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In Images of America: Bay Ridge, which contains over two hundred rare, never-before-published photographs, readers can look back into the faces of those who came before them, the early schools and places of worship, and the trolleys that took the earliest commuters to work.

Bay Ridge was once a rural community of farmhouses and summer cottages that sat on the banks of the East River. First known as Yellow Hook, it included the military post at Fort Hamilton. Where British troops once marched up the banks, commuters today traverse the Verrazano Bridge. Over the years, Bay Ridge has grown into a thriving, diverse neighborhood with a proud Brooklyn history. In Bay Ridge, the Bay Ridge Historical Society has collected images from days gone by to tell the stories of an earlier time. One of the most famous contributions comes from the photographs of Samuel Winter Thomas, a photographer who lived at 3rd Avenue and 75th Street. Gazing at his nineteenth-century photographs, we see the early, rural character of Bay Ridge.

Collected in this intriguing visual history are over 200 photographs which bring to life the rich and diverse history of Bayonne, New Jersey.

Bayonne has made a number of significant contributions to American culture: from the country's first "rock band" and its first independent movie studio, to its first air-mail delivery and fast-food restaurants. This visual history brings these little-known contributions to light while also focusing on the everyday lives of the people of Bayonne. In this fascinating journey into the past, we move from disasters such as the Standard Oil fire of 1900 to celebrations such as the arrival of a Wild West Show at the 8th Street station. Views of the lighthouses and the old New York Bay shore document the continued importance of the city's two shores, even as it transformed itself from being the "Newport on the Hudson" to the "Peninsula of Industry." Jump into Bayonne's history from the years 1860 to 1940.

A tragic railroad crash, a salad oil caper, a courageous heavyweight boxer, and a clever kite inventor all have one thing in common: Bayonne.

This marvelous second volume traces the extraordinary history of the peninsula from 1850 to 1969. Many readers will remember first hand some of the events shown in some of these photographs. Other photographs have not been published in over a hundred years. This city is steeped in history, and its story continues in Bayonne Passages. These exceptional images recount such memorable events asthe Jersey Central Railroad crash of 1958 and the ""Great Salad Oil Swindle,"" biographical stories such as life of Chuck Wepner, which served as the basis for the movie Rocky, and little-known episodessuch William A. Eddy's experiments with aerial kite photography. This visual history also helps us recreate decisive moments when Bayonne's history became that of the world's: the impressive performance of America's Cup yachts in the 19th century, the historic opening of the Naval Supply Depot in 1942, and the proud launching of Elco PT boats during World War II. Also included in this extensively researched volume are John Moody, founderof Moody's Investors Service; Bob Fish, designer of the America's Cup yachts; Ray Ewry, winner of ten Olympic gold medals; and Sister Miriam Teresa, recognized as a ""Servant of God"" by the Vatican, as well as movie stars, heroes, and family and friends of many past and present Bayonne residents.

In rich, historic images, the unlikely story of Bayside and her founders comes to life.

In 1824, a wealthy shipping merchant by the name of Abraham Bell purchased 245 acres in the area now known as Bayside. He created an upper and lower farm, bisected them with a country lane now called Bell Boulevard, and with this Bayside began to develop. Over the generations, Bayside evolved from its beginnings as a rural farming community to a resort destination with lavish estates that lined the shore of Little Neck Bay. Later the town was transformed again into a commuter suburb touted by real estate developers for its scenic beauty and convenient location. Bayside chronicles the community's ever-changing history through this collection of vintage photographs culled from the Bayside Historical Society's archives.

During Beaver Falls' first 150 years, residents of the town built it into a self-supporting community committed to family values.

Initially known as Brighton before its incorporation, after it became Beaver Falls, the town saw extensive industrial development, and the city was described as "one of the most well-established manufacturing towns in western Pennsylvania.'? Carefully preserved images from the Beaver Falls Historical Society are combined with revealing and informative text, and this fascinating history includes some of the homes and businesses of early Beaver Falls families, as well as the railroad, canal, and river that connected the town to the rest of the state. Newly discovered images and sources of the community's history make this book a rare and timeless keepsake.

Beaver Falls: Gem of Beaver County devotes a chapter to local football legend Joe Namath's first season of greatness, complete with play-by-play details of the exciting Friday night high school games. "Broadway Joe's" early team picture is here, along with dozens more rare and compelling, never-before-published images. Readers will also find telling narratives of the Big Snow of 1950 and the Great Race of 1908, with more than 100 vintage photographs and maps detailing the gripping stories and unique memories chronicled here.

Bedford-Stuyvesant details the evolution of this Brooklyn neighborhood, home to the nation's second largest African American community.

The heart of Bedford-Stuyvesant is still found in the near-forgotten settlement of Brooklyn's Bedford Corners, a Dutch township colonized in 1667, where ancient Native American trails determined its now major thoroughfares, and where Colonial patriots fought the British in the country's struggle for independence. Bedford-Stuyvesant remained a quiet farming hamlet until the 1880s when rapid subway transportation, construction of the Brooklyn Bridge, and the burgeoning population of Manhattan combined to forge one of America's first and finest suburban communities. Bedford-Stuyvesant details the evolution of this neighborhood, home to the nation's second largest African American community, and it documents how this urban center is now finally enjoying new regard for its wealth of architecture and its notable place in American history.

Join local historians William and Amanda Schleicher on a visual tour of Bedminster's heritage as they celebrate the town's history.

Settled in the first half of the 1700s, the fertile fields of Bedminster Township attracted Dutch, German, and Scottish farmers. During the American Revolution,the town served as a safe haven for the American army. For over a century, following the war, Bedminster returned to its previous way of life as a sleepy little farming community. In 1890, the area became home to Charles Pfizer's exclusive Essex Hunt Club. The lush green hills and dales of Bedminster were perfect for hunting foxes, and the level meadows were well suited for polo. Millionaires from New York sought to establish greatestates in Bedminster's picturesque countryside.

With nearly two hundred vintage photographs from public and private collections, Belleville offers rare insight into the town's explosive growth.

Brimming with a rich history and local flavor that has gone largely undocumented for more than three hundred years, Belleville began as a small Dutch settlement in the 1670s and has grown into a busy suburb of 32,000 people, located only fifteen miles west of New York City. Situated on the west bank of the Passaic River, early Belleville was a center for early industry and water transportation and is noted as the birthplace of America's industrial revolution. From the legendary secret tunnels running beneath the Dutch Reformed Church to the beauty of Belleville Park, which sits beside one of the largest annual cherry blossom tree displays in the nation, Belleville tells the story of an often forgotten but noteworthy era in the turbulent development of early America. Belleville shows the appeal the bustling town held for many of the nation's most influential figures, including inventor Thomas Edison and famed architect Charles Granville Jones. The town was also a notable stop on Gen. George Washington's retreat from New York City to Philadelphia during the early days of the Revolutionary War.

With more than two hundred images, most of them never previously published, Bellport Village and Brookhaven Hamlet visits the late 1800s and the first half of the 1900s, capturing the buildings, people, activities, and events that defined this special area. Old houses at the early heart of the settlements are not just charming; some of them were home to fascinating people: Birdsall Otis Edey, poet and suffragist; Oliver Hazard Perry Robinson, inventor of the ball bearing; William Glackens, Ashcan school artist and summer resident; and others. As Brookhaven Hamlet remained quiet and rural, Bellport Village became a year-round resort with fancy hotels, such as the Bay House, the Goldthwaite, the Wyandotte, and the Bellport, and an exclusive beach club known as the Old Inlet Club. Although the area has always attracted the famous and prominent, it was also home to the creative and entrepreneurial who made their mark locally.

Go down the shore to Belmar, a unique community settled in 1700 and enjoy nostalgic images of its early days.

Belmar, a unique shore community formerly known as Ocean Beach, was settled around 1700 and has lured summer visitors from near and far for over one hundred years. The beach, boardwalk, Shark River, and Silver Lake were such popular and beloved attractions that many summer residents chose to make Belmar their permanent home. The Borough of Belmar was carefully laid out by developers so that most streets run between the Atlantic Ocean and Shark River, capitalizing on the cool breezes and scenicviews of this area. In the early days there werenumerous luxurious hotels, many of which are pictured in this new pictorial history along withnostalgic images of swimming, boating, and fishing in the early years of this century. Also featured are vintage photographs of Belmar's Main Street shops, restaurants, and community celebrations, which together present a lively view of Belmar's history.

The stories of the Revolutionary soldiers of Bergen County as told by Revolutionary War expert Tood W. Braisted.

Bergen County saw much of the American Revolution from its own doorstep. Close to British-occupied New York City, this corner of New Jersey was divided by the Revolution. Some people were staunch Loyalists or Patriots, in disagreement with their families and neighbors. Others wavered or remained neutral, while others changed their minds as was expedient. In the end, the years of hostilities led to massive damage and upheaval within the community as men either left home or stayed nearby to fight for or against secession from Great Britain.