New Book Releases

A well-read and inventive community, Franklin has been home to a number of influential Americans itself, including Horace Mann, the "Father of American Education." Mr. Johnston's pictorial history of Franklin honors the memory of these great citizens and also chronicles the development of the town through its industrial revolution.

A suburb of Boston with its own distinctive identity, Brookline, Massachusetts is explored through the years in this delightful pictorial history.

Join authors Greer Hardwicke and Roger Reed in a celebration of the people and places of Brookline from 1680 to 1940. Brookline boasts many notable historical figures such as Dr. Thomas Boylston, originator of a smallpox vaccine, King Gillette, inventor of the safety razor, and Charles Sprague Sargent, founder of the Arnold Arboretum. Among these notable figures residing in Brookline were many wealthy Boston merchants who maintained estates in the popular suburb.

The exquisite images in this collection provide views of a wide range of architecture, from impressive eighteenth-century estates to multi-family homes for the working class. Churches, schools, and parks are also represented, including Longwood Mall, with its famous copper beech trees imported from Europe, and Cypress Field, the first public playground in America. View designed landscapes from private estates such as Faulkner Farm to suburban developments such as Fisher Hill, and witness the changes that have occurred along Beacon Street and other major thoroughfares. Travel back in time to discover these and many other wonders in the fascinating town where both John and Robert Kennedy were born.

With an excellent collection of more than two hundred vintage images, The Swedes of Greater Brockton tells the unique story of the immigration to this area of Massachusetts. Greater Brockton was the shoe-manufacturing center of the United States, with such factories as W.L. Douglas, George E. Keith, and D.W. Field. These magnets of immigration drew thousands to the region. Within these pages, meet hundreds of these Swedish immigrants and their descendants. Join in their journey to America, visit their homes, churches, and places of business, and experience their leisure activities. Learn about the establishment of the Swedish churches-Lutheran, Congregational, Baptist, Methodist, and the Salvation Army-and see how the entrepreneurial spark in America caught fire in Brockton's Swedish community.

Ashland follows this historical development with over two hundred vintage images, many of which have rarely been seen before. Through photographs beyond memory and others that many may recall, meet the people of this great town and see the buildings and events that make up this incredible story. Ashland takes the reader on a journey from the days of its early settlement, through its development into the village of Unionville and its incorporation into the town of Ashland, to its twentieth-century growth and revival.

Centerville will guide you through the village's picturesque winding rivers, salt marshes, and canopied dirt roads, where you will discover "the Barracks," the well-known home of Civil War veteran A.D. Ayling. You will explore the gardens that Frederick Law Olmstead designed for "Fernbrook," the church where Caroline Kennedy was married, and the site of the village's legendary speakeasy. Centerville will introduce you to James Delap Kelley, one of one hundred five sea captains who lived in Centerville; renowned composer Amy Beach; and sea captain Russell Marston, who left the coastal trade to become a famed Boston restaurateur.

Included in Lancaster are over two hundred vintage images with their exciting stories of the people, places, and landmarks that have contributed to the history of this great town. The book will take the reader on a historic tour to meet the wealthy and philanthropic Thayer family, Boston Brahmins who never lost their love for beautiful Lancaster on the Nashua, and to see their estates, which remain as elegant reminders of a bygone era. In Lancaster, the reader will learn of the Advent pioneers, who laid the groundwork for a small liberal arts institution known at first, simply, as "that New England school" and, later, as Atlantic Union College.

Visit the earliest history of the US with the settlers and industries that were built in Ipswich, Massachusetts and the local charm that persists today.

Founded in 1634, Ipswich is one of the oldest towns in America. It currently has more First Period houses still lived in than any other community in the United States. It was originally the home of Colonial governors, renowned furniture makers, sea captains, and the Heard family, who were giants in the China trade. Added to the early settlers were immigrant millworkers and millionaires who built summer mansions. As nearby towns with broader rivers and deeper harbors became commercial successes, Ipswich went into decline. It was this ""hibernation"" that enabled Ipswich to maintain its earliest homes, spectacular scenery, and local charm.

Through more than two hundred vintage images, Ipswich takes the reader on an exciting journey through the history of this unique town. It presents the town's creative artists, the lives and occupations of its everyday citizens, beautiful landscapes, the mills and the country stores, and the ships and shipwrecks that met the Ipswich coast.

Join author William B. Longo as he completes a comprehensive portrait of this 1848 jurisdiction. Longtime residents will surely appreciate this installment in the region's history.

Hazlet Township--originally composed of four separate villages known as Hazlet, Mechanicsville, North Centerville, and West Keansburg--celebrates its 150th anniversary in 1998, and this marvelous new book has been created to commemorate that occasion. Residents of Hazlet will learn about the community's development since 1900, and study its most significant period of growth--beginning around 1955. The earliest images contained in this volume illustrate Hazlet's rural past, depicting farms and the rustic character of the township. Other photographs represent the history of the township's municipal and public service centers, such as the post office, railroad station, and fire departments. Following World War II, the township began to lose its village divisions, and Hazlet Township describes this change in detail.

On September 8, 1875, Wellesley College, an undergraduate liberal arts college for women, opened its doors to its first students.

Eager, brave, and determined, they came from around the country to begin their new life. They took classes and made their home in College Hall, the grand building founders Henry and Pauline Durant built on a hill overlooking Lake Waban. From the beginning, an outstanding faculty, led and inspired by a series of gifted female presidents, devoted themselves to the education of their students, encouraging intellectual discussion, debate, and analytical thought. In this pioneering world of women's education, a community of learners was born and has thrived for the past 130 years. Wellesley's graduates have carried the tradition of excellence beyond the campus, epitomizing the college's mission ""to provide an excellent liberal arts education for women who will make a difference in the world."" In photographs and words, Wellesley College tells the story of this school from its early beginnings.

Most of the images used in Dedham have never before been published. They show the homes, businesses, and portraits of some of the most illustrious citizens, as well as the more modest individuals who have made an impact on the town. They include rare photographs related to the military, unusual events, and the unique everyday life of Dedham and its citizens from the earliest days of photography. Also among them are photographs by Fred Holland Day, considered one of the fathers of modern photography.

Renowned local historian and author Anthony Mitchell Sammarco has brought together more than two hundred compelling images of the town of Dorchester, showing the events, places, and faces that defined Dorchester during the exciting period between its annexation to Boston in 1870 and the early 1920s.

Dorchester was settled in 1630 by Puritans from England, and for over two hundred years it remained a small farming community. However, the arrival of the Old Colony Railroad brought first a flood of wealthy new residents from the city of Boston, and soon a second wave of newly-arrived immigrants who introduced a new diversity and vibrancy to the area. The photographs in this book show a community which has constantly embraced change and diversity without losing its sense of tradition and pride in its heritage. They bring to life the history of such neighborhoods as Meeting House Hill, Grove Hall, Codman Square, Pope's Hill, and Neponset, showing buildings long gone and many that are still familiar features of the local landscape, as well as busy streetscenes and images of Dorchester residents at work and play during fifty key years of the town's history.

Gloucester on the Wind is an engaging history of this town, with never before seen historical photographs.

Since the development of photography in the mid-nineteenth century, the camera has been used as a tool of both discovery and preservation. Photographs bring alive our image of the past, and can open a floodgate of memories and nostalgia or inspire curiosity and a sense of history. Originally founded by a fishing company from Dorchester, England, in 1623, Gloucester has always been linked to fishing and the sea. By 1870 Gloucester was the leading fishing port in the Western Hemisphere, and its great fleet of fast, white-winged schooners ranged deep into the heart of the Atlantic in search of cod, haddock, halibut, and mackerel. These stunningly beautiful ships and the hardy men who sailed them made Gloucester an evocation of courage, perseverance, and seamanship unique in America's maritime heritage.

Images of America: Charlestown explores this historic city's rich and fascinating history through photographs.

Originally settled in 1629, Charlestown became well-known as the scene of the pivotal Revolutionary Battle of Bunker Hill, actually fought on Breed's Hill. Recovering from a devastating fire at the hands of the British soon after the battle, Charlestown went on to become a prosperous neighbor to Boston, eventually being annexed to the larger city in 1874. Today the city is enjoying a tremendous rebirth and the restoration of many of its important landmarks, such as the 1780 Warren Tavern.

Southbridge presents historical images of the town as it grew and thrived during and after the Industrial Revolution, from the Globe Manufacturing Company to the world-renowned American Optical Company. Southbridge is defined not only by its industrial past. Equally important are the images of the commerce, agriculture, and everyday life of its people.