Travel

This fascinating visual history chronicles the growth of a city that began to rise from the plains of the Merrimack River in 1845.

Conceived, financed, and managed by Yankee capitalists and designed to be a model town, Lawrence was among the earliest planned manufacturing communities in the country and it quickly became the largest wool manufacturing center in the world. From the outset, Lawrence was the gateway to America for thousands of immigrants; here they found work, acquired skills, learned English, educated their children, and eventually became citizens. By 1910, almost 90 thousand people--representing 25 nationalities and speaking 40 languages--had made their home within the seven square miles that constitute Lawrence. Their unique story is told through images cherished in photograph albums and old cardboard boxes, and gathered over the decades from the tenement attics and basements of those who actually lived the lives shown in these photographs. The images vividly portray America's industrial and immigrant past, and show the lives, work, aspirations, pleasures, and sometimes the suffering, of the people who created the city of Lawrence. This collection is the first extensive photographic history of the city in over 75 years, and it offers more than 200 fascinating images from the renowned Immigrant City Archives--many of them rare and previously unpublished.

Chronicling the story of New York's beloved Rockaway Beach community and the efforts to recapture the magical success from an earlier era.

The American frontier did not just consist of a prairie—it also included marshes and windswept sand dunes. When the earliest settlers arrived at Rockaway Beach on steamships in the mid-1800s, it was a narrow strip of land packed with ponds and covered with dunes. Within 30 years, the community had grown into a wildly popular resort served by a thriving rail line. Amusement parks, hotels, taverns, and dance halls abounded, as did bungalow courts and open-air tent colonies. In the 1960s, the area was disrupted by urban development efforts and transportation infrastructure had declined.

Today, Rockaway Beach is being rediscovered by a new generation of visitors and entrepreneurs as longtime residents work simultaneously to reinvigorate it.

A well-read and inventive community, Franklin has been home to a number of influential Americans itself, including Horace Mann, the "Father of American Education." Mr. Johnston's pictorial history of Franklin honors the memory of these great citizens and also chronicles the development of the town through its industrial revolution.

A suburb of Boston with its own distinctive identity, Brookline, Massachusetts is explored through the years in this delightful pictorial history.

Join authors Greer Hardwicke and Roger Reed in a celebration of the people and places of Brookline from 1680 to 1940. Brookline boasts many notable historical figures such as Dr. Thomas Boylston, originator of a smallpox vaccine, King Gillette, inventor of the safety razor, and Charles Sprague Sargent, founder of the Arnold Arboretum. Among these notable figures residing in Brookline were many wealthy Boston merchants who maintained estates in the popular suburb.

The exquisite images in this collection provide views of a wide range of architecture, from impressive eighteenth-century estates to multi-family homes for the working class. Churches, schools, and parks are also represented, including Longwood Mall, with its famous copper beech trees imported from Europe, and Cypress Field, the first public playground in America. View designed landscapes from private estates such as Faulkner Farm to suburban developments such as Fisher Hill, and witness the changes that have occurred along Beacon Street and other major thoroughfares. Travel back in time to discover these and many other wonders in the fascinating town where both John and Robert Kennedy were born.

The typical farm life of a Mainer pre-1910 is told through the photographs of Nettie Cummings Maxim.

Before her death in 1910, Nettie Cummings Maxim chronicled the people, landscapes, and animals of a typical Maine farm at Bird Hill in Bethel at the turn of the century. In a time before mass media, her world consisted almost entirely of her family and farm. This intimate familiarity with her immediate world and a degree of cultural isolation allowed Nettie to explore and capture on film the details of farm life through the seasons and the innocence and wisdom in the eyes of the children whose lives were so closely entwined with life on a rural Maine hill farm. After one look at her photographs, her innate artistic talent becomes immediately apparent: her use of natural light, the composition of her images, and her eye for detail lend a tremendously beautiful, evocative quality to her images. She turned the long exposures mandated by film at the turn of the century to her advantage, and somehow manages to create the illusion of motion in her photographs. Through her cameras, Nettie recorded the world that was so endearing to her, a world that has gone largely undocumented by photography. In doing so, she has given immortality to the people, buildings, and even the animals that were part of her life and her microcosm of society nearly a century ago, as well as giving us a rare insight into the intricacies of daily life in the nearby communities of Locke's Mills and Greenwood. Allow her to lead you back into life in rural Maine at the turn of the century: it is a journey worth making, and one that you will never forget.

In this book, early views of the famous Horseshoe Curve, the Gallitzin Tunnels, and the Mountain House are intertwined with photographs of homes, churches, and the people who made the area prosper and grow.

The Allegheny Mountains constantly challenged early settlers to use their creativity and skills to conquer what seemed an almost insurmountable barrier. The founding fathers recognized potential in the area both as a resort and as a thriving town that would attract industry. Through hard work and innovation, an all-rail route over the mountains was established, linking the area with important industrial and trade centers. Many people came to Cresson to enjoy the health and recreational benefits of its natural springs, and the area's pike afforded the first stage link between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. When the Pennsylvania Railroad established headquarters here, with a roundhouse, machine shops, and branch lines, the area entered an era of industrial prosperity. In this remarkable volume, over 200 rare images are combined with informative and insightful text. Readers visit Loretto, a town founded by A Prince-Priest, Demetrius A. Gallitzin, Apostle of the Alleghenies and they are transported to Portage and Lilly, areas of woodlands that gave rise to numerous sawmills.

Vintage postcards and photographs depict the history of this Arkansas resort, Hot Springs.

From its rise in the 1800s until well into the twentieth century, Hot Springs was a famed resort known worldwide. The grand hotels and world-class bath houses that sprang up around the government-protected springs drew countless visitors, ranging from the  famous and wealthy to those of humble means, all seeking the health and pleasure promised by the Spa City's promoters. In the words of a railroad tourist guidebook from about 1910, A stay at Hot Springs, be it ever so brief, always remains a pleasant memory afterward. It was the writer's good fortune to spend a few days at this popular resort—not as an invalid, I am happy to say, but as a tourist—and I certainly never bathed in more delightful water than that which flows so abundantly from the hot springs of Arkansas. There is buoyancy, a magnetism about it that is simply indescribable. Such has been the experience of countless visitors over the years. Readers will find much of the history of this storied resort in Hot Springs, Arkansas, which is profusely illustrated with vintage postcards and photographs, all carefully interpreted by the authors, Ray and Steven Hanley, with research assistance from Mark Blaeuer of the Hot Springs National Park staff.

In vivid historical images and rare archival documents, see for yourself how Joliet became a quintessential American City.

Joliet once was a lush prairie bordered with scenic bluffs along the Des Plaines River. In the late 19th century, settlers and a large influx of Eastern European immigrants arrived, transforming the area into a bustling industrial community of steel, limestone, manufacturing, and transportation. In the 20th century, Joliet transformed itself from an industrial hub to a destination of entertainment and tourism. Tourism thrives as people visit the National Hot Rod Association drag strip, NASCAR track, two casinos, the JackHammers minor-league baseball team and baseball stadium, a water park, the historical museum, and library. Joliet depicts the rich cultural heritage impressed on the city and shows how the people lived and worked together, earning Joliet the title of All-American City in 1955 by the National Municipal League and Look magazine.

This is the story of how one quaint Pennsylvanian village became a modern utopia.

Until 1906, Aliquippa was known as a small farming community called Woodlawn, but the 20th century ushered in tremendous change when the Jones & Laughlin Steel Company came to town. The company designated the plant site as the Aliquippa Works, ultimately leading the town to change its name to Aliquippa in 1928 to more closely identify with the mill. By 1930, the population would balloon to over 27,000 residents. To accommodate its workforce, Jones & Laughlin developed a community that boasted of homes with all of the modern conveniences, including indoor plumbing and electricity. Schools and businesses were built to support the population, along with fire and police departments and a modern transportation system. Immigrant workers were recruited from around the world to man the massive industrial complex, and as the mill grew, so did the town. Aliquippa is a testimony to the people who built and nurtured the growth of this memorable city.

Newark is an engaging history of this New Jersey community.

Newark, New Jersey's largest city, was founded in 1666 by a small band of Puritans from Connecticut. It grew to be a major manufacturing center for leather articles, carriages, beer, thread, Celluloid, jewelry, and literally thousands of other items. With the development of the Passaic River region, Newark also became a transportation hub. The Morris Canal, major highways, and train lines cut through the city, and the Newark airport in the meadows became, for a time, the world's busiest. People from every corner of the world came to the town seeking jobs, education, entertainment, and friends. They established ethnic neighborhoods, churches, synagogues, stores, and theaters, where their native languages were spoken.

Stunning photographs highlight a marvel of masonry and community vision created by a city hungry to prove its worth on the world stage.

At the crossroads of Center City, Philadelphia, stands city hall, an architectural and sculptural masterpiece whose size and beauty rival the grand structures found in the capitals of Europe. Shortly after the Civil War, city hall embraced the community's need for a new municipal building while filling the visionary desire of its designers to underscore Philadelphia's reputation as ""the Athens of America."" Thirty years later stood a monumental structure that was easily the largest building in North America and one of the most beautiful, displaying over two hundred fifty pieces of sculpture. Philadelphia's City Hall illuminates the fascinating account of the building's controversial origin, its symbolic sculptural program, and the largest statue topping a building in the world.

Witness the sensational Polly Williams murder trial, and learn about some of the unique individuals who have called Uniontown home, such as Gen. George C. Marshall, David Blythe, and ""Crazy Billy.""

Once scattered with frontier forts and Native American paths, Uniontown has changed considerably since Henry Beeson, a Virginia Quaker, offered fifty-four lots for sale on July 4, 1776. Around Uniontown captures this history with nearly two hundred vintage images culled from personal collections and the Uniontown Public Library's archives. In these pages, revisit 1896, when Uniontown had its greatest patriotic festivity. View beautiful tree-lined streets with the magnificent homes of coal barons. Visit the ""patch towns,"" and meet the people who lived and worked during the booming coal and coke era.

Explore the city of Erie and its historic, vibrant past through this stunning collection of photographs.

Nestled on the south shore of Lake Erie is the bustling city of Erie, Pennsylvania. The inhabitants share a community history spanning nearly three centuries and four nations. Erie was originally home to the Native American Erie Nation. Subsequently, French, English, and American military units have been posted at Presque Isle. The city's diverse heritage comes to life in this delightful pictorial history, as photography lends image to experience. The marvelous photographs offer a distinctly unique view of the working, merchant, and upper classes within the city. The archives of the Erie Historical Museum and Planetarium, the Firefighters Historical Museum, and several private collections provide the basis for this visual history spanning from the 1860s to the 1940s. The harbor of Erie and Presque Isle was a land of opportunity for immigrants in the nineteenth century and this book captures their triumphant survival in the New World. It also chronicles life through World War I, the Roaring Twenties, and the Great Depression.

At the end of the nineteenth century, the U.S. Armory opened in Springfield, spurring rapid growth. With that golden age of progress came iconic buildings and landmarks that are now lost to time.

Railroads brought workers eager to fill Springfield's factories and enterprises like Smith & Wesson, Merriam Webster and Indian Motorcycles. The Massasoit House Hotel, the Church of the Unity and the Daniel B. Wesson mansion once served as symbols of the city's grandeur. Forest Park grew into an upscale residential neighborhood of Victorian mansions. Join local historian Derek Strahan as he returns Springfield to its former glory, examining the people, events and - most importantly - places that helped shape the City of Firsts.

Join author Joe Earle as he recounts the history of Decatur, Georgia’s rich and storied past using 200 vintage images.

Decatur proudly proclaims itself a city of homes, schools, and places of worship. While that motto might seem to describe any number of small towns, the words accurately capture the essence of Decatur, a place of fine and humble homes, well-regarded schools, and large, active churches. Founded by the Georgia legislature in 1823 to be the county seat of DeKalb County, Decatur took its name from Commodore Stephen Decatur, a U.S. naval hero of the early 1800s. In the years since, Decatur has grown into a busy suburb of neighboring Atlanta, produced Agnes Scott College, and attracted both the Scottish Rite Children's Hospital and Columbia Theological Seminary. Decatur has been home to fascinating Georgians, including Civil War memoirist Mary Gay and writer Rebecca Latimer Felton, the first woman to be seated as a U.S. senator (if only for a day).

Join author and historian Carolyn Barske as she recounts the history of Florence, Alabama through the lens of over 200 vintage images.

On the banks of the Tennessee River, below the once-formidable Muscle Shoals in northwest Alabama, sits the vibrant community of Florence. In the early 19th century, the Chickasaw Nation ceded lands to the US government, and in 1818 the Cypress Land Company held its first auction. The town grew quickly because of the efforts of the company's founders, which included Gen. John Coffee; John McKinley, who later sat on the US Supreme Court; and James Jackson, whose imported Thoroughbred horses became the bloodstock for some of Kentucky's finest racehorses. Schools, churches, hotels, and businesses soon filled the streets. For almost 200 years, the town of Florence has continued to grow, becoming home to the University of North Alabama and people like the Father of the Blues, W.C. Handy; Maud Lindsay, who operated the first free kindergarten in the state; and four governors in Edward A. O'Neal, Emmett O'Neal, Robert M. Patton, and Hugh McVay.

Beautiful in all seasons, Winchester is breathtaking in spring with its apple blossoms and lacy dogwoods, but the town is not only beautiful; it's also historically significant.

Known first as Frederick Town, Winchester was the first English town west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. This ancient place has been prized by everyone from the earliest indigenous peoples to the Europeans and Americans who fought over it. At the north end of the Shenandoah Valley, Winchester has stood sentinel over the rest of the valley as an important strategic center during wartime. This is the town where George Washington got his military and political start and built Fort Loudoun during the French and Indian War, and during the turbulent times of the Civil War, Winchester changed hands more than 70 times. Many of this city's sons and daughters, such as explorer Admiral Richard E. Byrd and country singer Patsy Cline, have achieved the world's respect. This book is filled with the story of Winchester from an early frontier town to the thriving small city it is today.

Take a virtual ride on the Staten Island Ferry, back when the fare was just 5 cents. With over 200 rare and historic images, the curious story of Staten Island comes to life, revealing a fascinating history.

Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of New York City, is still remembered fondly for the 5¢ Staten Island Ferry ride to Manhattan. The rolling hills of Staten Island greet ships as they enter the Narrows of New York Harbor and sail beneath the Verrazano Narrows Bridge. The island's ever-evolving history dates back to days as a hunting ground of the Lenape Indian tribe. Today, it is a thriving suburban community. In this volume, the reader will explore the roots of this historic island, tour its streets, and meet some memorable Staten Islanders--Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, founder of one of the largest fortunes in America; Governor Daniel Tompkins, who served as vice president of the United States under President Monroe; and Alice Austen, one of the pre-eminent women photographers of the nineteenth century. Italian patriot Giuseppe Garibaldi and inventor Antonio Meucci created a legacy on the island, as did the oystermen from Snow Hill, Maryland, who founded Sandy Ground. The reader also glimpses historic charitable organizations such as Sailors' Snug Harbor and Mount Loretto and visits the living village known as Historic Richmondtown.

One of the phrases that has been used to describe Chicago's Southeast Side is ""smokestacks and steeples."" Today, the people of South Chicago, South Deering, the East Side, and Hegewisch look to the future.

The community initially developed because of the steel industry, but it has been affected by the decline of the American steel industry in recent years. The community is, in many respects, at a crossroads. Will economic redevelopment occur, and if it does, at what price? Will the ecology and environment, damaged by years of abuse and neglect, be restored and protected?This second book about the region tells the story of this interesting and vibrant Chicago community from a chronological approach. It looks at important themes of American history from the perspective of this urban, working-class community. Industrialization, urbanization, unionization, immigration, and Americanization were themes that played out on the Southeast Side of Chicago. It examines how the community dealt with problems like depression, wars, pollution, and the decline of heavy industry-especially the steel industry.

From the earliest tribes who hunted and fished to the tourists who relaxed on the beaches, St. Simons Island has been part of the landscape of Georgia's coast.

When Gen. James E. Oglethorpe established Fort Frederica to protect Savannah and the Carolinas from the threat of Spain, the island was, for a short time, a vibrant hub of British military operations. During the latter part of the 1700s, a plantation society thrived on the island until the outbreak of the War Between the States. Never to return to an agricultural community, by 1870 St. Simons re-established itself with the development of a booming timber industry. At the turn of the century, the pleasant climate and proximity to the sea drew tourists to St. Simons as a year-round resort. Although the causeway had brought large numbers of summer visitors to the island, St. Simons remained a sleepy little place with only a few hundred permanent residents until 1941.

A major river port, Madison thrived during the steamboat era as well as when railroads came to dominate the landscape. The city's glorious past is still on display. Many magnificent edifices dating back to eras from the beginning of the 1800s to the early 20th century provide wonderful examples of Federal, Greek Revival, and Italianate architecture. The National Register of Historic Places lists over 133 Madison blocks, making it Indiana's largest historic district. To stroll along the main streets of Madison, to follow the river as it meanders past the town, or to visit the restored railroad station, now home to the Jefferson County Historical Society, is to follow the paths of history. Very few cities in America can boast such centuries-old splendor.

Early Tourism in Western North Carolina celebrates the rise of tourism from 1900 to 1950 in the Blue Ridge and Appalachian mountains of North Carolina. Sites featured include the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Blue Ridge Parkway, Grandfather Mountain, Blowing Rock, Asheville, Mount Mitchell, Chimney Rock, the Biltmore Estate, and the Cherokee Indian Reservation.

This pictorial history of Fort Myers Beach depicts the people, places, and events that have influenced the area's cultural and natural history.

The once sleepy barrier island labeled Estero Island on navigational charts was dubbed Fort Myers Beach in the early part of the 20th century by city folks who spent their weekends on its wide, sandy beaches. Centuries earlier, an abundance of fish and other seafood made the 6.5-mile-long island attractive to its earliest inhabitants, the Calusa, as well as explorers, fisherfolk, and a pirate or two. In the late 19th century, early homesteaders were lured by stories of free tillable soil in a balmy climate surrounded by warm waters and ankle-deep shells. When pink shrimp, labeled Pink Gold, were found in nearby waters, another influx of residents arrived. Today, the island is best known as an energetic resort community, but it retains the influence and charm of its remarkable past.

See how Myrtle Beach's landscape ignited it into a resort phenomenon.

Myrtle Beach and the Grand Strand have become the world's playground. What began over a century ago as local beach retreats between Little River and Georgetown have changed so dramatically that their history is endangered. Wide beaches, warm surf, and abundant wildlife turned this town into a destination that now offers world-class hotels, dining, shopping, entertainment, and recreation. This volume retraces the area's progression from Myrtle Beach's humble beginning in 1901 through the middle years of the 20th century to beyond 1954, when Hurricane Hazel crushed the Grand Strand and determined owners rebuilt their resorts with strength and grandeur. Included among these 240 vintage images are scenes of early dance pavilions, favorite tourist venues, and quaint cottage hotels in old Myrtle Beach. There are yesteryear views of Murrells Inlet and the beaches of Surfside, Garden City, and Pawley's Island, and vintage photographs of Ocean Drive and surrounding beaches in North Myrtle Beach. Susan Hoffer McMillan, author of two vintage postcard histories on coastal South Carolina, delves deeply into the history of Myrtle Beach and the Grand Strand to share her fascination with its past through this unprecedented photograph collection. Whether you recall memories of places in this book or just seek to understand the evolution of Myrtle Beach and the Grand Strand, you will enjoy forgotten images that illuminate and preserve the past for future generations.

Discover how Over-the-Rhine's culture, politics and architecture have influenced Cincinnati's development for over 150 years.

Cincinnati's Over-the-Rhinecaptures a fascinating urban neighborhood in vintage photographs. Early German immigrants gave the neighborhood its moniker, after the bordering Miami-Erie canal, and also contributed to its beautiful architecture. Appalachian and African-American citizens later contributed to the cultural diversity. Today, a vibrant arts scene co-exists along with revitalizing social programs that aid its underprivileged residents. Over 200 images reveal Over-the-Rhine's urban characters, street life, and architectural landmarks, including Music Hall, Findlay Market and St. Mary's Church.

In nearly 200 rarely seen photographs and vintage postcards, discover Cincinnati as you've never seen it before.

Since its inception in 1788, Cincinnati has evolved from a brawling pioneer town to a thriving Midwest metropolis, experiencing rapid growth and unprecedented social and technological change. Highlighted in this volume are the city's spectacular architectural achievements, its centers of culture and learning, its hubs of industry and transportation, its legendary sports tradition, its diverse neighborhoods, and, above all, the spirit of its citizenry. Through these striking images, together with the insightful text, authors Kevin Grace and Tom White take the reader on a unique visual tour of this historic river city. It is a tour well worth taking.

Once known as a brickyard town, the small town of Manteno holds a special place for not just Americans, but for French, Canadians, and Indigenous people as well.

Though the village of Manteno was only formed thanks to the Illinois Central Railroad in 1869, the area had been populated for generations before that - Manteno’s name derives from Mawteno, a Potawatomi maiden whose people lived in the area before the arrival of Europeans. Farming has always been a mainstay in Manteno, and its importance continues today, but Manteno’s boundaries widened as a mental hospital opened on its eastern border in 1930 and a major interstate sprang up on its western edge decades later. Part of the French-Canadian Heritage Corridor, it was common to hear French on the streets of Manteno well into the 20th century by many residents as well as by an order of nuns from Paris who chose Manteno for a Catholic boarding school - a school they operated for more than six decades. Among former Mantenoans is a man who won the “Grand Prize of the World” in 1900, a woman who canvassed for women’s rights legislation that swept the nation in the 19th century, and a family who left its mark on the history of American aviation.

Melanie Holmes’s paternal grandparents came to the area in the early 20th century; her maternal great-grandmother was a LeVasseur and linked to the founder of Bourbonnais—the village whose namesake was grandfather to Mawteno. Holmes collected images from top historians as well as from the Manteno Historical Society. Other images came from leading universities and institutions.

This collection of over 200 images chronicles the life and times of this once fledgling township established in 1843, to its incorporation as a city in 1951, and on to its present day prosperity.

During the late 19th century, a small group of Frenchmen from the fort at Detroit settled north along the shore of Lake St. Clair at the mouth of the Milk River. Originally known as L'anse Creuse, this tiny settlement soon grew into a bustling farming community. Historian Arthur M. Woodford has compiled maps, photographs, and drawings to tell the story of this ""Village on the Lake."" Here the reader will find views of Lake St. Clair, the Milk River, and the many 19th century families and farms that fostered the growth of the area. Included are the stories of the infamous Blossom Heath Inn, Jefferson Beach Amusement Park, the grand Masonic Country Club, and the Interurban railway. Following World War Two, St. Clair Shores grew as part of the population boom of southeastern Michigan, and this once quiet village is now a modern suburban community of over 66,ooo residents.

Never-before-published photographs display the history and beauty of picturesque Potomac, Maryland.

Many of the images have been donated from Montgomery History and private collections. Located in Montgomery County, Potomac is close to Washington, DC, and many notables from the past and present, including political figures and celebrities, have made the area their home. The Civil War and its aftermath left its mark on Offutts Crossroads, the early name of Potomac. The book tells the story of the 1865 gold rush and the mining that continued until 1940. The Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park borders Potomac with the wonder of Great Falls and historic lock tender houses. Rare photographs highlight the celebrated Potomac Hunt. Potomac still has quiet country roads and estate homes interspersed among new neighborhoods and modern shopping. Like its historic past, present-day Potomac Village is the area’s commercial hub, with multiple banks, grocery stores, shops, and restaurants.

Located in the Lehigh Valley, the city of Easton was once known as the “Entrance to the Grand Valley.”

Its location at the confluence of the Delaware and Lehigh Rivers made it a prized position for commerce and early settlement. At the dawn of its creation, Easton played a major role in the Walking Purchase of 1737; later, Easton was the location of talks to end both the French and Indian and the Revolutionary Wars. By the early 19th century, Easton had become one of the first industrial centers of the region; when the town was incorporated in 1887, nearly 11,000 people called Easton home.Historic Eastontraces the evolution of a small frontier village to a large industrial center, spanning the years from the earliest settlements to the 1940s.

The Johnson City area was originally settled in 1777 by pioneers from North Carolina with land grants who were dissatisfied with their representation in North Carolina.

These local citizens held a convention and formed the state of Franklin in 1784. This state was never recognized by Congress. It fizzled out in 1788, and Tennessee was formed in 1796. More settlers came to the new state, but the area was destined to grow into a city when a combination of railroad connections in the area sparked growth during the late 19th century. In 1903, the creation of the National Soldiers Home brought disabled veterans of the Spanish-American War and the Civil War to Johnson City. Readers of this book will enjoy viewing photographs and reading about early residents, prominent homes, and historic buildings such as the East Tennessee Normal School, which opened in 1911. Many of the more than 200 photographs in this volume have never before been published.

Many Chicagoans and tourists from outside the city are rediscovering this colorful and historic neighborhood. Let this history book serve as their guide.

For nearly 150 years, Pilsen has been a port of entry for thousands of immigrants. Mexicans, Czechs, Poles, Lithuanians, Croatians, and Germans are some of the ethnic groups who passed through this "Ellis Island" on Chicago's Near Westside. Early generations came searching for work and found plenty of jobs in the lumber mills, breweries, family-run shops and large factories that took root here. Today most jobs exist outside of Pilsen, but the neighborhood is still home to a loyal population. Pilsen is compact but abounds with close-knit families, elaborate churches, mom-and-pop stores, and sturdy brick homes. Nearly 200 photographs from libraries, personal scrapbooks, and museums provide the evidence. Some notable people who walked the streets of Pilsen include Anton Cermak, Amalia Mendoza, George Halas, Cesar Chavez, Judy Barr Topinka, and Stuart Dybek. Today the Pilsen schools are nurturing another generation of artists, athletes, and activists.

Take a journey through the history of Racine, Wisconsin with local author George Fennell.

When Gilbert Knapp founded Racine in 1834 and the first pioneers settled there, no one had the remotest idea that the wilderness would one day transform into a thriving city. Ideally situated on Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River, the site was chosen by Knapp because of its harbor potential.

The prospect of farming on the level prairies surrounding Racine also attracted many of the area's first settlers. Racine County is especially suited for growing wheat, which immediately became the county's leading agricultural product. The town of Racine quickly became a prosperous center serving the needs of the area's farm population. Even Racine's industrial base was founded on wheat; in 1842, J.I. Case invented a wheat thresher that helped Racine to grow into one of the foremost industrial centers in the United States.

Author George Fennell, a lifelong Racine resident and a member of the Racine Heritage Museum, has compiled some of the best images from the extensive photographic archives of the museum to narrate this visual voyage of Racine's transformation from a tiny harbor village into the Belle City of the Lakes.

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.