Social Science

The United States is considered the world's foremost refuge for foreigners, and no place in the nation symbolizes this better than Ellis Island.

Through Ellis Island's halls and corridors more than twelve million immigrants-of nearly every nationality and race-entered the country on their way to new experiences in North America. With an astonishing array of nineteenth- and twentieth-century photographs, Ellis Island leads the reader through the fascinating history of this small island in New York harbor from its pre-immigration days as one of the harbor's oyster islands to its spectacular years as the flagship station of the U.S. Bureau of Immigration to its current incarnation as the National Park Service's largest museum.

The Christmas season is a time for traditions and, in Richmond, one particular custom reigned supreme: a family outing to Miller & Rhoadsdepartment store.

A Christmas outing to Miller & Rhoadsdepartment store revealed thousands of smiling faces waiting to enter the kingdom of Santaland- an enchanted world marked by glittering snow and intricate train displays.

From visits to area hospitals to a young man who demanded only a box of raisins, former Snow QueenDonna Strother Deekens shares her touching and humorous holiday memories from her twenty years in the gown. Kids from one to ninety-two will enjoy reminiscing with characters like the elves, Bruce the Spruceand, of course, Miller & Rhoads'legendary real Santa. Discover behind-the-scenes drama and learn firsthand what it was like to partake in this unforgettable event.

John and Laura Leita delve in to the oddities that make Long Island unique and it may be more odd than you thought possible!

Long Island's history is well known, but often overlooked are the island's unique and bizarre stories and treasures--the most interesting locations and darkest legends. From hidden haunts and legends like the Indian Princess of Lake Ronkonkoma to well-known events like the Amityville Horror House murders, this collection chronicles the tales of restless spirits, unrequited loves and otherworldly visits that riddle the island. There is much to be seen along the roadside, too, including the beloved Big Duck, the Riverhead Indian and even the grave site of Nixon's dog, Checkers. Through history, pictures and the personal experiences of a ten-year endeavor, authors John and Laura Leita brings to life Long Island's abandoned structures, including psychiatric hospitals and other ruins waiting to be rediscovered. Join the Leitas as they go in search of the delightfully quirky side of Long Island.

Despite Marco Island's common distinction as the largest of Florida's Ten Thousand Islands, there are only 12 square miles of land upon which to wander - making the enormity of its history all the more remarkable.

Marco Island projects prominently from Florida's mainland at the peninsula's southwestern fringe, where the waters of the Everglades and the Gulf of Mexico commingle. Its tropical climate, verdant landscape, unique topography, and abundant wildlife sustained prehistoric Native American cultures for centuries. The first pioneer settlers arrived in 1870, carving out a niche on the harsh Florida frontier. Bustling villages soon sprang up on the island, bolstered by strong leaders and economies centered around farming and fishing. The crash of Florida's land boom, along with the Great Depression, devastating hurricanes, and a series of failed developments, ultimately stunted the island's growth. Most of Marco Island was sold to the Deltona Corporation in 1964, which transformed the island into a place its early residents might find unrecognizable.

Beyond the beaten path of local landmarks, residents and tourists can find curious secrets, lost mysteries and fascinating legends.

The famed Hope Diamond once found itself, and its mysterious curse, buried in an Asheville girl's sandbox. Elvis once handed a cherished guitar to a local man at an Asheville concert, and he held on to it for forty years. At a flea market, an Asheville attorney paid a few bucks for an old tintype likely of Billy the Kid, and it may be worth millions. Native author Marla Hardee Milling recounts odd, but true, stories hiding behind Asheville's picturesque beauty.

Cape Cod has a rich tradition of local lore, stretching back to a time before the Pilgrims arrived.

Ancient Wampanoag legends like Granny Squannit and Princess Scargo are as familiar as tales of pirates and explorers, including Black Sam Bellamy and Donald Baxter Macmillan. Felines often blocked Cat's Alley in pursuit of food from fishermen's boats. The remnants of Billingsgate Island can be seen at low tide, and visits from Jenny Lind and Helen Keller contrast with the mysterious stories of the Lady of the Dunes and New England's Dark Day. Author Robin Smith-Johnson shares historic tales of shipwrecks, murders, hauntings and more from the Cape.

Thomas White spins a beguiling yarn with tales that reach from the misty hollows of the Alleghenies to the lost islands of Pittsburgh.

Oppaymolleah's Curse. General Braddock's buried gold. The original man of steel, Joe Magarac. Such legends have found a home among the rich folklore of Western Pennsylvania. White invites readers to learn the truth behind the urban legend of the Green Man, speculate on the conspiracy surrounding the lost B-25 bomber of Monongahela and shiver over the ghostly lore of Western Pennsylvania.

The Mexican Revolution took place along the entire length of the border between the United States and Mexico. Most of the intense battles and revolutionary intrigue, however, were concentrated in the border region of El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. For 20 years, the U.S. and Mexico border communities dealt with revolution, beginning before the 1909 Taft-Díaz visit and ending with the Escobar Revolution of 1929. In between were battles, assassinations, invasions, and attempts at diplomacy. El Paso was center stage for many of these events. Newspapers and media from all over the country flocked to the border and produced numerous stories, photographs, and colorful renditions of the Mexican Revolution. The facts and myths have been kept alive over the last 100 years, and the revolution remains an important topic of discussion today.

This South Carolina sea island, which once flourished and folded under the bondage of slavery, is now a place where all races live and celebrate its rich heritage.

Today, James Island is a bustling community seven miles west of Charleston, South Carolina, but the island’s past wasn't always something you’d see on a billboard to entice you to visit. Beginning in the 18th century, James Island was the destination for hundreds of enslaved Africans who were tortured with unimaginable hardships while crossing the Atlantic Ocean. In James Island: Stories from Slave Descendants, Eugene Frazier Sr. compiles narrative interviews from firsthand accounts with slaves and their descendants, as well as the descendants of plantation owners. The stories Frazier gathered give us a singular perspective on the lives of African Americans from 1732-1950, following the James Island community for more than 130 years of slavery to decades of sharecropping and farming while slavery’s long shadow survived in segregation. An excellent resource for historians, teachers or those interested in the journey from slavery to integration, James Island: Stories from Slave Descendantswill be an enlightening and meaningful addition to any library.

Much attention has been given to the Northern response to the South's "peculiar institution" of slavery. While the details of anti-slavery activity are well known, the other side of history is neglected: the enslavement, mistreatment and subjugation of slaves who lived and toiled in Northern states. In this ground-breaking book on the slaves of Fairfield County, historian Dan Cruson reveals the harsh reality of slavery in the North that existed alongside anti-slavery activity by presenting a comprehensive picture of rural slavery in 18th and early 19th century Connecticut.

From the framework of everyday life including the slave-master relationship, housing and dress, to the role of slaves and free blacks in the Revolution that hastened the demise of slavery in Connecticut, Cruson's accessible and intriguing rendering of slave life in central Fairfield County will fascinate and inform readers. Utilizing local slave archaeology, Cruson presents exciting recent discoveries that shed light on African American spiritual practices. He goes on to tackle the complicated issue of the anti-slavery activity, discussing the problems with the abolition movement in Fairfield County in the 1830s and 1840s and questioning prevalent local folklore about the Underground Railroad.

The loggers who settled Michigan's Upper Peninsula whiled away winter evenings with tales of extreme weather, strange geography, legendary beasts and improbable feats. One mythic figure strode confidently from one story to the next, his legend growing with each retelling. Soon, Paul Bunyan began to appear in newspapers, magazines, books and even a Walt Disney cartoon. In this first collection since 1946 set exclusively in the UP, author Jon C. Stott recaptures the oral tradition that cast Bunyan's shadow across the national imagination. Relive the winter of the blue snow and cross paths with familiar companions like Babe and Johnny Inskslinger, as well as odd creatures like the hodag and the agropelter.

Local author Susan Peterson Gateley tracks down the real Maid of the Mist and investigates the meaning behind the names Soup Harbor, Sheba Island and the Devil's Nose.

Named by the Hurons, Ontario means Lake of Shining Waters. Beneath this gleaming surface, though, the easternmost of the Great Lakes hides enigmas from thousands of years of history. Ghosts linger on the surface, and monsters swim below, frightening sailors on the water. Smugglers used Lake Ontario during the War of 1812 and Prohibition and continue to do so today--Ontario's darkness providing the cover needed to elude law enforcement. Join Gateley as she delves deep below the waves to uncover these and other legends, lore and secrets from Lake Ontario.

In 1817, as Gloucester, Massachusetts, was recovering from the War of 1812, something beneath the water was about to cause a stir in this New England coastal community. It was a misty August day when two women first sighted Gloucester's sea serpent, touching off a riptide of excitement among residents that reached a climax when Matt Gaffney fired a direct shot at the creature. Local historian Wayne Soini explores the depths of Gloucester harbor to reveal a treasure-trove of details behind this legendary mystery. Follow as he tracks Justice of the Peace Lonson Nash's careful investigation, the world's first scientific study of this marine animal, and judges the credibility of numerous reported sightings.

Los Estados Unidos es considerado el principal refugio para extranjeros en el mundo, y ningún sitio en todo la nación lo simboliza mejor que Ellis Island. Más de 12 millones de inmigrantes, de casi cada nacionalidad y raza, entraron en el país a través de las salas y pasillos de Ellis Island en busca de nuevas experiencias en América del Norte. Con una extraordinaria colección de fotografías de los siglos diecinueve y veinte, Ellis Island guía al lector a través de la fascinante historia de esta pequeña isla del puerto de Nueva York. Haciendo un recorrido desde su época pre-migratoria, cuando era una de las islas del puerto donde se podían encontrar ostras, pasando por sus maravillosos años en los que funcionó como la estación principal de la Oficina de Inmigración de los Estados Unidos, hasta su situación actual como el museo más grande del Servicio de Parques Nacionales.

Les Etats-Unis sont considérés comme l'un des principaux refuges dans le monde pour les étrangers et aucun lieu dans le pays ne symbolise cette idée mieux qu'Ellis Island. A travers les salles et les couloirs d'Ellis Island, plus de douze millions d'immigrés de presque toutes les nationalités, entrèrent dans le pays pour vivre de nouvelles expériences en Amérique du Nord. Grace à une collection merveilleuse de photos du XIXe et du XXe siècle d'Ellis Island, le lecteur se laisse guider à travers l'histoire fascinante de cette petite ile du port de New York depuis ses débuts en tant que bassin ostréicole avant la vague d'immigration, jusqu'à ses années spectaculaires en tant que poste du Bureau américain pour l'Immigration et à sa transformation actuelle comme le plus grand musée du Service National des Parcs.

Die Vereinigten Staaten werden als eine der vordersten Flüchtlingsorte, und kein anderer Ort symbolisiert das mehr als Ellis Island. Mehr als zwölf millionen Einwanderer—von fast jeder Nationalität und Rasse—sind auf dem Weg zu neuen Erfahrungen durch Ellis Islands Hallen und Toren eingetreten. Mit einer erstaunenden Array von Fotografien aus den neunzehnten uns zwanzigsten Jahrhunderten führt Ellis Island den Leser durch die faszinierende Geschichte dieser kleinen Insel in New Yorker Hafen, von ihrer Vorgeschichte als einer des Hafens Austerninsel bis ihre spektakulare Jahre als Flagschiff-Station des U.S. Bureau of Immmigration (Einwanderungsbehörde) bis ihre aktuelle Verkörperung als das größte Museum des National Park Service.

With this clever new look at Lowcountry history M. Patrick Hendrix demystifies archaeology and takes readers on a fast-paced romp through more than 50,000 years. Drawing on the results of archaeological studies at a wide variety of sites, Hendrix discusses key finds and sets them in context with an accessible, entertaining style. The discovery of a mineralized mastodon bone from Edisto Island offers a glimpse into the Paleoindian period; the brick and earthen fortifications that protected Colonial Charleston make clear how vulnerable early Colonists felt. Slave cabins, "colonoware" pottery, and the remains of foods found on the Lynch Plantation in Christ Church Parish demonstrate the continuation of West African customs that was seen on many early rice plantations; ceramics found at the Miles Brewton house illustrate the extreme wealth enjoyed by some eighteenth-century Charlestonians. Early work on the H.L.Hunley indicated immediately the technological sophistication of the vessel; recent work on Morris Island underscores the tremendous historic significance of this barrier island and has contributed to recognition that it should be protected. With a missionary zeal to preserve the integrity of sites during the explosive growth of the twenty-first century, Hendrix is sure to inspire in readers his conviction that knowledge of our past illuminates our future.