The Fort Wayne Wizards' 1993 arrival marked the beginning of professional baseball in northeast Indiana for many. However, the city boasts a rich baseball heritage that traces its roots to the very origins of the game. In fact, baseball and its record books begin with Fort Wayne. Over more than 135 years, dozens of teams have called Fort Wayne their homefield, making players into local legends and stars who excelled in the spotlight of baseball's biggest stage. Baseball in Fort Wayne recounts the sport's presence in the city, from the earliest days of 1871's Kekiongas to today's Wizards, as well as those who took the field in between.

For centuries, the mountains and valleys that became the Running Springs area have swelled with natural resources, supplying the hunting and gathering needs of Native Americans who harvested acorns and herbs and hunted deer and other wildlife to sustain themselves through the winters in the valleys below. Nineteenthcentury gold prospectors passed through the Running Springs vicinity on their way to the Holcomb Valley. Lumbermen came to harvest the virgin timber, supplying the construction requirements of the booming population of Southern California as well as the need for shook, the thin-shaved boards used to make packing and shipping boxes for the fast-growing citrus industries. The early days of Running Springs are detailed in this winding trip through San Bernardino Countys namesake mountains in vintage photographs, which also profile the nearby settlements of Arrowbear Lake and Green Valley Lake.

The Treaty of Prairie du Chein, which relocated the Potawatomi Indians and other local tribes west of the Mississippi River, created opportunities for settlement along the Des Plaines River. Several families began to farm on land that they purchased from Claude La Framboise, Alexander Robinson, and the State of Illinois. The totality of this land extended from Irving Park Road to Grand Avenue and west to Mannheim Road. The confluence of the first two railroads constructed in this area after the Civil War attracted a developer named Lesser Franklin. The German immigrant purchased and subdivided four farms and subsequently began the configuration of a village. Franklin Park was incorporated in 1892. The succeeding 50 years, showcased by two world wars and the Great Depression, shaped this town into the fourth-largest industrial community in Illinois, a title it still holds today.

Since 1832, Overbrook School for the Blind has been a leader in providing educational programs to children and young people who are blind and visually impaired. Julius Friedlander, the schools founder, and other early leaders worked hard to inform people about the educational needs of the children. Their efforts resulted in providing reading material for the blind and Overbrooks production of the first embossed book in America, the Gospel of Mark, and the publication of the first magazine for the blind, Lux en Tenebrae. Offering students access to all educational opportunities continues to be the schools main goal, and in the early 1990s, Overbrook pioneered the development of a school wide technology initiative that provided students with the ability to access the curriculum, communicate, and be successful in employment. Through rare photographs and documents, Overbrook School for the Blind offers a glimpse at the schools role in reaching out to people who are blind and it showcases how Overbrook has helped thousands of students to achieve independence, self-confidence, and the skills to experience active and fulfilling lives.

The Lincoln Highway through Rochelle was originally a Potawatomi Indian trail. In 1853, Robert P. Lane purchased land from Charlotte Bartholomew, Sheldon Bartholomews widow, near the settlement known as Hickory Grove, and the community became officially known as Lane. After a hanging scandal, the citizens renamed their village Rochelle. From then, the town grew to the largest city in Ogle County. Rochelles famous railroad park and the diamond (crossing of the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railroad and the Union Pacific Railroad) attract visitors throughout the year. The parks tourist center is located in a refurbished Standard Oil gas station. The Flagg Township Historical Museum offers times gone by in many forms in the 1884 city hall, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. Rochelle offers suburban amenities with the healthy atmosphere of the small town where actress Joan Allen grew up.

The modern day village of Lake Ariel is located in Lake Township. The town and the surrounding area have a long and colorful heritage. The early pioneers settled at the southern end of the lake and established the area known as Jonestown and Jones Lake. The northern end of the lake was initially called No. 19, for the stationary steam engine on the Pennsylvania Coal Company's Gravity Railroad. While one newspaper account claims that the lake was named for a spirit in Shakespeare's Tempest, another claimed the lake was renamed Lake Ariel from Isaiah 29, the home of David. Around Lake Ariel features historic images of the steam launches and the amusement park that drew hordes of vacationers to the area, as well as the summer homes of many of Scranton's leaders that were built along the lake's shores.

A Best Book of 2021 by NPR and Esquire From Kliph Nesteroff, "the human encyclopedia of comedy" (VICE), comes the important and underappreciated story of Native Americans and comedy.It was one of the most reliable jokes in Charlie Hill's stand-up routine: "My people are from Wisconsin. We used to be from New York. We had a little real estate problem." In We Had a Little Real Estate Problem, acclaimed comedy historian Kliph Nesteroff focuses on one of comedy's most significant and little-known stories: how, despite having been denied representation in the entertainment industry, Native Americans have influenced and advanced the art form. The account begins in the late 1880s, when Native Americans were forced to tour in wild west shows as an alternative to prison. (One modern comedian said it was as "if a Guantanamo detainee suddenly had to appear on X-Factor.") This is followed by a detailed look at the life and work of seminal figures such as Cherokee humorist Will Rogers and Hill, who in the 1970s was the first Native American comedian to appear The Tonight Show. Also profiled are several contemporary comedians, including Jonny Roberts, a social worker from the Red Lake Nation who drives five hours to the closest comedy club to pursue his stand-up dreams; Kiowa-Apache comic Adrianne Chalepah, who formed the touring group the Native Ladies of Comedy; and the 1491s, a sketch troupe whose satire is smashing stereotypes to critical acclaim. As Ryan Red Corn, the Osage member of the 1491s, says: "The American narrative dictates that Indians are supposed to be sad. It's not really true and it's not indicative of the community experience itself...Laughter and joy is very much a part of Native culture." Featuring dozens of original interviews and the exhaustive research that is Nesteroff's trademark, We Had a Little Real Estate Problem is a powerful tribute to a neglected legacy.

In 1836, Collierville received its name from Jesse R. Collier, a local entrepreneur, who advertised lots for sale in what he called the Town of Collier. Even after its formal incorporation in 1850, the town was mistakenly known as both Oak Grove and Colliersville. Additionally documents from the late 19th century put Collierville in both Tennessee and Mississippi. By 1858, the population was recorded at around 250 people, doubling by 1860. Much of the town was destroyed during the Civil War, but in 1866, the town sprang back around a park designated as a public square. Once a stagecoach rest stop and later a railroad stop, the town anchors the southeast corner of Shelby County, lying about 30 miles east of Memphis and the Mississippi River. Today Colliervilles population has grown to more than 42,000 people. With its downtown a jewel of Victorian-era homes and churches surrounding the Historic Town Square, Collierville, Tennessee, retains a small-town charm that keeps longtime residents rooted and draws increasing numbers of new citizens yearly.

Those striking images of stagecoaches traversing rugged mountain terrain are no mere marketing gimmick, but part and parcel of Wells Fargo's storied past. When Henry Wells and William Fargo founded the company in 1852, the gold rush had already brought thousands of people to California and uncovered the largest amount of wealth then known to the world. Wells Fargo served a unique role as a banking, express or transporting, and mail-delivery agency. In 1857, the company helped establish the Overland Mail Company; in 1861, it operated the Pony Express; and in 1866, it put together a 3,000-mile network of stagecoaches running between California and Nebraska. Three decades later, Wells Fargo covered the nation over a web of iron rails. Miners and merchants, ranchers and farmers alike depended on Wells Fargo. The company always used the fastest means possible for its deliveries and fund transfers, whether by riverboat, ocean steamer, pony express, stagecoach, railroad, or the fastest method of all, the telegraph.

Sylvania originated where Ten Mile Creek and Ottawa Creek meet, an area favored by the Ottawa Indians. Sparsely settled at first, Sylvania grew after the War of 1812. Increased settlement, construction of better roads, and expanding railroads brought many opportunities to Sylvania. The Territorial Road that passed through Sylvania became the first thoroughfare between Toledo and Chicago, and the Erie and Kalamazoo Railroad laid track through Sylvania from Toledo and Adrian, Michigan. This book provides a glimpse into Sylvania's rich history through photographs of the people, events, and businesses that made Sylvania the great place to live that it is today.

?It would be difficult to find an individual more qualified to document the history of the Old Pendleton District than Hurley E. Badders.? Rodger D. Stroup, Director of the South Carolina Department of Archives and History Nestled in the Northeastern foothills of South Carolina, the Old Pendleton District holds many stories that span the entire scope of the Palmetto State's history. Made up of three present-day counties, Anderson, Pickens and Oconee, this area has been the setting to historical events that have not only shaped the area's past, but the entire state of South Carolina. Drawing on his impressive tenure as Executive Director of the Pendleton District Historical, Recreational and Tourism Commission, author Hurley E. Badders recounts a wide variety of backcountry history that brings to light a number of fascinating episodes in the Old Pendleton District's past. Badders tells the story of the Cherokee and their undeniable influence on the area through their folklore as well as the names they bestowed on rivers and hills. With his warm, casual style, Hurley reveals these stories and many more, taking readers on a journey through the generations in one of South Carolina's most vibrant areas.

Byron Hot Springs is sometimes called the "Carlsbad of the West," after the famed European health spas. The resort hosted the famous, the wealthy, the infirm, and the curious alike during the early 20th century. The 160-acre property, in eastern Contra Costa County near the San Joaquin River, featured three grand hotels designed by renowned San Francisco architect James Reid. Amidst this stylish backdrop were prominent guests in 19th-century finery, early Hollywood royalty, Prohibition entertainments, mineral water "cures" for various ailments, and secret interrogations of World War II POWs (when it was known as "Camp Tracy"). Aside from the hot springs themselves, the resort boasts one of the oldest golf courses in the western United States.

Known for country music, antebellum homes, the Parthenon, and Civil War battlefields, Nashville also has a rich brewing history that spans 100 years. Several breweries were established in the late 1800s, but the William Gerst Brewing Company alone endured into the 20th century and even survived Prohibition. Once one of the largest breweries in the South, Gerst brewed its last batch in 1954, leaving Nashvillians unable to enjoy locally brewed beer until the dawn of the recent microbrewery revolution. Nashville Brewing offers readers a pictorial account of the William Gerst Brewing Company-an important but almost forgotten part of Nashville history.

In 1829, Dr. John McLoughlin, chief factor of the Hudson's Bay Company Columbia Department, had two small cabins constructed on an island in Willamette Falls. The Kalapuya Indians promptly burned them, but a claim had been made and the roots planted for the oldest city in the Oregon Territory. Incorporated for over 160 years as Oregon City, McLoughlin's city at Willamette Falls has served as the political capital of an independent Oregon Country and the first capital of the Oregon Territory. Considered the oldest industrial site in the West, with saw, flour, paper, and woolen mills, Oregon City was also a transportation center for covered wagons, steamboats, and railroads. As a regional entertainment hub over the years, the community has provided both residents and visitors with such pleasures as Chautauquas, Oregon's first sporting events, the first state fair, a variety of annual festivals, and an array of opera, vaudeville, and movie houses.

In his latest book, The Civil War in Fairfax County: Civilians and Soldiers, Charles Mauro has given voice to the heretofore silent majority of the participants in the Civil War: the civilians. This overdue study examines the full spectrum of men, women, slaves and freedmen who lived in Fairfax County, Virginia, during this chaotic, uncertain period. Drawn from the files of the Southern Claims Commission, Mauro recounts the stories the civilians told the Commission after the war to document their losses, lives and living conditions. The citizens of Fairfax County found themselves occupying front row seats at the most horrific show that this country has ever seen. Because of its position just across the Potomac River on the doorstep of the city of Washington, Fairfax County was heavily targeted by the Confederate army and defended with equal determination by the Union army. Fairfax was the first county in the South that the Union army invaded, and the last it occupied as soldiers were mustered out of service after the Grand Review. The Civil War in Fairfax County contains stories of the devastation that both armies brought upon the civilians and their property, as well as the daily strife caused by a war that pitted neighbor against neighbor and family members against themselves. It gives an important, fascinating and unprecedented look into the everyday lives of the civilians who lived through the most tumultuous four years in American history, in a county that was occupied by both the Confederate and Union armies throughout the entire Civil War.

Westerly is a stunning coastal community located in Rhode Island's southwest corner. It is rich in history, being the first town incorporated in the King's Province and the fifth town in the colony. These pages offer a glimpse of everyday life in old Westerly as well as amusing mishaps and historical events that have been hidden until now. Many colonial patriots, such as Benjamin Franklin, left their footprints upon the sandy soil of this tranquil place. Westerly also abounds with commercial heritage, such as the shipbuilding industry on the banks of the Pawcatuck River and the granite industry, which made Westerly famous. In addition this volume captures the tragic events that touched the majestic shores and strong citizens of Westerly.

In 1910, the Boston Sunday Herald reported that skiers were swarming over the Newtons, Middlesex Falls, and Blue Hills. The Berkshires provided splendid terrain, and the skiing was inexpensive. This visual history traces how skiing progressed from the pre-tow era of outings on wooded trails and golf courses to the mechanization of the sport. After World War II came massive building, with sophisticated lifts, snowmaking, and all the modern requirements that have kept Massachusetts one of America's winter ski states.

In 1867, a roomful of men gathered in the office of a noted attorney to discuss Detroit's need for a rural cemetery. They decided to form an association and invested their own money to purchase a plot of land that had once been occupied by Native Americans and then French settlers, a few miles from the heart of the city. They chose this heavily wooded area because it offered many acres of land that could accommodate the growing need for more burial space, and it became the cornerstone of one of the city's oldest and most historic cemeteries, Woodmere Cemetery. Cemetery acreage has been bought and sold, and buildings on the grounds have been raised and later razed. Funeral procedures have changed, as well as cemetery ownership. Still, Woodmere has remained one of Detroit's most beautiful treasures, where visitors can take a historical step back into time. From the very rich to the very poor, many thousands have chosen Woodmere Cemetery to be their final resting place. Through archival images, Detroit's Woodmere Cemetery takes a look at the movers and shakers of Detroit found in these bucolic grounds and glimpses the ordinary citizens who have lived and died through extraordinary circumstances.

In 1854, a group of engineers and railroad businessmen drew a straight line from Philadelphia to the New Jersey coast, built a railroad along the line, and created Atlantic City. From the 1850s to the 1950s, the city attracted the creme of American society and the working class alike and gave birth to the beauty pageant, rolling chair, boardwalk, saltwater taffy, jitney, and the successful Monopoly board game. But the onset of air travel in the 1950s and the aging grand hotels brought Atlantic City to its knees. The opening of Resorts International in 1978 and the prosperous gaming business that followed in its wake helped the city rise from its own ashes, and a year-round tourism industry exploded. Garish and opulent casino hotels replaced many of the boardwalk dowagers, and new palaces transformed the once desolate marina section into a vibrant destination.

The first pioneers to explore the Tazewell area were the long hunters, surveyors, and land speculators. In 1750, Dr. Thomas Walker remarked in his diary on the lush grass, plentifulness of game, and large quantities of coal. The town of Tazewell, settled in 1799 and incorporated in 1870, was first called Jeffersonville Township in honor of third U.S. president and native Virginian Thomas Jefferson. Over 200 years have passed, but the region's mountains and vast areas of pastureland remain unspoiled. Tazewell now serves as the seat and one of the most historic areas in Tazewell County.

The Lowell Fire Department was established by the state legislature on February 6, 1830. As Lowell began its climb as a center of industrial power, fire protection evolved from the days of the United Fire Society's bucket brigades to organized volunteer fire companies and a full-time paid department. Lowell Firefighting features images, memorabilia, and photographs covering more than 175 years of this mill city fire department's history. Photographs depict the work of Lowell's firefighters through a prolific period of serious fires and urban decay. Today the Lowell Fire Department protects a city rich with tradition that is reinventing itself, responding to all manner of fire and rescue emergencies.

The community of Spreckels in the Salinas Valley was the manifestation of the dreams of immigrant Claus Spreckels, later known as the "Sugar King." Architect W. H. Weeks designed Spreckels Sugar Company's town near its massive sugar beet factory, the largest in the world. Neat rows of single-story homes sprang up on the valley floor, opening to workers in 1899. Spreckels also built a narrow-gauge railroad to cart his cargo to the docks at Moss Landing. Sugar beet production changed the focus of valley agriculture from dry to irrigated crops, resulting in the vast modern agricultural-industrial economy in today's "Salad Bowl of the World." Although Spreckels died in 1908, his company continued to own and operate the factory and much of the town until 1982, and almost 500 residents still call it home.

In this collection of historical vignettes, focusing on times from the late 1940s through the '60s, Joy Wallace Dickinson reveals some of the fascinating people and places that made a mark on Orlando during a vibrant time in America's history.

A priest with Juan Batista de Anza's expedition in 1776 named a wild creek where the group camped after St. Joseph of Cupertino, Italy. A village known as Westside adopted the name in 1904 as it grew up by that stream, now Stevens Creek, near the road that is now De Anza Boulevard. Like its Italian namesake, Cupertino once had wineries, and vineyards striped its foothills and flatlands. Later vast orchards created an annual blizzard of spring blossoms, earning it the name Valley of Heart's Delight. The railroad came to carry those crops to market, and the electric trolley extended to connect Cupertino's first housing tract, Monte Vista. When the postwar building boom came, Cupertino preserved its independence through incorporation, but that bold move would not stop the wave of modernization that would soon roll over the valley.