Pirate history, costumes, and decorated boats and ships have been the center of the famed Gasparilla Pirate Festival for over a century.

Since 1904, Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla has staged an annual mock pirate invasion of Tampa, Florida, a tradition that has become known as Gasparilla. The name of the event originated from stories and tales regarding Gasparilla, a legendary pirate who reportedly roamed the Gulf of Mexico on Florida’s west coast in the early 1800s.

The sound of cannon fire heard for miles across the Tampa Bay area signals the arrival of the José Gasparilla ship and the beginning of the piratical invasion of Tampa. Thousands of spectators line the waterways to watch the ship and massive boat flotilla make their way to dock at the Tampa Convention Center.

Following the traditional demand for the keys to the city, a parade is staged, the third-largest one-day parade in the country. Tampa’s iconic Bayshore Boulevard is lined with several hundred thousand spectators, krewes, and other participants who produce a spectacular parade.

The history committee of Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla has provided the historical references for the book, and photographic materials have been obtained from leading institutions, including the Tampa–Hillsborough County Public Library System, the State of Florida Archives, and the University of South Florida Library Special Collections.

Discover the South's Most Notorious Murders, Mysteries, and Criminal Masterminds

Journey from Texas to Virginia in this gripping collection of haunting criminal cases. Follow a relentless serial killer as he leaves a bloody trail across Louisiana and beyond, witness a cunning lonely-hearts swindler terrorize Texas, and uncover Arkansas's bizarre wave of strychnine poisonings that baffled investigators. Experience the supernatural when a West Virginia murder is revealed through dreams and meet a one-armed conjure-man whose murder-for-hire schemes shocked North Carolina.

Watch forensic science evolve as crimefighters expand their arsenal of detection tools in this compelling tour of the South's most notorious crimes, where fact proves stranger than fiction.

Crime writer Cathy Pickens brings a novelist’s eye to the sinister South and its defining—and quirky—crime stories.

Authors Cary O’Dell and Richard L. Sprehe lead a literary investigation of a brutal cold-case murder. 

In May 1975, in the small Southern Illinois town of Centralia, the body of one of its best-known residents, John Shakespeare, was found nearly nude, bound, and shot, execution-style, in the basement of his home. Shakespeare, sixty-nine, was a wealthy bachelor, an eccentric, an heir to the Shakespeare fishing fortune, a world-renowned collector of vintage cars, and, maybe, a possessor of a few secrets.

Despite the victim being well liked in the community, state and local police, and eventually even the FBI and Interpol, found a plethora of suspects while investigating the crime. Could it have been his longtime business associate? Or the mysterious hitchhiker seen in town just days before his body was found? Or a long-ago name from his past?

With the opening of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge in 1964, Staten Island was changed forever.

Sewers, schools, roadways, and even the politicians of New York City were not prepared for the onslaught of relocating Brooklyn residents who sought a rural lifestyle. Houses were bought as quickly as they were built. Schools were scrambling to find seats for thousands of newly arriving students. The antiquated sewer system of Staten Island could not handle the overload and there simply wasn't enough room for all of the septic tanks needed.

Who were the allies or adversaries of development? Who sought to make a meaningful plan for Staten Island's future?

Author Patricia Salmon examines the preparation, design, and opening of "The Bridge," as well as how it impacted the citizens of Staten Island during the next decade. 

Brimming with the heart of Portland's Chinese American culture, Portland's Chinatowns demonstrates resilience, family, and the importance of the history behind the community of immigrants that made Oregon their home.

Portland’s early Chinese Americans faced exclusion laws, racial discrimination, and forced relocation, leading to the New Chinatown/Japantown Historical District in downtown Portland. From modest beginnings in labor intensive industries such as hand laundries, restaurants, and agriculture, many were able to eventually own property when the city laws changed, and their children had opportunities to pursue higher education and other professions. Chinese and Chinese Americans proudly served in every US conflict since the Civil War despite the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which limited citizenship. Historic photographs document their challenges, successes, and contributions, enriching our understanding of the American immigrant experience from the 1850s to the present day. These images celebrate the resiliency of Portland’s Chinese community as they have helped create a vibrant multicultural city.

Dr. Kristin Wong is a clinical pharmacist and a fourth-generation Chinese American whose family has been actively involved in the Portland Chinese community. These vintage photographs from the Portland Chinatown Museum, along with public archives and private collections, reveal the fascinating history that dates back over 175 years of what was America’s second-largest Chinatown in 1900.

Nineteenth-century Chinese pioneers voyaged across the vast oceans to reach the last steamboat stop in the 旄舝 Gold Mountain, bringing centuries of wisdom from China’s ancient civilization.

Tehama County played a crucial role in shaping California’s early statehood. Its fertile terrain presented ample opportunities to succeed. Despite harsh discriminatory laws and racially driven tunnel folklore to perpetuate a negative narrative, five original families— Foey (Wong), 謯 Chew (Yuen), 鄺 Fong, 衒 On (Liu), and 蠊 Chin—made Red Bluff their permanent home, thriving as merchants and productive citizens. Individuals like Dr. Chew Yuen and Bo Do Hong operated traditional Chinese medicine practices throughout America with Red Bluff as their headquarters. Tehama County blended cultures, with its most distinguishable townsmen attending an annual Chinese and American banquet in Red Bluff’s Chinatown, merging the two cultures together. The deep bonds formed would culminate into a powerful petition by 20 influential leaders in support of the Chew family, who were detained at Angel Island in 1916, proving that Tehama County valued the Chinese community. This single act of kindness set the stage for a 20th-century Chinese American pioneer to be born, Dr. Kenneth Kendall Chew, and his research in aquaculture would change the world.

The Helen and Joe Chew Foundation has selected rare images from its collection and invited Chinese American descendants to narrate their origin stories, preserving the legacy of these pioneering families for future generations.

Tarheel Quakers and the Fight Against Slavery

Quakers settled the Carolina Colony in the 1650s, bringing their slaves and servants with them. Industrious coastal Quakers soon rose to prominence on the backs of their enslaved men and women, and Piedmont Quaker lives were enriched by the people they enslaved as well. Sparked by the observations of John Woolman, Carolina Quakers took up the battle against slavery in the 1700s, beginning with themselves. Legal conflicts, the Free Negro program, colonization, the North Carolina Manumission Society and the Underground Railroad were the results. Combining North Carolina slave narratives, runaway slave ads, digital archives, local histories and internet blogs, Tim Allen re-creates the inspiring story of Tarheel Quakers who fought each other and the state to abolish enslavement in antebellum North Carolina.

How the U.S. law targeting Chinese laborers impacted families for generations.

Near the end of the nineteenth century, after the railroads were completed and the gold mines exhausted, an economic downturn stirred up anti-Chinese sentiment in the United States. Capitalizing on this prejudice, the government passed the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 to limit immigration and naturalization for people of Chinese descent. By 1892, Chinese were required to obtain certificates of residency or identity and carry them at all times. Those who did not could be deported or imprisoned. As the law became stricter, interrogations, affidavits, and Caucasian witnesses were required to prove Chinese people’s right to remain in America. The act wouldn’t be repealed until 1943.

From the National Archives at Seattle, certified genealogist emeritus Trish Hackett Nicola brings to life the case files of Chinese immigrants.

Preserving Appalachian Heritage Through Traditional Crafts

Explore the heart of Southern Appalachia through its master artisans. The Artistic Preservation of Tradition highlights a tight-knit community of craftspeople, ages 32 to 92, who keep centuries-old techniques alive. From woodworking and pottery to music and storytelling, their work honors Appalachian history and culture. Meet legends like Willard Watson and Stanley Hicks, and discover modern innovators like Cory Plott and William Ritter. Author and artist Bob Plott brings these powerful stories to life in a heartfelt tribute to tradition and creativity. Perfect for readers who love local history, folk art, and handmade heritage, this book is a must-read for anyone drawn to the spirit of the mountains.

Quotes from America's Beloved Architect and Iconoclast

This elegant pocket-sized hardcover gift book, part of Applewood's Quotations of Great Americans series, contains nearly one hundred quotes from builder, Architect, political commentator and cultural rabble-rouser, Frank Lloyd Wright.