Elyria

9781467111775

$24.99

Elyria is named for Heman Ely, who in 1817 settled in a strategically located area close to Lake Erie along the picturesque Black River. Historically, Elyria, which became the seat of Lorain County, has been a center of commerce and government while also serving as a market and source of supplies for the surrounding agricultural community. Industrial development has included steel mills, quarries, automobile-related firms, and a wide variety of other manufacturing facilities. Over the years, Broad Street has been an important center of retail and professional activity. For recreation, Elyria's citizens are able to enjoy beautiful parks and recreation facilities.

Eagle River

9780738599700

$24.99

A fascinating look into the history of Eagle River's beginnings and vibrant community.

Eagle River's written history begins in 1898, when the valley was explored by W.C. Mendenhall of the US Geological Survey. Since that first journey, a vibrant community has grown just 10 miles from Anchorage, still retaining its small town characteristics. The early years include the Iditarod Trail, the building of the Alaska Railroad, and a fox farm around Fire Lake. World War II brought many families to the area, and some of these families started homesteads in Eagle River. By the 1960s, Eagle River had a shopping center, post office, and schools--earning it a place on the map. The 1970s and 1980s saw an explosion in growth as Pippel's Field was built up with businesses and housing, the Chugiak-Eagle River Chamber of Commerce was organized, and the Bear Paw Festival was started.

Around Neversink

9780738598499

$24.99

Around Neversink: From the Rondout Reservoir to the Neversink Reservoir takes readers back to rural life in the Catskill Mountains not long after its first settlers arrived. Before the land was commissioned to provide water for New York City's nine million residents, the area was known for some of the best trout fishing in the world. Red Hill, Peekamoose, Sundown, Branch, Frost Valley, Dewittville, Halls Mills, Willowemoc, Grahamsville, and Claryville were small communities mostly clustered around the banks of the headwaters of the Neversink River or the Rondout Creek. The area became a summer destination, and local farmhouses were converted into boardinghouses to accommodate seasonal travelers. In the 1900s, eminent domain took several communities to create the Rondout Reservoir and the Neversink Reservoir. As a result, Neversink Flats, Bittersweet, Eureka, Montela, and Lackawack ceased to exist. Today, residents and visitors enjoy a host of outdoor activities, including hiking on local mountains, snowmobiling on well-groomed trails, fishing in the reservoirs, bird watching, camping, and hunting.

Barrow County

9780738506272

$24.99

The photograph files of Stell Photo Service are a treasure trove of Barrow County history. Beginning in 1946 and until his retirement in 1987, Pierson Stell, along with partner Ray Kilgore, photographed events big and small in Winder and surrounding communities. The photographs are remarkable for their quality and diversity, and stand today as one of the county's most valuable historical resources.
Like all professional photographers of their time, Stell and Kilgore did portrait work, weddings, and commercial photography; however, they took their art several steps beyond the usual. In a time when most families did not own a camera, the two men photographed children's birthday parties, Easter egg hunts, and family reunions. Rather than spending Christmas morning with their own families, they spent that time going to the homes of families throughout the community, gathered around the Christmas tree opening gifts. Perhaps even more important from a historical standpoint was their coverage of breaking news events. Their files contain hundreds of photos of automobile accidents and train wrecks, many taken for the local newspaper and others for various insurance companies and lawyers. Stell and Kilgore also served as the forensic photographers for local law enforcement agencies, and photographed in great detail the crime scene of murders in Barrow County for decades.

South Brunswick

9780738535944

$24.99

South Brunswick traces the history of a central Jersey community from its earliest days through the mid-1900s. Established in 1798, the township began as an agrarian society and evolved and changed as it incorporated advances in transportation, education, and public services. More than two hundred images portray the people, vintage structures, and important events of Dayton, Deans, Monmouth Junction, and Kingston--the historic villages within South Brunswick.

Amherst and Hadley

9780738562728

$24.99

Nestled deep in the Connecticut River Valley are Amherst and Hadley, two towns responsible for the inspiration of many classic poets, writers, and thinkers of America.

Visit a place where Ralph Waldo Emerson ate dinners with Emily Dickinson's family, and see the site on which Noah Webster founded Amherst College. Look through a visual record of small towns, where the seasonal changes of the hills, fields, and woods inspired local writer Ray Stannard Baker and photographer Clifton Johnson. Meander through a place that left fond memories in the hearts and minds of former Supreme Court Chief Justice Harlan Fiske Stone and writer Sylvia Plath. This photographic history even offers a rare glimpse into Robert Frost's world of fire and ice. In Amherst and Hadley: Through the Seasons, the landscape changes continuously throughout the seasons, and each season brings its own natural beauty and dangers, from the scorching summers to the bitter winters.

Remembering North Carolina's Confederates

9780738542973

$24.99

Through photographs of veterans and reunions, monuments, and tombstones, Hardy shows the many ways that the old Confederate soldiers are commemorated across the Old North State.

The American Civil War was scarcely over when a group of ladies met in Raleigh and began to plan commemoration for the honored Confederate dead of North Carolina. In 1867, they held their first memorial service. Two years later in Fayetteville, the first monument to the state's fallen Confederate soldiers was erected. Over the next 14 decades, countless monuments were commissioned in cemeteries and courthouse squares across the state. Following Reconstruction, the veterans themselves began to gather in their local communities, and state and national reunions were held. For many of the Confederate veterans, honor for their previous service continued long after their deaths: accounts of their sacrifice were often chiseled on their grave markers.

Remembering North Carolina's Confederates

The Upper Kennebec Valley

9780738564777

$24.99

The Upper Kennebec Valley is one of the most important gateways to Maine's Great North Woods and has, for over 200 years, attracted those who love the wilderness, lakes, mountains, and streams. The Upper Kennebec Valley Volume II begins, once again, at The Forks, where the East Branch of the Kennebec and the Dead River unite to form the Kennebec. The
area has long been dominated by logging and tourism trades. Starting with the days of horses and oxen, when loggers and "sports" came to the woods by foot and wagon to the coming of the railroad and the automobile, we see the growth of these small towns and the hardworking loggers, daring river drivers,
sport hunters and fishermen, and those who guided and hosted them. Early scenes of the daily lives of "valley folk" enjoying local parades, picnics, reunions, and sporting events come alive within these pages.

In the Somerset Hills

9780738564227

$24.99

This fascinating new book introduces us to the landed gentry of the Somerset Hills, with over 200 images bringing to life these colorful families and their magnificent estates.

After the Civil War, a class of industrialists and financiers amassed great fortunes while building the infrastructure of an expanding nation. Much of this money and power was concentrated in New York City, which quickly became crowded and unsuitable for the building of large estates. Many wealthy businessmen began to look eagerly toward the pastoral beauty of New Jersey as a site for their luxurious homes. Modeling itself on the English aristocracy, this uniquely American plutocracy sought to establish country seats, requiring acreage on a grand scale but in close proximity to New York City. Men such as George Seney, president of the Metropolitan Bank of New York, began purchasing property in Somerset County in the early 1870s, and soon many others were purchasing land in the county from the local farmers. We meet the great families themselves, from the Seneys, Drydens, Stevenses, Pfizers, and Roeblings, to the Forbes, as well as such famous individuals as Jackie Kennedy and King Hassan II of Morocco. We are shown around the great estates, and see the stone masons, wood carvers, and other artisans and tradesmen who created them.

Goodfellow Air Force Base

9781467104340

$23.99

Goodfellow Air Force Base is one of the oldest installations in the US Air Force. It was the first of scores of flying training fields established across Texas and Oklahoma during World War II. What qualified San Angelo as the site for the first of the new fields did not, for the most part, distinguish it much from its neighbors. The clear skies and flat, forgiving terrain so desirable in the training of pilots were regional qualities. But San Angelo also had Bob Carr, a former military aviator who spearheaded a local effort to provide land, an important railroad spur, and key utility connections if the new pilot school were built nearby. Over the next eight decades, nurtured by a special relationship between city and base, Goodfellow has distinguished itself by training more than 400,000 pilots, intelligence operators, and firefighters for all the armed forces of the United States.

Ruston

9780738505848

$24.99

In 1884, the Vicksburg, Shreveport & Pacific Railroad put a line across north Louisiana, and the town of Ruston was born. The first settlers came from nearby Vienna--literally bringing their homes with them--to establish a community that would become a major cotton shipping point and an educational center for the region. In this captivating study of Ruston's storied past, historic images shed light upon the town's beginnings, its enterprising leaders, and the institution for which it is best known, Louisiana Tech University.
The photographs within these pages reflect all aspects of life in Ruston, from the community's involvement during the war years to the businesses established by early residents, and from the building of the university to the influence of the railroad and the cotton industry. The collections of local photographers Bob Pfister, Colonel Marbury, John Green Davis, and Edwin "Red" Woodward are all featured in this unique pictorial retrospective; many of these rarely seen images came from a collection of glassplate negatives stored for over thirty years in shoeboxes in a backyard shed. Although some were forever lost to the forces of nature, what remains is a treasured glimpse of days gone by that will find a special place in the hearts of those who call Ruston home.

Imperial Calcasieu

9780738505817

$24.99

An area that was once defined and governed as one large parish, Imperial Calcasieu is now divided into five separate parishes: Calcasieu, Cameron, Allen, Beauregard, and Jefferson Davis. The common history shared by these communities is brought to life through vintage images in this fascinating collection of memories. Included in Imperial Calcasieu are photographs depicting the early railroads built in the area, the development of sulphur mining, the transporting of lumber along the Calcasieu River, the rich oil fields, and the rice industry that developed on the coastal prairies of Western Louisiana. This volume also recalls several memorable events, such as the hurricane of 1918 and the Great Lake Charles Fire of 1910. The pioneer settlers and community leaders who shaped the identity of Imperial Calcasieu are celebrated within these pages, and both their triumphs and setbacks will continue to teach and inspire future generations.

Along the Cape Fear

9780738567402

$24.99

From beautiful beaches to major motion pictures, author Susan Taylor Block details the area's notable history in this photographic tale.

Nestled between the Cape Fear River and the Atlantic Ocean, Wilmington, North Carolina, is at the center of the historic Cape Fear region. Incorporated in 1740, Wilmington has been called home by such notables as Woodrow Wilson, David Brinkley, Whistler's mother, and Frank Capra Jr. Sports fans know Wilmington as the hometown of famed basketball player Michael Jordan. In Along the Cape Fear, local historian and author Susan Taylor Block explores this picturesque region of beautiful nearby beaches and charming eighteenth- and nineteenth-century buildings. Readers are invited to see why the Wilmington area has attracted everyone from heads of state, to history buffs, to directors of major motion pictures.

Ontario County

9780738564074

$24.99

Ontario County: The Golden Age of Railroads and Baseball depicts much of Manchester, New York's, World War I and Depression-era history. Located among the finger lakes in Ontario County, Manchester is renowned for having once been home to the world's largest freight transfer yard. The Lehigh Valley Railroad provided the main source of employment for early Irish, Italian, and Syrian immigrants, as well as for many women in the community. In Manchester's heyday, attending Industrial League baseball games
was a Sunday tradition for residents. The Manchester Railroaders, a semi-professional team, was one of the top teams in the Northeastern United States, playing such worthy opponents as the Brooklyn Bushwicks, the Bronx Giants, the Buffalo Bisons, the Rochester Kay Pee's, the Syracuse Brownlites, the Toronto Leafs, the Sayre Colemans, and the Elmira Artics. This visual tour highlights the achievements of such athletes as Brooklyn native Bill Segbers, who brought his Ebbett's Field experience to Manchester, and Johnny Boardman, who played against
Babe Ruth and the New York Yankees in a 1923 exhibition game. Rare views of the great train disaster of 1911--the day no games were played--are also included in this fascinating new volume.

Dover

9780738504247

$24.99

Originally part of the Dedham Grant of 1635, Dover, Massachusetts, became Dedham's Fourth Precinct in 1729 and the Springfield Parish of Dedham in 1748. When the Commonwealth incorporated it in 1836, Dover's economy was based on farming and grazing. Several companies, including the E.F. Hodgson Company and the Harvard Apparatus Company, successfully manufactured portable houses and medical instruments in Dover. However, they eventually left, as Dover remained agriculturally based. By 1896, Dover had become a suburban community. From 1900 to 1914, wealthy Bostonians--many of them members of the Norfolk Hunt Club--built at least eighteen spacious country estates in Dover, far from the noise and hubbub of the city. Population grew slowly after World War I, but in 1945, the town increased in numbers, as veterans returned from World War II and others saw the convenience of commuting to work in Boston while living in a pastoral environment. Once the home of Sen. Leverett Saltonstall, Gov. Francis Sargent, and benefactress Amelia Peabody, Dover today is an elegant country town, a mixture of estates, open fields, forests, and family neighborhoods.

Lafayette's Lexington

9780738515526

$24.99

The thriving heart of Kentucky, Lexington grew to its present stature from humble roots as a quiet agricultural town. During the pivotal years from Prohibition and the Great Depression through World War II, Lexington experienced unprecedented growth, hard times, and recovery.

Jefferson County

9780738548562

$24.99

Founded by optimistic speculators with dreams of commercial empires that never materialized, Jefferson County is located on Washington's Olympic Peninsula. It stretches from spectacular Pacific Ocean beaches on the west and the Strait of Juan de Fuca on the north to the forested banks of the Hood Canal on the east. Created by the Oregon territorial legislature in 1852 and redefined by the Washington Territorial Legislature in 1877, it was named for Pres. Thomas Jefferson. Scenic Olympic National Park and Olympic National Forest occupy 60 percent of the county, and important industries in the region have included logging, pulp and paper, fishing, dairy farming, boatbuilding, and other marine-related businesses. Today the county has been discovered by artists, writers, poets, retirees, and tourists drawn to its unmatched scenery, mild weather, outstanding recreational opportunities, and the absence of urban stress.

Bristol

9780738504278

$24.99

Bristol traces its roots to a grant obtained by Samuel Clift in 1681, William Penn's establishment of an estate one year later, and to its location along prime transportation routes. Situated below the fall line of the river and along the main route for land travel, Bristol afforded direct access between Philadelphia and New York City. As more people and businesses started to call the new settlement home, Bristol began to find its place in history. Bristol is a pictorial journey to the roots of one of America's oldest towns. The book beautifully illustrates its development from a countryside encampment, to the government seat of Bucks County, to the setting of major industry. The growth of Bristol is portrayed through the development of its municipal services, organizations, and entertainment facilities. Furthermore, these images attest to the way Bristol responded to conflict, from the Civil War to World War II, by providing ships, airplanes, and its own heroes. A remarkable collection of images from the
Margaret R. Grundy Memorial Library and other sources
tells the story of a truly unique place.

Firefighting in Buncombe County

9781467121804

$24.99

When Buncombe County was formed in 1792, firefighting efforts were left up to individual landowners and helpful neighbors using buckets and a nearby well or body of water. Not until 1882 was an organized, community-sponsored fire department established; this was the Asheville Fire Department. Other fire departments followed, and no two were the same. Stations appeared in the towns of Weaverville and Black Mountain, while others sprang up in the residential communities of Kenilworth, Biltmore Forest, and George Vanderbilt's Biltmore Village. In September 1953, county commissioners formally passed a resolution for county aid and supervision for rural volunteer fire departments. Through photographs that illustrate firefighting in many of its forms--rescue squads, wildland firefighting units, ladies auxiliaries, and ambulance services--Firefighting in Buncombe County showcases and honors the firefighters of this mountainous area who have always worked to keep their communities safe.

Gladstone

9781467103022

$24.99

Gladstone, Oregon, is located at the confluence of the Clackamas and Willamette Rivers and was once the northern half of the historic town of Oregon City. Gladstone came to prominence as the site of the first Oregon State Fair, the first Clackamas County Fair, the first railroad bridge in Oregon, and the first river crossing of the first interurban trolley west of the Rocky Mountains. In 1869, Gladstone witnessed Ben Holladay, of Pony Express-Overland Stage fame, challenge both his competitors and the Clackamas River in the great north-south railroad race. From 1894 to 1927, Gladstone became known as the "Mother Chautauqua of the West," where orators such as William Jennings Bryan and Rev. Billy Sunday held thousands of attendees spellbound in Gladstone Park. Founded by Judge Harvey E. Cross, Gladstone incorporated in 1911 and steadily grew because of its scenic setting, cultural offerings, and ease of transportation to employment at the Oregon City Mills. The excitement of first events and famous visitors may be over, but Gladstone remains, today, a thriving, family-oriented community proud of its past.

Lost Ann Arbor

9780738533391

$24.99

Ann Arbor might have become just another small Michigan village had it not been for one crucial event: its designation as the home of the University of Michigan in 1837. Its subsequent development into a thriving cultural and intellectual community was marked by its extraordinary architecture, from the grand 1878 courthouse to the exquisite original university buildings and fashionable East Huron Street. The expansion of the town and university, the arrival of the automobile, and frequent fires began atransformation of Ann Arbor that led to the tragic demolition of some of its most remarkable structures. Lost Ann Arbor is a tribute to these long-lost treasures and the 19th century way of life that accompanied them.

Downtown Vancouver

9780738529592

$24.99

Named for a British sea explorer, Vancouver was conceived in the early 1800s when Lewis and Clark camped at the waterfront and deemed the area ripe for settlement. The Hudson's Bay Company soon established its fur-trading empire here, and "Fort Vancouver" became the commercial center of the area. In 1849 American troops set up Columbia Barracks nearby, establishing the area as a military stronghold. In 1857 the city of Vancouver was incorporated, and gradually became an important industrial and residential city. Vancouver is now a big city, and along with nearby Portland, Oregon, is home to high-tech, maritime, lumber, and manufacturing industries.

Montezuma Castle National Monument

9781467131872

$24.99

The mysterious cliff dwelling known as Montezuma Castle has overlooked Arizona's Verde Valley for over 900 years. Originally thought to have been built by the ancient Aztecs, later research proved it to be the handiwork of a long-vanished people named the Sinagua. They inhabited the site for over three centuries and then simply walked away to be lost in the mists of time. In this volume, the author traces the history of Montezuma Castle through its construction, abandonment, later discovery, and the diligent efforts of many individuals and organizations to restore and preserve it for future generations. In 1906, Montezuma Castle was designated one of the country's first national monuments by Pres. Theodore Roosevelt. Arizona was still a territory at that time, six years away from becoming the 48th state in the Union.

Glendale

9780738548661

$24.99

Established in 1892, nine miles northwest of Phoenix in the Salt River Valley of Arizona, Glendale at first attracted farmers with strong Protestant religious convictions. Soon, however, others began to settle in the town and on the rich farmlands of the area. Although predominantly Anglos, the settlers that came in the latter 1890s and early decades of the 1900s included various ethnic minorities. Each group had a significant role in the city's development into an important agricultural center that shipped produce all over the country. World War II and its influx of servicemen to train at Glendale's Luke and Thunderbird airfields brought permanent changes to Glendale. The population doubled and doubled again and again. Today the city-Arizona's fourth largest-is a metropolitan area of 59 square miles and close to 250,000 people. This volume offers windows to understanding the growth and development of Glendale over the years.

Winchendon

9780738554624

$24.99

With Winchendon, author Glen Wheeler has compiled a dramatic new collection of photographs that depict life in and around Winchendon from 1880 to about 1940. With the aid of over 200 vintage images, readers see what Central Street, Waterville, Spring Village, and the Old Centre looked like at the turn of the century. Other scenes show how people dressed, the churches they attended, and the shops where they worked. The home of mills and small businesses alike, it seems Winchendon has always been driven by activity and industry. Amidst these pages we can visit old-time markets, barbershops, druggists, and bookstores--places both familiar and forgotten. The toy business has been particularly important to this town; companies such as Morton E. Converse and Mason & Parker Manufacturing helped Winchendon to become known as Toy Town. The 12-foot hobby horse made by Converse in 1914 continues to be one of the town's dominant landmarks.

Burrillville Revisited

9781467106610

$24.99

This is the second Images of America book showcasing the rich history of the town of Burrillville. Incorporated in 1806, the town grew in prosperity because of the many woolen mills that sprang up along its rivers and streams. This photographic history tells the story of how Burrillville's citizens lived and worked. One of the town's most prominent mill owners in the 20th century was Austin T. Levy, who purchased the mill in Harrisville. This generous man gave back to the community and created better living and working conditions for his workers in extraordinary ways. Spring Lake is featured, with fascinating photographs showing the lake as a popular summer destination. Other topics covered within include floods, blizzards, hurricanes, parades, farms, and older forms of transportation.

Patapsco Valley State Park

9781467129565

$24.99

Immerse yourself in the stunning flora and fauna, trails, ruins and other wonders the Patapsco Valley State Park provides.

Patapsco Valley State Park is nestled in four Maryland counties - Carroll, Baltimore, Howard, and Anne Arundel. From its humble beginnings in 1907 as a 43-acre forest reserve to its expansion to over 16,000 acres today, this hidden gem has become a refuge for wild animals and native vegetation and a retreat from suburban and city life. With its eight developed recreation areas and over 200 miles of trails, more than a million visitors annually explore this vast area rich with history. Visitors have discovered the park's National Historic Landmark, the Thomas Viaduct, which remains in use today with modern trains passing over the first multiple-arch stone railroad viaduct in the United States. Other marvels from the past include remains of 19th-century mills and mill towns, the Civilian Conservation Corps' Camp Tydings, and the popular and scenic swinging bridge. Visitors to the park today continue to experience the joy of the great outdoors like millions before them.

Caledonia County

9780738504810

$24.99

At the top of Vermont is a region known as the Northeast Kingdom. It is composed of three counties, and one of those counties is Caledonia. Images of America: Caledonia County presents the history of this area, taking you back to rural America as it used to be, with its slower pace of life unimpeded by hectic aspects of modern times. Inside Caledonia County are more than 200 stunning scenes from all 17 of the county's towns. Represented in vivid detail are the people and their early agriculture and industry; men working at the Woodbury Granite Quarry; the Victorian parlor of Sheepcote, the mansion owned by Edward Fairbanks; early twentieth-century sports teams, both male and female; St. Johnsbury's Pageant of 1912; and a gigantic boulder that was incorporated into a log cabin as the back wall to the fireplace.

Painted Post

9780738537191

$24.99

South of the Finger Lakes, where four rivers converge, the Lands of the Painted Post have served people as both a thoroughfare and a gathering place for millennia. This region's location within a passageway through the hills, its navigable water routes, and its tremendous potential for mill sites and agriculture rendered Painted Post a favored site for human settlement. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Painted Post experienced unprecedented cultural, social, and economic change. That history is vividly illustrated in Painted Post.

La Verne

9781467104982

$24.99

Founded in 1887 and located at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains, Lordsburg was poised to grow with the railroads and prosper with the citrus industry. Although some cities faded into obscurity when the Southern California land boom went bust, Lordsburg survived largely due to the intervention of four members of the German Baptist Brethren Church who bought the unoccupied Lordsburg Hotel and surrounding land. They established an academy that eventually became the University of La Verne. In 1917, Lordsburg was officially renamed La Verne. Church of the Brethren families settled in the area to further their children's higher education. Housing demands after World War II, followed by the declining citrus industry, transformed the landscape from rural to residential. Much of La Verne's small-town feel is preserved in its downtown and many original residences, while the centrally located university enlivens the community with its diverse student population. Attention to public art and care for La Verne's senior residents reflect civic pride.

Hockessin Colored School #107C

9781467160131

$23.99

Hockessin Colored School #107C became a catalyst for the groundbreaking school desegregation case Brown v. Board of Education in 1954. This seldom-told story is among the nation’s unsung heroes of public education with a life and legacy that spanned over 180 years. Residents of the Hockessin colored community built and operated their own school prior to construction of the 1920 brick school building erected by P.S. duPont. Eventually, descendants of those same residents would witness the closing and conversion of their patrimony. Hockessin Colored School #107C—now the First State’s Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Social Equity—is a beacon of light and an incubator of history for children throughout the United States.

Forest Glen

9780738517070

$24.99

Forest Glen, Maryland, a sleepy suburb of Washington, D.C., has weathered the arrival of the railroad, construction of a summer resort, development of a fashionable girl's finishing school, and the establishment of a U.S. Army base. Throughout these times there has always been a close-knit community of homes and people that were often overshadowed by the many diverse events and changes that prevailed here. The focal point of the community--one of only a few extant eclectic architectural follies in the United States and consisting of many international styles--is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the National Park Seminary Historic District.

Erie County, Pennsylvania

9780738554600

$24.99

Whether a local citizen, former resident, or visitor, Erie County will definitely entertain, and it will remind us of the perseverance and strength of small-town America.

Erie County, Pennsylvania, is an interesting mixture of peaceful rural landscapes and vigorous industrial scenes. From Albion, Girard, and Fairview in the west, through Waterford and Edinboro, to Corry, Wattsburg, North East, Harborcreek, and Lawrence Park in the east, this volume touches upon many of the small towns, villages, and rural areas that make up this diverse county. The book's images, many never before published, have been selected by local historians and taken from local historical societies' archives to represent the social and cultural aspects of each community. From these pictures, mainly taken in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the distinct identity of each area comes alive with views of farmlands, businesses, schools, and recreation, yet despite thisindividuality, these unique communities do share much in common in tradition and personality.

Buena Park

9780738529448

$24.99

Once a part of Rancho Los Coyotes, Buena Park is today home to 80,000 people within its 10 square miles. In 1887, a Chicago grocer, who purchased land for a cattle ranch, was persuaded by the Santa Fe Railroad to found a town instead. But it was the Southern Pacific Railroad that made Buena Park an agricultural railhead. The Lily Creamery was built in 1889, marking the town's first industry. Today Buena Park, a city of residential, commercial, and industrial development, is famous for tourist attractions such as Medieval Times, Movieland Wax Museum, and Knott's Berry Farm.

Belding

9781467112048

$24.99

Belding is located in the northwest corner of Ionia County along the Flat River. The land was first settled by Charles Broas in 1837 and became known as Broas Rapids. The name was later changed to Patterson Mills, and in 1871 the small village was renamed Belding in honor of the Belding family. The Belding brothers manufactured silk and brought much activity to the community. Between 1885 and 1917, the Beldings operated four silk mills, two dormitories, Hotel Belding, a hospital, an opera house, a library, and many more downtown businesses. The silk mills alone employed more people than all other area factories combined. With the brothers controlling 90 percent of the American silk market, Belding became known as "Silk Capital of the World."