrecks from the 19th century on into the 20th were captured in the dramatic images gathered here. These pictures show the variety of vessels that travelled Rhode Island's waters back when the ocean was the primary transportation corridor and the many ways in which they met misfortune.

Red River Floods

9781467113175

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Fargo, North Dakota, and Moorhead, Minnesota, have existed on opposite sides of the Red River of the North since 1871. Ever since, heavy moisture from melting snow has combined with spring rains to threaten both towns with a rapidly rising, twisting river. Minor flooding is almost an annual event, and on six occasions the two towns experienced major floods requiring evacuations of large numbers of residents. The history of these floods is covered in the photographs contained in this book, including many provided by residents, local flood-fighting crews, and state and federal agencies. These images tell the story of how the two communities deal with one of nature's most common dangers.

Tropical Storm Agnes in Greater Harrisburg

9780738598239

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Tropical Storm Agnes, along with the unprecedented flooding which resulted from it, is arguably the most significant event to have transpired in the Harrisburg area in the last 150 years. Over the course of June 21 and June 22, 1972, Agnes drenched the region with more than a foot of rain. As a result, the Susquehanna River rose to record-breaking levels and backed into the already overwhelmed feeding creeks and streams. In Harrisburg, armed National Guardsmen patrolled the vacant streets and set up checkpoints to enforce a curfew and deter looting. Surrounded by floodwaters, row homes near the governor's mansion burned, and firefighters waded through chest-high water as they attempted to reach the blaze. Entire neighborhoods in both Shipoke and Steelton were ultimately lost due to the high waters entering homes. To this day, Agnes continues to serve as the measuring stick by which all storms since have been judged.

Tropical Storm Agnes in Greater Harrisburg

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

9781467106139

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The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, standing 198.49 feet, is the tallest brick lighthouse in the United States. From 1803, when the first Cape Hatteras Lighthouse was built, to today, it cast its light over the waters off the Outer Banks of North Carolina, also called the "Graveyard of the Atlantic." Its history--stretching from Augustin-Jean Fresnel's lens laboratory in France to the beaches of Hatteras Island where the lighthouse keepers labored--includes war, shipwrecks, hurricanes, and cutting-edge technology. Due to politics, funding, and its precarious location, it took great effort to erect and protect a lighthouse built on a barrier island. The supporters and caretakers were many, including Alexander Hamilton in the 1700s and children donating coins to a statewide preservation campaign in 1982. In the 21st century, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse continues to send out its beam to mariners.

Long Island Aircraft Crashes

9780738535166

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During the first fifty years of American aviation, Long Island was at the center of aircraft innovation and flight. There were more aircraft manufacturers and airports located on Long Island than in any other part of the United States. Due to the extraordinarily high volume of air traffic, Long Island also led the country-if not the world-in aircraft crashes. Long Island Aircraft Crashes: 1909-1959 portrays the daring flights, accidents, and mishaps of pioneer pilots, and the conditions that contributed to many crashes. Long Island ultimately saw the earliest air-traffic control systems, airport lighting, aviation weather reports, paved runways, and professional flight schools. Long Island Aircraft Crashes: 1909-1959 contains captivating images from Mitchel Field and Roosevelt Field, the two most active airfields on Long Island. In addition to airfield activity, this book illustrates some of the first experimental flights over Hempstead Plains; military training at Hazelhurst Field; the L.W.F. Owl bomber (the largest landplane of its time); the world's first instrument-guided flight; and Amelia Earhart posing with the new Sperry Gyropilot.

The 1964 Flood of Humboldt and Del Norte

9781467130882

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The 1964 flood in the Eel and Klamath Rivers drainages represents an extreme weather event. Both the Northern California and Southern Oregon coasts are host to many floods, but the 1964 flood stands out as a representation of the "perfect storm." Three events occurred that led to the flood. First, a cold front moved in and dropped several feet of snow. Second, a warm front called the "pineapple connection" moved in and released lots of rain while melting the snowfall--local measurements varied from 20 to 32 inches of rainwater in three days. And third, the highest tide of the year had backed up debris and water for several miles. At its peak, the Eel River was discharging more than 800,000 cubic feet per second. Another contributing factor was that besides being one of the fastest rising and falling rivers in the world, the Eel River has the heaviest sediment load second only to the Yellow River in China.

The 1964 Flood of Humboldt and Del Norte

Shipwrecks of Curry County

9781467125482

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Historically, mariners considered the Oregon coast one of the most dangerous in the world. In 1852, explorers discovered gold in the rivers and along the beaches in Curry County, which is located in the southwestern corner of the state. Subsequent settlement concentrated on the coast. With few roads, water transportation was crucial for early settlers. The area contained many potential dangers to ships, including unpredictable weather, frequent fog, and submerged rocks and reefs. There have been many shipwrecks in the area like that of the tanker Larry Doheny, which was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine during World War II. Curry County is home to Cape Blanco, the second most westerly point in the continental United States, and Port Orford, the only open-water port on the Oregon coast (and one of only six "dolly" ports in the world). Modern technology and port improvements have reduced the number of shipwrecks, but accidents still occur.

The New York State Capitol and the Great Fire of 1911

9780738574004

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In the early morning hours of March 29, 1911, a fire broke out in the New York State Capitol at Albany. By sunset, the entire western portion of the building had sustained extensive structural damage. Within lay the entire collection of the New York State Library, almost completely reduced to ashes. Founded in 1818, this had been one of the finest research libraries in the country and home to innumerable manuscript and printed rarities. In a particularly bitter irony, the fire struck as the overcrowded library was four months away from moving into new, spacious quarters under construction across the street. Miraculously there was only one fatality, an elderly watchman, Samuel Abbott, whose body was not recovered until several days later. Images of America: The New York State Capitol and the Great Fire of 1911 includes recently discovered photographs documenting the construction of the building, beginning in 1867, as well as eyewitness accounts of its destruction.