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Around Central Islip focuses on this diverse and unique community's history.

Around Central Islip focuses on a modern renaissance village that evolved through numerous and diverse cultures. It was a small English settlement of the 1800s when ""Come to Central Islip, Good Work, Good Pay"" was advertised in the newspapers in Ireland. This brought an influx of settlers from nearly every county in Ireland. The area became known as ""Little Ireland in America."" At the turn of the century, Central Islip housed one of the largest psychiatric centers in the country. Village life centered around this establishment for many decades. Decentralization of the hospital in 1955 resulted in the abandonment of numerous buildings with a degenerative effect on the village; blighted neighborhoods became commonplace. The transformation brought about by the arrival of the New York Institute of Technology resulted in the community's revitalization and beautification. Today, Central Islip is a vibrant and dynamic community.

The historic village of Cold Spring lies on the east bank of the Hudson River, about 50 miles north of New York City.

Located in the heart of the scenic Hudson Highlands, indeed at the deepest point of the Hudson River, Cold Spring is a tiny village, but jam-packed with history. The central area of Cold Spring is on the National Register of Historic Places as the Cold Spring Historic District due to its many well-preserved buildings from the 19th century.Around Cold Springfeatures images of Cold Spring, the neighboring hamlet of Garrison, and the village of Nelsonville. Many of the photographs date from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and depict street scenes, patriotic celebrations, and historic or architecturally significant buildings like mansions, churches, and schools. Photographs, postcards, and other visual materials further illuminate the story of Cold Spring and its surrounding area.

With images from the Connellsville Historical Area Society's archives and private collections, encounter the hidden history of Connellsville.

Connellsville became the first city in Fayette County when it merged with New Haven in 1909. Connellsville's growth was shaped by the Youghiogheny River, coal mining, and coke production, which fueled the nation's steel industry for nearly 100 years. Known as the ""coke capital of the world,"" Connellsville became an early manufacturing, commercial, and transportation center, attracting a diverse ethnic population. Around Connellsville celebrates this heritage with images of coke ovens, coal patches, railroads, streetcars, and ""Brimstone Corner."" It follows South Pittsburgh Street to Anchor Hocking and the beach, cheers ball teams at Fayette Field in the north end, and admires St. Rita's grotto on the west side. Although recent economic growth shifted from the town center to nearby highways, Connellsville remains the preeminent gateway to the Laurel Highlands Recreational Area, which includes world-class resorts, state parks, historical sites, and the singular beauty of Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater.

From a small rural retreat to a center of industry and finally into protected wildlands, this is the story of the Adirondacks' Cranberry Lake.

Initially, the remote Cranberry Lake region attracted hunters and fishermen such as Reuben Wood, world-champion fly caster, as well as artists like Frederic Remington, writer Irving Bacheller, and Arts and Crafts movement philosopher Elbert Hubbard. Between 1886 and 1896, when railroads began to approach the lake, both industry and tourism flourished. Extractive industries like mining and lumbering coexisted with a lively trade catering to leisure travelers and recreationists, though the same industries depleted much of the lake's resources. Several generations later, the natural beauty and wilderness characteristic of the Cranberry Lake region has been restored, and outdoor recreation is still an enticing draw to the area, though the stumps of old trees still litter the land like pockmarks of history, never to fully heal.

In this book, early views of the famous Horseshoe Curve, the Gallitzin Tunnels, and the Mountain House are intertwined with photographs of homes, churches, and the people who made the area prosper and grow.

The Allegheny Mountains constantly challenged early settlers to use their creativity and skills to conquer what seemed an almost insurmountable barrier. The founding fathers recognized potential in the area both as a resort and as a thriving town that would attract industry. Through hard work and innovation, an all-rail route over the mountains was established, linking the area with important industrial and trade centers. Many people came to Cresson to enjoy the health and recreational benefits of its natural springs, and the area's ""pike"" afforded the first stage link between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. When the Pennsylvania Railroad established headquarters here, with a roundhouse, machine shops, and branch lines, the area entered an era of industrial prosperity. In this remarkable volume, over 200 rare images are combined with informative and insightful text. Readers visit Loretto, a town founded by ""A Prince-Priest, Demetrius A. Gallitzin, Apostle of the Alleghenies"" and they are transported to Portage and Lilly, areas of woodlands that gave rise to numerous sawmills.

Once portions of a farming community called Fosters Meadow, Elmont and Rosedale have changed dramatically since Thomas and Christopher Foster first farmed the land in the 1600s.

In the 1850s, immigrant German farmers settled in the area abutting Elmont Road, Brookville Boulevard, Linden Boulevard, and Merrick Boulevard. The remnants of that German farming community continued into the early 20th century, despite encroaching suburbanization, renamed streets, and subdivided farmland, along with Irish, Italian, and Jewish immigrants changing the area's ethnic makeup. This new suburban area covering the southern corners of Nassau and Queens Counties became home to landmarks like the Argo Theatre, Rottkamp Farm, Schmitt Farm, Laurelton Parkway, Gouz Dairy, Sapienza Bakery, St. John's Methodist Church, and world-famous Belmont Park. Today, Elmont, Rosedale, and the rest of the former Fosters Meadow are home to a large population of Caribbean immigrants, bringing a new culture to the area and, with it, new landmarks and new ideas.

In 1685, Dutch merchants Francis Rombout and Gulian Verplanck received their Crown patent for the purchase of what is known as the Rombout Patent.

This was the first and largest portion of Dutchess County to be licensed for purchase from the Wappinger Indians. The town of Fishkill covers only a small portion of this 85,000-acre parcel of land, but it played an important role for years to come in the shaping of the region and the nation. In this vibrant new pictorial history, over 200 vintage images bring to life the changes that have occurred over the past century in this Hudson Valley community, from Dutchess Junction, Timoneyville, Glenham, and Brockway, to Baxtertown, Osborn Hill, and Brinkerhoff Ville. Readers learn more about the key role that Fishkill played during Revolutionary times, and view area homes where notables like Lafayette, George Washington, and Generals von Steuben, McDougal, and Putnam headquartered.

Ford City was once known as one of Pennsylvania's fastest-growing communities. Experience its transition from company townto bustling borough through stories and images.

The Pittsburgh Plate Glass Companyand the Ford China Company, both established by John B. Ford, made this town the destination of many United States citizens, as well as European immigrants searching for a new life of employment and prosperity.

The vintage postcards in Around Ford Cityreflect the essence of this hardworking, proud, ethnic community. The people, along with the factories, hotels, churches, and many homes, have grown together over generations to form the spirit of Ford City.

This photographic history showcases Greene County, which is located between the ""Rhine of America"" and the scenic northern Catskill Mountains.

Greene County has long been a magnet for settlers, artists, writers, and travelers; it all began with Henry Hudson's exploration of the Hudson River and was followed by the arrival of Dutch settlers. Its geographic location between the ""Rhine of America"" and the scenic northern Catskill Mountains contributes to Greene County's allure, as do the Great Algonquin Flint Mines, fascinating remnants of the area's prehistoric inhabitants, the Mohegans. Much of the content in Around Greene County and the Catskills reflects ""everyday living,"" a sampling of its architecture, people, and activities which reflect a sense of history and changing lifestyles. The inclusion of the Dutch Bronck houses of 1663 and 1738, a National Historic Landmark homestead complex, sets the tone of this visual history. From colonial times through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Greene County (like other New York counties) has been affected by national conditions; its economic base has changed and adjusted accordingly. Different ethnic groups who have chosen Greene County as their home have enhanced the area's rich cultural heritage.