Name: Jews of Springfield in the Ozarks
Brand: Mara W. Cohen Ioannides
SKU: 9780738590943
Price: 24.99 USD
Availability: InStock

Jews of Springfield in the Ozarks

9780738590943

$24.99

Jews arrived to the bustling town of Springfield shortly after its founding in 1838, only five years after the birth of the state of Missouri. The first Jews to live in Springfield were Victor and Bertha Sommers with her brother Ferdinand Bakrow. They opened Victor Sommers & Co., a dry goods store in 1860. The Jewish community grew as merchants brought their families, tying Springfield to other towns along the Mississippi River through marriages. The first congregation was founded in 1893 by the German Reform Jews. In 1918, the Eastern European Jews founded their Orthodox congregation. In the 1940s, the two merged. Unlike other small Jewish communities that have slowly perished because of their children's migration to larger Jewish communities where they could use their education, this Jewish community in the Ozarks continues to thrive because of the universities and hospitals in the region.

Joplin

9781467110723

$24.99

When lead was first discovered in southwestern Missouri around 1830, it had little value, and zinc, called "black jack," was discarded as waste. After the Civil War, mining camps sprang up along the Joplin Creek Valley, which was named for Methodist circuit rider Rev. Harris G. Joplin. As the mining camps merged into neighborhoods and zinc increased in value, Joplin was quickly coined "the city that jack built." Known for being a rowdy boomtown, it was said that Joplin had a bar on every corner and a church across the street. Many early settlers came to Joplin seeking their fortunes in the mines, while others came to make their fortunes off of the miners.

Kansas City's Historic Hyde Park

9780738588506

$24.99

Hyde Park, located on Westport's outskirts south of early Kansas City, was the first stop on the long trek down the Santa Fe Trail. Good pasture and a natural cave spring were early attributes. During the real estate boom of the 1880s, the area was platted, but the crash of 1888 intervened, and only a few houses were built. By 1900, with the recovery of the economy and the development of Janssen Place as a private street, the area became the preferred community for Kansas City's wealthy. The architectural style is Queen Anne, Prairie School, Neo-Georgian, Colonial Revival, Kansas City Shirtwaist, and Shingle. These homes glitter with original brass fixtures, lead and stained-glass windows, and oak, mahogany, and walnut interiors. Some of Kansas City's most famous and notorious have lived in Hyde Park, from wealthy businessmen and entertainment stars to serial killers.

Kansas City's Historic Midtown Neighborhoods

9781467113427

$24.99

The unique character of Midtown--from Thirty-first to Fifty-fifth Streets, State Line to the Paseo--grew out of its development as the streetcar suburbs of an expanding Kansas City. As residents both rich and poor moved out of the crowded downtown area after 1880, Midtown neighborhoods were built. The first wave brought mansions to major streets such as Armour Boulevard, Troost Avenue, and Broadway Boulevard, and later a housing shortage spurred the development of Midtown's unique apartment buildings. Well-known architects and local developers created bungalows, shirtwaists, and tree-lined residential streets. Churches and schools, business districts, movie theaters, and other entertainment venues quickly followed residents in their migration to the "south side." By the 1940s, Midtown's growing residential districts had developed into today's popular neighborhoods, including Center City, Coleman Highlands, Countryside, Crestwood, Heart of Westport, Hyde Park, Manheim Park, Old Hyde Park, Plaza-Westport, Rockhill, Volker, Roanoke, South Plaza, Southmoreland, Squier Park, Sunset Hill, Troostwood, Valentine, West Plaza, and Westwood Park.

Kansas City's Historic Midtown Neighborhoods

Kansas City's Parks and Boulevards

9781467112598

$24.99

A fast-growing frontier community transformed itself into a beautiful urban model of parks and boulevards. In 1893, East Coast newspapers were calling Kansas City "the filthiest in the United States." The drainage of many houses emptied into gullies and cesspools. There was no garbage collection service, and herding livestock through the city was only recently prohibited. Through the diligent efforts of a handful of recently arrived citizens, political, financial, and botanical skills were successfully applied to a nascent parks system. "Squirrel pastures," cliffs and bluffs, ugly ravines, and shanties and slums were turned into a gridiron of green, with chains of parks and boulevards extending in all directions. Wherever the system penetrated well-settled localities, the policy was to provide playgrounds, tennis courts, baseball diamonds, pools, and field houses. By the time the city fathers were finished, Kansas City could boast of 90 miles of boulevards and 2,500 acres of urban parks.

Kearney

9780738578095

$24.99

Kearney, Missouri, is just 25 miles northeast of Kansas City, and though it's a quiet farming and ranching community, its close proximity to the downtown area makes it the perfect place for commuters who want a small town to come home to. Officially incorporated in 1869 and most likely named for Charles E. Kearney, president of the Kansas City and Cameron Railroad, Kearney is best known as the birthplace of outlaw Jesse James and his brother Frank. The James brothers joined with the Younger brothers to form a gang that terrorized the Midwest in the chaotic years following the Civil War. Although the James brothers worked only to enrich their own fortunes, a Robin Hood mythology has developed around them. Kearney encourages the celebration of the era, if not the actual man. Jesse James Festival in September is a time for watching rodeos, eating kettle corn, playing mud volleyball, and enjoying world-class concerts at the town's amphitheater. Kearney is the fastest-growing city in Missouri and a point of access to other parts of the state. Its schools are among the best in the country, and the village takes pride in its "business friendly" attitude.

Kirksville

9781467112758

$24.99

Kirksville has made a name for itself with its two major institutions of higher education--Truman State University and A.T. Still University--that attract bright students from all over the world. Incorporated in 1857, it has grown to become the most populous city in northeast Missouri. As the seat of government for Adair County, the courthouse stands proudly in the center of the business square downtown. Entrepreneurs have benefited from railroad lines that entered the town in the 1870s, and many businesses have flourished in Kirksville as a result. Residents braved the tumultuous Civil War and rebuilt the town after major tornadoes and ice storms. Kirksville is a beautiful place to live, as exemplified by nearby Thousand Hills State Park. It is indeed the town "where people make the difference."

Kirkwood

9781467110044

$24.99

In St. Louis in the 1850s, citizens were tiring of the crowded and unhealthy conditions of urban living, but there were few convenient alternatives for those who worked in the city. When the Pacific Railroad decided to build a line through an outlying area then known as Collins Station, Hiram Leffingwell and Richard Elliott seized an opportunity and bought the surrounding land. Using Leffingwell's experience in planning additions to the city, he and Elliott developed the first planned suburban community west of the Mississippi River. The area was named Kirkwood after the chief engineer for the Pacific Railroad, James Kirkwood, who chose the railroad's route. Kirkwood officially incorporated in 1865. Today, it is still referred to as the "Queen of the Suburbs" for its housing stock, convenient transportation, shopping, and excellent schools.

Cover image for Kirkwood, isbn: 9781467110044

KMOX:

9780738591131

$24.99

Since it signed on the air on December 24, 1925, KMOX has literally been the "Voice of St. Louis," a pace setter for the radio industry. That positioning statement perfectly described the station and its mission. Through the years, KMOX listeners have heard hillbilly music, local drama, award-winning news, soap operas, bedtime voices in the night, sports play-by-play, call-in talk shows, local editorials, world leaders, local events, and announcers who were perceived as friends of the family. In radio's heyday, hundreds of CBS network programs heard around the nation originated from the Mart Building studios of KMOX. The station has won every major broadcast award imaginable, directly reflecting its influence and local dominance. For many years, St. Louis's KMOX was tops in the nation in radio market share, and the studios were regularly visited by international radio executives to study the station's success.

Lafayette Square, St. Louis

9780738500225

$24.99

Lafayette Square has always been a reflection of the life and times of St. Louis, Missouri. Originally a common land where cattle grazed and people hunted game, the area was set aside as a public park just before the Civil War. Following that era, Lafayette Square was developed into a showplace for the Victorian era, featuring fantastic gardens, gazebos, a bandstand, an aquarium, and a boathouse. On May 27, 1896, a tornado plowed through the area and destroyed most of its foliage and buildings. Following this tragedy, many homeowners fled to the Central West End, and the once elegant Lafayette Square fell into a state of decline. During the years of the Depression and World War II, the neighborhood and its surroundings became known as "Slum D." In 1945, architect and historian John Albury Bryan purchased a residence at Benton Place and began a fierce and lonely battle to renovate the Square. His dream of restoration became a reality in the 1960s and 1970s when a group of concerned citizens, determined to recapture the area's former glory, banded together to form the Lafayette Restoration Committee.

Lake of the Ozarks

9780738507187

$24.99

Seventy years ago in the Ozarks of southern Missouri, Bagnell Dam was built across the Osage River, creating the beautiful Lake of the Ozarks. Using over 200 images and in- depth captions, author H. Dwight Weaver takes readers back to the origins of this man-made treasure and the towns that surround it. Construction on Bagnell Dam began in 1929, employing thousands of men during the Great Depression. Inundation of the Osage River valley destroyed the area's most fertile farmlands, covered numerous historic sites, and even destroyed Linn Creek, the county seat. But the development also created new towns and a new economy. The images in this new book follow the growth of towns along U.S. Highway 54, including Eldon, Tuscumbia, Bagnell, Osage Beach, and Linn Creek, through the Depression, World War Two, and finally the booming 1950s.

Lake of the Ozarks

9780738519654

$24.99

When the Union Electric Company finished constructing Bagnell Dam in 1931, they had done more than build a source of electrical power-they had created a vacation paradise. Bordered by lush hills and ancient bedrock, the Lake of the Ozarks covers more than 50,000 acres. Since the opening of the lake's first boat docks, three generations of visitors have spent countless days relaxing by its waters. H. Dwight Weaver reconstructs these lazy days, offering readers a vintage tour of one of America's favorite destinations. Each generation witnessed the area's growth, from rustic rock masonry buildings to gravity-defying mystery houses. While travelers in the 1930s and 40s came seeking respite from the Great Depression and World War II, their children and grandchildren returned in happier times, drawn back by the natural beauty and man-made wonders, as illustrated in these historic images.

Lexington

9781467110334

$24.99

Although best known for the cannonball in a column of its Greek Revival courthouse, Lexington was also an outfitting stop on the Santa Fe Trail. Merchants and freighters such as the Aull brothers and Russell, Majors, and Waddell contributed to its prominence, as did steamboats transporting large quantities of hemp and tobacco. Following the Battle of Lexington, Union occupation, and robberies by the James-Younger Gang, the railroads' need for coal led to the expansion of local mines and an influx of immigrants. New prosperity also led to the founding of four private schools, including Wentworth Military Academy. Providing entertainment for the miners was the notorious Block 42, which extended through Prohibition and the Depression. Since that time, Lexington has become a regional service center and a tourist destination.

Livingston County

9781467160124

$23.99

By 1833, settlers began arriving in what became Livingston County, Missouri. The first railroad to span the state cut through the county in 1859, and more followed, which led to the founding of new towns along the railways. Residents built successful farms, schools, churches, and businesses. They served their country in the military. Chillicothe was awarded the State Industrial Home for Girls in 1889. Allen Moore founded the Chillicothe Normal School in 1890, choosing Livingston County because of its "progressive spirit." Rosina Dome was the first Livingston County woman to cast a vote. Lulu May Ott was the only female poultry judge in Missouri in 1915. In 1928, in Frank Bench's bakery in Chillicothe, a loaf of bread was commercially sliced and sold for the first time. Life in Livingston County included races, circuses, theatres, train wrecks, sports, and the Great Flood of 1909. Residents still exemplify a forward-thinking spirit. The history of Livingston County is presented here via rich images uncovered by the authors, Kirsten Mouton and Brenda Anderson O'Halloran, from the collections of the Livingston County Library and the Grand River Historical Society Museum, as well as treasured photographs from the private collections of longtime local families. Many of these pictures have never been shared with the public.

Louisiana

9780738594064

$24.99

Louisiana was founded in 1818, and by 1866 it was the 12th largest city in Missouri. The city's proximity to the Mississippi River fostered lumber, tobacco, and agriculture industries and lured river captains and others whose commerce depended on the river. In 1873, another form of transit bolstered the city with the construction of the Chicago & Alton Railroad Bridge. The third bridge built across the Mississippi, it remains in use today. Pardee College, founded in Louisiana, became McCune College in 1881 and closed in 1895. Funded by Andrew Carnegie, the Louisiana Public Library opened in 1905. Louisiana has been home to famous people, silent movie stars, a governor, a senator, a Carpathia passenger, and many others. The natural beauty of the city's setting remains and Southern hospitality continues.

Marshfield

9780738583037

$24.99

When Webster County surveyor Richard H. Pitts drew up the plans for Marshfield in 1856, the land was a wild frontier in the Missouri backwoods. Named after Daniel Webster's hometown of Marshfield, Massachusetts, the rural community was the birthplace of world-renowned astronomer Edwin P. Hubble. Today, the town is hailed as a favored stop on Route 66 and celebrates the longest-running Independence Day celebration west of the Mississippi River. Over 150 years after it was established, Marshfield is still going strong and creating history that will live for years to come. T he Images of America series celebrates the history of neighborhoods, towns, and cities across the country. Using archival photographs, each title presents the distinctive stories from the past that shape the character of the community today. Arcadia is proud to play a part in the preservation of local heritage, making history available to all.

Maryville

9781467110792

$24.99

In 1845, the Missouri State Legislature created Nodaway County out of the rolling Platte Purchase lands added to the far northwestern corner of the state. Within a decade, small communities emerged; the largest of them was the county seat of Maryville, which was platted in 1845 and started out as a frontier settlement. The intersection of two railroad lines in Maryville in the early 1870s brought traffic and commerce and later made it a center of education with the addition of the Fifth District Normal School in 1905. Superior regional agriculture, diverse local manufacturing, and progressive education helped build a vibrant and durable community that, while similar to hundreds of others throughout the Midwest, fills lives with the rich experiences of communities in constant transition.

Mexico

9780738584485

$24.99

After its founding in 1836, Mexico was named county seat of the newly formed Audrain County. Growth in the primarily agricultural region was slow until the coming of the North Missouri Railroad and the Graduation Act that made land available from the federal government for 12.5¢ an acre. With the introduction of breeding and training saddle horses, the discovery of fire clay deposits, and the implementation of more efficient means of turning the clay into heat resistant brick, Mexico's star ascended. During its heyday, the city was known as the "saddle horse capital" and the "firebrick capital of the world." Today Mexico continues to survive and thrive as "main street of the Midwest."

Cover image for Mexico, isbn: 9780738584485

Missouri in World War I

9781467105132

$24.99

The state of Missouri played a unique role in World War I-as the birthplace of Gen. John J. Pershing, the commanding officer of the American Expeditionary Forces, and Maj. Gen. Enoch Crowder, the primary author of the military draft-and it is an impressive legacy featuring a colorful cast of characters, events, and communities. Missouri was home to two flying aces of the war as well as Bennett Champ Clark, the youngest colonel in the American Expeditionary Forces and the first national commander of the American Legion. During the war, the state was home to farms and ranches that provided an army of mules that assisted Allied forces in hauling critical materials and equipment in the harshest of conditions. Additionally, 156,000 of the state's citizens served in the military with approximately 10,000 wounded or killed in action.

Missouri State Fair

9780738582610

$24.99

The Missouri State Fair has represented the best of Missouri's agriculture and industry since its commencement in 1901. Developed during the Progressive Era, a time of social reform, its early exhibits reflected an interest in scientific agriculture as a means of improving rural life. School exhibits highlighted new attitudes about teaching. In 1921, Missouri celebrated its centennial at the state fair. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, the fair encouraged good nutrition and medical care through its healthy baby contests. During World Wars I and II, it promoted patriotism with parades of military recruits. The grounds, originally 160 acres with 19 buildings, are now 396 acres with 124 buildings reflecting changing architectural styles.

Missouri Veterans

9781467128247

$24.99

Missouri veterans continue to demonstrate their unwavering dedication to both the state and the nation. Theirs is a legacy that stretches forth from the Revolutionary War service of frontiersman Daniel Boone to William Clark, of the famed Lewis and Clark Expedition. During the Civil War, the state became a hotbed of opposing views, as men--such as the notorious Jesse James--joined bands of guerilla fighters who fought to further the cause of the Confederacy. Years later, famed generals, such as William Tecumseh Sherman, chose the state as their final resting site following their dedicated service to the Union during the Civil War. It is a tradition emphasized by the military service of a future president, Harry S. Truman, who enlisted to serve his nation as an artillery officer in the First World War. Found in this book are the images that demonstrate many of the memorials and monuments situated throughout Missouri, highlighting the plentiful and impressive military legacy of the Show-Me State.

Missouri Wine Country

9780738577777

$24.99

Before prohibition, Missouri was the second largest wine-producing state in the union, and for a short time during the Civil War, it was number one. Today the state's lush green area overlooking the Missouri River is officially recognized as America's first wine district. Parts of this district have produced wine since the 1830s, when German immigrants from the Rhine River Valley settled in Missouri. The historic towns of Augusta and Defiance, home of pioneer Daniel Boone, are part of this district. Other towns along the river include Dutzow, the first permanent German settlement in Missouri; Washington, which holds the state record for the most buildings on the National Register of Historic Places; and Hermann, recognized by its settlers as a German utopia.

Nixa

9780738533278

$24.99

This book looks at the people and history of Nixa and the surrounding rural Christian County communities of Sparta, Billings, Linden, Clever, Highlandville, and the rural area around Bull Creek. The area was originally known as "Faughts," for James Jasper Faught, who had operated a trading post at the old "Crossroads" site in 1879. It linked the burgeoning settlement of Nixa to other communities in the area. Nicholas Alexander Inman came from Tennessee in 1852 and opened a blacksmith shop with Joe Weaver. Inman's family farm consisted of 160 acres, which are part of the present day boundaries of Nixa. Nixa was officially incorporated as a village on June 10, 1902.

Nodaway County

9780738552217

$24.99

One of six counties carved out of the Platte Purchase, added to Missouri in 1836, Nodaway County appeared to its first white explorers to be a rolling prairie, marginal for agriculture but full of opportunity for those willing to bring hard work and ingenuity to the land. Within a generation of building cabins and experimenting with a wide variety of agricultural enterprises, the county boasted at least 17 towns, four railroad lines, 16 newspapers, and all the economic and cultural institutions necessary for boosters to lay claim to progress and civility. While residents of towns and the countryside often drew distinctions between one another, their lives were intertwined by mills, horse farms, livestock shows, new technology, churches, schools, public entertainment of every sort, and occasional times of hardship. By the 1920s, the communities of Nodaway County, supported by a vibrant and diverse rural economy, reached a zenith of locally generated economic growth and community activity, captured artfully by photographers during the decades that bracketed the turn of the 20th century.

Old Jamestown

9781467160209

$23.99

Old Jamestown is an unincorporated CDP (Census Designated Place) in far north St. Louis County, Missouri. Its fascinating history includes a Native American settlement associated with the prehistoric Cahokia Mounds in Illinois, land-grant holders of English and Scottish heritage who arrived in the late 1700s, German immigrant farmers who came during the 1800s, and prominent families who arrived in the mid-1900s. With only two miles separating the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers just north of Old Jamestown, its ferries once provided connections from St. Louis and Florissant to St. Charles County and Illinois. Today, Old Jamestown includes residential subdivisions and nonprofit organizations, but much of it retains its rural ambiance because its karstic topography limits development.

Osage Beach

9780738594224

$24.99

In 1886, the railroad-tie industry spawned the village of Zebra at the confluence of the Osage and Grand Glaize Rivers in the Ozark region of south central Missouri. Forty-five years later, when the Lake of the Ozarks was created by the construction of Bagnell Dam, the water inundated Zebra, and the village was reborn as Osage Beach. At its core, the bridge linked land, water, and people to create a recreational jewel in the heart of the Midwest, and the people, roadside businesses, and lakeside resorts featured in this book were among the pioneers who made it all possible. The story begins with the construction of the Grand Glaize Bridge, which became known as the "Upside Down Bridge." US Highway 54 passes through Osage Beach, and this book follows the growth of the town as it spread east and west along the shoulders of the highway and out onto the peninsulas and shorelines of the lake.

Ozark

9780738532110

$24.99

The name Ozark comes from the French Aux Arcs. The town of Ozark may have gotten its name because it is at the bend of the creek. Today the term Ozark refers to the large upland region that covers parts of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. Ozark, Missouri is nestled in the hills of this region and serves as the county seat of Christian County. This book looks at Ozark's 150 year history, using vintage photographs from the Pegram Collection to capture the spirit of the town and surrounding areas. Ozark has long prided itself on its hospitality, and that is evident here in the images of people, events, schools, railroads, and more that have made Ozark the warm and friendly town it is today.

Pruitt-Igoe

9781467125826

$24.99

In the early 1950s, Pruitt-Igoe, a vast public housing project, arose on 57 acres on the near north side of St. Louis. Barely 20 years after construction, the 33 eleven-story buildings that made up the complex were razed, and the vacant land that was once home to thousands of people was gradually reclaimed by a dense, neglected urban forest. What happened in-between is a story that tempts but also defies simple narratives. It is a story of interweaving and competing accounts, both then and now. This volume approaches Pruitt-Igoe with all of its contradiction in mind. Alongside iconic images, other seldom-seen photographs flesh out the history in sometimes surprising ways and, in doing so, preserve some of the stories that are in danger of being permanently erased and lost, just as Pruitt-Igoe was.

Ralls County

9780738594026

$24.99

In 1820, Ralls County was the cradle of northeast Missouri civilization. Ralls was a "Benton Baby," born from a political deal brokered by the powerful Thomas Hart Benton and named for an ordinary New London farmer and state representative. In fact, no other US county is named Ralls. One citizen became a Texan patriot serving defenders at the Alamo, while a slave from the county was ordained as America's first African American Catholic priest. Ralls is blessed with springs, salt licks, farmlands, wildlife, abundant hardwood timber, coal, sand, gravel deposits, and limestone, and most importantly the Salt River passes through it. Development progressed slowly, but Ralls became a major north-south thoroughfare and had the first direct rail route from Hannibal to St. Louis. The Atlas Cement plant produced millions of barrels of cement that were used in the construction of the Panama Canal and the Empire State Building. Today, the Clarence Cannon Dam prevents flooding while providing recreational opportunities rivaling more prominent Missouri lakes.

Route 66 in Missouri

9781467102667

$24.99

Route 66 is the "Main Street of America," heralded in song and popular culture. It took a maze of different routes through St. Louis before slashing diagonally across the "Show-Me State" through the beauty of the Ozarks. In between, there are classic motels, diners, tourist traps, and gas stations bathed in flashing and whirling neon lights. Natural wonders include crystal-clear streams, majestic bluffs, and wondrous caverns. Roadside marketers concocted legends about Jesse James, painted advertisements on barns, lived with deadly snakes, or offered curios such as pottery and handwoven baskets. That spirit is alive today at the Wagon Wheel and the Munger-Moss, the Mule, Meramec Caverns, and Ted Drewes Frozen Custard, just to name a few. Their stories are included here.

Route 66 in St. Louis

9780738552163

$24.99

In 1926, highway planners laid out a ribbon of roadways connecting the nation. One of the most important wove its way across eight states, from the cities of the heartland to golden California. In The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck calls it "the Mother Road." Route 66 has become a legend, celebrated in books, movies, works of art, and popular music. The interstates could not kill it. As "the Main Street of America," Route 66 had to pass through "the Gateway to the West," St. Louis. Crossing the Mississippi River, the road took many different paths through the busy city and then united to travel into the rolling hills of the Ozarks. Along the way there were mom-and-pop motels, tourist traps, roadside restaurants, a man selling frozen custard, one living with snakes, and another who claimed to be Jesse James. Their stories are here.