Postcard History Series

Name: Florida Railroads
Brand: Seth H. Bramson
SKU: 9781467103640
Price: 24.99 USD
Availability: InStock

The American Postcard history series books explores the history of an area through vintage postcards. Go fishing in the Salton Sea, tour the iconic Hollywood Studios during their golden age, and then take one of New York City’s subways back in time. From early Denver to the Grand Canyon National Park, these postcard books send greetings from the past to eager readers with a passion for history. [View all Postcard History Series books]

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New York City Subways

$24.99

Badlands, Gateways, and Ghost Towns

$24.99

The New York, Ontario and Western Railway

$24.99

Jefferson County

$24.99

McDowell County Coal and Rail

Florida Railroads

9781467103640

$24.99

The history of Florida railroads began as early as 1834, when the Tallahassee-St. Marks Railroad incorporated. On April 14, 1836, the St. Joseph-Lake Wimico line was the first to be put into service, with trains operating between the boomtown of St. Joseph and the Apalachicola River. Although the Florida railroad "boom" began with Henry Flagler and Henry Bradley Plant, the expansion continued into the 1920s when the president of Seaboard Railway, S. Davies Warfield, extended his lines to Miami and Naples. With the passage of time, numerous railroads were bought, merged, or abandoned. Today, 12 full-service railroads are still operating as well as several port railroads.

Lincoln

9781467108188

$23.99

The village of Lancaster became the state of Nebraska's first capital city in 1867, renamed Lincoln. Not everyone predicted its success. One early observer noted: "There are no roads leading to it now. It has no commerce and there is scarcely a wagon load of produce raised annually within ten, perhaps twenty miles of it." These postcards from the authors' collections tell a different story in 200-plus images of a city that not only survived but thrived. Most of these images are from postcards' heyday in the first quarter of the 20th century. Many show buildings and places still recognizable a century later, while some depict less familiar scenes now lost.

New York City Subways

9780738510866

$24.99

New York City Subways traces the history of mass transportation in Manhattan and New York City's outer boroughs. Public transportation has long been vital to the city, with horse-drawn surface lines established by 1831 and elevated railroad lines constructed during the 1870s and 1880s. The concept of subways, railroads operating underground, originated in London in 1863 and was applied to New York City by 1904. This collection of vintage postcards brings you through the tunnels of the subway, onto the platforms of the long-gone els, and examines New York's renowned terminals, especially Grand Central and Penn Station.

Badlands, Gateways, and Ghost Towns

9781467128360

$24.99

Before the early 1900s, the northern edge of the eroded White River Badlands was virtually impenetrable except for the precarious horseback trails that reached the plain below. The "Badlands Wall" is an escarpment that separates the upper prairie from the lower prairie for 60 miles. In 1907, the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad pushed west from Chamberlain and reached the lower plains of the Badlands. Small towns sprang up to provide water for the steam engines and trade centers for the cattlemen and homesteaders moving into the area. These towns flourished for a time, but when they were no longer needed, they disappeared or became ghost towns. Meanwhile, settlers clamored for roads from the north into the interior. When the Badlands became accessible, tourists traveled to see them. Two towns, Kadoka and Wall, accommodated the tourists and became promoters as the gateways to the Badlands.

The New York, Ontario and Western Railway

9780738562629

$24.99

The New York, Ontario and Western Railway was the first class-one railroad in the United States to be abandoned in its entirety. Whereas other rail lines were closed gradually, the federal government closed down the railroad on March 29, 1957, for its failure to pay employee withholding taxes. The railroad went into bankruptcy in 1937 after its main shipping commodity, coal, was rapidly replaced by oil for home heat. As time passed, the interest in this abandoned railroad grew, and much of the company's records have been recovered and preserved. Today, with 750 members, the Ontario and Western Railway Historical Society Archives Center houses this unique corporate record collection. In addition, there are extensive private collections of everything from locomotives, passenger cars, lanterns, and tools to company passes and railroad police memorabilia.

Jefferson County

9781467127202

$24.99

Situated among the rolling hills of north central Pennsylvania, Jefferson County was formed in 1804. Brookville became the county seat in 1830 by virtue of its location at the confluence of the North Fork Creek and Sandy Lick Creek, forming Redbank Creek, and its centrality in the more than 1,000 square miles that comprised the original county. Settlers timbered, farmed, and rafted products to market when water was high. With the completion of the Allegheny Valley low-grade railroad in 1874 and the Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh Railroad in 1882, mining dominated the area. Rail transportation made possible the development of glass, iron, silk, sheet metal, clothing, and furniture factories. During World War II, several companies manufactured materials in support of the Allies. Today, timbering flourishes, as do the powdered metal and glass container industries. The Allegheny National and Cook forests to the north and historic Brookville, Punxsutawney Phil, and the nationally renowned Coolspring Power Museum all attract many tourists.

McDowell County Coal and Rail

9781467121927

$24.99

Over 200 fascinating postcard images show early coal mining in McDowell County and how it progressed throughout the years.

Coal was discovered in McDowell County, located in the Billion Dollar Coalfield of southern West Virginia, in 1748, but it was not explored or mined until the early 1800s. Mill Creek Coal & Coke Company shipped the first railroad car of coal in March 1883 via the Norfolk & Western Railway. By the early 1900s, hundreds of mining companies dotted the county's landscape. The coal from McDowell County fueled the nation's home heating and steelmaking businesses and both world wars. As the coal industry developed, the local population grew; by 1950, the county had grown from a few hundred people to more than 100,000. .

Johnson City

9781467129664

$24.99

Johnson City's growth was transformed through development of transportation in East Tennessee. Trails first blazed by migrating buffalo and Native Americans evolved into trails for stagecoaches, tracks for rail lines, and paved roads for automobiles. Henry Johnson realized the potential for the area and took a risk in 1854 when he bought a parcel from Abraham Jobe at the junction of the proposed East Tennessee & Virginia Railroad and the stage road to build a home, store, and depot. The community that arose around this complex was known by many names in its early days, including Blue Plum, Haynesville, and Johnson's Depot. However, on December 1, 1869, Johnson City received its first charter of incorporation from the State of Tennessee. As Johnson City approaches the 2019 sesquicentennial of the city's incorporation, this collection of postcards provides a look back at the people, places, and scenery around Johnson City.

Boston Harbor

9780738544816

$24.99

Postcard publishers had plenty to work with in the Boston area at the
beginning of the 20th century, the heyday of the American postcard. The Boston Harbor Islands offered romantic scenery with their stunning natural features, historic lighthouses, and majestic coastal artillery forts. Picturesque summer destinations like Hull and Revere offered everything from sandy beaches to raucous amusement parks to grand hotels. Even the working waterfront in Boston, Quincy's Fore River Shipyard, and quiet Hingham Harbor provided excellent postcard imagery, scenes to be sent home with a "wish you were here" message on the back.