The mines that were founded in the last half of the 19th century brought an international spotlight to Southern Arizona. Silver, placer gold, and the rich mineral wealth first drew adventurous prospectors, but soon came the settlers and major investors who built the mines that fed the world demand for copper. Arizona mines became unique test beds for new technology after the turn of the 20th century, as mining companies sought more economical and productive ways to extract precious metals. Some mining towns in Southern Arizona came and went, leaving no trail other than historic photographs. A few left scattered dilapidated buildings that remain today as ghost towns. Others grew into communities with stable populations and amenities like opera houses and theaters that joined the stores and saloons as they prospered.
Southeastern Arizona Mining Towns
9780738585161
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Southeastern Arizona has one of the most diverse mining localities in the state. Towns such as Bisbee, Clifton, Globe, Miami, Ray, Silverbell, and Superior have earned reputations as premier metal producers that are most notably known for their copper. Other mining towns that have made their marks in the region include Dos Cabezas, Gleeson, Harshaw District, Helvetia, Patagonia District, Pearce, Ruby, and Tombstone. Mining in southeastern Arizona has significantly influenced the development of mines in northern Sonora, Mexico. The foundation of Mexico's largest copper mine in Cananea was financed by American capital, specifically under the direction of miners and investors from southeastern Arizona. Overall, the process of mining has established the economy of southeastern Arizona, making it a viable source of copper-related minerals in the 21st century's global market.
Clifton and Morenci Mining District
9781467134316
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Across America, from big cities to small towns and rural hamlets, there are many stories of challenges, historic events, courageous people, tragedy, and success. Some of the best and most exciting tales may not be well known. Such is the case for the towns of Clifton and Morenci, Arizona. They survived labor strikes, rising and falling copper prices, devastating floods, outlaws and lawlessness, gambling houses, and saloons. All this added to the lore that these towns were some of the roughest communities in the West. Today, after 143 years of mining, Freeport-McMoRan's Morenci copper mine is the largest in North America. Expansion has required new homes in Clifton-Morenci, a modern library, and recreational facilities. Residents are proud of their communities.
Texas Shipwrecks
9781467116176
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The Texas coastline and offshore waters are flat, shallow, featureless, and filled with shoals. Texas waters are subjected to extreme weather, not just hurricanes and tropical storms but also northers and seasonal gales. This, combined with two centuries of naval warfare off Texas waters, produced many shipwrecks of all sorts, from Spanish treasure fleets to simple working boats. The ships of pirates, navies, cotton traders, immigrants, fishermen, and oil shippers line the Texas coast, cover the sea bottom off Texas, and blanket the bottom of Texas rivers. Each wreck has a story, romantic or repellent, prosaic or unusual, but all intriguing.
Colorado's Mrs. Captain Ellen Jack
9781467153638
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"You get off this property." - Capt. Ellen Jack, 1887 Ellen E. Jack backed up her orders with a shotgun as she stood at the entrance to her Black Queen Mine. To profit from the mine, located near Aspen, Colorado, she engaged in many other battles with lawyers and capitalists who tried to wrest her ore away. Mrs. Captain Jack contributed to the myth of the West by crowning herself as the "Mining Queen of the Rockies" as she entertained tourists at her roadhouse near Colorado Springs. Author Jane Bardal offers a captivating biography of a pioneering woman who fashioned a legacy through true tenacity and maybe even a few tall tales.
Johnson Space Center
9780738595108
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NASA 's Johnson Space Center (JSC ) in Houston, Texas, has been the home of human spaceflight operations since its inception in 1961. The first US manned spaceflight controlled from its iconic Mission Control Center was in 1965. From JSC 's control center, engineers also helped place humans on another celestial body for the first time, operated 135 Space Shuttle missions, and expanded human spaceflight to an international endeavor. Housed on more than 1,600 acres just south of downtown Houston, the center is the curator for the precious samples returned from the moon, the base for the training of astronauts, and the developer of innovative engineering to support future exploration deep into the solar system and world-class technical research on earth.
Phoenix Television
9781467102797
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Immediately following World War II, television burst upon the American scene. Radio had been the popular way of receiving news and entertainment during the war years, but now, television could provide pictures to illustrate radio's programs. It was like having your own personal movie theater in your living room. Although isolated in the Sonoran Desert, Phoenix citizens were not to be denied the wonders of this new communication medium. KPHO-TV, Channel 5, signed on the air on December 4, 1949, with a selection of programs from all four television networks. Channels 12, 10, and 3 were soon to follow, and the lifestyles of the residents of Phoenix would never be the same. The flickering blue light from the Magnavox or RCA receivers danced on the curtains of the darkened living rooms all over town. Now Phoenicians could experience the televised dramas from New York City or view the films of Hollywood with just the flip of a switch—and maybe some careful adjustment of the rabbit ears.
Arizona's Historic Bridges
9781467133449
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Arizona was once just a passage for pioneers headed west for gold, religious freedom, and cheap land. Native Americans had lived in and explored the territory for years, but it was Manifest Destiny and the western expansionist philosophy of the burgeoning US government that created the impetus for better and faster routes across the vast territory with its topographical challenges. In the 1880s, the railroads first booted their way across the landscape, following historic trails before the highways were built. The Grand Canyon and Colorado River were obvious challenges, but there were also seasonal waterways that needed crossings. The history of the state unfolds with this book, profiling the bridges that define these historic transportation routes. Many of them have been proudly restored by their communities or the state, while others are gone or are in a sad state of decline.
Northern Arizona Space Training
9781467126137
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During the 1960s and early 1970s, northern Arizona played a critical role in fulfilling President Kennedy's bold challenge of sending humans to the moon. From the rocky depths of the Grand Canyon to lofty cosmic views from Flagstaff's dark skies, northern Arizona was ideal for activities ranging from moon buggy testing and geology training to lunar mapping and mission simulation. Every astronaut who walked on the moon, from Neil Armstrong to Gene Cernan, prepared for his journey in northern Arizona, and all used maps created by Flagstaff artists to navigate their way around the lunar surface. This book captures the spirit of these pioneers with stunning images from NASA, the US Geological Survey, and others.
Prescott Fire Department
9781467131780
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Founded in 1885, the Prescott Fire Department began with four 25-man volunteer companies, the Dudes, the Toughs, the Mechanics Hook & Ladders, and the O.K.s. These 100 men reflected both the common man and the leaders of the region. Over the years, their numbers would include governors-to-be F.A. Tritle and Thomas Campbell, business leaders H.D. Aitken and A.A. "Tony" Johns, and numerous members of the Goldwater family. The department and its community survived the great fire of July 14, 1900, as well as the loss of 19 of its own Granite Mountain Hotshots on June 30, 2013. The Prescott Fire Department would go from a volunteer department to a fully paid department of 80 firefighters, operating out of five stations and covering an area of 40 square miles.
The Verde River
9780738578897
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Archaeologists discovered that the Hohokam were an advanced native tribe who built elaborate irrigation systems along the Verde River, and then disappeared. Early Arizona settlers recognized the tenacity and intelligence of the Hohokam and began to reconstruct their canal system. In 1903, the Salt River Project commenced, and the first lake on the lower Verde River was formed with the completion of the Bartlett Dam in 1939. Seven years later and 12 miles upstream from Bartlett, the Horseshoe Reservoir was created in order to expand copper mining during World War II. The astonishing result of these reservoirs is today's sprawling desert megalopolis of Phoenix, Arizona. Nicknamed "The River of Time," the Verde River is a timeline of Arizona history, and it is essential to human life and livelihood in the area.
Detour New Mexico
9781467118507
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New Mexico's rich and varied history is easily accessible via detours down obscure backroads and overlooked off-ramps. By taking the road less traveled in any direction, visitors can experience ancient landmarks, cultural heritage sites and striking vistas. Stop at places along the old Route 66, sample the world's best chiles by the Rio Grande or soak in geothermal water flowing under Truth or Consequences. Ancient dwellings in remote canyons, the town where the first atomic bomb was secretly assembled and the grave of Billy the Kid all lie off the beaten path in the Land of Enchantment. Authors Arthur and David Pike map out these and many more worthwhile points of interest for the curious traveler.
Elephant Butte Dam
9781467133326
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On November 18, 1904, engineer B.M. Hall submitted his final report to the 12th National Irrigation Congress in El Paso, Texas. He concluded that the ideal location for a dam and reservoir would be a site in western New Mexico. A congressional act of February 25, 1905, authorized the construction of Elephant Butte Dam, the first civil engineering structure concerned with international allocation of water. Part of the Rio Grande Project, the dam and its reservoir would provide irrigation water for farmers along the Rio Grande in New Mexico, Texas, and Mexico. Today, Elephant Butte Dam is designated as a National Historical Engineer Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), the oldest national professional engineering society in the United States. The area is home to Elephant Butte Lake State Park, where camping, fishing, and water sports are enjoyed by both residents and tourists.
Historic Bridges of Milam County
9781467125765
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Milam County boasts a rich history. In this collection of vintage-photograph postcards, David Galbreath, Carolyn Temple, Lucile Estell, and Joy Graham explore the county's historic bridges.
Norman's Navy Years
9781467115643
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In 1944, A.L. Simon, a sailor at the Norman Naval Air Station, illustrated a booklet, "On the Beach," about Navy life in Norman, Oklahoma. The title he chose reflected the irony of the US Navy establishing two bases in a landlocked prairie town in 1942. The initial activation of the Navy bases (from 1942 to 1945) and their reactivation (from 1952 to 1959) greatly increased the employment rate and economy in Norman, offering locals a much-needed boost after the Great Depression of the 1930s. The men who influenced the Navy to choose Norman as the location for Navy installations were T. Jack Foster, of the Norman Chamber of Commerce; Joseph Brandt, president of the University of Oklahoma; and Savoie Lottinville, director of the University of Oklahoma Press.
Texas Ingenuity
9780738503561
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Imagination is bigger in Texas, too. This collection of inspiring and often quirky stories highlights dozens of examples of innovation from Lone Star history. The Hamill brothers devised a better oil well to reach gushers at Spindletop. The first Neiman-Marcus store opened in Dallas in 1907, revolutionizing the retail fashion world. Astroturf emerged at the Astrodome in 1966. Fritos and corn dogs are just two ubiquitous snack foods claimed as Texan originals. Houston native, and civil rights activist, Congresswoman Barbara Jordan rose to national prominence as a voice of unity during the Watergate scandal. Author Alan C. Elliott details these and many more lessons in success in Texas Ingenuity.
Houston Fire Department
9781467132985
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Houston's firefighting service began in 1838 with the founding of Protection Fire Company No. 1. As the city of Houston grew throughout the early and mid-19th century, volunteer companies formed and grew along with it. By 1895, city leaders decided to form the Houston Fire Department as a city department, culling the volunteer forces for men, stations, apparatus, and horses. The city grew in leaps and bounds, swallowing up neighborhoods, communities, and smaller cities along the way, with the fire department nipping at their heels. This brave force battled devastating fires throughout the years, most notably the Great Fifth Ward Fire in 1912, the 1943 Gulf Hotel Fire, the Woodway Square Apartment Conflagration in 1979 and the Southwest Inn Fire in 2013. What was once a smattering of volunteer fire brigades has grown into an imposing force of over 3,000 firefighters protecting over two million people in the fourth largest city in the United States.
Historic Bridges of Milam County
9781467124911
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Milam County, located in the heart of Central Texas, is home to 18 historic bridges that were constructed through the years to accommodate the growth of the county. One bridge, Worley Bridge, has been fully restored in a cooperative effort between Milam County and the Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT). TXDOT is an important partner in the preservation of these historic structures. Memories of some bridges will be preserved in a bridge park, which is being constructed in Rockdale. Other bridges simply stand in mute testimony to the passing of time and the changing of human needs and habits. This book tells the story of these bridges and their important role in our history. It provides knowledge and understanding of these structures.
Northern Arizona Space Training
9781467126946
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Northern Arizona boasts a rich history.  In this collection of vintage-photograph postcards, Kevin Schindler and William Sheehan explore the area's role in space training.
Gristmills of Central Texas
9781467125963
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Gristmills were once commonplace in Texas. There was hardly a river, a creek, or a stream without one. The purpose of the gristmill was to grind wheat into flour and corn into meal. Prior to the water-powered gristmill, grinding was a tedious, time-consuming task that was usually performed by hand using some type of mortar and pestle. When a gristmill began operating in an area, settlers from near and far traveled to the mill to have their grain ground. The gathering of these settlers and farmers at the mill was the beginning of many settlements that grew into the Texas towns of today. Many of these picturesque settings have become major tourist destinations.
