Books in the The Making of America series

Frederick has stood as the gateway to western Maryland since the 1740s, when German and English settlers moved into the area seeking fertile farmland. Site of the first official rebellious act of the American colonies, early Frederick Town shared the fortunes of the growing nation as proximity to the new capital in Washington and the port of Baltimore fed industry and culture here along the Monocacy River.

From Strawbery Banke to the Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth has always been the economic, cultural, and political hub north of Boston. Brightly-colored saltbox homes and towering lighthouses line the churning currents of the Piscataqua, and narrow lanes echo with the footsteps of John Paul Jones, the Reverend Joseph Buckminster, and centuries of hunters, lumberjacks, merchants, and tourists.