Books published by Arcadia Publishing Library Editions

Rockaway Township has been blessed with two significant natural resources: a rich deposit of magnetite iron ore and an abundance of water. Both played a major role in the history of the township. In the early 1700s, iron ore was discovered at Mount Hope and Hibernia. The area's mines provided iron ore from Colonial times to the 20th century, and products made from it contributed to the success of the Continental army during the Revolutionary War. Farms in Marcella, Lyonsville, Beach Glen, and Meriden provided agricultural products for the mining villages. In Rockaway Township, photographs tell the story of the township's rich mining history and its history as a vacation area. Vacation communities flourished into the 1950s and attracted an influx of people from various ethnic backgrounds, adding to the township's diversity. In the 1970s, the last segment of Route 80 was completed, beginning Rockaway's transformation into a flourishing suburban community.

LeRoy is best known as the "Birthplace of Jell-O," but few people know that in 1929 it had one of the finest private airports in the United States and was home to Amelia Earhart's airplane, the Friendship. In the 19th century, LeRoy was known for Igham University, one of the first colleges for women and the first to grant a four-year degree. First settled in 1797, LeRoy has produced patent medicines, salt, limestone, dynamite, plows, agricultural commodities, stoves, organs, insulators, and a myriad of other products. Located on the eastern edge of Genesee County and 30 miles southwest of Rochester, LeRoy originally depended on water power from the Oatka Creek and was soon serviced by several railroads. It was also a station on the Underground Railroad.

Nestled in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains, Sidney has hummed with economic and industrial activity since its founding by Rev. William Johnston in 1772. Over the years, the town has been home to a silk mill, glassworks, cheese factory, car factory, and many other businesses. Notable figures such as New York State Police captain Daniel Fox, actor Tom Mix, newspaper editor Arthur Bird, and even Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt have lived in or spent time in the town. Today Sidney's civic buildings, places of worship, recreational haunts, and transportation routes continue to reflect the town's long, dynamic history. Traced within the pages of this book, a poignant collection of historical photographs chronicles the town's evolution through the 19th and 20th centuries, and on through the devastating flood of 2006.

"Images of America: Glen Cove gave the reader an overview of an extremely complex city history by focusing on the diverse geographic areas and multiethnic populace of the community from its founding as Musketa Cove in 1668 until its urban renewal in the 1970s. Glen Cove Revisted examines the community starting with its official naming in 1834 and explores how a rural mill town paradoxically became both a 19th-century industrial center and a resort enclave that sheltered the country estates of the financiers and industrialists who shaped America. In this second book, there is a greater focus on the individuals who created the community and the interrelationships between the immigrants who came to live and work here and the privileged class who employed them and became patrons of the city."--P. 7

Greater Baldwinsville encompasses the towns of Lysander and Van Buren with their numerous hamlets, as well as the village of Baldwinsville, which straddles the banks of the Seneca River. Greater Baldwinsville features more than 200 historic images, including views of tobacco farming, Barge Canal lock construction, boatbuilding, bobsledding, suffragettes, gas wells, an Underground Railroad station, and architectural works by Horatio Nelson White, Archimedes Russell, Ward Wellington Ward, and Charles Erastus Colton. Photographs showcase the first U.S. church to be electrified, the home of the Whig party, and Morris Machine Works, the company whose global renown resulted from a local inventor's discovery. Rural scenes include area hamlets of Plainville, Memphis, Warners, Lysander, Lamson, and Jack's Reef.

Once home to Native Americans and mountain settlers, Harriman State Park is today a 73 square-mile wilderness and recreation area lying 30 miles north of New York City. Offering over 200 miles of hiking trails, swimming, boating, fishing, and camping, it has been an oasis for city dwellers for 100 years. During the 1800s, the land was home to hardworking farmers, miners, and woodcutters. As the new century dawned, it evolved into a park of stunning beauty. Part of the Palisades Interstate Park System, it is the second largest state park in New York.

German Flatts was established on March 7, 1788, and is comprised of two unique villages. The village of Mohawk was incorporated in 1844, and Ilion soon followed in 1852. With their proximity to the Erie Canal, these villages saw their share of business and industry and flourished as communities. Mohawk was home to a number of famous people, including a treasurer of the United States, a General Motors industrialist, one of the fated space shuttle Challenger crew members, and the two Keno brothers who made antiques a popular obsession on the television program Antiques Roadshow. Ilion is the birthplace of the Remington Arms Company, one of Herkimer County's oldest industries that still exists today and is known around the world. German Flatts provides an interesting snapshot of the daily life and important events in this community's fascinating history.

Fertile land, waterpower, energetic residents, and a sea serpent all contributed to the growth of the town and village of Perry. The town of Perry was first settled in 1807, and later took the name of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, the hero of the War of 1812. Early mills along Silver Creek provided materials for the growing village, which was incorporated in 1830. Perry made headlines in 1855, when a sea serpent was sighted on Silver Lake and people flocked to the area. The mystery went unsolved until remains of the hoax were found in the ashes of the Walker House in 1857. Perry continued to grow, with Main Street businesses changing with the needs of residents. Later industries replaced the early mills, and immigrants arrived to work in the textile factories. Educational, religious, and civic buildings were added to the community, and farms grew in the countryside.

When Pres. John F. Kennedy established the Cape Cod National Seashore in 1961, it was acclaimed as the "finest victory ever recorded for the cause of conservation in New England." When erosion and overdevelopment threatened the Cape, the idea of a national seashore took hold, forever protecting this treasured place. The park preserves 44,000 acres of forest, marsh, bog, and ponds, and a 40-mile stretch from Provincetown to Chatham, which Henry David Thoreau called the "Great Beach." Unlike other national parks at the time, the Cape Cod National Seashore was created from a combination of private, town, state, and federal lands. Cape Cod National Seashore: The First 50 Years captures the political drama of the creation of this extraordinary seashore. Images detail an early Native American presence and the romance of whaling, shipwrecks, lighthouses, windmills, and dune shacks.

Maine's more than 3,000 miles of rocky coastline, picturesque islands, sandy beaches, iconic lighthouses, and quintessential New England harbors have lured visitors since the middle of the 19th century. Steamships first transported sportsmen and "rusticators" along the coast. Soon summer colonies formed, and art schools flourished. Expanding train travel led to the development of seaside resorts with grand hotels, while America's wealthiest families built opulent summer "cottages" in exclusive enclaves. Yachts became common sights along the coast and cruising grew in popularity. With the 20th century came the automobile and the development of the highway system, including Route 1, which encouraged road trips. The history of touring the Maine coast between 1860 and 1960 offers fascinating insight into the history of Maine, tourism, and America itself.

Work -- Family -- Religious life -- Community -- Sports and recreation -- Arts and entertainment -- Education -- Franco-American pride -- The Acadians.

Essex is nestled on the Atlantic coast within beautifully preserved hills, forest, fields, and wetlands--but the serene landscape belies the town's rich history. According to tradition, the first Essex boat was built in an attic around 1660. Eventually, this shipbuilding industry would create a thriving town as it developed into one of the largest producers of fishing schooners in the country. By its incorporation in 1819, Essex was a renowned community of fishing, farming, shipbuilding, and other industries. Over time, Essex became the birthplace of the fried clam, sent a native son to the baseball major leagues, acquired a Paul Revere church bell, and raised a barn that is now the oldest still in use in America. With a newly gathered collection of vintage images, Essex reveals a microcosm of American culture and growth, telling the story of leading patriots, entrepreneurs, Civil War heroes, and hardworking everyday citizens.

Middleton was first settled in 1651. The town derives its name from its location midway between Danvers and Andover, on a road well traveled in early times. It was once known as Will's Hill, an outlying part of Salem Village. In 1692, Middleton lost one of its residents to a witch hunt. The town grew as a farming community, yet it also had an important ironworks industry in the 1700s. Though a largely bucolic and agrarian community, two railroad lines and one trolley line ran through town, serving bustling industries and people looking for recreational activities. Middleton includes in its quaint history an ancient white oak tree reputed to be over 400 years old; an innovative seed farm, J. H. Gregory's; and an old domicile some say still smells of baked beans. Middleton captures the history of this community's pleasant and social people.

The story begins in 1848, when the Moravian Brethren sold 274 acres of farmland to investors who resold them as building lots. By 1855, Asa Packer had laid the tracks of his Lehigh Valley Railroad along the Lehigh River, bringing coal from Carbon County to markets in New York and Philadelphia. Industries rapidly grew, with the Pennsylvania and Lehigh Zinc Company in 1853 and the Saucona Iron Company in 1857. By 1865, South Bethlehem became a borough. Charles M. Schwab headed the former Iron Company in 1906, renaming it the Bethlehem Steel Corporation, and was instrumental in uniting the Bethlehems as one city in 1918. Countless immigrants shaped the tone of this region. Today the Sands Casino occupies part of the former Bethlehem Steel site. It is the future home of art and music venues that will contribute to a city already known for its historic and cultural heritage.

Floral Park Village, with its boulevards and avenues named for flowers and trees, was a community built around the cultivation, promotion, packaging, and sale of seeds and bulbs. From fields of flowers to streets full of houses with diverse architecture, for more than 100 years Floral Park has continued to be a family-oriented village. At the western edge of Nassau County, with Belmont Park as its neighbor, Floral Park seems very distant from New York City, though it is only a 30-minute train ride away. Floral Park contains photographs from the archives of the Village of Floral Park, the library, and Floral Park Historical Society. These collections yield unique images that tell the story of a community that has retained its appeal for generations.

During its first 200 years, New Garden Township's settlers and citizens reaped the bounty of its natural resources. Granite veins within its the northern ridge, clay deposits under its southern plain, and waterpower coursing through its pitched hills surrounded a fertile central plateau. Toughkenamon, Kaolin, and Landenberg rose to industrial eminence while the village maintained its Quaker and agricultural influences. When the 20th century rendered the creek's mills, mines, and quarries obsolete, New Garden's population and promise shrank with its industry. Then mushroom farming bloomed, and Quaker ingenuity and immigrant ambition built a new, multimillion-dollar agricultural enterprise. New Garden Township provides a visual record of vintage photographs accompanied by archival research and narratives from lifelong residents to intimately depict the township's transformations through the generations.

Brockway, originally called Brockwayville until the name was shortened in 1925, is named after the Brockway family pioneers who settled near the southern bend of Little Toby Creek in 1822. The Brockways were followed by several other settlers, including the "Father of Brockway," Dr. Asaph M. Clarke, who laid out the town in 1836. Farming and lumbering were the original industries, but by 1883, coal mining had brought in the railroads. Railroads introduced more industry, the most famous being the Brockwayville Machine Bottle Company in 1907. Through images from the Brockway Area Historical Society, Brockway and Little Toby Valley chronicles the development of this industrious community.

Freedomland opened on June 19, 1960, in the Baychester section of the Bronx, New York. Designed by Marco Engineering of Los Angeles for International Recreation Corporation, it was the third and largest innovative theme park built across America to mimic Disneyland. Constructed in the shape of the United States and presenting 200 years of American history, Freedomland was intended to be both exciting and educational. Historically themed attractions and costumed cast members were located throughout the seven sections. In addition, Freedomland offered national and local stars, big bands, and daily entertainment events. Professional character actors also worked throughout the park. Through photographs, Freedomland: 1960-1964 takes a tour of all seven sections of Freedomland and more. Although it was open for just five seasons, the park's guests and cast members were fortunate to have their very own "Disneyland of the East."

In 1682, John Sharpless settled in Nether Providence Township on a 1,000-acre tract of land along Ridley Creek that had been granted to him by William Penn. Other settlers soon followed, establishing Nether Providence as a small, successful, farming community. Over the next two centuries, Nether Providence grew into a thriving manufacturing center with 14 operating mills along the township's two creeks. At the turn of the 19th century, Nether Providence became a summer resort area rivaling the Main Line of Philadelphia, with such famous residents as Dr. Horace Howard Furness, a well-regarded Shakespearean scholar and the brother of architect Frank Furness, and Alexander Kelly McClure, the owner of the Philadelphia Times and an assistant adjunct general appointed by Pres. Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War. In 2007, Wallingford, the largest community in Nether Providence, was named by Money Magazine as the ninth best place to live in the United States.

The migration of Italians to the area began in 1864 with Raffaele Bracaccini, who was attracted by the beauty of Lake Erie and the countryside. By 1938, Erie's 18,000 Italians comprised the third largest ethnic group. Erie had its own Italian language newspaper from 1915 to 1940. St. Paul's Church was built with the contributions of Italian immigrants. Columbus School, Columbus Park, and Rose Memorial Hospital were established. Societies and businesses flourished. This book contains more than 200 photographs collected from local families representing the collective memory and history of Erie's Italian community from the 1860s to the 1950s.

William J. Staples and his partner, Monthorne Tompkins, purchased a large parcel of land in 1832 to establish their real estate venture. Four years later, the pair initiated ferry service from the waterfront in Stapleton to Manhattan across New York Bay and began advertising their community to attract investors. As lots were sold and the community developed, businesses soon followed. The large influx of German immigrants to the area brought with them an expertise for brewing beer, with the result that Stapleton soon became the epicenter of a large brewing industry. The wealth the breweries attracted to the area resulted in the construction of large homes, mansions, and estates, many of which still stand today along the crests of the area's hilly terrain.

In 1906, Sen. William H. Reynolds purchased an abandoned barrier island along the south shore of Long Island and vowed to turn it into a great city. What is now Long Beach, the "City by the Sea," soon drew visitors who came for its summer resorts, boardwalk, dance pavilions, casino, and luxury hotels. Two world wars, Prohibition, and easy railroad access turned summer residences into year-long homes for thousands eager to live by the seaside and raise families in what has been known as "America's Healthiest City." The images of Long Beach reflect the diversity of the city's architecture, culture, religions, and unique neighborhoods. Photographs show the storied inhabitants and bungalows of the West End, water-lined homes of the canals, the 2.1-mile boardwalk, and long white sand beach.

On November 23, 1893, Judge R. W. Archbald signed the decree making Taylor a borough. A century earlier in 1782, Cornelius Atherton, originally from Massachusetts, became Taylor's first permanent settler on a hill overlooking Keyser Creek. He and his family helped to build what was then a small farming community. The birth of the railroad brought with it a change of industry. In the mid-1850s, the Union Coal Company sank a shaft, built a breaker, and began to ship coal. When the company went out of business, New York City financier Moses Taylor bought up the abandoned coal land and reopened the mines. What was once called Unionville was renamed Taylorville in his honor, and this was later shortened to Taylor. Through vintage images, Taylor documents the many transitions of this tight-knit community.

The Jamaica Estates community evolved with the advent of the 20th century. The verdant hills north of the colonial village of Jamaica were blanketed with forests of deciduous trees and dotted with crystal clear glacial lakes. The area's country beauty and tranquility offered people an escape from the congestion of the crowded city. As the Queensborough Bridge neared completion in 1907, two wealthy real estate speculators, Ernestus Gulick and Felix Isman, envisioned a unique community. Together they imagined a residential park offering people the ability to have homes in an area of breathtaking country beauty while working in the city.

Following World War II, many American cities underwent a large-scale modernization to keep up with the changing times in business technology and architecture. With help from federal funding and planning, expansive and low-density modern projects replaced the crowded blocks of century-old buildings. State-of-the-art facilities featured large, open plazas that were the scenes of social and cultural events, attracting private developers to the city's core. Due to its participation in new policies of planning and the efforts of its strong preservation community, Rochester is today an interesting and sometimes perplexing mixture of densely packed, ornamental-19th-century buildings and monumentally scaled and architecturally stark projects of the modern era. Rochester's Downtown Architecture: 1950-1975 tells the story of the peak years of change to the built environment of Rochester's downtown.

Renowned as part of the Hamptons, the area known today as Westhampton, Westhampton Beach, Quiogue, and West Hampton Dunes was named Catchaponack by the Algonquin tribes who lived in the area when the English sheepherders arrived in the 1660s. A land of breathtakingly beautiful beaches and bays situated on the south shore of Long Island, just 65 miles east of New York City, Westhampton has evolved from an agricultural and fishing village to a summer vacation resort to a year-round oceanfront community. Fortune 500 chief executive officers and celebrities, such as Cary Grant, Charles Addams, and Marvin Hamlisch, have lived quietly amid locals. Together they have survived hurricanes, outlasted raucous night clubs, rebuilt eroded dunes, and fought off real estate developers. Around Westhampton depicts how an area blessed with uncommon physical beauty has managed to remain unspoiled in the face of natural disasters and international fame.