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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.

Prolific inventor Thomas Edison and automobile pioneer Henry Ford shaped the modern world like few others in history.

The lives of these close friends intersected at their winter homes in southwest Florida. Edison first visited the tiny cattle-ranching community of Fort Myers in 1885, building a home and laboratory soon after. There, he wintered with his wife, Mina, and their children, Madeleine, Charles, and Theodore. Ford purchased the adjacent estate in 1916, wintering in the area with his wife, Clara, and son, Edsel. Here in southwest Florida, these famous neighbors relaxed and found time to explore new projects.

In Gold Rush-era Sacramento, turbulent floodwaters chased early citizens to a temporary island--a prominent hill near the Sacramento and American Rivers that came to be known as Poverty Ridge. In the ensuing years, as small farms developed across the southeastern corner of the original city grid, a two-room wooden schoolhouse was erected to serve the educational needs of surrounding families and was named in honor of California's 11th governor, Newton Booth. The surrounding neighborhood came to share the school's name. Since the 1850s, Poverty Ridge and Newton Booth have been home to Gold Rush pioneers, gifted vintners and brewers, devout nuns and nurses, celebrated authors, media giants, and larger-than-life politicians, all with visions of a better life--a California life.

With financial help from his father, Peter Joseph Schroeder, Peter Schroeder opened a small dry goods business in 1891 at the southeast corner of Eighteenth and Washington Streets in the B. Mayer Building. Over the next five years, his brothers Joseph, John, and Frank joined the operation. In 1899, business was flourishing. The current three-story building was constructed at the northwest corner of Seventeenth and Washington Streets, and the store became a physical anchor in the downtown business district. The Schroeders believe in giving back to the community they call home. Over four generations, the Schroeders and their spouses donated more than 5,000 hours to various civic organizations in Two Rivers. Many changes have taken place at Schroeder's in its 126-year history. Today's store offers a full line of men's and women's apparel and footwear, as well as a coffeehouse and alterations. Schroeder's also leases space to a toy shop, yarn shop, quilt shop, and gift shop.