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The Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, is a monument to the nation's 16th president, a commemoration of the country's post-Civil War reunification, and a setting for national events and quiet visits.

Demands for a national memorial to Abraham Lincoln began shortly after his 1865 assassination but produced nothing substantial until the early 20th century. Elevation of Lincoln to legendary status and an extended debate over location and design finally led Congress in 1913 to approve a memorial at the west end of the National Mall. Construction took another eight years. Since its dedication in 1922, the Lincoln Memorial has hosted civil rights demonstrations, presidential events, national celebrations, and day and night visits by millions of people who come to reflect upon one of the most consequential leaders in American history.

Kevin S. Schindler is a historian at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, and has written six books about science and history. Brian Anderson is a Washington, DC, lawyer and Ford's Theatre Society trustee who previously wrote a book about the history of Ford's Theatre. Drawing upon Washington-area museums and research libraries, Schindler and Anderson have assembled a rich collection of historical images to tell the fascinating story of this American landmark.

Washington Crossing is one of America's most revered historic landmarks.

The crossing site is marked by the creation of two historic parks: Washington Crossing State Park, New Jersey, created in 1912, and Washington Crossing Historic Park, Pennsylvania, created in 1917. Washington Crossing illustrates how these two parks commemorate George Washington's courage to lead his army across the ice-choked Delaware River on Christmas night 1776 to attack an isolated garrison of Hessians located at Trenton, which would turn the tide of the American Revolution. Filled with images from the collections of historian Peter Osborne, the Washington Crossing Foundation, the Bucks County Historical Society, the Trenton Free Public Library, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the book includes an exposé of Emanuel Leutze's famous painting Washington Crossing the Delaware--a world-renowned symbol of freedom.

Robert W. Sands Jr. holds a master of arts in museum professions from Seton Hall University. He is the author of three previous Images of America books: Glassboro, Woodbury, and Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. Patricia E. Millen holds a degree in American studies. An author of two books and numerous articles, she began her career at Washington Crossing State Park and is a founding board member of the Washington Crossing Park Association.

Philadelphia, the birthplace of America, is the final resting place of some of the nation's greatest citizens. The burial grounds of Christ Church hold the remains of Benjamin Franklin and six other signers of the Declaration of Independence. Philadelphia pioneered the development of the rural cemetery with the establishment of Laurel Hill, eternal home to Gettysburg hero George Gordon Meade and thirty-nine other Civil War-era generals. In Philadelphia's Jewish, Catholic, and African American burial grounds rest such notable figures as Rebecca Gratz, model for the Jewish heroine of Walter Scott's Ivanhoe; John Barry, Catholic father of the U.S. Navy; and Octavius Catto, an African American civil-rights leader of the nineteenth century. Finally, there are the vanished cemeteries, such as Monument, Lafayette, and Franklin. Transformed into playgrounds and parking lots, these cemeteries were obliterated with sometimes horrific callousness. Philadelphia Graveyards and Cemeteries tells the intriguing history of these burial grounds, whether revered or long forgotten.

Step inside Washington's own Gothic cathedral

Despite being built entirely during the 20th century (1907-1990), the techniques used to construct the Washington National Cathedral were the same as those used on the centuries-old Gothic churches in Europe. What powered the larger tools and cranes was different, but otherwise, the processes, ordering, and artistic finishing were almost entirely medieval. The last time a building of this magnitude was built using these techniques, cameras did not exist. Images of America: Building Washington National Cathedral divides the 20th century into decades to detail what must be the first published beginning-to-completion photographic record of the construction of a Gothic cathedral.

It has been years since New York has seen anything quite like the old Copacabana. The Copa, Manhattan's best-known night club, was also the most popular nightspot in America. From the moment it burst onto the scene in 1940, an aura of glamour and sophistication hovered over the Copa. It was a luminous glow that, over the course of five decades, served this illustrious establishment well, beckoning the people who made it famous-Hollywood stars, sports heroes, foreign dignitaries, and the town's leading families, including the Kennedys, the Roosevelts, and the Du Ponts. The Copa was a showcase for past, present, and future stars, including Joe E. Lewis, Sophie Tucker, Jimmy Durante, Julie Wilson, Tony Orlando, and Wayne Newton. Through vintage photographs and stories from performers, Copa Girls, and other people connected with the Copa's history, The Copacabana chronicles how this landmark institution became an American cultural icon.

The distinctive dome-shaped hills scattered throughout Fort Hill Cemetery were formed ten thousand years ago when receding glaciers deposited debris in piles. Centuries later, these dunes are covered with topsoil that supports the growth of trees and foliage. The result is an atmosphere reverberant with magic. This ambiance was felt by the area's many settlers, from the ancient culture of Mound Builders to the the Cayuga nation of the Iroquois Confederacy and even the descendants of the European settlers who pushed out the Cayugas and decided to use the land as a cemetery, to preserve its wild and majestic beauty. Judge Elijah Miller, William H. Seward's father-in-law, was instrumental in making that happen-and was the first person to be buried there. The influence of the site's mysticism is not limited to human perception. Tens of thousands of crows convene there from fall through spring for orientation to urban survival. It is as though Fort Hill is the Ellis Island for the corvine population. Before the crows arrive for their wintry bivouac, the monarch butterflies converge in early fall to perform their ritual aerial ballet in preparation for the migratory journey to the Yucatan.

Beyond the rustic gates of the Forest Hill Cemetery in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, lies a vast wealth of history. Early in 1870, George Sanderson, Elisha Phinney, William Breck, and J.A. Robertson, with J. Gardner Sanderson and George S. Kingsbury, purchased a 50-acre tract of land from the Pennsylvania Coal Company, which became the last resting place for the cemetery's 18,000 residents. The Civil War section of the cemetery is home to over 300 Union soldiers and two Confederates. Numerous congressmen, lieutenant governors, state representatives, and other elected officials make up Forest Hill's political graveyard. The rich, the poor, the famous, and the unsung all have stories to be told, and this book recounts their tales.

The Hampton National Historic Site in Towson, Maryland, was established in 1948 to preserve the surviving 63 acres of the vast empire built by the Ridgely family beginning in the 18th century.

In its heyday, the estate covered 25,000 non contiguous acres and included agricultural fields, orchards, livestock, quarries, mills, and ironworks. Today visitors flock to the magnificent Georgian mansion, farm manager's house, slave quarters, dairy, agricultural buildings, formal gardens, and family cemetery. The story of Hampton National Historic Site extends beyond its buildings and setting to the people who lived and worked on the estate during the 200 plus years of Ridgely ownership, including the indentured servants, the enslaved, and the paid workforce. The legacy of Hampton National Historic Site is illustrated here through rich primary source material that was generated and provided by the Ridgelys, including written documentation, historic images, and physical artifacts.

For the past 162 years, historic Cypress Hills Cemetery has quietly served thousands of New Yorkers and the public at large. This place of eternal rest obtained the distinct honor of being the first rural cemetery in Greater New York to be organized under the Rural Cemetery Act of 1847. Cypress Hills provides a perfect balance of lush landscaping, funerary art and sculpture, and a final resting place for some of America's most notable figures, such as Jackie Robinson, Mae West, and Eubie Blake. Carved on countless headstones are mysterious markings and secretive symbols that the living can ponder. Cypress Hills Cemetery illustrates and demystifies the various legends of those interred in these hallowed grounds.

This book offers an inside look at the beginnings and story of Caumsett State Park, from great English estate to nationally protected land.

Marshall Field III was 28 years of age and one of the richest people in the world when he came upon the idea of replicating the environment in which he had spent his youth. Raised and educated in England, Field sought the life of an English gentleman here in the United States. In 1921, Field purchased almost 2,000 acres of waterfront property on Long Island's North Shore, which would become Caumsett. Forty years later, Field's third wife, Ruth, opened bids for the right to purchase Caumsett and all that it had become. The highest bid, in excess of $5 million, came from a builder who planned to subdivide the estate and construct 700 homes. A second bid, from Robert Moses, then parks commissioner of New York State, was more than $1 million less. Ruth reflected on her life and what her late husband would have wanted. She turned to trusted adviser and confidant Adlai Stevenson and stated that she wanted to accept the lower bid. Fourteen months later, Caumsett State Park was born.

South Fork Cemeteries offers a historical tour of the southern stretch of the East End, from Southampton to Montauk. This leisurely stroll reveals not only ancient burial grounds filled with beautifully engraved slate and sandstone markers but also onshore whaling, famous shipwrecks, and fascinating people. The stones introduce the forefathers and their followers who lie in quiet resting places; the author fills in the biographical detail of the common and the famous, including whalers such as Capt. Mercator Cooper, who visited Japan before Commodore Perry did; writers such as P. G. Wodehouse, who created the unforgettable Jeeves; and artists such as Jackson Pollock, whose medium was house paint.

Maple Grove Cemetery, a rural Victorian cemetery located on the backbone of Long Island," opened in 1875. Found within this tranquil sanctuary are extraordinary monuments with lush landscaping that continues to offer a serene escape from New York City. Beyond its gates are the resting places of those who left their mark on the world. Maple Grove Cemetery features the fascinating stories of such noteworthy individuals as Millie Tunnell, former 111-year-old slave; Ann Wilkins, one of the first female missionaries to Africa; John Sutphin, Queens politician and philanthropist; Samuel Loyd, America's puzzle king; Charles Manly, aviation pioneer; Alfred Grebe, radio and broadcast pioneer; Elisabeth Riis, wife of social reformer Jacob Riis; Russian pianists Josef and Rosina Lhevinne; and Blues singer Jimmy Rushing. The cemetery was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004."

Unitarians established a church in the nation's capital in 1821, and the first Universalist sermon in Washington was presented at city hall in 1827. Since these beginnings, Washington-area Unitarians and Universalists have created congregations that affirm ideals of religious liberalism: a commitment to religious freedom, a reasoned approach to faith, a hopeful view of human capacities to create a better world, and the belief that God is most authentically known as love. Images of America: Unitarians and Universalists of Washington, D.C. features prominent figures such as Robert Little, an English Unitarian who fled his native land and became minister of First Unitarian Church of Washington; political rivals John Quincy Adams and John C. Calhoun, both founding members of the congregation; and Clara Barton, who organized the American Red Cross after her experiences on the battlefields during the Civil War. In 1961, Unitarians and Universalists joined together, and the story continues as Unitarian Universalists interpret the values of religious liberalism for each new generation.

It is easy to look at a place such as Allegheny Cemetery in Pittsburgh's Lawrenceville neighborhood and think that it encompasses strictly the dead. But a closer look reveals many lives and stories told throughout the pages of time by those who have lived them. To define Allegheny Cemetery as simply a place does not do it justice. It is not only a physical location, but a crossroads in history, and a point in time where each of these lives converge. Images of America: Allegheny Cemetery shares these legacies with the hope that present and future generations will do the same.

Craftsman Farms was the country estate of the father of the American Arts and Crafts movement, Gustav Stickley. Though Stickley is credited with creating hundreds of home designs, this property contains the only home he designed and built for his own use. His rustic log house was built upon a rolling hillside surrounded by lawns, stone walls, and working farmland. In September 1917,
the property was purchased by Sylvia and George Farny, who loved it dearly and passed it on to their descendants. Portions of the 650 acres were sold, but the core remained intact until the 1980s, when it was threatened by condominium development. Community activists launched a "Save the Farms" campaign, which led to the Township of Parsippany-Troy Hills purchasing Craftsman Farms through eminent domain. Today, it is a busy historic house museum operated by the nonprofit Craftsman Farms Foundation. Craftsman Farms showcases the significant design legacy Gustav Stickley created as well as the architectural and landscape history of this New Jersey National Historic Landmark.

Sotterley Plantation, a National Historic Landmark on the Patuxent River in St. Mary's County, is one of the oldest museums of its kind in the United States. Sotterley is the only Tidewater plantation in Maryland open to the public, with original and restored buildings on its nearly 100 beautiful acres. Sotterley's first owner purchased the property in 1699, and it was to become one of the largest tobacco plantations in the Chesapeake Tidewater region. The plantation's location on the Patuxent River made it desirable for shipping and trade but also made it vulnerable during the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. Sotterley Plantation declined with the end of the Civil War and slavery but was revived in the early 20th century. Life and culture at Sotterley Plantation was greatly shaped by both owners and workers. Family-owned for its entire significant history, Sotterley Plantation was opened to the public in 1961. Today, Sotterley Plantation is a destination for visitors looking to be reminded of a bygone era.

To better appreciate the beginnings of the North Fork, the best place to start is in the ancient burial grounds that dot the East End. These beautiful sites tell the tale of northeastern Long Island's early history, preserved in stone. The names that appear--Booth, Conklyn, Corwin, Fanning, Hallock, Latham, Terry, Tuthill, Wickham, Youngs--read like a who's who of the North Fork.