Calais

9781467105231

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From the era of the indigenous Passamaquoddy people to the booming growth that led to its development as a 20th-century commercial hub, the history of Calais is distinctly American. Briefly settled by Europeans in 1604 when a French group that included Samuel de Champlain spent an ill-fated winter fraught with casualties, Calais's first permanent settlers arrived in 1779. As the lumber trade developed, the young city thrived in spite of its remote location. The first industrial railroad in the state was built in Calais in 1832 to fuel its development as the second-busiest port on the Eastern Seaboard, and soon, families like the Murchies and the Becketts were heavily involved in furthering local businesses. Lumber, shipbuilding, and granite quarrying each contributed to Calais's rise--as well as its gradual 20th-century decline as the respective industries collapsed. From a height of nearly 8,000 residents in 1900, Calais's population steadily dwindled to less than 3,000 today.

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Cromwell

9781467102704

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Once known worldwide as "Rosetown," Cromwell has enjoyed multiple identities in its nearly 370-year existence. Initially called Upper Houses, the village was a tiny religious and agricultural outpost of the larger Middletown colonial settlement on the Connecticut River. Gradually, substantial maritime activities developed to define the community. However, by the mid-19th century, Cromwell had become an independent rural town with small farms and businesses, its river port no longer of consequence. Later, the famed greenhouses and floral industry provided international recognition. Small manufacturers and quarries also contributed to the economy. By the late 20th century, the village had become a suburban community, its cohesion impacted by the construction of major highways as well as significant commercial and residential development. At each incarnation, the town has pushed out toward its defining geographic boundaries, and the conflict between the old and the new has created changing patterns of social, economic, and political organization.

Dolle's Candyland, Inc.

9781467105248

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Dolle's Candyland, Inc., has been an institution to beachgoers of the Eastern Shore since 1910. Behind every piece of saltwater taffy, kernel of caramel popcorn, and other delectable sweet produced by Dolle's is a rich history with ties to other well-known Eastern Shore establishments. Family-owned and -operated since 1910, Dolle's unique history of candy manufacturing makes for an interesting tradition still carried on today. With locations in Ocean City, Maryland, and Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, millions of beachgoers have enjoyed Dolle's by indulging in the homemade sweets or simply enjoying the business's timeless presence on the boardwalks of two popular seashore destinations.

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Downtown St. Paul

9781467102469

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Minnesota's capital city was given a lofty identity when young Catholic priest Lucien Gaultier built a modest log chapel in a wilderness clearing and named it for his patron saint. St. Paul's modern downtown would later take shape at this very site. In the mid-19th century, St. Paul's strategic location at the head of navigation on the Mississippi River was naturally suited as a way station for goods and a hub for settlers pouring into the Upper Midwest. While St. Paul had to relinquish its ranking as Minnesota's largest city to its twin, Minneapolis, the city remains at the center of state politics as Minnesota's state capital. Following World War II, a suburban boom weakened the business district, and downtown St. Paul fell into decline. Over the last 40 years, however, St. Paul's downtown has been reinvented as a major sports, entertainment, and cultural center.

DuPont

9781467102810

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In 1833, the British Hudson's Bay Company established the first Fort Nisqually as a fur trading post in the area now known as DuPont, Washington. When the second Fort Nisqually closed in 1870, its last commander, Edward Huggins, homesteaded the old fort site. In 1906, the DuPont Company, founded in 1802 by E.I. DuPont, purchased land from Huggins and other small farmers and constructed a powder works plant to manufacture explosives. In order to house plant workers and their families, the company created a village, named DuPont. At its height, the company employed approximately 400 people at the plant, with 600 living in the village. In 1951, the town incorporated. Due to a waning need for powdered explosives, the DuPont Company closed the plant in 1976 and sold its property to the Weyerhaeuser Company. A period of rapid growth in business development followed, and DuPont now confidently faces the future as a modern city.

Forestry Sciences Lab in Mercer County

9781467106085

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John F. Kennedy was profoundly moved by the tragedy of generational poverty after touring southernmost West Virginia during his presidential campaign. Six months after his election in 1961, President Kennedy established the President's Appalachian Regional Commission with the governors of all eight Appalachian Mountain states. On October 12, 1961, the Mercer County Commission joined forces with the president and the US Forest Service to donate a portion of the former Mercer County Poor Farm to develop the nation's first Forestry Sciences Laboratory. President Kennedy selected well-known forester Frank Longwood as director, and Longwood assembled a group of forest scientists who were dedicated to the task of restoring and marketing the Appalachian hardwood forest. With the same dedication that rocket scientists applied to fulfill Kennedy's dream of sending an American to the moon and back, timber scientists restored and marketed the great Appalachian hardwood forest. The US Forest Service left the site in 2016 but worked with the Mercer County Commission, the US General Services Administration, and the National Park Service's Historic Surplus Properties program to establish a site dedicated to history and public service.

South Bend Defense Industries

9781467105255

$23.99 $16.79 Save 30%

The three things needed for the defense of a nation and its people are honest, resolute leaders; brave military service members; and a dedicated industry that can provide the proper tools needed to keep citizens safe from harm. Ever since the very beginning of the United States' existence, businesses have devoted countless amounts of time and effort to design, engineer, and produce the weapons and systems that the men and women of the armed forces need for protecting the country. A substantial part of America's "Arsenal of Democracy" has been centered in and around South Bend, Indiana. The Studebaker Company produced thousands of wagons for the Union army during the Civil War, plus trucks, aircraft engines, and more for later conflicts. Today, its descendant AM General Corporation produces tactical wheeled vehicles, including the renowned Humvee in all its many variations, for the United States and its allies. Honeywell Corporation has a long and colorful history in South Bend as well, while many smaller companies answered the call to produce military equipment for the armies of freedom.

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Stafford

9781467103695

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Stafford, nestled in the hills of Northeastern Connecticut, was settled in 1719. Originally an agrarian community, the town has a diverse history. The discovery of iron ore led to a thriving iron industry that produced various items, including cannons and shot for the Continental Army during the American Revolution. The mineral springs, long known to the Native Americans, became a destination location, attracting visitors such as John Adams, future president of the United States. Stafford hosted one of the earliest agricultural fairs in the state, which ran until 1969. The biggest influence on the town was the introduction of the textile industry in the early 19th century. As immigrants of many ethnicities came to town to work, Stafford experienced unprecedented growth and the population diversified. Stafford's mills became major contributors to the country's textile industry, particularly wool manufacturing.