Local History

A detailed historical celebration of village halls, and the crucial role they play in rural communities.

The fascinating region of the Black Country is one of the most interesting areas in Britain. Here is a collection of strange tales and local legends from the region.

Secret Stroud explores the lesser-known history of the town of Stroud in Gloucestershire through a fascinating selection of stories, unusual facts and attractive photographs.

A photographic journey exploring the seaside piers of England and Wales, capturing the variety of life and structures to be found around our coast

A guide to London's distinctive Blue Plaques which commemorate remarkable men and women who have lived in the capital. Its biographical portraits, listed in alphabetical order, provide imformative and sometimes irreverent anecdotes about many of the famous and some not-so-famous lives.

An accessible history of King's Lynn from prehistory to the present day highlighting the town's significant events and people

A fascinating exploration of the underground world and its history beneath the surface of Wakefield.

Coventry at Work is a fascinating pictorial history of the working life of the city of Coventry through the years.

A fascinating collection of merged historic and modern images that reflect the changes in Jarrow through the decades.

Exploring the military heritage of the Isle of Wight from Viking invaders straight through to the present day.

A look at the dark side of life in Kent through the centuries to the present day. This book will fascinate anyone with an interest in the history of crime as well as those who want to know more about the history of this county in the South East of England.

A stunning collection of photographs of the islands around Scotland's West Coast from the Firth of Clyde to the Outer Hebrides.

A fascinating tour of the Wirral's pub scene, charting the area's taverns, alehouses and watering holes, from past centuries to more recent times.

The Gwent Levels line the north shore of the Severn in South Wales: Cas Gwent (Chepstow) at its head; its more famous cousin, the Somerset Levels, across the water; the Welsh capital, Caerdydd (Cardiff), at its feet. You could waste an hour crossing the Levels by motorway. Or brush aside the journey by train. But writer Marsha O' Mahony has chosen the slow route of foreshore, footpath, and country lane. Over the course of two years, she meandered from village to village collecting conversations and anecdotes as she went. The result is a remarkable oral history of this unique landscape and the people who live there.

A comprehensive and concise history from the earliest times to the present day

The Stained Glass of St. Paul's visually explores the meaning and heritage preserved in the stunning stained-glass windows of a historic Chattanooga church. Created to memorialize loved ones and highlight timeless truths from the Bible, these windows collectively tell a much larger story addressing some of our deepest questions about life and death, joy and suffering, God and humanity. Built in 1888, St. Paul's Episcopal Church displays 28 works of 19th and 20th century stained-glass art. St. Paul's collection, spanning over 100 years, preserves the memories of some of Chattanooga's earliest citizens, such as Judge Hugh Whiteside, Chattanooga's first native-born mayor; Sarah Key Patten, a Southern matriarch whose love for nature helped to birth Chattanooga as an outdoor destination; and "Little Miss Mag" Andrews, whose tragic death inspired a cherished downtown childcare center. This carefully researched text, begun by the late Jasper A. Reynolds Jr., and completed by his son Jasper III, invites readers into the meaning of each window: its artistic style, biblical symbolism, and connection to local families and history. Illustrated with luminous photographs by Ed Barels, The Stained Glass of St. Paul's highlights a spiritually impactful piece of southern American decorative arts.

This is the must-have guidebook for anyone visiting Palm Springs and for anyone living in or around this desert resort city. What to See in Palm Springs was written by writer, journalist, and historian John Stark, a full-time Palm Springs resident and tour guide. His descriptive words and high-end photographs of Palm Springs are meant to transform you from a casual sightseer to a knowledgeable, well-informed tourist. This beautiful book is at home in your car or on your coffee table.With more than 300 pages and 200 photographs (many historical), the book provides an in-depth, A-to-Z look at everything you'll want to see. Many of these sites are only known to Palm Springs' residents. All can be seen from your car windows, most are free. Many sites include "Detours," which are related places you can see also visit by car. John's research and reporting takes you behind the scenes of the sites you're seeing. To ensure accuracy, he worked with the Palm Springs Historical Society and the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians to separate myth from fact.What to See in Palm Springs includes John's one-on-one interviews with innovative architects who have made Palm Springs the modernist capital of the world. The book delves into Palm Springs' celebrity past with discussions and photographs of the stars' lives and homes here. As a former Senior Writer at People magazine, John personally interviewed many of these late, great stars that he talks about in his tours and in this book. Through historical archives you'll meet the strong women who founded this desert town, feminists long before their time. Dozens of historical photos add to the book's depth, knowledge and enjoyment. There's a front-of-the-book historical overview and chronology, and a back-of-the-book map. There's even a never-before-published photograph of Marilyn Monroe being discovered in Palm Springs. What to See in Palm Springs is a guidebook like no other!

The History Of Silver Lake is a captivating book that takes you on a journey through time. With over 135 photos and 20 eclectic chapters, this book will transport you to eras worth reliving. Whether you're reading for your own pleasure or sharing the book with loved ones, this is a treasure to be cherished for generations to come.Searching through old county archives, the authors found no formal account of Silver Lake's centuries-long history. Local lore was often strikingly different from historical facts. The advancing age of first hand witnesses created a sense of urgency to recover historical evidence for this tale of the lake's evolution. Through deeds dating back to Pennsylvania's founding, and interviews with long-time residents, they unveil both events of the day and the evolution of the lake from a wilderness wetland to a utilitarian mill pond, now a thriving community.From a 6th-grade class's unexpected role in historical preservation to a tragic twist in a clever business venture, each chapter offers stories of family, faith, war, and renewal. If you enjoy storytelling and seek a deeper understanding of the past, join the authors and meet the people who played key roles in Silver Lake's rich history.

There is the story the Lone Star State likes to tell about itself--and then there is the reality, a Texas past that bears little resemblance to the manly Anglo myth of Texas exceptionalism that maintains a firm grip on the state's historical imagination. Lone Star Mind takes aim at this traditional narrative, holding both academic and lay historians accountable for the ways in which they craft the state's story. A clear-sighted, far-reaching work of intellectual history, this book marshals a wide array of pertinent scholarship, analysis, and original ideas to point the way toward a new "usable past" that twenty-first-century Texans will find relevant.Ty Cashion fixes T. R. Fehrenbach's Lone Star: A History of Texas and the Texans in his crosshairs in particular, laying bare the conceptual deficiencies of the romantic and mythic narrative the book has served to codify since its first publication in 1968. At the same time, Cashion explores the reasons why the collective efforts of university-trained scholars have failed to diminish the appeal of the state's iconic popular culture, despite the fuller and more accurate record these historians have produced.Framing the search for a collective Texan identity in the context of a post-Christian age and the end of Anglo-male hegemony, Lone Star Mind illuminates the many historiographical issues besetting the study of American history that will resonate with scholars in other fields as well. Cashion proposes that a cultural history approach focusing on the self-interests of all Texans is capable of telling a more complete story--a story that captures present-day realities.

This book is a tapestry of unbroken historical threads stretching from 1868 to the present day. Stitched together by newspaper, local museums and universities, uncovered photographs, ancestry research and narrative histories that have unspooled throughout the annals of Shadyside's history. In the center 5522 Walnut St. A building that was constructed in the 1890s and has been a card shop since the 1970s. What is the deeper story if we take a core sample of this one location? This one building?We find that 5522 Walnut St. was, at first, a home. A home, I would come to learn, with a front and rear address complete with a backyard. Families lived and loved between its walls as early as the 1890s and as recent as the 1940s. Furthermore, from 1893 to the present day no fewer than 9 businesses have operated out of its address. Not the least of which was during the 1950s when an after-hours speakeasy called the Hollywood Social Club was located on the second floor and, at some point, the mob was involved with ownership.There was mystery here. There was magic here. There was love. There was death. But most importantly, there was, and is, a community spanning generations that stretches the entire reach of Walnut St. and beyond into Shadyside proper. A community whose records allowed me to stitch this history into what you see before you: a tapestry woven into a book. A book that is a gift to my wife, Amanda Blair. Owner of Kards Unlimited at 5522 Walnut St.

Sunrise Homeland weaves a captivating tale of friendship and spirit of adventure against the backdrop of 1920's Long Island. World War One, troop-transport ship SS Tuscania is torpedoed by a German U-Boat, and young U.S. Army Pursuit pilot, Damian Fitzgerald's life takes an unexpected turn. Thrown into the waters off Scotland, Damian's harrowing experience leads him to a fateful encounter with nurse Olivia Burton and childhood friend Lawrence Sperry. Despite facing permanent injury and the end of his flying career, Damian finds new purpose and camaraderie through Sperry's innovative aviation ventures. As a post war period of great technological change and aviation innovation emerges, Sunrise Homeland paints a vivid picture of rural Long Island at the cusp of change and invites readers to explore the Island's rich history and enduring spirit.

Two Sams, based on historical documents and oral history, traces the journey of an African-American family from slavery in Rhode Island and Virginia, through the American Revolution, and on to the hardships of life as Black Loyalists in colonial Nova Scotia. Sam the father tells the story from the family's time in slavery, escape to freedom, and participation on the British side in the American War of Independence. After the war, when the family has moved to the British colony of Nova Scotia, Sam the son takes up the tale, when the Black Loyalists have to try to survive with little food, poor housing, few tools, and persistent white racism.

"Celebrating Modjeska in California: History of Helena Modjeska Art & Culture Club" is a 428-page case study of a Polish-American organization, active since 1971. This volume reveals the interests, activities, accomplishments, and challenges of successive waves of Polish immigrants to California, especially the generation of the Displaced Persons (survivors and veterans of World War II, mostly interwar Polish intelligentsia), and of the Solidarity-era immigrants. The book is dedicated to "all Polish émigrés and exiles dispersed throughout the world who remained faithful to the Polish language and culture," especially to all the volunteers of the Modjeska Club, promoting Polish culture in California. Organized into ten chapters, the book starts from a biography of the Club's patron, Polish actress Helena Modjeska (Modrzejewska, 1840-1909); a survey of Polish Americans and their organizations in California; and a biography of the Club's founder, actor-director Leonidas Dudarew-Ossetyński (1910-1989). Six chapters are dedicated to distinct "eras" in the Club's history: the Kingdom of Leonidas (1971-1978), the times of Solidarity immigrants (1978-1989), the Third Republic of Poland (1989-1998), the period of stabilization and status quo (1998-2010), the arrival of new people and ideas (2010-2018), and surviving challenges (2018-2023). The tenth chapter is a summary with conclusions and recommendations. The book includes an index and many illustrations from the archives of: the Modjeska Club, Polish Museum of America in Chicago, Valerie Dudarew-Ossetyńska Hunken - the founder's daughter, American Council of Polish Culture, and other private and public archives. All net revenue is donated to the Modjeska Club. The author, Maja Trochimczyk, Ph.D., a Polish American music historian, poet, photographer and non-profit director, served as President of Modjeska Club in 2010-12 and since 2018.

Historic published accounts of Mooney's Tannery in Columbus, Indiana between the years 1881 and 1910. Includes introduction and index. Labor and labor disputes, fire and accidents, early telephones, famous visitors, crime and romance and more.