Belle Fourche is located on the northern edge of the Black Hills in western South Dakota. It is a small town that serves as a hub for ranchers over a three-state area. Belle Fourche was founded in the late 1800s by Seth Bullock, famous from his days as sheriff in Deadwood. Bullock offered free right-of-way to the railroad when nearby Minnesela was demanding too much money. Early Belle Fourche was very much a cowboy town, even becoming the largest shipping point for cattle. Today Belle Fourche sits at the intersection of three major highways and, since 1959, is the geographic center of the nation.

Settled along 47 miles of beautiful Atlantic coastline, Palm Beach County has long been a mecca for sport fishing enthusiasts. Graced with a mild climate and bounded with waters nourished by the warm Gulf Stream current, Palm Beachas coastal waters host a rich reserve of marine life. Featured in this captivating retrospective is a history of the sport fishing industry and tales of legendary captains, devoted weekend anglers, and wealthy sportsmen. Bringing to life the sailfish tournaments, fish fries, beauty pageants, and parades of a bygone era, this work is a tribute to the hardworking men and women who built this seaside settlement into a haven for sport fishermen. Follow the evolution of fine fishing boats and learn about the advancements in marine conservation while enjoying the natural beauty of this tropical oasis. Showcased within the book are over 200 vintage images collected from the local libraryas historical archive, as well as rare photographs from over 30 local sources, including the West Palm Beach Fishing Club.

In 1699, on a high bluff along the Mississippi River, explorer Pierre Le Moyne, Sieur d'Iberville, found the fabled "Red Stick," a post that marked the line between two Native American nations and gave Baton Rouge, Louisiana, its name. This book chronicles 150 years of the daily activities of Baton Rouge's residents through images of the city's growth and development; life during the Civil War, floods, hurricanes, and economic depressions; and people working, playing, and celebrating.

The breathtaking San Jacinto Valley, with Mount San Jacinto on its eastern boundary, is home to the community of Hemet, conceived by two developers in the late 19th century. These San Francisco entrepreneurs built the Great Lake Hemet Dam, Lake Hemet, and the distribution system from the mountain lake to the valley, which provided a year-round water supply. With fertile lands and abundant water, people were lured from the East Coast and Midwest to purchase land and settle in the fledging town and on the farmlands around it. From its origins as a farm town, Hemet evolved as a retirement center and a bedroom city, as well as a bustling commercial hub. Along the way, it became the home of the world-famous Ramona Outdoor Play. Indeed Hemet prospered, and in 2008 more than 150,000 people live in the city and on surrounding lands.

Toward the end of the 19th century, railroads transformed Sioux City from a western outpost to one of the fastest-growing municipalities in the world. Prior to the arrival of the railroads, Sioux City depended on the Missouri River for transportation. The Missouri, however, was not dependable because of flooding and droughts. As an all-season mode of transportation, the railroads permitted the flourishing of the meatpacking industry in Sioux City. In fact, it was the large number of different railroad companies that made Sioux City a major agricultural center rather than just another county seat or market town. Trains carried cattle and hogs to the plants and then carted away the Sioux City-processed products to the nation and to the world.

So begins Insurrection on the Stono, the story of a 1739 slave rebellion on the outskirts of the city. Charleston's violent and varied history emerges in the retelling of this dramatic event. In "Charleston Curiosities: Stories of the Tragic, Heroic and Bizarre," South Carolina Historical Society's Michael Coker describes several centuries worth of little-known wonders from the Holy City. Whatever happened to Osceola's head? What was it like to walk the streets of Charleston just after secession was declared? Whether presenting the colonial struggle among European powers for control of Charles Towne or the real story of the birth of she-crab soup, this eclectic and engaging volume will delight seasoned historians, residents and visitors alike.

Forrest City was once dubbed the "Jewel of the Delta" because of its prime location in the lower streams and tributaries of the Mississippi River Delta. Native Americans living in the area hundreds of years ago first spoke of the land, celebrating its fertile ground, rich resources, and pleasant climate. Shortly after the Civil War, the east-west and north-south rail lines were established, giving Forrest City railroad access to economic opportunities far beyond the county line. The tracks in and out of town brought a new generation of settlers to the area whose contributions encouraged the town and county to flourish during the height of rail travel. The history of St. Francis County lives on in myriad ways today, including the blues music born from the Mississippi River Delta, the stories of the area's famous cotton trade, and in the tales passed from one generation to another.

What drew Nathaniel Hawthorne to a remote village deep in the Berkshire Hills of Western Massachusetts in 1850? Slip into the fascinating social scene he encountered in the drawing rooms and on the croquet lawns of Lenox's country retreats. Here, under the benevolent spell of the Sedgwick family, the separate worlds of high-minded Bostonians and high-powered New Yorkers were stitched together by conversation, recreation and even marriage. Nurturing the lively exchange of ideas on everything from art to abolition, Lenox's cottages played host to a community that enlightened a nation. Luminaries such as Caroline Sturgis Tappan and Oliver Wendell Holmes resume their vibrant lives through the rare photographs and engaging sketches of everyday life in "Hawthorne's Lenox: The Tanglewood Circle," which also includes a delightful retrospective visit from Henry James and Edith Wharton.

In March 1841, as townspeople flocked to the Exeter Courthouse to view a state-of-the-art diorama of the Conflagration of Moscow, the courthouse itself went up in flames. What was dubbed the Conflagration of the Courthouse is just one of the intriguing events revisited by historian Barbara Rimkunas in this collection. Exeter was also home to a score of eccentric personalities including Dick the fire horse, whose obituary in the town paper ran longer than that of the fire chief, and the mysterious Dr. Windship, a surgeon in the American Revolution who later earned the epithet of thief, fraudster and attempted bigamist. From scandals and Scotsmen to revolutionaries and river rats, "Exeter: Historically Speaking" reveals the many different threads with which Exeter's vibrant historical tapestry is woven.

This volume records, through carefully chosen quality images, the development of historic Bartow from its origins as an outpost in the interior of a wild state to a respected county seat at the end of the twentieth century. Drawn from the State Archives of Florida, these photographs take you back to earlier days when wooden buildings lined the rutted dirt streets and the railroads hauled citrus and other crops to market. Revisit the scenes from the City of Oaks and Azaleas that you know so well, or experience them for the first time. "101 Glimpses of Bartow" offers an intimate glimpse into the rich history of one of Florida's best-kept secrets.

Perched on the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains and founded in 1875 as a health and summer resort, the town of Highlands in Western North Carolina enjoys a northern climate in a southern setting. Its people originate from across the nation, giving an otherwise provincial village a cosmopolitan worldview, and its natural surroundings have attracted professionals in the arts and sciences as well as laborers, tradesmen, and craftsmen. The photographs in this volume attest to the extraordinary variety of characters that inhabited the Highlands plateau at the town's founding and during the first half-century of its growth and development.

The town of Westport has long been tied to the sea. Its abundant rivers provided waterpower for cotton and iron manufacturing, and its protected harbor served as a base for the whaling and fishing industry. Since it was first settled in the 1670s, generations of farmers have worked Westport's soil, and agriculture remains an important part of this coastal community. Water continues to define this community, there is still an active commercial fishing fleet, waterfront cottages fill with summer residents, and day-trippers flock to the long sandy crescent of Horseneck Beach. Westport's beauty is not simply in its past but exists today in the well-preserved 18th- and 19th-century homes, the pristine landscape, and the rich community life of its villages.

Since the Gold Rush, San Franciscoas Chinatown has been a destination for sojourners, immigrants, locals, and tourists. Despite laws restricting Chinese immigration, Chinatown has thrived as a residential and commercial center. Designed for tourists and bearing little resemblance to real Chinese cityscapes, the streets and buildings have nonetheless been extensively documented in picture postcards, as have the residents, particularly from the 1890s to 1930s, the aGolden Age of Postcards.a The cards, relatively few of which survive, were kept as visual souvenirs and mementos, or were mailed to family and friends.

In "Remembering Lyndon," local journalist and fourth-generation Lyndonite Harriet Fletcher Fisher has compiled her favorite columns about Lyndon Center, Lyndon Corner and Lyndonville, which have been appearing in the "Caledonian-Record," the "Lyndon Independent" and other local papers since 1961. Her articles take readers back to the first time electricity turned the night to day during Fourth of July celebrations in 1883, the afternoon in 1912 when Theodore Roosevelt came rumbling through town and the countless evenings spent at the Sunset Ballroom dancing to H. Guy Dunbar and his band. Relive memories of Snowflake Festivals of years past, Saturdays at the Gem Theater, watching double features and trips to the Ye Olde Bricke Tea Shoppe for a maple candy ice cream treat.

Italians first settled in the Newark area in the 1880s. Italian Americans of Newark, Nutley, and Belleville shows these immigrants and their families from 1900 to the 1950s. The street peddler, the barber, the baker, the undertaker, the macaroni maker, the concert musician, and more are portrayed here in the grace and dignity of their work. Outings to the shore or Branch Brook Park balanced hard work and long hours. Family gatherings, weddings, first communions, and processions for the feasts of St. Gerard, St. Rocco, and St. Bartholomew were all a part of the life of the family and the vibrant Italian neighborhoods. More than 200 vintage photographs from family albums tell these stories.

Since the 1920s, Camp Mather has beckoned to outdoor enthusiasts to come enjoy restful, carefree times in the Sierra. Bordering Yosemite National Park, Mather was established as a construction camp for laborers building the O'Shaughnessy Dam in the Hetch Hetchy Valley. The camp began welcoming San Franciscans after construction was completed and then, as now, offers a welcome respite from city life. Guests stay in employee cabins and swim in the lake near the site of a former sawmill. Horseback riding, hiking, swimming, and three-squares-a-day have long been hallmarks of the Mather experience. From its humble Hog Ranch beginnings through the Mather Station days, Camp Mather has been a cherished spot enjoyed by multiple generations of San Francisco families.

During the Gilded Age, Rittenhouse Square was home to Philadelphiaas high society, with more millionaires per square foot than any other American neighborhood except New Yorkas Fifth Avenue. Established by William Penn in 1682 as the South-West Square and renamed after astronomer David Rittenhouse in 1825, Rittenhouse Square and its environs changed from an isolated district of brickyards and workersa shanties into the cityas most elegant and elite neighborhood between 1845 and 1865. The brownstone and marble mansions on the square itself were inhabited by the cityas wealthiest and most prestigious families, with names like Biddle, Cassatt, Drexel, Stotesbury, and Van Rensselaer. As Philadelphiaas upper classes fled to the suburbs in the early 20th century, their mansions were replaced by skyscrapers or taken over by cultural institutions like the Philadelphia Art Alliance and the Curtis Institute of Music. While only a few original residences remain on Rittenhouse Square, it is still the center of a lively upscale neighborhood.

Lovely plains and beautiful fields greeted settlers eager to put down roots in the area north of the growing city of Grand Rapids. The northernmost point of the Grand River and its environs, including the Rogue River joining the Grand nearby, offered folks everything they needed: river and road travel, good farmland, plenty of forestland, and enough space to grow and prosper. Soon the area was known as Plainfield Township, with the bustling Plainfield Village at its center. Small communities grew up around the township, including Belmont and Comstock Park that exist today but also Konkle Town and Childsdale, which do not. Plainfield Village is gone as well, but the spirit of those early pioneers lives on. Today Plainfield Township is a combination of city and country, businesses and farms, and longtime residents and those just discovering the beauty of this area that still boasts plains and fields.

Perkasie, named after William Pennas country manor in Upper Bucks County, was a boomtown that sprang up along the North Pennsylvania Railroad in the late 1870s. From the 1880s to the 1920s, Perkasie grew
rapidly, becoming a transportation and cultural center and drawing crowds with commerce, industry, summer retreats, and even an amusement park. Through nearly 200 vintage postcards, Perkasie chronicles the expansion of this once small town as well as its impact on neighboring rural communities such as Rockhill, Bedminster, and Silverdale. The postcards in this book re-create a visual memory of the economic and social changes that worked to shape this dynamic community.

The town of Mount Hope and the village of Otisville are located in a picturesque area of Orange County, nestled in the shadows of the Shawangunk Mountains. In 1846, the arrival of the Erie Railroad in Otisville changed the sleepy town into a center of commerce for the surrounding area. While the railroad sparked a decline in trade within Mount Hope, many citizens in Otisville had railroad-related jobs and relied on the railroad for transportation. In the early 1900s, Otisville became a chief supplier of butter for the New York City market. The vintage images in this book chronicle the changing history of these two communities, from the introduction of the bustling railroad to a simpler time of summer strawberry festivals and winter sleigh rides, when life revolved around the village.

Before the advent of roads in western Washington, steamboats of the Mosquito Fleet swarmed all over Puget Sound. Sidewheelers, stern-wheelers, and propeller-driven, they ranged from the tiny 40-foot Marie to the huge 282-foot Yosemite, and from the famous Flyer to the unknown Leota. Floating stores like the Vaughn and shrimpers like the Violet sailed the same waters as the elegant Great Lakes lady, the Chippewa, and the homely Willie. A few, like the Bob Irving and Blue Star, died spectacularly or, like Major Tompkins, shipwrecked after a short time, while others began new lives as tugboats or auto ferries; some even survive today as excursion boats like the Virginia V. From 1853 to modern car ferries in the 1920s, this volume chronicles the heyday of steamboating--a unique segment of maritime history--from modest launch to sleek liner.

Throughout the 20th century, Brockport residents and visitors shared their experiences, sending postcards of the town to friends and family. These postcards
present the important places and events that made visitors come back year after year and made residents proud to call the town home. This book complements the author's pictorial history Around Brockport in Arcadia Publishing's Images of America series. Along with Brockport, the towns of Sweden, Clarkson, and Hamlin are included in this extraordinary collection of postcards. The vintage postcards in this volume span a century of the area's history, presenting a portrait of the streets, buildings, events, and disasters that impacted the time and preserving the memories of the past for future generations.

Most people do not stop to realize how many of their fond memories involve advertising signs. Although these neon spectaculars, billboards, and even signs painted directly onto brick walls were created expressly to persuade customers to buy products or patronize businesses, many such signs remained in place for so long that they became beloved landmarks in their own right. For Images of America: Vintage Birmingham Signs, Tim Hollis has scoured the archives of Birmingham's former sign companies, as well as other private collections, to compile some of the best remembered or most obscure signs that dotted the urban and suburban landscape. Here readers will again see the Buffalo Rock bottle pouring its ginger ale into a glass, the Golden Flake clown smiling down at passersby, the
Barber's milk clock at the Five Points South intersection, and many more. Through these vintage photographs, readers can once again visit such once-thriving destinations as Eastwood Mall, Burger in a Hurry, and the Kiddieland amusement park.

In 1908, the Aurora Business Mens Association decided to bring a celebration to its sleepy river town. Little did these men realize that the Aurora Farmers Fair would bring their community together for the next 100 years. During the 1909 fall festival, Second and Main Streets were blocked off and lined with farm exhibits and storefronts were decorated. There were over 700 entries and 12,000 people attended. Every year merchants and manufacturers parade, and contestants are selected from area schools to compete for a place in the royal court that presides over the festivities. Class reunions and family homecomings are held around the event, and schoolchildren are released early to participate in a bicycle and pet parade. In 1959, the Aurora Business Mens Association ceded management and sponsorship of the fair to the Aurora Lions Club, and in 1969, the Lions Club purchased a beautiful old building from the Aurora Casket Company to house exhibits. Sadly, in 1998, arson destroyed the fair building, and years? worth of fair history was lost. This book has been created, in part, in an effort to regain a portion of the collection that was lost.