New Book Releases

Through collections of images spanning across centuries, discover the hidden history of Emmett Township.

On February 19, 1850, the land that would be called Emmett Township was taken from the township of Clyde by an act of the Michigan Legislature. The town was not officially organized until years later when the name was changed to Emmett on April 21, 1883. The founding fathers named the area, the township and the village, after the person they considered to be a true Irish hero: Robert Emmett. The first land purchasers in Emmett were thought to have been Patrick and Bridget Keough Dunigan and their friend Michael Harrington. Much of the land was still inhabited by Native Americans, mostly from the Chippewa tribe. White settlers told stories about Indians coming into the cabins and sleeping by the fire on nights when the temperature was below zero. To pay for the night's lodging, rabbits and other small offerings might be found on the roof of the cabin in the morning. (Why the roof? To keep the meat away from wolves.)

These postcards show you how Bay City looked at its peak in the very early 1900s until about 1940-a time when people were glad they had reached their destinations and happy to send a postcard when they arrived.

Baseball in Detroit documents nearly a century of this sport, following the Detroit Tigers closely.

Covering over 80 years of America's favorite pastime, Baseball in Detroit 1886-1968 takes fans back to the glory days of Ty Cobb in the early 20th century and follows the progress of the Detroit Tigers. From the three-time pennant winners of this century's first decade to the last real championship team of 1968, Detroiters have flocked to see their team play, win or lose. The fact that they have played at the same intersection of town for over a century is a tribute to the pride and loyalty that each has shown for the other. It could be said that no other baseball franchise has such a close relationship with its constituency. This relationship is clearly shown in a fascinating photographic collection, and sports fans everywhere will appreciate this candid glimpse into our nation's favorite game. As we approach the next millennium, a new stadium is under construction for this historic team. It, too, will be the place of legends, where great players and fans will create another glorious 100 years of baseball history in Detroit. The American League, to which the Detroit Tigers belong as charter members, is fast approaching its own centennial.

Eloise, which started out as a poorhouse, later became known as Wayne County General Hospital. Today, all that remains are five buildings and a smokestack.

From only 35 residents on 280 acres in 1839, the complex grew dramatically after the Civil War until the total land involved was 902 acres and the total number of patients was about 10,000. Only one of them, the Kay Beard Building, is currently used.In Eloise: Poorhouse, Farm, Asylum, and Hospital, 1839-1984, this institution and medical center that cared for thousands of people over the years, is brought back to life. The book, in over 220 historic photographs, follows the facility's roots, from its beginnings as a poorhouse, to the founding of its psychiatric division and general hospital. The reader will also be able to trace the changing face of psychiatric care over the years. The book effectively captures what it was like to live, work, and play on Eloise's expansive grounds.

Dr. Helen McAndrew was the first woman doctor in Ypsilanti, opening her practice in 1854. She and her husband were active in the Underground Railroad, which Ypsilanti played a very active role in. Ypsilanti is also the home of Eastern Michigan University, founded in 1848, becoming the first normal school west of the Alleghenies.

Michigan has two beautiful peninsulas that are connected by stories, legends, and mysteries. What Purple Gang member still hangs out in Clare? What spirits lurk at Henry Ford's Greenfield Village?

This book is the perfect glove compartment companion for exploring those paranormal parts of the Mitten State. From the notoriously haunted remote lighthouses like Seul Choix in the Upper Peninsula to Eloise, one of the most famous psychiatric asylums in America, to the legend of Lover's Leap on Mackinac Island, here is a guide to all that and more.

Jon Milan and Gail Offen are writers and good listeners who love to retell the stories they hear traveling through Michigan. This is their fifth Arcadia book.

Albion in the 20th Century features more than 225 photographs from the personal collection of Albion historian Frank Passic, which chronologically show the changes in the community. The book focuses on everyday workers (including union officials and factory workers) and ball teams-plus "famous" people such as wildlife artist Lynn Bogue Hunt and writer-photographer Gwen Dew. Notable events chronicled include the capture of the Purple Gang car, the 1994 NCAA Division III Albion College Britons national football championship, and the Cardboard Classic sled race.

Leslie Pielack tells the story of those whose lives intertwined with the Saginaw Trail, the ancient path that transformed early Michigan.

The Saginaw Trail led from the frontier town of Detroit into the wilderness, weaving through towering trees and swamps to distant Native American villages. Presenting a forbidding landscape that was also a settlers' paradise, the road promised great riches in natural resources like lumber and agriculture, and a future of wheeled vehicles that would make Michigan the center of a global industry.

Detroit Free Press journalist Robert Allen sifts through these advertising fossils, exposing the gripping stories connected to the Motor City's historic rises, falls and eccentricities.

Across Detroit, fleeting symbols of the past hide in plain sight, behind weeds and under veneers of paint. Demolishing a vacant building among empty storefronts on the west side uncovered the telltale gold and green of a Vernors Ginger Ale sign, preserved almost as vibrantly as the artist intended. In faded red, white and blue, Mac-O-Lac Paint makes an expired pitch to passersby on Gratiot near Eastern Market. On the east side, Mohawk Rock and Rye still declares itself the ""World's Finest!"" Carhartt, Stroh's and Faygo appear in odd, deserted places.

Among more than two hundred auto companies that tried their luck in the Motor City, just three remain: Ford, General Motors and Chrysler. But many of those lost to history have colorful stories worth telling.

J.J. Cole forgot to put brakes in his new auto, so he had to drive it in circles until it ran out of gas. Brothers John and Horace Dodge often trashed saloons during wild evenings but used their wealth to pay for the damage the next day. David D. Buick went from being the founder of his own leading auto company to working the information desk at the Detroit Board of Trade. Author Alan Naldrett explores these and more tales of automakers who ultimately failed but shaped the industry and designs today.

Lake Orion details the historical transformation of this small village from vacation destination to suburban paradise.

Orion Township, established in 1835, became a prosperous agrarian and resort community by the beginning of the 20th century. The village of Lake Orion developed as the center of commerce for township residents and a summer community of tourists and revivalists. Passenger boats and an amusement park popularized Lake Orion as a vacation destination with hotels and summer cottages. Suburban development has since transformed the landscape, but township signposts proudly display a vestige of the past: ""Orion Township, where living is a vacation.

Take a fascinating tour of the influential art deco movement and its manifestations in and around Detroit.

Since the 1920s, Art Deco, or "The Modern Style," has delighted people with its innovative use of materials and designs that capture the spirit of optimism to create the style of the future. Although the Detroit metro area is primarily known as an industrial region, it boasts some of the finest examples of Art Deco in the country.

Through a panorama of photographs,Art Deco in Detroit explores the wide-ranging variety of these architectural marvels, from world-famous structures like the Fisher and Penobscot Buildings, to commercial buildings, theaters, homes, and churches. The grandeur evident in some of the major buildings reflects a time when artisans and architects collaborated to craft structures that transcend functionality - they endure as standing works of art.

In rare and historic images, the stories and memories of Jackson from Pioneer days, booms and busts, come to life.

Michigan was not yet a state in July 1829 when Horace Blackman of Berkshire, New York, arrived in Ann Arbor to visit his friend Jonathan F. Stratton, who advised Blackman to make a location claim in a new county that had just been surveyed west of Washtenaw County. Blackman began traveling with Capt. Alexander Laverty, a woodsman and land surveyor, and Pee-wy-tum, a Native American guide. Along the way, they came to the mouth of the St. Joseph Indian Trail, which crossed the Grand River. The earliest pioneers of Jackson stayed there for the first night at what are now Jackson and Trail Streets. The town was first called Jacksonopolis. Later, it was renamed Jacksonburgh. Finally, in 1838, the town's name was changed to simply Jackson.