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Since their creation thousands of years ago, the Niagara Falls have captured the hearts and imaginations of all those who witness their endless power and strength.

As settlers arrived and began to harness the falls as a resource, the population climbed. Small hamlets, including Bellevue, Clarksville, Schlosser, and Manchester, grew to become the villages of Suspension Bridge and Niagara Falls, which were incorporated in March 1892 into the current city of Niagara Falls. Niagara Falls: 1850-2000 depicts the natural beauty of the falls, the emergence of the booming tourism trade, and the advances of electrical technology that have relied on the mighty falls' power. Many hands have crafted and bent steel to span the Niagara Gorge while many others fought to keep industry from turning nature into asphalt. Culled from the archives of the Niagara Falls Public Library's Local History Department, these images represent the people, from those stepping close to the brink in amazement and awe to those who live and work within the roar of Niagara Falls, and places that make up the landscape that is Niagara's past.

In the historic borough of Brooklyn, the thousands of graves and mausoleums within Green-Wood Cemetery are tangible links to key events and people who made New York City what it is today.

For generations, Green-Wood Cemetery has played an integral part in New York City's cultural history, serving as a gathering place and a cultural repository. The cemetery was and remains one of the city's largest open green spaces; a century ago, when natural beauty in New York City was hard to come by, Green-Wood was a social venue for families on picnics, outings, and for political events. The monuments read like checklist of important Americans, including the names of Leonard Bernstein, F. A. O. Schwarz, Charles L. Tiffany, Samuel Morse, and DeWitt Clinton, among others. A national historic landmark since 2006, Green-Wood is considered one of the preeminent cemeteries in the country. Through vintage photographs, Green-Wood Cemetery chronicles the cemetery's rich history and documents how its tradition as a park and a popular tourist attraction continues, drawing 300,000 visitors annually.

Long Island's history is filled with fascinating firsts, magnificent mansions and captivating characters.

From Glenn Curtiss, the first pilot to fly a plane on the island, to Earle Ovington, who carried the country's first airmail, the area has been known as the cradle of aviation. Millionaire William K. Vanderbilt's Long Island Motor Parkway, remnants of which still remain, was the nation's first highway. The desolate ruins of an exiled Albanian king's estate lie in the midst of the woods of the Muttontown Preserve. Captain William Kidd, pirate chaser turned pirate, is rumored to have buried treasure on the island. Richard Panchyk reveals the rapidly vanishing traces of Long Island's intriguing history.

Nicknamed "Liquor Island," Long Island was rumrunner's paradise during Prohibition.

With its proximity to major markets and coastal communities for easy transit, Suffolk County was awash in illegal hooch. Smugglers bringing cases of booze from offshore often secretly hid product temporarily in local garages and sheds, leaving a bottle as a thank-you. Coded communication crisscrossed the county on shortwave radios arranging sales and logistics. Violence from criminal outfits disrupted previously quiet towns, as locals too often were swept up in dangerous unintentional engagements with bootleggers.

Pour one out and join author Amy Kasuga Folk as she recounts stories from Suffolk County's Prohibition era

Recapturing the people and places that made downtown Rochester's golden era special.

Downtown Rochester is defined by Main Street, State Street and the major crossroads of those streets. It is the core of one of New York State's most important cities.Rochester's Downtownrecaptures the time when it bloomed as a mecca for daytime workers and shoppers and for an evening's entertainment at vibrant social centers. It celebrates the people of this great city as they progress from their early beginnings to create a dynamic business center. This excellent collection of images regenerates the excitement of riding the trolley, watching a movie at the Palace or the Capitol, window-shopping at the Duffy-Powers Store and tasting frosted malteds at Sibley's or warm doughnuts from the Mayflower Donut Shop or spoonfuls of roasted peanuts from Mr. Peanut Man. The narrative recalls Scrantom's as the place to buy books, Neisner's having the latest 78-rpm records, McCurdy's and Edward's with their special holiday displays, Eddie's Chop House for memorable dinners, and the Century Sweet Shop for after-theater sundaes among the many unforgettable venues of this great city.

St. Lawrence County is bracketed by two great vacation meccas, the Thousand Islands and the Adirondack Park. Artist Frederick Remington's island retreat at Ingleneuk and Henry Rushton's Canton boat works are no longer with us, but the port of Ogdensburg still boasts elegant nineteenth-century homes. Rushton's crafts can still be found at exhibitions at Paul Smith's College or gracing Lake Flower in the village of Saranac Lake. Daily life in hamlets such as Star Lake, North Creek, and Blue Mountain Lake can still evoke a simpler time.

From its art deco architectural design to its historic integrity and preservation, Floyd Bennett Fieldis a must-have for, aviation, and New York history enthusiasts.

Although New York City was slowly recognizing the need for a municipal airport in the late 1920s, it sought to regain prominence by constructing the most advanced airport of its day.

Construction in the far reaches of Brooklyn was started on October 29, 1929, the day of the stock market crash that heralded the Great Depression. The airport was named posthumously for Floyd Bennett, a Brooklyn native, Navy pilot, and Medal of Honor winner. Unfortunately, because of many factors--including poor timing, politics, and remoteness from Manhattan--the airfield was a commercial failure. Its advanced features, however, made it a mecca for private aircraft and the site of numerous record-breaking flights.

Aviation historian Richard V. Porcelli, author of Arcadia Publishing's NAS Atlantic Cityand numerous articles, tells how the Navy became an early tenant in a move that would impact the airfield's destiny. In 1941, the Navy's presence led to the establishment of NAS New York, which played a key role in the wartime delivery of planes from numerous area factories. After the war, it served as an important Naval Air Reservebase until its closure in 1971.

Nunley's Amusement Park, which was in operation for over 50 years, has a special place in the memories of multiple generations of Long Islanders.

Nunley's, located in Baldwin, New York, was a beloved family destination for Long Islanders from 1939 until it closed in 1995. The Nunley family established numerous amusement parks in the Long Island area, such as those found in Bethpage, Rockaway Beach, and Broad Channel. After the park closed, the rides and games were sold at auction, including the parks most notable attraction, their famed Stein & Goldstein carousel. In protest, the residents who grew up with the landmark banded together to prevent the carousel from being disassembled and sold off separately. Recognizing the passion residents held for the park, Nassau County stepped in and purchased the beloved carousel, and an elaborate campaign was established for its restoration. The year 2012 marked the 100th anniversary of the famous Nunley's Carousel, which is still currently in operation at Museum Row in Garden City, New York.

From birthplace of the American Revolution to Home of Uncle Sam, the ""Collar City's"" storied history is told through 200 photographs.

Troy, New York has earned some distinctive titles in its more than 200 years of existence. ""The Home of Uncle Sam,"" ""The Collar City,"" and the birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution, Troy has a colorful and engaging history. The city's rich human and industrial legacy is explored in this unprecedented pictorial collection. Troy celebrates the city where 19-year-old Kate Mullaney, an Irish Immigrant, organized 200 women for the first all-female labor union (Collar Laundry Union) more than a century ago. It is where Bessemer Steel was first poured in America, and where the plates for the ironclad ship, the Monitor, were manufactured--an event that lead to a turning point for the North during the Civil War. Troy was the home of Samuel Wilson, who packed beef for the U. S. Army during the War of 1812, and where the famous trademark U. S. , better known as Uncle Sam, originated. The premier cast-iron stove manufacturing center during the early 19th century, Troy was responsible for heating homes around the world. It earned the reputation of ""The Collar City"" when, at one time, 15,000 workers produced more than $40 million worth of collars, cuffs, and shirts per year. With more than 200 photographs, most of which come from the rich archives of the Rensselaer County Historical Society, Troy spans much of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Discover a lost world of farmers cutting hay with scythes and dancing to fiddle music on barn floors through the Long Island paintings of William Sidney Mount.

Explore vivid depictions of people of color, presented with great humanity when racist caricatures were the norm.

This landmark book reveals the lives of Rachel, the eel spearer; Henry Brazier, the left-handed fiddler; George Freeman, model for the jaunty banjo player, and other agricultural laborers, domestic workers, and musicians who posed for the artist.

Authors Katherine Kirkpatrick and Vivian Nicholson-Mueller take readers on a fascinating historical journey as they publicly honor, by name, the once-anonymous Black and mixed-race models whose images have achieved international recognition.

Travel through a history of accomodations where Catskills tourists lodged during their excursions through one of America's most famed resort areas.

According to the Catskill Institute, there were over 1,000 hotels spread across the mountains of Greene, Ulster, Delaware, and Sullivan Counties at one time. The Catskills were an exciting world full of pleasures to be enjoyed, with summer and winter activities characterized by entertainment, food, sports, card playing, and food again. Catskill Hotels, with a collection of some 200 images, tells the story of this world, which began with America's first resort hotel, the Catskill Mountain House, continued with places such as the world-famous Grossinger's, and can still be found today at Kutsher's Country Club, the Mountain House at Lake Mohonk, and a few other hardy resorts.

Churches, schools, ballparks, old neighborhood streets and more all come back to life in the pages of South Bronx!

It was once part of Westchester County, but the Bronx was annexed to New York City in the 19th century. The South Bronx came to be defined as the area in the southwest part of the borough between the Harlem River and the Bronx River, with Fordham Road generally considered as the northern boundary. Less urban than nearby neighborhoods in Manhattan, the South Bronx attracted countless numbers of immigrants arriving in New York City in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Choosing to raise their families in what was then a country setting, they helped to make the South Bronx one of the most culturally diverse sections of New York.

South Bronx revisits the Third Avenue trolley, Old West Farms, the Third Avenue El, tar beach, and the cobblestone roadways of a bygone era. The breweries and old-time taverns that were once such a vital part of the culture of the South Bronx are also found anew, in addition to The Schnorer Club, the Elks Club on the Concourse, the Concourse Plaza Hotel, and legendary Yankee Stadium.

Take a flight with the Long Island aviation companies that helped make the industry the integral part of our world that it is today.

Significant aircraft manufacturing began on Long Island in the early 20th century and boomed during the war years. Long Islanders helped transform aviation from a dangerous sport to a viable means of transportation, while also producing a large portion of the nation's aerial arsenal in times of war.

From the first frail biplanes to the warbirds of World War II and the sleek fighters of the jet age, aviation companies on Long Island helped make aviation the the essential business it is today. During the 20th century, over 70 firms came to build aircraft on Long Island. Some of these firms lasted for decades and became famed builders of historic aircraft, such as Grumman, Republic, Curtiss, Fairchild, and Sikorsky.

The Albany Post Road was the vital artery between New York City and the state capital in Albany in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

It saw a host of interesting events and colorful characters, though these unusual and extraordinary stories, as well as their connection to the thoroughfare, are oft forgotten. Revolutionary War spies marched this path, and anti-rent wars rocked Columbia County. Underground Railroad safe houses in nearby towns like Rhinebeck and Fishkill sheltered slaves seeking freedom in Canada, and Frank Teal's Dutchess County murder remains unsolved. With illustrations by Tatiana Rhinevault, local historian Carney Rhinevault presents these and other hidden stories from the Albany Post Road in New York's mid-Hudson Valley.

Bannerman Castle of the Hudson River was an island arsenal built to resemble a Scottish castle. Follow along with this recanting of the history of this awe-inspiring work of architecture.

For generations, boaters and train passengers have been mystified and intrigued by the sight of a castle like structure looming in the Hudson River, near Fishkill. Bannerman Castle unveils the history of this site: an island arsenal, built to resemble a Scottish castle. The story begins in 1900, when Francis Bannerman VI purchased the island--officially Pollepel but later called Bannerman's Island--for storing used military goods purchased from the government. A native of Scotland, Bannerman designed his arsenal to resemble a Scottish castle.

See how the Upper West Side of Manhattan became a neighborhood as diverse in its population as it is in its architecture.

The Upper West Side of Manhattan, the residential and retail neighborhood between Central Park and the Hudson River, is famous for its liberalism, cosmopolitan culture, and appetizing. It is a neighborhood as diverse as there is. Known as Bloomingdale in the mid-19th century, it was renamed the West End by the century's end when real estate speculation and mass transportation made their way inevitably northward in Manhattan. It was at this time that the grand boulevards and avenues Central Park West, Broadway, Columbus Avenue, Amsterdam Avenue, West End Avenue, and Riverside Drive each quickly assumed their impressive and distinct characters.