Calico

9780738589053

$24.99

Calico was established in 1881 during one of the largest silver strikes ever recorded in California. At its peak (1887-1896), the town's population was about 1,200, and Main Street bustled with saloons, hotels, a post office, and a one-room schoolhouse that doubled as a church on Sundays. Historians generally agree that Calico was dead by 1904, but the town always had a small population that simply refused to give up. Authentically restored by Walter Knott in the 1950s, Calico survives as one of the few "living" ghost towns from the Old West era. The images in this book cover 130 years in Calico's life. Although presented in black-and-white, the stories they tell are as colorful as the surrounding hills that gave Calico its name.

Boca Raton

9780738515939

$24.99

See the people and places that helped shape Boca Raton, Florida, into the proud city that it is today.

Boca Raton has long served as a beautiful home to a host of interesting and talented people, from the Tekesta Indians and the buccaneers who sought refuge in the calm waters of its natural inland harbor, to today's proud residents. From a hardscrabble agricultural outpost along Henry Flagler's Florida East Coast line, the city is today one of America's great resort destinations and a prime address for a growing number of people from all over the world who want to live ""the good life."" Personalities including first settler Thomas Moore Rickards, society architect Addison Mizner, and inventor Domina Jalbert have all helped define Boca Raton, adding to the brick-and-mortar landmarks, attractions, and natural features that shape its landscape.

Maine and the Nanticoke Valley

9780738576862

$24.99

Maine and the Nanticoke Valley began as part of a vast,
230,000-acre tract of land known as the Boston Purchase or
Massachusetts Ten Townships. Nanticoke was formed from a section
of Lisle in 1831, while Maine was taken from the town of Union and
incorporated in 1848. Though no major highways or railroads came
through the valley, products from the area were sold worldwide: locally
made rakes were shipped to Australia, Pitcher's Mill flour went west
to the goldfields, and butter from community farms was sold in New
York City. The most important valley export was its innovative and
unique people, including Lamont Bowers, who served for 30 years on
the personal advisory staff of John D. Rockefeller; Dr. Dwight Dudley,
the youngest commanding officer in the Civil War when he was put
in charge of Elmira Prison Hospital; and Dwight's son Dr. D. Guilford
Dudley, developer of an anti-anthrax serum. Today, the Nanticoke
Valley is a bedroom community for those working at various
universities and companies in a three-county area.

New Hope, Lahaska, and Buckingham

9780738537962

$24.99

In the nineteenth century, the Sure & Swift coach line carved out a path between the country's two most prominent cities: New York and Philadelphia. During this three-day trek, Buckingham, Lahaska, and particularly New Hope became essential and historic hosts to weary travelers. The area flourished, developing many artist colonies and becoming a
mecca for those seeking religious, cultural, and personal freedom. From Buckingham, where George Washington and General Greene hatched the plan for Washington's famous crossing of the Delaware River, to Lahaska, where the Quakers worked for peace during both the Revolutionary War and Civil War, and finally New Hope, where an artist community developed into the renowned Bucks County School of Impressionism, these towns hold an esteemed place in American history.

Pleasant Hill

9780738555652

$24.99

A community leader described Pleasant Hill on the eve of its incorporation in 1961 as "a dozen subdivisions looking for unity." Pleasant Hill had previously been a loosely knit farming community on land first inhabited by the Ohlone Indians and later by Mexican rancho owners. Many heard the call following World War II to come to Pleasant Hill for a "modern" and "western" life. The hallmarks of suburbia--tract houses with sprawling lawns, tree-lined boulevards intersecting neatly mapped lanes, and strip malls for one-stop shopping--grew in abundance as young families flocked to this San Francisco Bay Area community. At the same time, pieces of its rural past stood in contrast to the new development. Walnut trees grew next door to the drive-in movie theater, abandoned railroad tracks ran beside the freeway, and sunbathers spied barnyards from their backyards. Such contrasts remain, and community groups continue to celebrate Pleasant Hill's history as the city's identity continues to change.

Colonial Life in New Hampshire

9780738594569

$21.99

It is the belief of the author that the aim of all teachers of history should be to cultivate and foster in the minds of children a fondness for historical reading, rather than the mere memorizing of historical facts. In order to best accomplish this purpose, the child's interest should first be awakened by the historical associations of places with which he is familiar. He should be told the legends and stories of the town or city in which he lives, and at the same time carefully led to see their connection with the broader historical life of the country. Following the stories of local interest, the early history of the colony, with its accounts of the struggles and hardships endured by the early settlers, should be developed. This method will tend not only to broaden and intensify the child's interest in historical reading, but will give to him some conception of the value of his birthright as an individual of the state and of the nation.

Prince George's County

9780738502656

$24.99

Prince George's County, one of Maryland's most populous counties, has a rich and vibrant history. From agriculture to industry, school life to religious life, trolleys, trains, and tobacco, the people of this area share a distinctive regional heritage and a great pride in the communities they have built. With numerous recognized historic sites, Prince George's County boasts, among others, Mount Calvert, the only structure remaining at the site of the first county seat; Melwood Park and the Magruder
House, both visited by George Washington; and His Lordship's Kindness, a five-part Georgian mansion. Other historic buildings were not elegant manors, but functional public facilities. The College Park Airport holds the record as the oldest continuously operating airport in the world, and the Surratt House played a role in the assassination plot of Abraham Lincoln. But the everyday lives of citizens are represented here as well, in the images of early residents, their homes and businesses, of the city services and social events, of elementary school classes and congregations. All can be found within these pages.

Petersburg

9780738515762

$24.99

The colorful history of Petersburg is a story rife with tragedy and perseverance. Petersburg, a city 25 miles south of Richmond, was devastated by the effects of the Civil War. By 1915, the city had rebuilt itself into a vital business center with 25,000 citizens-equally populated by whites and African Americans. The city had a military base, deep water port and shipyard, and was considered well equipped for competition in national agricultural and manufacturing markets. The numerous museums and historical sites in Petersburg continue to draw thousands of visitors annually.

Now for the first time, Petersburg's history is shown through the photographs of William E. Lum Jr.-the city's predominant photographer, c. 1925-1950. Lum's photography illustrates the social, business, and personal lives of Petersburg's citizens. His first published collection, these images hold crisp detail from the eras of the Great Depression and World War II, including Camp Lee, Virginia State College, the merchants on North Sycamore Street, carnivals, and football games-to name a few.

Ted Williams and Friends

9781467122948

$24.99

Ted Williams capped a storybook baseball career with a storybook ending, hitting a home run in his last at bat in the major leagues. That blast, on a dreary September 28, 1960, at Boston's Fenway Park, ushered in a post-playing career during which the Red Sox legend would become a first-ballot Hall of Famer just six years later. During his retirement, he maintained his longtime active assistance of the Jimmy Fund in its fight against cancer, encouraged youngsters at his Ted Williams Baseball Camp, and coached current and future big leaguers in Red Sox spring training. In 1969, he was named American League Manager of the Year; in 1991, he received a Presidential Medal of Freedom from George H.W. Bush; and in 1995, a Boston tunnel was dedicated in his honor. In one of his last appearances, Ted joined fellow nominees for baseball's All-Century Team at the 1999 All-Star Game at Fenway Park--creating an iconic, lasting image of the man known as "The Kid," the "Splendid Splinter," and "Teddy Ballgame."

Perth Amboy's Historic Neighborhoods

9781467108393

$23.99

Perth Amboy, New Jersey, has always been a wonderful and unique place in which to live. Centrally located in New Jersey on Raritan Bay, the city has a deepwater seaport, a marina, white sand beaches, many historical landmarks, and proximity to New York City. The residences, businesses, and industries intertwined in each neighborhood gave the areas their own identities. Industrialization and immigration changed the land and lifestyle of its residents. As immigrants moved into areas with those of similar ancestry and culture, their descendants studied, worked, and played with people from other cultural backgrounds. The resulting assimilation created a strong, unified community in which all Perth Amboy residents accepted, respected, and celebrated their diversity without racial, religious, or ethnic disharmony.

Chillicothe, Ohio

9780738502359

$24.99

Chillicothe, Ohio, founded in 1796, became the capital of the Northwest Territory in 1800 and the capital of Ohio in 1803. Cheap land in the Virginia Military District drew settlers to the area in the 1790s. These early settlers came to the Chillicothe area with the idea of building a new state, and the State of Ohio constitution was signed in Chillicothe
in 1803. Chillicothe was the capital of Ohio for two separate periods of time: 1803-1810 and 1812-1816.
This visual history of Chillicothe contains over 220
historic images, including maps dating back to 1783 that illustrate land claims made by Virginia and other states. The images presented herein take the reader through the days of the Ohio and Erie Canal, the high time of the railroad, and the period when Camp Sherman, a World War I training camp, was located just north of town. Many of the buildings pictured survive and are preserved as part of
Chillicothe's downtown business district. With the exception of the presence of automobiles, many of the street scenes look almost the same today as they did in the mid-1800s. Chillicothe survives today as a city with a population of over 22,000, in the midst of many historical attractions and a major, annual outdoor drama called Tecumseh.

Early Tourism in Western North Carolina

9780738516134

$24.99

At the beginning of the 20th century, many Americans moved from farm to town, changing from agricultural employment to jobs in factories and retail shops. Along with these new occupations came a new idea called "vacation." Ready access to automobiles made leisure travel, once reserved for affluent citizens, increasingly feasible and affordable for working class people. With its cool climate and outstanding scenery, the mountain region of North Carolina became a welcome refuge and ideal tourist destination for weary workers and their families. Western North Carolina, often touted in promotional materials as the "land of the sky," hosts Mount Mitchell-the highest mountain east of the Mississippi River-hundreds of waterfalls, some of the world's oldest mountains and rivers, and abundant wildlife. The well-known Blue Ridge Parkway, numerous inns, lodges, hotels, campgrounds, and restaurants were constructed to serve the region's growing number of visitors.

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.

Ghosts of Newport

9781596293359

$21.99

Ghosts of Newport plumbs the depths of Newport's history and reveals a host of chilling tales in which fact and folklore intertwine.

Today's Newport attracts countless visitors from around the world; its streets are alive with art, culture, wealth and beauty. Yet the city harbors echoes of a dark and turbulent past, including a variety of haunted sites: the Jailhouse Inn, Astor's Beechwood, the White Horse Tavern--America's oldest tavern--and many more. These stories show a side of Newport that history books alone could never tell, and help you peer past the city's gilded façade to discover dark secrets sure to spook and surprise.

Venice, California

9780738520995

$24.99

Venice, California, was unlike any other American city. A miniature railway, an amusement pier, gondolas, elephants, fire divers, Mardi Gras, beauty contests, stunt pilots, and 6 miles of canals overlooking the Pacific Ocean all made Abbot Kinney's Venice-of-America the most popular California resort town of its early century era.

This pictorial retrospective illustrates Venice's history from its beginnings in 1880 through the Great Fire and Consolidation, to the advent of the rollerskaters and carnival-like ambience that characterize the Venice that we know today. A favorite site for Hollywood filming, the city has seen many famous (and infamous) visitors and residents over the years, and is a well-known resort town. It has played host to vacationers from all over the world.

Solvang

9780738559353

$24.99

"Denmark in America" describes the charming village of Solvang, California. What began as a Danish colony has become something entirely different than what the founders intended. Following World War II, Danish-style architecture was emphasized in this Santa Barbara County coastal community, and generations of visitors have come to Solvang for the annual Danish Days celebration. However, understanding Solvang as merely a tourist destination would overlook the historical foundation upon which the Danish colony was established in the Santa Ynez Valley--to establish a cultural community for religious and educational purposes in the desirable California climate. This book celebrates the old Solvang as well as the one millions of tourists know today.

Early Aspen

9781467133180

$24.99

Until 1879, the Roaring Fork Valley was home to a band of Colorado Ute Indians. All of that changed in the summer and fall of that year, when two prospecting teams came to the valley to stake their claims, some of which went on to produce millions of dollars of silver. Within five years, Aspen was home to over 20,000 individuals including miners, lawyers, families, businessmen, and even prostitutes. Aspen's fortune was tied to silver. More importantly, its fate was ultimately tied to the Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890, which required the US government to buy 4.5 million ounces of silver per month. From 1890 to 1893, the Sherman Act kept Aspen alive and growing. With the repeal of the act, Aspen began a slow, painful decline. This book covers the years of Aspen's discovery, through the years of decline, and into what is known as the "Quiet Years."

University Place

9780738595153

$24.99

A community located just south and west of Tacoma, University Place has always been noted for its excellent school system--but where is the "university?" In the 1890s, long before University Place became a suburban bedroom community, it was chosen as the future site for Puget Sound University. Plans were drawn and ground breaking even occurred, but the economic depression of the mid-1890s scuttled the venture; however, the name University Place stuck. At approximately the same time the university was planned, the few residents in the area formed school district No. 83, encompassing approximately eight square miles along the shore of Puget Sound, and named it University Place School District. From the days of sheep herding, logging, gravel and sand mining, tomato farming, apple and peach orchard planting, and rhododendron farming, University Place has become a proud city with a population exceeding 31,000 residents.

The Civilian Conservation Corps in Arizona

9781467130974

$24.99

In the 1930s, the United States was in the grip of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. Jobs were scarce, people were hungry, and the nation's lands and forests were in decline. To combat these harsh realities, Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), a 1933-1942 program that put young unemployed men to work developing and conserving natural resources. The men lived together in camps where they received medical care, food, and education, and a portion of their salaries went home to support their families. In Arizona, they battled soil erosion on grazing lands, built roads, and developed parks, including Petrified Forest National Park, Saguaro National Park, and South Mountain Park. At Grand Canyon, they built trails, roads, and buildings. Throughout the state's national forests, they constructed recreational facilities and improved the health of the woods. The magnitude of the work they accomplished is staggering, and their enduring contribution to the state is unquestionable.

The Civilian Conservation Corps in Arizona

Geneva, Illinois

9780738520070

$24.99

The essence of Geneva lies in the city's distinctive hometown quality and relaxed atmosphere. Visitors sense a slower pace and tender ambience that flourished even before Geneva was platted on May 3, 1837. Geneva, Illinois presents a remarkable portrait of the community's earliest beginnings and present-day charms. Geneva offers the vintage flavor of an historic city as well as the contemporary feel of a modern community. In this collection you will find early portraits of education, when lessons were taught in the dining room of a local hotel, along with scenes that celebrate the lush riverbanks upon which residents and guests have enjoyed picnics for more than a hundred years. From the flowers picked at Wheeler Park to the moving pictures of the Optigraph, from the wooden ice cabinets of 1884 to the sidewalk cafes of today, Geneva has flourished.

Safety Harbor

9781467108522

$23.99

Safety Harbor’s five natural mineral springs have drawn visitors and residents to the shores of Old Tampa Bay for centuries.

A ceremonial mound erected by indigenous peoples offers proof of human life stretching back before written history. Spanish explorers landed here in the 16th century, and 300 years later, the first seeds of Florida’s citrus industry were planted by Odet Phillipe. The Florida boom of the 1920s brought development and population growth. Expansion stalled during the Great Depression, but after World War II, Safety Harbor became a tourist destination for the rich and famous, permanently changing the city’s future. Images of the past create a nostalgic reminder of hardy people and their perseverance despite devastating hurricanes and fires. The timeless tranquility of sunrises and sunsets and Spanish moss draped from massive oaks endures throughout this historical, artsy city on the bay.

Laura Kepner is coauthor of A Brief History of Safety Harbor, Florida; author of the children’s book When Lourdes Was Big; and former editor of the literary journal Odet. She serves on the boards of the Safety Harbor Museum & Cultural Center and the Whispering Souls African American Cemetery. Since 2008, Kepner has walked the land of the Tocobaga, ever in awe.

Apache Junction and the Superstition Mountains

9780738530406

$24.99

In pioneer lore, the Lost Dutchman's Mine remains an intriguing mystery of the Old West. What became Apache Junction in the Salt River Valley was already an established home for prehistoric Native Americans and the Apache tribe, when it was further settled and cultivated by Spanish and Mexican expeditions, American wagon trains, mountain men, and the U.S. military in the late 19th century. But Apache Junction became legendary when German immigrant Jacob Waltz discovered a secret gold mine. Thousands of prospectors traversed the "crooked top" Superstition Mountains in search of this treasure, enriching the area's history and leading to the development of a unique community that has endured and grown alongside the famous legend.

Apache Junction and the Superstition Mountains

Shackelford County

9781467131186

$24.99

One-hundred-fifty miles west of Dallas, on a gently rolling prairie that was once the predatory domain of the Plains Indians, lies Shackelford County. Anglo-American settlers began arriving in the 1850s to raise livestock and cultivate crops near the Clear Fork of the Brazos River. To protect the settlers from the Indians, the US Army established Fort Griffin in 1867. In true Wild West fashion, the raucous town of Fort Griffin sprang up nearby to service the soldiers, cattle drovers, and buffalo hunters. In 1874, Albany became the county seat, and with the arrival of the Texas Central Railroad in 1881, then the oil and gas boom in 1910, both Albany and Moran flourished while Fort Griffin folded. Today, Shackelford County's economy is based on cattle ranching, farming, petroleum, and hunting. Visitors enjoy shopping Albany's beautifully restored Main Street and taking in the Old Jail Art Center, the stately limestone courthouse, the Fort Griffin State Historic Site, and the Fort Griffin Fandangle.

Whitesbog

9781467108416

$23.99

Nestled in the Pine Barrens of southern New Jersey, Whitesbog was established by James Fenwick in 1857 as a cranberry farm. During the 1890s, under the leadership of Fenwick's son-in-law Joseph J. White, Whitesbog became the largest cranberry operation in the United States. By then, Whitesbog housed workers from South Philadelphia, typically Italian immigrants, who would stay in the satellite villages of Florence and Rome for the duration of the cranberry harvest. In 1911, Elizabeth White worked to domesticate the highbush blueberry in collaboration with Dr. Frederick Coville of the US Department of Agriculture, making Whitesbog the official birthplace of the blueberry industry; this effort would not have been achieved if not for the knowledge of the locals known as Pineys. Into the 1960s, Whitesbog was more than just a multigenerational family farm and site of innovation--it was a year-round community complete with housing, a post office, and even a school.

Nockamixon Township

9780738573922

$24.99

After becoming a township in 1742, Nockamixon's rural area in Bucks County thrived due to the routes of the stagecoach, trolley, and canal that traversed the township and brought more industry and businesses. Each of the township's six villages had a general store, a hotel or tavern, and a post office. The majestic cliffs of the Palisades of the Delaware are still home to rare plants and Peregrine falcons. Top Rock, 400 feet above the river, provides a panoramic view of the canal, river, and surrounding countryside. The history of Nockamixon has been preserved in the many buildings that have survived centuries, as well as through the vintage postcards, photographs, and memories of longtime residents chronicled in Images of America: Nockamixon Township.

World War II POW Camps in Ohio

9781467141666

$21.99

During World War II, more than six thousand prisoners of war resided at Camp Perry near Port Clinton and its branch camps at Columbus, Rossford, Cambridge, Celina, Bowling Green, Defiance, Marion, Parma and Wilmington. From the start, the camps were a study in contradictions. The Italian prisoners who arrived first charmed locals with their affable, easygoing natures, while their German successors often put on a serious, intractable front. Some local residents fondly recall working alongside the prisoners and reuniting with them later in life. Others held the prisoners in disdain, feeling that they were coddled while natives struggled with day-to-day needs. Drawing on first-person accounts from soldiers, former POWs and residents, as well as archival research, Dr. Jim Van Keuren delves into the neglected history of Ohio's POW camps.

Wilkes-Barre

9780738597775

$24.99

Wilkes-Barre, founded in 1769, is a city of changes: environmental changes brought on by the Susquehanna River and industrial changes that transformed a quiet farming community into a busy breaker town. When anthracite coal was discovered in the 1800s and massive coal breakers were built, immigrants from eastern, western, and southern Europe began to arrive. As these immigrants arrived, they changed the face of the city, creating their own communities and hamlets. Fortunately for the citizens of the Wyoming Valley, changes continue today, thanks to many forward-thinking men and women who see the potential in something old and take the time to make it new again.

Hidden History of Middlesex County, Connecticut

9781467139274

$21.99

While Middlesex County is one of the most historic communities in the nation, some of its past is little known.

Researchers found dinosaur tracks in Middlefield that date back 200 million years. The author of Dr. Dolittle, Hugh Lofting, lived in Killingworth, and a young Dr. Seuss spent summers in Clinton. Constance Baker Motley, the first female African American federal judge, resided in Chester. A Portland lake has water levels that fluctuate for no apparent reason. An Essex blacksmith shop was America's oldest continuously run family business. Local authors Robert and Kathleen Hubbard reveal these and many other unforgettable stories.

Hidden History of Middlesex County, Connecticut

Haunted Hannibal

9781609490447

$21.99

After living in Rockcliffe Mansion, where the haunted hallways were a rite of passage for countless Hannibalian youth, Ken and Lisa Marks learned firsthand that Hannibal, Missouri, is indeed haunted. Hannibal's own Mark Twain held a lifelong fascination with paranormal activity after experiencing an uncanny premonition of the death of his brother in 1858. Even skeptics will find it hard to resist the marvelously strange history of the limestone cave made famous in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer where the real-life, macabre Dr. McDowell experimented with his own daughter's corpse. Stories of the town's notorious red-light district and Hannibal's larger-than-life lumber barons provide even more spine-tingling evidence of the haunting of America's Hometown.

Italians of Brooklyn

9781467127844

$24.99

Brooklyn, or "Bruculinu," as many Italians affectionately pronounced it, is where Italian values, culture, and dreams thrived.

In an era when over four million Italians found their way to America, the first significant influx came during the 1880s, primarily from rural peasant communities fleeing poverty and overpopulation. Although Italians in South Brooklyn have been traced back as far as the 1820s, the 1855 New York Census did not list any Italian natives in Brooklyn; however, by 1890, there were 9,563 Italians residing in the borough. By 1900, Brooklyn's Italian population was second only to Manhattan. Although the last notable wave of Italian immigration ended in the 1960s, Italian remains one of the six prevalent foreign languages in New York according to a 2007 census estimate. This work serves as a time capsule to remind us of the contributions and influences these immigrants have offered to the community.

Amherst

9780738536804

$24.99

Amherst depicts the breathtaking evolution of a small farming community into a major economic, educational, and medical hub of western New York. The book reveals how Amherst's rich soils, rapid falls, and near-Buffalo location led to the community's great progress and growth. In a single century, the population rose from just over four thousand in 1900 to one hundred fifteen thousand in 2000. Today, the town includes the thousand-acre campus of the new State University of New York at Buffalo and the Amherst Museum, visited by more than fifty thousand people each year.

Boca Grande

9780738506135

$24.99

Once known as Gasparilla Island, Boca Grande has become one of the best places to vacation and live.

Life on Gasparilla Island once had a very different rhythm. With a past intimately tied to Charlotte Harbor and the rich fishing grounds it provided, Gasparilla Island was, in its early history, the site of a small fishing village and a commercial fishery. The discovery of phosphate deposits in the region and the introduction of the railroad soon increased the pace of life, and a thriving port was built on the island's south end. As the twentieth century dawned and the Florida boom loomed on the horizon, the town of Boca Grande began to hum with the activity of a rapidly growing population. Though much has changed through the years--the little fishing village has vanished, the estimable Boca Grande Hotel is gone, and the once bustling port is now a state park--much of the region's unique history continues to inform the modern landscape. The venerable lighthouse, constructed in 1890, now serves as a museum of local history, and the grand Gasparilla Inn still stands firmly upon its original 1911 site. Those who now call Boca Grande home cherish it for the same island magic that fishermen and railroad officials recognized long ago: its unspoiled natural beauty, inviting climate, world-class fishing, and welcoming community.

South Providence

9781467105767

$23.99

The themes of South Providence--urbanization, immigration, and industrialization--best characterize the nation's modern development. This volume reveals how a well-known Providence community worshipped, studied, worked, played, ate, and drank. The denizens of South Providence were an extraordinary mix. The geographic and demographic developments of the 19th century crafted the economically diverse, dense, and multicultural community of the 20th century. Today, almost every major avenue still contains a varied mixture of residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional uses with institutional development on the rise. The theme of this volume transcends South Providence and serves as the prototype of a 20th-century, inner-city ethnic neighborhood with variegated and successive waves of immigrant arrivals. Its focus is on their upward socioeconomic mobility, their social and cultural activities, and their religious traditions. Thirty-nine neighborhood residents have been inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame. That group exceeds the number of inductees from any Rhode Island city or town, except, of course, Providence, of which this vibrant neighborhood is a part.

Murrieta

9780738546698

$24.99

In the 1870s, the Spaniard Juan Murrieta and his business partners found green pastures for their sheep in the Temecula Valley, where Native Americans had lived for centuries in southwestern Riverside County. The Spaniards owned 52,000 acres consisting of two Mexican land grants, the Temecula and Pauba Ranchos, until the partnership dissolved. Murrieta stayed on his 1,000-acre ranch until 1884, when he sold his land to a developer who named the new town site Murrietaville. Two years earlier, the Southern California Railroad opened a line into the Temecula Valley. In 1900, a girl named Hale Sykes was born. With her box camera, she documented the growing town as she saw it from her home in the Fountain House Hotel across the street from the Murrieta Train Depot. In the 21st century, the city of Murrieta numbered more than 85,000 residents.

Haunted Lafayette

9781596298040

$21.99

Boilermakers Beware: There's a dark and secret side to Lafayette's history that is sure to send shivers down the spine. From storied specters and urban legends, like Amelia Earhart's tragic figure haunting hangar number one at Purdue University Airport and sightings of the ever-elusive Bigfoot, to haunted houses and battlefi elds, with a guillotine suicide in the Lahr Hotel and the Trail of Death, authors Dorothy Salvo Davis and W.C. Madden leave no stone unturned as they examine the tragic past and the haunted present of Lafayette. With stories focusing on West Lafayette and White, Carroll and Warren Counties, Haunted Lafayette is a chilling read that no ghost enthusiast should miss.

Nauvoo

9780738540757

$24.99

Nauvoo is a microcosm of U.S. settlement with a long and fascinating history. This pictorial account of the little community of roughly 1,000 citizens spans 200 years, starting with its inception at the frontier's edge on the western United States border in the early 1800s. The history of Nauvoo begins with the early exploration of the Mississippi River valley and continues with the arrival of government agencies, the Sac and Fox Indian chiefs Black Hawk and Keokuk, who frequented the region, the first 1805 pioneer settlers in the Nauvoo area, Joseph Smith and his major Mormon settlement, Etienne Cabet's communal French Icarian colony, the rebuilding of Nauvoo by mostly German immigrants, Nauvoo's regionally famous grape and blue cheese industries, and the restoration of Mormon buildings and the temple.