South

Historian Joe A. Mobley recounts events in the Carolinas from prehistory and the first settlement by colonists through North Carolina’s emergence as a state in a new, democratic nation.

The history of North Carolina began before the first European explorers gazed upon its shores. Its Native inhabitants had long dominated the land and waterways. Before the colonial era ended vast numbers of English, Scottish, Swiss, Germans, French, Welsh and Africans had immigrated to North Carolina, pushing Native Americans to the margins and leaving their mark on the culture of the colony. In some ways, colonial North Carolina was unique in the early American experience. The peculiar configuration of the Outer Banks limited its commercial opportunities, but the colony was very much a part of the Atlantic world.

Bayou St. John played a significant role in the neighborhood of the same name, fueling debate over the waterway's use, control and ownership for centuries.

Native Americans first used it as a trade route. Later, it became a backdoor entrance for settlers to the present-day French Quarter. As commercial use declined, residents witnessed a progressive shift toward recreation. Following the Civil War, tourists flocked to witness Marie Laveau's voodoo ceremonies. The early twentieth century brought two amusement parks. And events like the Bayou Boogaloo music festival draw thousands of visitors. Despite its many costume changes, the bayou continues to be the Crescent City's most beloved waterway. Author Cassie Pruyn reveals this evolving story.

Journalist and historian Chuck McShane traces the triumphs and troubles of Lake Norman from the region's colonial beginnings to its modern incarnation.

On a muggy September day in 1959, North Carolina governor Luther Hodges set off the first charge of dynamite for the Cowan's Ford Dam project. The dam channeled Catawba River waters into the largest lake in North Carolina: Lake Norman. The project was the culmination of James Buchanan Duke's dream of an electrified South and the beginning of the region's future. Over the years, the area around Lake Norman transformed from a countryside of cornstalks and cattle fields to an elite suburb full of luxurious subdivisions and thirty-five-foot sailboats.

Visit the island where time stands still and explore the romantic, almost forgotten history of old Florida in this visual history.

Rich in small town atmosphere and old Florida history, Cedar Key is a quiet island community nestled among many tiny keys on the Gulf Coast of Florida. Refuge for birds and wildlife, Florida's oldest port, and home to artists and writers, the island has long been admired for its tranquility and natural beauty.

Join author and historian James C. Clark as he chronicles the history of the Sunshine State in this concise and captivating history.

In 1513, Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon first set foot on Florida's east coast. The land he discovered was a geographic anomaly so distinctive that astronaut Neil Armstrong said Florida was the first shape on earth he recognized on his return from a visit to the moon 456 years later. This unique state witnessed momentous events from the 1959 arrival of the first Cuban exiles under Fidel Castro to the 1981 launch of the Columbia, the first space shuttle.

For the first time, an unvarnished history of this Gulf Coast jewel.

At the end of the Civil War, the area around Charlotte County was the southernmost frontier in the United States. Americans rushed south for the promise of cheap land in paradise. Albert W. Gilchrist peddled that dream with great fanfare, but his outsized legacy as a driver of the area’s growth comes with considerable baggage. As Charlotte County strives to reinvent itself once again, historian Ted Ehmann provides a historical lost-and-found where heroes fall from grace and new heroes are created. It’s an account that predates the arrival of the railroad by millennia, weaving its way from the Calusa kingdom to present day, stripping the remnants of myth created by early developers’ utopian promises.

Discover how Fayetteville went from being a small town called Washington Courthouse only to bloom into one of Arkansas' largest and most vital cities.

The town of Fayetteville was originally known as Washington Courthouse and prospered during its first two decades, until it suffered decimation during the Civil War as troops moved throughout the region. In 1871, Fayetteville successfully bid to be home to the University of Arkansas, the state's first public university. Today, the city represents a cultural convergence, with remnants of historic trails such as the Military Road between St. Louis and Fort Smith and the Trail of Tears. Author and historian Charlie Alison details pivotal events that shaped the city.

Founded in 1768 at the crossing of two Indian trails, Charlotte has a rich heritage to match its age. Hear the personal voices of discovery, hardship, wars, privation, segregation and achievement from village to boomtown.

In this extensively researched volume, accomplished author and historian Mary Kratt chronicles the history of Charlotte from the earliest Catawba inhabitants to the development of finance, culture and transportation, still centered on those ancient crossroads. Whether detailing the cotton fields and textile mills of yesterday or the banking center of tomorrow, Kratt's account is a fascinating history of the people who have made Charlotte a queen among southern cities.

Hurricane Michael may have taken away some of the landmarks, but these images reveal the history of Florida's Mexico Beach, once known as the Unforgettable Coast.    

As French interests in the Americas dwindled, records indicate very little activity around Mexico Beach until rumors of buried riches and sunken ships brought treasure hunters to the coast.  In the early 1900s, businessman Felix du Pont purchased the land known today as Mexico Beach. Resin to make turpentine was harvested from the native pine trees, and fishermen could not resist the migratory fish passing through the area's waters. By the 1930s, US Highway 98 was completed, and visitors could finally reach the sugar-soft sand beaches of the Unforgettable Coast. By 1941, Tyndall Field was constructed and became a training site for Air Force pilots. In 1946, a group of farsighted businessmen, led by Gordan Parker, W.T. McGowan, and J.W. Wainwright, purchased 1,850 acres along the beach for $65,000. Parker's son Charlie moved to the area in 1949 with his wife, Inky, and their family. He soon took over development responsibilities for the Mexico Beach Corporation and laid the groundwork for the beach town known and loved today. Charlie went on to become the city's first mayor and a lifelong advocate of the family-friendly community.

Roan Mountain's remarkable ecosystem has enchanted people for centuries, beginning with the first native inhabitants.

Then came pioneering settlers, celebrated naturalists like John Muir, hardworking miners and loggers eager to make a living from the land and ambitious businessmen such as John T. Wilder, whose Cloudland Hotel helped make Roan a tourist destination in the late 1870s. Today, conservationists, researchers and nature lovers of all kinds flock here to experience flora and fauna unique to this region of the Appalachians. Preserving Roan's ecological heritage has proven both a challenge and a triumph for the mountain's dedicated supporters. In this newly revised and expanded edition, featuring previously unpublished color photography, former Roan Mountain park interpretive specialist Jennifer A. Bauer recounts the fascinating natural and social history of this marvelous highland landscape.

Author Larry Humes traces the events and characters that put Venice on the proverbial map. Venice is certainly not among the oldest cities in Florida. The fact that it even survived its rocky beginning is nothing short of remarkable. But it was luck and persistence that transformed the little City on the Gulf into one of Florida’s most sought-after destinations. Venice wouldn’t be what it is today without the Kentucky military school that saved the town from bankruptcy and the construction of an army air base that helped America win World War II while increasing the local population tenfold. And don’t forget the “Greatest Show on Earth,” which called Venice home for more than three decades.

Nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, hidden in the northeast region of Georgia, lies -literally and figuratively - one of the Peach State's most treasured areas. Dahlonega, Georgia is known primarily as the site of the first major United States gold rush. But now, as the gold dust has settled, we can look back on the town's complex history - a history more valuable than its famous abundance of precious metal.

Full of little-known insight, Dahlonega, Georgia: A Brief History will expose this quaint city not only as a vibrant home for its residents, but also as an energized destination for history buffs and art connoisseurs. You will learn about the glistening reflection of North Georgia Agricultural College's gold-gilded steeple, which thousands of students view daily as they attend the Leadership Institution and Military College of Georgia. In addition, you will discover Dahlonega's fascinating artistic history, from its involvement in six silent films to the 1993 re-opening of the Holly Theatre, one of the top entertainment venues in the state.

Dahlonega, Georgia: A Brief History is not to be confused with works focusing solely on the distant past. The most up-to-date account available, this book even includes details of the famous 2006 discovery of gold underneath an old Dahlonega hotel.

A Hidden Gem in Kentucky.

Eighteen miles outside Louisville lies the picturesque town of Pewee Valley. The town was originally founded on a land grant around 1800 and later named after the Eastern Wood Pewee, which, according to an elaborate legend, exuberantly proclaimed the creation of an Eden east of Louisville. Residents of and visitors to this fairy-tale suburb have included tycoons, politicians, painters, photographers, poets and novelists. Among them was Annie Fellows Johnston, who used Pewee Valley as the setting for her famed “Little Colonel” books, which Shirley Temple brought to the big screen in 1935. A preserve of rural manors and picturesque cottages, Pewee survived Civil War, the Depression and developers’ bulldozers. David Russell reveals this storied history.

Paducah, Kentucky details the historical transformation of this town, from its rural beginnings to its modern-day urbanization.

Established in 1830 and named by the famed pioneer William Clark, the city of Paducah thrived as a result of its position along the waterways. From its beginnings as a rural western outpost to its status today as a UNESCO-designated City of Crafts and Folk Arts, the tenacity of Paducah's people has sustained the city throughout remarkable challenges and changes. After enduring a brief Civil War battle, several catastrophic floods and a stint as an atomic city, Paducah has bloomed into a flourishing arts community. The City of Murals, the Quilt Museum and many other unique jewels attract visitors from around the world. Join historian John E.L. Robertson as he reveals the stories behind how this enduring river and rail town came to be the innovative, creative city it is today.

In this readable, skillfully researched volume, historian Rita Wehunt-Black rediscovers the rich heritage of Gaston County, from the original European settlements in the eighteenth century to the growth of mill villages in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and into the modern day. Revel in the colonial and Revolutionary War history of what once was known as Old Tryon County--a county of gold mines that dotted the land around Kings Mountain--and of All Healing Springs, first discovered by Native Americans and later used by Victorian spa visitors. Whether you are from Gastonia, Cherryville, Bessemer City, Belmont or any of the other wonderful communities that make up this county, this book will reacquaint you with the place you call home.

A Special Florida Paradise    

“The Gables” is not merely a highly desirable bedroom community or a sprawling city with features of the City Beautiful movement scattered here and there. The brainchild of George Merrick, a visionary congregational minister’s son with a poetic bent, Coral Gables is a planned city, home to of some of the nation’s most valuable real estate, a world-renowned hotel in the Biltmore, headquarters to 120 multinational firms, a major research university and a top-ten botanical garden. The story of how Merrick’s intricate design took shape—while most developments born during the so-called Florida Boom crashed and burned—and the rise of the preservationist movement that maintains it is a testament to the power of a vision. Author Les Standiford details the amazing rise of an iconic place.

Since Europeans first settled along the banks of Back Creek in the 1740s, southwest Roanoke County's history has been as fluid as the creek itself. Local historian Nelson Harris details the eclectic history of the area.

The once dense forest with log cabins gave way to the sprawling suburbs of the present. The colonial-era Trader's Path that directed Scots-Irish homesteaders, the growth of the apple industry in Bent Mountain after the Civil War, a state highway built by convicts during the Depression and Cave Spring becoming a modern commercial center have shaped the region. The changing picture of daily life in Back Creek spanning two centuries emerges in stories of one-room schoolhouses, doctors on horseback, country stores, local baseball and NASCAR races at Starkey.

In this engaging volume, local historian Douglas Bostick reveals the unacknowledged history of the second community in South Carolina, settled in 1671.

Whether investigating prehistoric clues about Native American life before European settlement, detailing the history of agriculture and the reign of King Cotton, following armies from multiple wars or chronicling the triumph of equality on the greens of Charleston's Municipal Golf Course, Bostick tells the story of James Island as only a native son can. Join Bostick as he brings this small jewel of an island out of Charleston's shadow and into the light of its own rich, historic assets.

Named for the famous Spanish explorer who was said to have discovered the Fountain of Youth, Atlanta's Ponce de Leon Avenue began as a simple country road that conveyed visitors to the famous healing springs.

Now, few motorists realize that the avenue, one of Atlanta's major commuter thoroughfares, was a prestigious residential street in Victorian Atlanta, home to mayors and millionaires. An economic turn in the twentieth century transformed the avenue into a crime-ridden commercial corridor, but in recent years, Atlantans have rediscovered the street's venerable architecture and storied history. Join local historian Sharon Foster Jones on a vivid tour of the avenue - from picnics by the springs in hoopskirts and Atlanta Crackers baseball to the Fox Theatre and the days when Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable and Al Capone lodged in the esteemed hotels lining this magnificent avenue.

The History of Weiss Lake was filled with debate. Read how the past of this area was reshaped and the area matured.

Until the late 1950s, the major body of water for residents of northeast Alabama was the Coosa River, which wove prominently through the rural landscape of the region. When Alabama Power Company decided to dam the river in order to build a thirty-thousand-acre reservoir, locals were divided about whether to welcome the hydroelectricity and potential prosperity or resist losing their land and proud agrarian heritage. Three years and millions of cubic yards of earth later, Weiss Lake emerged to alter Cherokee County history permanently. Post editor and county native Scott Wright presents a captivating collection of personal recollections and historical vignettes to illustrate the magnitude of the lake's influence in shaping the future of the area--and damming its past.

The Highs and Lows of Little Five Points documents the transformations of Atlanta's first Neighborhood Commercial District.

Atlanta's Little Five Points, the city's first Neighborhood Commercial District, stands out as one of the most distinctive shopping districts in the Southeast. There have been quite a few ups and downs in the area's history, but ultimately the dedicated, passionate individuals who made L5P what it is today handled them with perseverance and foresight, creating unique, independently owned stores that draw the most eclectic mix of people found anywhere in Atlanta. The cultural melting pot created by these stores is what makes Little Five Points such a popular destination for both locals and tourists. Join author Robert Hartle Jr. as he tells the story of the revitalization of Little Five Points, including firsthand accounts from longtime L5P business owners who were actually there and who helped to save the area from the many threats to its survival.

Local Historian G. Wayne Dowdy tells the tales of Memphis's triumphs and tragedies through the civil rights movement and beyond like only a true Memphian can.

First purchased in the early 1800s from natives to serve as a vital port for the emerging American river trade, the city flourished until the tumultuous years of the Civil War brought chaos and uncertainty. Despite its compelling story, no concise history of this home of soulful music and unmistakable flavor has been available to modern readers until now. Thankfully, archivist G. Wayne Dowdy has filled this gap with a history of Memphis that is as vibrant and welcoming as the city itself.

South of Savannah, along the picturesque and historic coastline of Georgia, lies a group of barrier islands known as the Golden Isles.

This collection of coastal sea islands has attracted people—Native Americans, European settlers and vacationing sun-seekers—throughout history, for the islands' bountiful resources and appealing climate.  Perhaps the brightest jewel of these islands is St. Simons Island. The History Press is proud to re-issue St. Simons Island: A Summary of its History, by local resident and historian R. Edwin Green. Mr. Green has compiled an informative volume, which highlights the unique and developing history of one of Georgia's most popular sea islands.   Spanning over three hundred years of island history, Mr. Green brings to life the day-to-day toils of the Native Americans and their interaction with Spanish missionaries, the hardships faced by James Oglethorpe during the early colonial period, the rise and fall of the antebellum plantation society and the twentieth century with the start of St. Simons as a vacation and resort destination.  With a keen eye for the details, which imparts the reader with a true understanding of the island's people and history, Mr. Green offers both the visitor and resident the historical foundation to enjoy all that St. Simons has to offer.

Quirky, unique, and unexpected, the history of Ermony Key comes to life in rare historic images.

Egmont Key has been a sentinel for ships entering Tampa Bay from the Gulf of Mexico for hundreds of years. Early European explorers recognized the island's strategic location. Its story reflects major events in the history of the United States and Florida, as the island played a role in the Seminole Wars, the Civil War, the Spanish-American War and World Wars I and II. Its lighthouse, now automated, is still a beacon for ships. For many years, people have enjoyed the beaches of Egmont Key, walked the red brick roads to nowhere and explored the ruins of Fort Dade. Authors Don and Carol Thompson aim to foster an appreciation of the uniqueness and beauty of Egmont Key, as well as an understanding of its place in history.

Ghent, perhaps more than any other Norfolk suburb, has a story to tell that transcends its historic port city lineage, reaching national importance in its planning and execution.

The Ghent District is a historic and treasured neighborhood within Norfolk, and though the story of its origins have been muddied over the years, its legacy is clear, as the Ghent Historic District has been on the National Registry of Historic Places since 1980. Despite changing times and tastes, Ghent's period architecture, tree-lined streets, and attractive waterfront location combine to ensure that Ghent will remain a beloved, integral area of Norfolk for generations.