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The opulent facades of the City by the Sea concealed the scintillating scandals, eccentric characters and unsolved mysteries of its wealthiest families.

Newport, Rhode Island, is renowned for its stunning cliff-side vistas and the luxurious summer homes of the Gilded Age elite. Learn how Cornelius Vanderbilt III was cut out of the family's fortune for his unapproved marriage to Grace Wilson and how John F. Kennedy's marriage to a Newport debutante helped to secure his presidency. Travel to the White Horse Tavern, where a vengeful specter still waits for his supposed murderer to return to the scene, and discover the mysterious voyage of the "Sea Bird" and its missing crew. Historian Larry Stanford searches the dark corners of Newport's past to expose these scandalous tales and more.

After legendary sheriff Pat Ware was thrown from his horse on a very muddy Commerce Street, the Gainesville Daily Hesperian observed that he “had enough mud sticking to his wardrobe to start a land boom in the Panhandle.” The Hesperian had an eye for detail, down to the autumn leaf pen wiper Dr. Arthur Carroll Scott received as a wedding present and the raid on Fount Duston’s watermelon patch. Ron Melugin has pored over thousands of articles from the newspaper’s frontier era, piecing together advertisements for Botanic Blood Balm and a county clerk’s train robbing spree. It is an account of bygone Gainesville so vivid that modern readers can almost see, hear and even (in the case of the 1894 privy ordinance) smell it.

Georgia historian and professor Jeffery C. Wells recounts the tragic tale of the Camp Creek Train Crash of 1900.

On June 23, 1900, the Southern Railroad Company's Engine ,7 and its passengers were greeted by a tremendous storm en route to Atlanta, Georgia. Stalled for some time in nearby McDonough, travelers grew impatient as rain pelted the roof and wind buffeted the cars. When finally given the go-ahead, their resulting joy was short-lived: the locomotive soon reached Camp Creek--and disaster.

After weeks of constant showers, the swollen creek had eroded the bridge supports. Under the train's weight, the bridge collapsed, and all but nine perished in either the fiery fall or watery depths.

Personal stories of life in Galveston in the mid-nineteenth century.

In 1855, Friedrich Gloor was just nineteen when he was sent from Basel, Switzerland, halfway around the world to teach at the First German Lutheran Church school in Galveston, Texas. He spent the next eleven years writing letters to his family about a place that was very different from his Swiss home. The climate was harsh, with stifling heat and bitter cold, droughts and floods. He provides a firsthand account of the treatment of slaves, frontier justice by hangings and burning criminals in the streets, shipwrecks, the yellow fever epidemic and the Civil War. However, Friedrich was haunted by something from his life in Switzerland for which he constantly asks for forgiveness. Friedrich’s secret remains shrouded in mystery, but his letters are a vivid glimpse into the pivotal moments of Galveston’s early history.

Author and East Tennessee historian Joe Guy unearths tales from the Volunteer State's most distinct region - the Southeast - in this new volume.

With lost lore of Cherokee natives, forgotten stories of Civil War strife, recollections of cherished regional traditions and much more, The Hidden History of Southeast Tennessee offers a captivating collection that possesses the air of mystery reflected in the hills and hollers from which these tales originate. Join Guy as he recounts the fascinating history of this one-of-a-kind corner of Appalachia and presents stories peppered with mountain flavor, all supported by scholarly research and historical inquiry.

Authors Emily Ford and Barry Stiefel delve into the Jewish communities settled in New Orleans and along the Mississippi Delta.

The early days of Louisiana settlement brought with them a clandestine group of Jewish pioneers. Isaac Monsanto and other traders spited the rarely enforced Code Noir banning their occupancy, but it wasn't until the Louisiana Purchase that larger numbers colonized the area. Immigrants like the Sartorius brothers and Samuel Zemurray made their way from Central and Eastern Europe to settle the bayou country along the Mississippi. They made their homes in and around New Orleans and the Mississippi River delta, establishing congregations like that of Tememe Derech and B'Nai Israel, with the mighty river serving as a mode of transportation and communication, connecting the communities on both sides of the riverbank.

A startling rise and retreat

In the 1920s, a reborn Ku Klux Klan slithered into South Dakota. Bold at times, the group intimidated citizens in every county. KKK anti-Catholicism sentiment resulted in the murder of Father Arthur Belknap of Lead. Idealized Gutzon Borglum, sculptor of Mount Rushmore, operated as a white supremacist and KKK leader. In 1925, animosity between the KKK and Fort Meade soldiers came to a clash one night in Sturgis. The clatter of two borrowed .30 caliber Browning cooled machine guns split the air over the heads of a Klan gathering across the valley. Author Arley Fadness follows the Klan’s trail throughout the Rushmore state.

In 1948-49, Nebraska experienced a winter like never before. Brutal cold, unbearable winds and record snowfall made roads impassable and life difficult for locals. Farmers and ranchers struggled with hunger due to a dwindling supply of coal and food. The governor requested federal aid, and the U.S. Air Force dropped bales of hay into pastures for animals. Many locals perished in the weather, and icy roads forced the state to redesign and rebuild highways. Author Barry Seegebarth details the tragedy and courage of the Nebraska winter of 1948.

A Highway Runs Through It

When U.S. Highway 29 between Greenville and Spartanburg was completed in 1946, it became the first modern super highway in the Upstate region. Known by many as the Super Highway, it was lauded as the “finest type in the country.” Although it is technically a north–south highway, it takes a meandering course across piedmont ridges, adding side roads and economic development. The businesses that grew along the corridor created a new landscape for the region. J. Harley Bonds was a longtime furniture store owner who helped desegregate Greer High School. W.O. Ezell helped beautify Spartanburg with his landscaping. Authors William “Lynn” Duncan and Scott Withrow explore the fascinating history of this well-traveled Upstate highway.

Author Larry Humes traces the events and characters that put Venice on the proverbial map. Venice is certainly not among the oldest cities in Florida. The fact that it even survived its rocky beginning is nothing short of remarkable. But it was luck and persistence that transformed the little City on the Gulf into one of Florida’s most sought-after destinations. Venice wouldn’t be what it is today without the Kentucky military school that saved the town from bankruptcy and the construction of an army air base that helped America win World War II while increasing the local population tenfold. And don’t forget the “Greatest Show on Earth,” which called Venice home for more than three decades.

Author Tim Hollis celebrates classic Peach State signage. Many Georgians have never stopped to realize how many of their fond memories involve advertising signs. Although these neon spectaculars, billboards and even signs painted directly onto brick walls were created expressly to persuade customers or tourists to patronize businesses, many such signs remained in place for so long that they became landmarks in their own right. From a bevy of signage for Georgia’s own Coca-Cola to tourist attractions from Okefenokee Swamp Park in the south to Tallulah Point in the mountains, revisit the signs that have wormed their way into the collective memory.

While known for the twang of its country music, Nashville is also home to a colorful and salacious past. A must-read for Nashville history enthusiasts.

The earliest settlers to lay claim to the land surrounding Nashville brought with them betrayal, murder and thievery.

As the city grew, authorities unsuccessfully attempted to outlaw and remove vice. During the Civil War, the number of soiled doves

Elizabeth Goetsch dives into Nashville's wicked past and explores some of Music City'smore tantalizing history.

Before Las Vegas, there was Phenix City, Alabama--the original sin city.

Once the sprawling capital of the Muscogee Indian Empire, the region took a sinister turn when a holy war engulfed the southern territories in 1812, leading to the murder of the infamous Chief William McIntosh. Later, atrocities continued at Fort Mitchell, the killing grounds for early Georgia politicians who fought to the death over rival politics and bitter feuds. By the 1950s, Phenix City was home to the "Dixie Mafia," and crime and corruption ruled over the little riverfront city. Take a walk with author Faith Serafin as she travels through the darkest recesses of Phenix City's past.

The Story Behind an Iconic Landmark: Woodland Cemetery

Woodland Cemetery was founded in 1848, three years before Des Moines was incorporated as a city. One of the earliest Victorian “garden cemeteries,” its oak tree–covered hills served as the city’s first park. People could be buried at Woodland regardless of race, religion or income. Meet early pioneers like the Younkers, Tones and Neumanns, who immigrated here and started early businesses that withstood the test of time. Veterans from the War of 1812 to the Vietnam War are buried here. Civil War brothers in arms, Black and white, Union and Confederate, lie side by side. Woodland Cemetery is also an official stop on the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. Woodland volunteers Mary Christopher and Mike Rowley reveal fascinating stories of these departed residents.

Oklahoma in the Great War.

On April 6, 1917, the United States entered World War I. As the country prepared for war, the state of Oklahoma answered the call. Thousands of men, including Native Americans who did not have American citizenship, entered the service prepared to sacrifice their lives while men and women on the home-front dedicated themselves to supporting the war effort. Like many other states, Oklahoma was hampered by overzealous Councils of Defense and the devastating Flu Epidemic, overcame those challenges to provide a unified front. Author illuminates the fascinating history of the state by bringing together little-known stories from all over Oklahoma.