Arcadia Bestsellers

West Virginia in the Civil War chronicles the role West Virginians played in the Civil War through the use of vintage photograph

West Virginia, ""Child of the Storm,"" was the only state formed as a result of the Civil War. West Virginia witnessed battles, engagements, and guerrilla actions during the four years of the Civil War. The struggle between eastern and western Virginia over voting rights, taxation, and economic development can be traced back to the formation of the Republic. John Brown's 1859 raid on the United States Arsenal at Harpers Ferry played a major role in the Civil War, which started in western Virginia with the destruction of Baltimore & Ohio Railroad property. When Virginia voted to secede and join the slave-holding Confederacy, the counties of western Virginia formed the pro-Union government known as the Restored Government of Virginia in Wheeling. West Virginia in the Civil War chronicles the role West Virginians played in the Civil War through the use of vintage photographs.

Hershey, Pennsylvania, went from relative unknown to an American dream come true thanks in large part to the risk taken by its founder, Milton Hershey.

In 1903, successful candy-maker Milton Hershey began a new enterprise that many people thought was doomed. He planned to build the biggest chocolate factory in the world, and a town to house its employees. The location he chose, near his birthplace in rural Derry Township, Pennsylvania, was most unlike the traditional urban factory settings of the era. Hershey is the pictorial history of what happened next. Through period photographs, many of them in print for the first time, and engaging narrative, Hershey reveals how the place, the people, the industrial age, and Milton Hershey himself contributed to the success of his scheme. Hershey includes an introduction to the history of Derry Township, tracing it from Milton Hershey's birth in 1857 to his return in the early 1900s. The book follows the intertwining stories of Milton Hershey's life, the growth of his chocolate company, the development of the school for needy boys that he endowed with his entire fortune, and the evolution of his model company town. The transformation of Hershey into a tourist destination and its survival after the death of its founder in 1945 conclude this chronicle of a vision turned into reality.

The history of Grand Central Terminal, from construction to world-famous landmark, and its influence on the New York City community surrounding it.

Built in the heart of the Empire City is the world's greatest and most iconic railway terminal. A colossal Beaux-Arts style transport nexus, Grand Central Terminal was completed in 1913 from the legacy of the railroad tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt. The terminal quickly became vital to travel and today accommodates 750,000 people daily. This book documents the construction of Grand Central Terminal, the former Grand Central Depot (1871) and Grand Central Station (1900), and illuminates the incredible story of the terminal that revolutionized transport, developed Midtown Manhattan, and opened railroad access to suburban areas.

Located 50 miles southwest of Chicago, the Illinois Midland Railway connected Newark and Millington, two small towns surrounded by farmland barely two miles apart.

The Illinois Midland Railway began in 1914. Originally, plans called for a 120-mile railroad to be built across northern Illinois, connecting the cities of Rockford and Kankakee and bypassing congested Chicagoland rail traffic. A turbulent financial start resulted in just 1.962 miles of rickety track that meandered through forests, pastures, and across a creek. Townspeople there rescued the struggling railroad then ran it successfully under the tutelage of the Newark Farmers Grain Elevator Company, getting into record books along the way as “The World’s Shortest Railroad.” The end came in 1967, when vandals burned a couple of the railroad’s bridges. The Midland ceased operations, and the rails were removed, but again townspeople in Newark and Millington came to the rescue, each establishing museums to keep the memory of their Midland alive today.

Jeff Kehoe is a retired history teacher and active member in several railroad historical societies. Growing up in a Chicagoland railroad family, he has written stories for numerous publications. As a lifetime member of the Milwaukee Road Historical Association, he has written four books for that organization. This is his first book for Arcadia Publishing. The photographs and maps are courtesy of various sources, including the Fern Dell Museum in Newark, Millington Illinois Historical Museum, and the author’s own collection.

See how Cleveland's growth, strength and wealth of diversity made it the most populous, prosperous and influential city in the history of Ohio.

Located on the southern shores of Lake Erie, Cleveland was founded in 1796 by General Moses Cleaveland, an agent of the Connecticut Land Company surveying the Western Reserve. The modest frontier settlement became a village in 1815 and an incorporated city in 1836. By 1896, Cleveland boasted the Cuyahoga Building, the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, the Arcade, and the stately mansions of Euclid Avenue. Also known as "Millionaire's Row," it was home to Cleveland's industrial, commercial, cultural, and political elite, including Tom L. Johnson, a streetcar magnate and arguably Cleveland's finest mayor, and John D. Rockefeller, the founder of the Standard Oil Company and the nation's first billionaire. Native Clevelander Thea Gallo Becker takes you inside her city's rise to prominence.

Learn the exciting story of the railway that changed the country and the masterminds behind it all.

A full generation has passed since a New York Central emblem dashed across the countryside on a railroad car, but few could ever forget "the greatest railroad in the world." The New York Central System grew from an amalgamation of smaller lines stretching from Albany to Buffalo in the 1830s. Twenty years later, the lines were gathered into a single company. Its phenomenal success did not go unnoticed by Cornelius "the Commodore" Vanderbilt. In his late sixties, when most men retire, he methodically started acquiring railroads in the New York City and Hudson River region. He then acquired the New York Central and merged it with his Hudson River Railroad. The Commodore and his son William, the foremost rail barons of their age, forged ahead with one of the most dynamic future-directed endeavors in the world-a railroad empire that traversed 11 states and 2 Canadian provinces.

In the history of the steam locomotive Roanoke Machine Works played a key part. Take a look at this important economic center of the New South.

Roanoke Shops has been an indispensable part of the Roanoke Valley and the ""Magic City"" for more than 125 years. Founded in 1881 as an independent company, Roanoke Machine Works built new locomotives and cars for the Shenandoah Valley and Norfolk & Western Railroads. Situated between the picturesque Allegheny and Blue Ridge Mountains, the facility caused an economic boom in the nearby village of Big Lick and the surrounding area. By 1891, Big Lick had become Roanoke and had emerged as one of the most important economic centers in the New South. Today, Roanoke Shops employs skilled craftsmen who provide the highest-quality overhauls and repairs to diesel locomotives. This book takes a look into its history, particularly at production during that exciting and enchanting era of the steam locomotive.

Images of America: Centralia chronicles many of the images and stories from this fascinating and colorful Pennsylvania community.

Centralia is the saga of a Pennsylvania community consumed by an underground mine fire. The town, founded in 1866, has often been embroiled in tragedy and controversy. Beginning with the infamous Molly Maguires, Centralia was confronted with the murder of its founder and an assault upon its Catholic priest, who cursed the town, saying, "One day this town will be erased from the face of the earth." Almost one hundred years later, a vein of coal that ran underneath the town caught fire and has burned since 1962. In the 1990s, the state of Pennsylvania declared eminent domain and forced most of the town's sixteen hundred residents to leave. Ten people remain in Centralia today.

The Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, is a monument to the nation's 16th president, a commemoration of the country's post-Civil War reunification, and a setting for national events and quiet visits.

Demands for a national memorial to Abraham Lincoln began shortly after his 1865 assassination but produced nothing substantial until the early 20th century. Elevation of Lincoln to legendary status and an extended debate over location and design finally led Congress in 1913 to approve a memorial at the west end of the National Mall. Construction took another eight years. Since its dedication in 1922, the Lincoln Memorial has hosted civil rights demonstrations, presidential events, national celebrations, and day and night visits by millions of people who come to reflect upon one of the most consequential leaders in American history.

Kevin S. Schindler is a historian at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, and has written six books about science and history. Brian Anderson is a Washington, DC, lawyer and Ford's Theatre Society trustee who previously wrote a book about the history of Ford's Theatre. Drawing upon Washington-area museums and research libraries, Schindler and Anderson have assembled a rich collection of historical images to tell the fascinating story of this American landmark.

The Brooklyn Dodgers: The story of a baseball franchise that became family with its city.

If there was ever a place in America where a city and its baseball franchise were as close as family, it was Brooklyn. The legacy of this relationship chronicles childhoods spent at Ebbets Field to the stories of Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey, whose courage helped change the face of America. Baseball in Brooklyn goes back to the beginning of the sport, when a young city embraced a new game and, like missionaries, carried it to the nation. Brooklyn Dodgers carries us from the birth of baseball in the streets of Brooklyn through the decades in Flatbush when Ebbets Field was the center of the Brooklyn community during a time when the players lived in the neighborhoods not far from the ballpark, side-by-side with their followers. In additon to Robinson, Duke Snider, Pee Wee Reese, Gil Hodges, and Johnny Podres all make appearances in this exciting selection of photographs - a large part of which is dedicated to those teams of the 1950s and their irrepressible fans. Author Mark Rucker tells the story from that birth and concludes with the heart-wrenching move of the franchise to the West Coast after the 1957 season.

A town with a significant place in American history as the Birthplace of the Atomic Bomb, this pictorial history takes a visual journey pre-war and post.

Nestled in the foothills of East Tennessee, 25 miles west of Knoxville, is a small town bordered on three sides by the Clinch River. The land first existed under other names - Elza, Robertsville, Scarboro, and Wheat - but in 1942, 59,000 acres of this unassuming rural land were transformed in a matter of weeks into a "secret city" that became known as the mysterious Manhattan District. As a direct result of the letter written by Albert Einstein to President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939, the Manhattan District was created to develop new atomic weapons. Finally named Oak Ridge in 1943 and now thriving with a population of over 27,000, the town continues to be a significant center for the advancement of science and technology used throughout the world. In this pictorial history, photographs and personal descriptions guide readers on a visual journey of the construction of a city and the creation of the atomic bomb, to the post-war transformation of Oak Ridge into a major scientific community in the South.

Radio station WRR, the United States’ first fire and police dispatch network, originated in 1920 thanks to the innovative thinking of Dallas police and fire signal superintendent Henry Garrett, who realized the potential of communicating via the then brand-new medium of wireless radio transmission. When dispatchers began broadcasting music between fire alarms, citizens listened on their homemade sets, and the Dallas, Texas, radio station was born. In August 1921, operating with 50 watts, WRR became the first federally licensed radio station west of the Mississippi River and the second in the United States. During the last 103 years, the WRR call letters have been at the heart of both an AM and an FM station, and North Texas listeners eagerly tuned in to both frequencies. 

It's a conveinent-store giant in the Mid-Atlantic region today, but Wawa's history dates back to its days as an iron manufactuer over 200 years ago.

Founded in 1803 and incorporated in 1865, Wawa has roots in the manufacture of cast-iron water pipes and decorative lampposts. Using the resources and surplus water power from the iron business, the family opened a cotton mill and began producing cotton piece goods, including Red Star diapers. The first Wawa milk plant opened in 1902 and by the late 1950s, the Wawa Dairy had expanded its home delivery business to include over 145 routes. The first Wawa Food Market opened on April 16, 1964. Today, the company is familiar to many as a chain of 545 convenience stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia that offers a wide selection of fresh foods, coffee, and gasoline. Wawa contains vintage images documenting the evolution of the company as it adapted to changing economic and social conditions. From the early days of iron manufacture to the opening of the first store in Folsom, Pennsylvania, Wawa brings to life the many facets of one of America's top privately owned companies.

Join author and Louisiana historian Eric J. Brock on a visual tour of the most captivating New Orleans burial sites -  above ground!

The mysticism of cemeteries is inescapable and the cemeteries of New Orleans are no exception. They have long enticed residents and visitors alike with their beauty and rich history. We are intrigued by the way these sacred cities of the dead have the ability to both fascinate and unnerve us at the same time. Within these final resting places lie many personal histories marked by myriad monuments ranging from grand architectural homages to endearing sculptures and simple gravestones. In New Orleans, the cemeteries are unique in that they are primarily built above ground. Done in part because of the city's location below sea level, this type of burial is also a common practice rooted in the area's Latin culture tradition. Witness this for yourself with over 200 photographs accompanied by an illuminating narrative of some of the most intriguing burial sites of the Crescent City.

A pictoral history of Willow Run - a relative unknown location that became the world's most famous bomber factory during World War II.

In May 1940, Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt called for the production of 50,000 military airplanes. He then drafted the president of General Motors, William Knudsen, to mobilize industry in the United States. The automotive companies were called upon to produce a massive fleet of bombers, as well as tanks, trucks, guns, and engines. By the Willow Run, a sleepy little creek near Ypsilanti, Michigan, Ford Motor Company built the world's most famous bomber factory, which was the ultimate manifestation of the automotive industry's role in building armaments during World War II. By the spring of 1944, Willow Run was producing a four-engine B-24 bomber each hour on an assembly line.

Take a nonstop journey through 131 years of the Western Maryland Railway's history in this photographic tale.

The Western Maryland Railway was never a large Class 1 rail carrier, but during its 131 colorful years of existence, it provided extremely fast, efficient, and reliable freight; coal-hauling; and passenger service in the states it served. This book contains images from the history of this remarkable railroad and also provides the reader the opportunity to see how the legacy of the Western Maryland Railway is being maintained and remembered even today at some of its well-known train stations, such as in Cumberland and Union Bridge, Maryland, now home to the Western Maryland Railway Historical Society (WMRHS). The Western Maryland is now gone, but through the wonderful images captured and preserved by the WMRHS and private archival photograph collections, the dream of the railway will live on.