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$24.99
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Set at the top of the Cajon Pass in the High Desert of Southern California, Hesperia was built on the spirit and strength of character of American frontiersmen. From the time of the first documented travelers through the area in the late 1700s and continuing into the 1900s, the region has been a place of innovation and magnificent feats, where men have traveled through to new lands for a new start, striking it rich or making that big business deal in a new frontier. Named for Hesperus, the Greek god of the evening star in the West, Hesperia has proven to be a place of resilience and perseverance. The second largest land purchase in the western United States became the original Hesperia land holdings. In many areas, the people of Hesperia might be considered trendsetters, and Hesperia a land before its time.
Camarillo
9780738546582
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$24.99
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Before Camarillo, there was Springville, and before Springville there were the Ranchos Los Posas, Calleguas, and Guadalasca. The evolution of these ranchos into the community that became the city of Camarillo is a California story of hardscrabble ranching replaced by dry farming, followed by success as an important point in the growth of the walnut and lima bean trades. The magnanimous Camarillo family left its surname, as well as a regionally famous line of white show horses, to the community. The city was also home to Camarillo State Hospital, which for generations was a West Coast mainstay for patients with mental health issues. Today Camarillo is a vibrant city of more than 75,000 people that retains the charms of both its Spanish and Mexican heritages.
Mission Hills
9781467132688
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$24.99
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Several visionaries shaped the character that defines present-day Mission Hills. First, there was Sarah Miller, stepdaughter of Captain Johnston of the SS Orizaba. She inherited land from him and built a dream home overlooking Old Town and the Pacific Ocean. There was also Kate Sessions, the mother of Balboa Park, whose nursery growing grounds just outside the original Mission Hills subdivision proved difficult for her clientele to traverse, leading her to convince transportation mogul John D. Spreckles to expand the streetcar route to accommodate her business. In 1905, George Marston, a San Diego civic leader, commissioned landscape architect and urban planner John Nolan to implement a development plan for the city. Nolan's plan, however, was never adopted. In 1908, as if to prove what was possible, Marston's syndicate formed the restricted subdivision of Mission Hills. Then, in 1909, the city announced plans to celebrate the opening of the Panama Canal. The fuse was lit, and the boom that followed brought builders and skilled artisans to San Diego. As a result, Mission Hills became architecturally magnificent.
Georgetown
9780738581132
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$24.99
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At the beginning of the 20th century, historian Herman Daniel Jerrett noted that there was "no other part of the world with a placer seam formation filled with small gold-bearing veins and veinlets, so great or so crumpled, crushed and its fold mashed together, as that on the Georgetown Divide." First a simple base and supply camp for early miners, Georgetown survived despite repeated challenges from fires and economic slumps. Now rebuilt, it offers physical proof of the hardy pioneer spirit that settled this small town in the Sierra Nevada foothills. Historic Main Street offers numerous examples of "fireproof" architectural styles, more hopeful than realistic, including the 100-foot-wide Main Street itself, unique in Mother Lode mining towns.
San Leandro
9780738559377
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$24.99
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Cherry festivals, Holy Ghost festas, oyster pirates, tractors, squatters, Portuguese--the many threads of San Leandro's past have woven a rich historical tapestry underlying the modern city of San Leandro. These 15 square miles between San Francisco Bay and the East Bay hills have been an Ohlone village, a Spanish rancho, a small farm town, the Portuguese capital of the West, an industrial center, and a major metropolitan suburb as a succession of new people has transformed the area.
Mining in Yuba County
9781467132909
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$24.99
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Mining in Yuba County illustrates the story of how this geologically unique part of California drew multitudes of people from around the world during the early days of the Gold Rush. It depicts the region's evolution from anarchy to civilization. It gives faces to the individuals who were instrumental in creating society in Yuba. It elaborates on incidents in which Yuba influenced the nation, on matters as historically significant as California entering the Union as a free state and affecting the outcome of the Civil War. Mining in Yuba fostered technological advancement precipitated by the depletion of surface gold and the necessity to get to the obscured gold. Conflicts between miners and agriculturists over hydraulic mining were litigated, and landmark legal decisions regarding the regulation of hydraulic mining all but ended the practice and were the beginnings of environmental protectionism and water rights issues in California. Finally, it reveals that despite heavy regulations that exist today, there is still mining in Yuba County.
Sonora
9780738547831
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$24.99
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When California's gold fever of the 1850s subsided, Sonora was a town well established as "The Queen of the Southern Mines," a community with a solid foundation. Transients working the goldfields were gone, and the mining camps' early lawlessness and impermanency were replaced by an organized township. Established as the Tuolumne County seat in 1851, Sonora soon boasted schools, churches, civic and fraternal organizations, a vast array of commercial enterprises and support services, and a diverse population. Served by early railway lines, the town quickly became a commercial hub for logging and ranching. In modern times, Sonora's surrounding natural wonders and proximity to Yosemite make it a favored destination for such outdoor activities as fishing, hiking, camping, skiing, boating, and even Western moviemaking. With many of its early buildings and stately homes still standing, Sonora has a welcoming historic downtown and residential district.
San Francisco's California Street Cable Cars
9780738559636
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$24.99
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San Francisco's internationally recognized cable cars are the symbol of the individual character of a great city. The California Street cable car line is one of only three remaining lines in the city. The California Street Railway, or Cal Cable, was developed and opened by Leland Stanford, one of the builders of the transcontinental railroad and later founder of Stanford University. Indeed, the iconic line, intimately connected with some of the West's pioneer businessmen, was sold, expanded, and reached its peak mileage just after 1890, only to be destroyed in the great earthquake and fire of 1906. As resilient as the city it served, Cal Cable was rebuilt and lasted as an independent business longer than any other private San Francisco transit operation. Cut down to its present form in 1954, that remnant and its double-ended cars survive as an integral part of today's cable car system.
The Napa River
9780738595047
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$24.99
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During the mid-1800s, the Napa River brought people to Napa City from around the world, attracted by the beauty and bounty of the valley. Riverboat captains played a major role in creating the material wealth of the city as their vessels plied the waters of San Francisco Bay carrying freight and passengers. As the powerhouse of industry, the river attracted several tanneries that needed water to make the now famous "Nappa" leather. Napa became a leather colony with the growth of shoe, glove, and glue factories. The river became a key transportation artery, and its channel became the focus of greater dredging to allow larger ships to anchor downtown. No longer a natural river able to meander, it frequently overran its banks, flooding towns. Industry, agricultural runoff, and population growth caused the Napa River to become polluted and neglected into the 20th century. Today, the Napa River is the centerpiece of downtown renewal. A "Living River" strategy is bringing back its vitality along with fish and wildlife populations, helping the river to regain its importance.
San Diego's Little Italy
9780738547800
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$24.99
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Italian immigrants settled along San Diego's waterfront in the early 1900s and formed the "Italian Colony," a tightly knit community that provided refuge, shared culture, and heritage. Extended families, new businesses, and church traditions formed the foundation for a lasting social code. It was no coincidence that the area would become known as "Little Italy"--it was exactly that for its inhabitants--a home away from their native land. But by the mid-1960s, changes brought by war and urban modernization began to unravel the community. Take a compelling journey through this unique immigrant enclave. Vivid images and descriptive captions highlight essential elements of this community, such as labor and longing, fishing and family, ritual and revitalization. Through photographs contributed by local community members, this volume traces the evolution of a humble fishing village into the chic urban neighborhood that is Little Italy today.
Marin County
9780738555713
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$24.99
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Marin County has long been known for its beautiful woodlands, seashores, and hills, but its towns, people, and architecture tell an equally compelling story. The largest of the Bay Area's nine counties, Marin has an amazingly varied makeup in both its populace and its natural setting. From the sparse, rocky seascapes and sandy beaches along the Point Reyes Peninsula, Bolinas, and Stinson Beach, to the suburban tracts of San Rafael, Corte Madera, and Novato, this county runs the gamut of California lifestyles and landscapes.
Along the Tuolumne River
9781467132930
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$24.99
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The Tuolumne River begins up in the Sierra Nevada and flows through Mariposa County, Tuolumne County, and, finally, Stanislaus County. From its origins to the endpoint flowing into the San Joaquin River, it provides life and an economic source for this entire region. Once a major shipping route, it now provides irrigation water to one of the most agriculturally industrious regions in the world. The history of the Tuolumne River is the story of Stanislaus County and the surrounding areas.
Glendale
9780738547657
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$24.99
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Glendale is one of the oldest towns in Southern California, getting its start during the rail boom of the 1880s. In 1904, it was one of the earliest communities to be served by the vast electric streetcar system consolidated throughout the Los Angeles region by tycoon Henry Huntington. In the postwar era, Glendale became a model of suburban growth and today is the third largest city in Los Angeles County. Glendale's diverse neighborhoods and commercial districts have offered pleasant living and a gamut of goods and services to residents, workers, and visitors alike. These vintage postcards spanning generations showed them a vision of Glendale at its most attractive.
Sebastopol's Gravenstein Apple Industry
9780738581736
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$21.99
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The Gravenstein apple has been etched into the identity of Sebastopol, California, which is one of the few places on earth to have extensively grown this elusive apple. The Gravenstein is an early apple whose only failing is perishability, but it is celebrated for its superior flavor. Yet Luther Burbank attempted to improve on the Gravenstein, producing the Winterstein and the Bonita for home gardeners. During the last 127 years, the Gravenstein has added millions of dollars to the local economy. It has provided a reason for celebrations, from the 1910 Apple Show to today's Apple Blossom Festival and Gravenstein Apple Fair. This is the Gravenstein's story, from its European roots to small-town homage, and the part this special apple has played in one community--and the reason the current decline in apple acreage is mourned.
Princeton-by-the-Sea
9780738555836
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$24.99
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The isolation imposed by the sometimes raging Pacific Ocean and breathtaking coastal barrier mountains helped mold the historic personalities of Princeton-by-the-Sea and neighboring Miramar. In the early 1900s, these towns were placed along the Ocean Shore Railroad to attract visitors and settlers from San Francisco to these peaceful shores. Rumrunners, bootleggers, operators of shady roadhouses, and a brazen red-haired madam were characters here in the 1920s. In the 1940s, wind-gnarled fishermen, funky eateries, and a miniature cannery row stood watch over the northern end of the bay, under the stunning rock landmark of Pillar Point. In these pages are the boats, fishermen, buildings, beaches, and personalities that make Princeton-by-the-Sea and Miramar anything but typical Bay Area suburbs.
Marysville's Chinatown
9780738559766
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$24.99
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Marysville's Chinatown was once one of the most important Chinatowns in America. The early Chinese settlers called Marysville Sanfow, or "the third city," meaning the third city by river to the goldfields. Two of the first four Chinese American judges in California were from Marysville as was the first Chinese American elected to the San Francisco Board of Education. The Marysville Chinatown was among the first Chinatowns built in California's Gold Country and is the only one to survive to this day. Because of this, it is possible to view the full panorama of Chinese-American history through the viewpoint of this one Chinatown.
San Dimas
9780738559346
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$24.99
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The Santa Fe Railroad laid tracks from the east and the west beneath the southern slopes of the San Gabriel Mountains in 1887, meeting in San Dimas and opening the area to more than sparse settlement. The Rancho San Jose formerly included San Dimas in a Spanish land grant of 23,000 acres, given in 1837 to Don Ygnacio Palomares and Don Ricardo Vejar by the king of Spain. The new town became integral to the huge citrus industry that stretched for 65 miles from Pasadena to the Inland Empire. Residential development renewed growth in the 1950s, yet much of today's designated historic portion of this eastern Los Angeles County community remains the same as it was in the early 1900s. Part of the Lemon Association packinghouse still stands, once the largest such packinghouse in the world. San Dimas is a vital city thriving in the midst of Southern California's rush through the 21st century but is also rich in the historical building blocks that created prosperity in the greater Los Angeles region.
The Portuguese in San Jose
9780738547817
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$24.99
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For hundreds of years, Portuguese explorers have swept across the globe, many of them landing in California in the 1840s as whalers, ship jumpers, and Gold Rush immigrants. Gold was the lure, but land was the anchor. San Jose became home to Portuguese immigrants who overcame prejudice to contribute to the area politically, socially, and economically. They worked hard, transplanting farming, family, and festa traditions while working in orchards and dairies. Many came from the Azores Islands, 800 miles out to sea from mainland Portugal. For over 160 years, the Portuguese have enriched San Jose with colorful figures, including radio star Joaquim Esteves; jeweler and filmmaker Antonio Furtado; the charismatic and controversial Fr. Lionel Noia; educator Goretti Silveira; and community leaders Vicki and Joe Machado.
Torrance Airport
9780738546629
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$24.99
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Californians were panicked by the Pearl Harbor attack of December 7, 1941, and civilian flights within 200 miles of the coast were immediately terminated. Airfields were commandeered and new ones hastily built. One of these was the Lomita Flight Strip, known today as Zamperini Field, the Torrance Municipal Airport, or TOA. This 490-acre parcel sent four squadrons of P-38 fighter pilots off to war with one commanded by the judge of the Charles Manson trial, an ex-Flying Tiger. Six other pilots became generals, two became commandants of cadets at the Air Force Academy, and one became the only fighter pilot with combat victories in both World War II and the Vietnam War. Japanese Americans returning from World War II internment camps found temporary housing at the field, and the world's largest manufacturer of civilian helicopters settled there in 1973. The first runway takeoff of a Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) aircraft was pioneered at TOA, and aerobatic champ Bob Herendeen trained at the site.
Sacramento
9780738559001
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$24.99
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California's capital city, Sacramento, has played many roles over time, including Gold Rush boomtown, railroad terminus, regional industrial center, and seat of state government. These varied roles meant dramatic changes as the city grew outward and upward.
Reedley
9781467132671
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$24.99
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It was in 1888, four short years after he first came to Fresno County to farm wheat, that Thomas Law Reed made a deal with the Southern Pacific Railroad. In exchange for a half-interest in 360 acres of Reed's farmland, the railroad would build a depot along its east side branch and help develop a townsite. The town was Reedley. See what happened when settlers arrived. Watch as homes are built, as businesses are started, and as schools and churches are founded. Witness farmers cultivate the region's rich soil, and with irrigation, grow a bounty of crops that they will ship near and far. View a place of dusty streets and simple wooden buildings transformed into a modern 20th-century community. Meet the people of Reedley as they work, learn, worship, and celebrate. This book is Reedley's family photo album.
Missions of Southern California
9780738547404
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$24.99
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Touring south to north, from San Diego through Santa Barbara County, this unique compendium takes the reader through the Southern California Mission System as portrayed on vintage postcards. The book elaborates on the missions' myriad functions along the coastal El Camino Real through several centuries as not only isolated centers of civilization in the wilderness and altars of Catholic faith, but also as incursions of empire and politics and the means to convert Native American tribespeople to Christianity. While the Missions San Gabriel and San Juan Capistrano fittingly receive ample coverage herein, this book covers the region's nine major missions as well as outlying chapels, or "asistencias."
Willows
9780738580609
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$24.99
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Hot, thirsty range cattle led cowboys to a shady, spring-fed pond midway between the coastal and sierra foothills in Northern California. The area was referred to as "the Willows." It was a place no doubt well known to the native Wintun Indians long before white men came exploring. Settlers began buying up land at $4 an acre after the Gold Rush. Milton French was ranching to the west of town as early as 1857. In June 1876, Johnson and Hochheimer opened a general store. Daniel Zumwalt provided land to railroad magnate Charlie Crocker, who extended train service to the "the Willows" by 1878. Broad streets were laid out in an east-to-west orientation. The town was on its way to becoming the center of one of the most productive agricultural areas in the state, thanks to the development of deep-water wells and the building of canals.
Japanese Americans in San Diego
9780738559513
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$24.99
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For over 100 years, Japanese immigrants and Japanese Americans have called San Diego County home. Attracted to the warm climate and economic opportunities, Issei (first-generation Japanese immigrants) drifted into San Diego in the 1880s and introduced effective new fishing techniques that contributed to the growth of this industry. From the Tijuana River Valley on the border with Mexico to Oceanside in North County, Japanese American families started small truck farms in the first decades of the 20th century, developing techniques to improve crop production. Surviving the heartbreak of evacuation and incarceration during World War II in desert internment camps, San Diegans returned to rebuild a vibrant community after the war.
Oak Glen and Los Rios Rancho
9780738546537
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$24.99
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The 500-acre Los Rios Rancho has operated through a greater century as the largest apple orchard in Southern California and the centerpiece of Oak Glen, the heart of a dozen orchards on the southern slopes of the San Bernardino Range about eight miles from Yucaipa. Los Rios Rancho is owned by the Wildlands Conservancy, a privately funded corporation headquartered at Oak Glen since 1996 that has purchased more than 750,000 California acres to preserve as natural landscapes for public benefit. The ranch is leased today to the Devon Riley family, which carries on in the tradition of the ranch's founder, H. L. Rivers. The Rivers family--la familia de los Rios--has been a fruit label name known throughout California grocery stores and roadside stands since before World War I. In this collection, more than 180 vintage photographs pay tribute to the Rivers, Wilshire, and other family orchards at Oak Glen over the years.
Magalia to Stirling City
9780738530185
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$24.99
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The West Branch of the Feather River in northern Butte County was once a rich mining region. In 1859, an incredible 54-pound gold nugget washed from the flanks of Sawmill Peak, named for the ridge's other main industry, logging. An intricate web of stage roads, and later railroads, linked the little mining and lumber towns that dotted these peaks covered in giant white and ponderosa pine. Steam engines hauled huge logs to mills like the Diamond Match Company, crossing steep canyons on wooden trestles stretched to heart-stopping heights. Some early mining towns like Magalia (once known as Dogtown--site of the gargantuan nugget) and Stirling City, are still there. Others like Nimshew, Lovelock, Toadtown, Powellton, Chaparral, Coutelenc, and Inskip, are ghost towns, inhabiting only the photographs that memorialize their short heyday.
Redwood City
9780738559247
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$24.99
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Redwood City's slogan, "Climate Best By Government Test," describes the fair weather at San Mateo County's seat, which was established in 1851 as the bayside terminus for the peninsula's lumber industry. Wharfs located along Redwood Creek formed the basis of the town's commercial district, and in the 20th century, the city's port expanded with new industries, such as the Pacific-Portland Cement Company, the Morgan Oyster Company, and Leslie Salt. Meanwhile, Redwood City's downtown area hosted many civic events, numerous theaters, and the region's largest retail district. In the 1950s, the city grew along Woodside Road and, soon thereafter, when Redwood Shores was added to its boundaries, expanded north. Today Redwood City has come full circle with a revitalized downtown and a beautifully restored courthouse square.
Big Bear
9780738559124
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$24.99
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Big Bear is known throughout the southland of California as an outdoor recreational destination. Located high atop the San Bernardino Mountains, the area was once home to the Yuhaviatam Indians, the "People of the Pines." In 1845, a party lead by Benjamin Davis Wilson, the grandfather of Gen. George S. Patton, entered the valley and discovered the area alive with grizzly bears, giving the valley its name. A dam, completed in 1884, created Big Bear Lake, which provided water to citrus growers in the area of Redlands and later lead to the water-related recreations, camps, resorts, and the welcoming community that Big Bear is famous for today.
Escalon
9780738559032
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$24.99
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Between San Francisco and the Sierra Nevada stands the small farming community of Escalon. In the mid-1800s, miners and freight haulers traveled rough roads through this unpopulated part of the state to the foothills, much as tourists today travel its highways on their way to Yosemite National Park. Pioneer John Wheeler Jones settled here with his family in the late 1800s and was instrumental in the development and growth of agricultural production, the routing of the railroad through the area, and the creation of this crossroads community. John's son James chose the name Escalon, Spanish for "step" or "stepping stone," for this important gateway to the Sierra Nevada.
Mexican American Baseball in Ventura County
9781467117159
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$24.99
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Mexican American Baseball in Ventura County pays tribute to the legendary teams and players from Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo, Simi Valley, Moorpark, Santa Paula, and other surrounding neighborhoods. From the early 20th century through the 1950s, baseball in Ventura County safeguarded opportunities for nurturing athletic and educational skills, asserting ethnic identity, promoting political self-confidence, developing economic autonomy, and redefining gender roles for women. Outside the ball field, these players and their families helped create the multibillion-dollar agricultural wealth that relied heavily on their backbreaking labor. These extraordinary photographs and remarkable stories shed unparalleled light on the long and rich history of baseball and softball in this celebrated region of California.
Aviation in San Diego
9780738547596
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$24.99
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For nearly a century, San Diego has been a hub of aviation development, air power, and flying adventure. The city's ideal weather and protected bay allowed San Diego to have an aviation history unrivaled by any local community. From the pioneering days of Glenn Curtiss and naval aviation at North Island to the present cutting-edge aerospace technology, Aviation in San Diego captures it all. With many never-before-published photographs, Aviation in San Diego documents the people and events that made San Diego's aviation heritage unique. From Ryan to Consolidated, Curtiss to Lindbergh, and everything in between, Aviation in San Diego is the preeminent photographic record of flight in "America's Finest City."
Cloverdale
9780738559148
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$24.99
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Cloverdale lies nestled among forested hills and colorful vineyards at the north end of Sonoma County's famed Alexander Valley. Originally inhabited by the Makahmo Pomo with white settlers beginning to arrive in the 1850s, the town later became known as "The Orange City" because of its flourishing groves of citrus. In the latter years of the 19th century, Cloverdale welcomed trainloads of visitors arriving to enjoy its signature event, the annual Citrus Fair, to relax at Russian River resorts or to experience the geothermal wonders of The Geysers. During the same period, unique communities developed outside of town--a religious colony around a charismatic healer, a utopian community of French socialists, and an agricultural settlement of Italian immigrants that became the unparalleled Italian Swiss Colony winemaking enterprise. Over the years, Cloverdale has been a farm town, a regional transportation hub, a stopping point for Redwood Highway travelers, and a thriving lumber town. More recently, Cloverdale has been refashioning itself into a distinctive tourist destination while retaining its identity as a friendly hometown.
San Diego's Balboa Park
9780738547541
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$24.99
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Balboa Park began in 1868 when San Diego's civic leaders dedicated 1,400 prime acres to create an urban oasis. Originally the land, crisscrossed with canyons and dominated by native scrub, was called simply "City Park." In later years, Balboa Park hosted two successful world expositions: the 1915-1916 Panama-California Exposition and the 1935-1936 California Pacific International Exposition. The unique evolution of the park included occupation by the U.S. Navy, a zoo, a Native American village, and even a nudist colony. Balboa Park also suffered periods of neglect and demolition before citizens groups united to save and restore the beloved Spanish Colonial Revival buildings.