Books by Jim Hillman

Early-20th-century Indianapolis was developing into a major transportation center. The extension of rail lines operated by the "Big Four Railroad," the Cleveland, Chicago, Cincinnati, and St. Louis Railway, invaded farmland 5 miles southeast of the busy Indianapolis Union Station. By 1904, the native beech trees neighbored the construction of the Big Four Shops, a facility charged with the production of steam locomotives. The shops brought jobs, an immediate draw for commercial and residential development, culminating in 1906 when the unnamed, adjacent community incorporated as the town of Beech Grove. A century later, the city of Indianapolis has grown to entirely surround the vibrant community, yet Beech Grove retains its small town atmosphere. Anchored by a vibrant Main Street, the charm of Beech Grove is found within quiet residential neighborhoods, distinguished schools, diverse churches, and major employers, including Amtrak and St. Francis Hospital.

By 1813, in an area originally inhabited by Native Americans, including a significant Delaware Indian village located on White River's western banks, the future Greenwood was made safe for settlement by the Kentucky and Indiana militias. In 1818, with the New Purchase treaties and establishment of Whetzel Trace, the earliest east-west transportation route through central Indiana, the dense, overgrown forest became readied for settlement. Arising from humble beginnings as Smocktown, the community was officially named Greenfield in 1825, followed by renaming to Greenwood in 1833. The territory has seen tremendous growth through the decades since John B. and Isaac Smock arrived, transforming the land from a pioneer village into a contemporary hub of business and industry. Accused of being a "bedroom community" of Indianapolis, Greenwood strives to maintain its relevance as a unique and historically proud community.

From Jones' Woods, America's first amusement resort, to Coney Island during the golden age of the mid-1900s, and well beyond into the twenty-first century, the thrills of the amusement park have been a treasured part of childhood for Americans from coast to coast. This title captures the sights, smells, and vitality of a grand American tradition.