New Book Releases

The history of Pawleys Island, South Carolina, can be summed up in four words: rice, sea, golf, and hammocks.

The rivers threading through coastal South Carolina created an ideal environment for cultivating rice, and by the mid-18th century, vast plantations were producing profitable crops and wealthy landowners. But those plantations also produced malaria-carrying mosquitoes, so the landowners sent their families to the seashore for the summer and built the first houses on Pawleys Island starting in 1822. The end of slavery doomed the rice culture, and the old plantations were sold to rich Northerners for hunting and fishing retreats. By the 1960s, many of the old plantations were turned into golf courses, reviving the economy. But the beating heart of Pawleys Island remains the rhythm of the sea and what one early visitor called "the only beach in the world."

In 2007, House Resolution 16 of the 110th Congress named the James River as "America's Founding River." The first permanent English settlement in the New World was made on the banks of the James at Jamestown in 1607, and representative government in America began there in 1619. The river runs for 340 miles entirely in Virginia, from the Allegheny Mountains to Hampton Roads and the Chesapeake Bay. Canal boats, steamboats, and railroads made it a mainstream of commerce and communication for the growing state. While the river's scenic views have remained relatively unchanged since 1607, there is still much to discover along its length through 20 counties, three major cities, and numerous small towns on its way to the sea. With more than 200 images, The James River seeks to raise awareness about this great river and its history while helping to protect and preserve it for the future.

Discover Baton Rouge's bygone days of booming growth and the influence of its renowned residents.

For nearly two centuries, Baton Rouge remained a sleepy little river town. Situated on the first bluffs of the Mississippi River north of the Gulf of Mexico, it was prime real estate for habitation. Images of America: Forgotten Baton Rouge collects a plethora of lost images of this city's greatest period of expansion: from the 1890s to the 1930s. This era began when Louisiana State University moved to the grounds of the old US Army arsenal, followed by a corporate decision from John D. Rockefeller to build a Standard Oil Company refinery at Baton Rouge. These historic decisions, coupled with the forward-thinking actions of bold businessmen and politicians like Robert A. Hart and Huey P. Long, changed the face of the city forever.

Through hundreds of scarcely-seen images, follow authors John E. Findling and Tom Morton as they take you around the booming neighborhood that was once a small agricultural community.

St. Matthews, once a prominent neighborhood of Louisville, is now a fourth-class city within metro Louisville. The first settlers came to the area in the 1780s, and for more than a century St. Matthews was largely an agricultural area where farmers specialized in growing potatoes. By 1900, a commercial district had grown at the intersection of several roads, known locally as the Point, and the land devoted to farming was gradually taken over by new commercial and residential development. After the great flood of 1937 and World War II, Shelbyville Road, the principal east-west street in St. Matthews, was the site of a commercial boom that included malls and other shopping centers, automobile dealerships, and a wide variety of other businesses. Today, the town of St. Matthews is a vibrant economic and cultural center that attracts people from all parts of metropolitan Louisville.

The textile industry powered the economic development of west and northwest Georgia in the 19th and 20th centuries. Several water-powered mills emerged in the antebellum period, but the late 19th century brought more growth as new technology allowed entrepreneurs to build cotton mills in towns and cities. The industry diversified in the 1920s, when hosiery mills moved to the region, and local businessmen established the apparel industry around Bremen. At the same time, a handicraft chenille business evolved in northwest Georgia, leading to the thriving carpet industry still centered in Dalton. Although many of the mills and plants have closed, the landscape of this region displays the strong presence of the textile industry. The West Georgia Textile Heritage Trail, a heritage tourism initiative extending from Columbus to Dalton, explores the rich history of these communities and the people who lived and worked in them.