New Book Releases

With more than two hundred vintage photographs, South Orange presents a distinctive view of a village that has evolved from a rural to a sophisticated landscape. Situated next to a two-thousand-five-hundred-acre forest preserve filled with wildlife, South Orange is just a half-hour drive from Manhattan. In the early 1800s, South Orange was popular for its reputation as a healthy, relaxing destination-an escape from the increasingly industrial big-city landscapes of the region. Today, this bedroom community presents a unique mix of cosmopolitan and suburban environments.

South Orange follows the village through growth and development, illustrating how it has maintained much of its original character. The many extant homes in a wide variety of late-architectural styles hint at the summer afternoon tea parties of the nineteenth century. The gas-service lamps lining the streets of South Orange were once fueled by whale oil. The home of the Orange Lawn Tennis Club and Seton Hall University, South Orange was also the dwelling place of W.F. Havemeyer, real-estate tycoon, and Louis Bamberger, founder of Bamberger's Department Store, now known as Macy's. Another South Orange notable was William Frederick Allen, editor of the Official Railway Guide, who helped to implement the use of standard time in the United States.

In 1907, five years before Arizona's statehood, Walter Gist Tolleson and his wife, Alethea, chose the dry Arizona Territory for their sick son. In 1910, they purchased and later subdivided 160 acres just 10 miles from a young settlement known as Phoenix. And in 1912, the town of Tolleson was born. By the 1940s and 1950s, the community had become the "Vegetable Center of the World." The area that was once an agricultural mecca is now divided by suburban sprawl, but Tolleson's original spirit remains. It is bustling with growing schools and industry, as well as world-class sports, shopping, and entertainment facilities, all surrounding a 6-square-mile community with small-town pride. That inexhaustible spirit continues to make Tolleson one of the greatest places in the country to live.

Auburn, the county seat of Placer County, was founded during the Gold Rush in 1848. Unlike many such towns in the Mother Lode, Auburn has remained a vibrant and growing town ever since. This city's relevance since the initial influx of gold seekers is due in part to its location at a nexus of transportation routes, both old and new. Halfway between San Francisco and Reno and at an elevation of just over 1,000 feet--above the fog and below the snow--Auburn is a very attractive place to live. Furthermore, it is a place with sincere respect for its roots, as evidenced by its restored old town, preserved courthouse building, and other historic structures throughout town.

From the Colonia era through the industrial age and into modern times, the Charles River has been a prominent feature of the New England landscape and has undergone a series of dramatice changes. First the site of important Revolutionary battles, the Charles later became home to myriad commercial interests, including lumberyards, slaughterhouses, arsenals, and businesses. The Charles has long been the location of three prominent universities, but only recently has the river come to serve as a recreational and scenic haven for residents and visitors of Boston, Cambridge, Brookline, Watertown, and Newton. The 1970s landmark Clean Water Act did much to transform this much-used waterway into a lovely and popular spot for walking, jogging, cycling, boating, sailing, rowing, picnicking, swimming, fishing, and even windsurfing.

This remarkable photographic history of Federal Hill features images of the community from the late 1800s to the mid-1960s, chronicling the arrival of immigrants from many countries over the years.

During the thirty-four year period from 1898 to 1932, more than fifty thousand Italian immigrants arrived at the port of Providence. The majority of them settled on Federal Hill, the three-hundred-acre land mass that stands high above Rhode Island's capital city. Federal Hill is a rich community in many ways. Its hard working and tenacious settlers started out with a deep and abiding faith in God. Their numerous accomplishments are evidenced today in the many thriving family-owned businesses and stunning architectural achievements so prevalent in the downtown area. Many people from around the state enter Federal Hill through the welcoming pine-cone arch for seasonal festivals or a night on the town. The vitality and hospitality of this historic area are truly cherished by many in the modern era.

An American poet once said that you should pack your boat of life with "only what you need-a home and simple pleasures." A tribute to these simple pleasures is presented in Around Newfound Lake, a nostalgic journey through a rich collection of vintage photographs. We see views of town and country, work and leisure, celebrations and even disasters-a charming collage of daily life through a century of change.

Newfound Lake occupies some 4,106 acres in the foothills of New Hampshire's White Mountains. Fed by underground springs, this pristine lake is nature's own recreation center. In quiet harmony with the lake are centuries-old towns and villages embracing its bounds: places such as Hill, Hebron, Groton, and New Hampton, known by other names and proprietary boundaries when first settled; Alexandria and Danbury, nestled at the foot of Mountains Cardigan and Ragged, respectively; Bridgewater, claiming the lion's share of the Newfound shoreline; and Bristol, the industrial hub.

The history of Atlantic is rooted in the story of unrelenting entrepreneur Franklin H. Whitney. His passion inspired a strong and enterprising breed of men who embraced his vision and settled in the lush hills and valleys of Cass County, Iowa, in the decade following the close of the Civil War. The railroad provided the impetus for rapid growth and prosperity, and Whitney's vision of a new city became a reality when his recommendation for a depot site was approved. Within six days, Whitney's agent, Thomas Miller, had built the first house from which Whitney ordered furrows plowed to the railroad grading. Atlantic was thus born. The town grew rapidly, and by 1869 civic and social organizations, churches, newspapers, banks, schools, and businesses were thriving. Atlantic also had its share of shady characters, outlaw gangs, and disasters. The photographs and stories in this book provide a glimpse into the lives of Atlantic's intrepid developers and the city they established in the valley of the Nishnabotna.

La Grange, voted the capital of the Republic of Texas in 1838, is as colorful and audacious as the state itself. Its citizens were instrumental in winning the republic's freedom and have always been willing to fight for their beliefs. Many defend La Grange as the true capital of Texas, unfairly stripped of its title. The town flourished during the 19th century and witnessed the birth of a rough-and-tumble society, where arguments were commonly settled with fists, knives, and guns. In later years, immigrants flocked to the area and built a strong agricultural economy. The 20th century might have passed quietly into history if not for a Houston television reporter who publicized the demise of one of Texas's best-known brothels, the Chicken Ranch, located just outside of La Grange. The extensive publicity surrounding the closing of the "Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" resulted in a musical and movie of the same name, as well as a song by ZZ Top.

The origins of Wright Park date to 1886, when the Tacoma Land Company--the real estate agency of the Northern Pacific Railway--donated 27 acres of land to the newly incorporated and booming young railroad town of Tacoma on the condition that it become a city park. A hilly, logged, and brambly parcel of land, the acreage was nonetheless enthusiastically received by citizens of Tacoma. Named in honor of Charles Barstow Wright, the president of the Tacoma Land Company, Wright Park and its surrounding streets and avenues soon became the early address of distinction for Tacoma's grand residences as well as many educational, religious, and medical institutions. Now, more than a century later, Tacoma's landmark Wright Park is the recipient of renewed citizen investment and appreciation, as this photographic retrospective demonstrates.

Hiltons is located in the southwest corner of Virginia and was named for the Reverend Samuel Hilton, who moved to the region from North Carolina in 1795. In the 1880s, Hiltons became a vital link for goods being transported both to and from the region when the railroad was constructed from Bristol to Appalachia. U.S. Highway 58 winds through Hiltons to Virginia Beach, providing many miles of scenic travel on what was, for many years, an important transportation route. The Hiltons area is blessed with natural beauty, including the scenic Clinch Mountains, a part of the Appalachian chain, and the lazy flowing north fork of the Holston River. Hiltons is home to the world-renowned Carter family of country music fame and is the location of the Carter Family Museum and Fold, which continues to provide old-time country music entertainment.