Despite humble beginnings on Corn Island in 1778, the city of Louisville has grown to legendary status. Courageous individuals have worked together overcoming hardships, defeating enemies, celebrating victories, and laying the foundation for our river city. Louisville is the home of many legends including boxing great Muhammad Ali, William Clark (of the famed Lewis and Clark Expedition), baseball star Pee Wee Reece, Academy Award'winner Jennifer Lawrence, Pulitzer Prize'winner Marsha Norma...

Lake Cumberland is a premier vacation destination for millions of people each year. Before Lake Cumberland became a recreational paradise, the wild and wondrous Cumberland River ruled the land. With its 1,255 miles of federally protected shoreline, an average depth of 90 feet, and a surface area of more than 60,000 acres, Lake Cumberland is one of the largest man-made lakes in the United States, yet visitors may not realize the storied history that lies beneath the deep water. Although pla...

Executive jets and yachts are the quintessential tableau of today's tycoons. A century or more ago it was Pullman Palace Cars and yachts. The Palace Cars were ornate, featured extravagant pomp, from crystal chandeliers and marble baths to sumptuous bedrooms, libraries and living rooms walled in mahogany, with servant quarters nearby. The man who made this possible, George Pullman, catered to the wealthy, provided unique cars built to individual tastes and standards, but also gave ordinar...

This lively collection of 34 of the best history walks in North Carolina highlights the richness and diversity of the state’s history, from the time of its first settlement to the present. Veteran guidebook author Lynn Setzer leads readers on short walks in state parks and natural areas, state historic sites, charming small towns from the mountains to the sea, and the state’s largest cities. Along the way, she brings to life some of our state’s most momentous events, most accomplished and ...

Shenandoah—most often translated as "Daughter of the Stars"—is one of the loveliest names in the language. Backroads travelers will find that it fits the Valley perfectly. Most people know the Shenandoah Valley for its Civil War–era history, from Robert E. Lee's capture of John Brown at Harpers Ferry in 1859 to Stonewall Jackson's Valley Campaign of 1862 to the Battle of New Market in 1864. Fewer know that the Winchester area was home to George Washington, explorer Richard Byrd, novelist W...

The name "Luneburg" was coined for King George II of England, who was also the duke of Luneburg, Germany, in 1727. The final name, Lunenburg, was probably a result of misspelling in the early records of the town. On August 1, 1728, Lunenburg was officially granted township but, as early as 1726, a variety of industries had been started and twenty-six houses had been built. In the late nineteenth century, the town returned to predominately agriculture and, today, is a rural residential comm...

In the heart of the Cumberland Valley, between the Blue Ridge and Allegheny Mountains, lies Washington County�site of one of the nation�s oldest settlements dating back to 1737. Its location betweenPennsylvania and West Virginia places this county at the crossroads of history and commerce. Washington County celebrates the birth and survival of a place and its people over centuries and mirrors the growthof our nation. American history comes alive in this region created independent of Freder...

Join Ray and Diane Hadley as they retell the history of the communities that make up Jonesboro and Arkansas's Northeast Corner in vintage images. When Union soldiers returned North after the Civil War, they brought home stories of a sparsely populated area with bountiful timber and potential for homes and farms. Over the next 50 years, first by wagon train and then by railroads, settlers came to build not only homes and farms but also thriving communities in the Clay, Greene, and Craighead...

Stretching midway across Wisconsin�s famous Door County peninsula, Sturgeon Bay has developed into the county�s business and industrial center. Divided by the waterway it�s named after, this small city provided a home to a working waterfront that once housed sawmills and docks for shipping ice, quarried stone, and, later, cherries. A canal dug from Sturgeon Bay to Lake Michigan in 1880 enabled ships to avoid the long passage over the tip of the peninsula. Sturgeon Bay became a shipbuilding...

Europeans first settled in what was to become the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (DWGNRA) in the 17th century. By the late 1800s, the Delaware Water Gap had become a popular vacation spot, attracting thousands to the palatial resorts in the mountains. Rural communities thrived in the valley until the 1960s. The DWGNRA was created in 1965 to oversee activities centered around a reservoir that was to be the result of a dam to be built on the Delaware River at Tocks Island. In an...

The mountain snows melted and the rains came. In 1853, thousands fled the rising water; in 1889, two days of torrential rain ravaged the city; and in 1936, the infamous St. Patrick's Day flood saw a swell of ten feet. Perched on the banks of the Potomac River, the city of Cumberland, Maryland, has been plagued by devastating floods since its foundation. Time and again, deluges have brought the city to its knees. Yet the Queen City has always risen triumphant and undimmed from the raging wa...

Virgin forests dominated the landscape when white settlers first explored the land now known as Cecil County. The only trails within the thick vegetation were thin Native American paths known only to the native people. The best way for settlers to travel the new land was by water. Soon after the pioneers arrived, trading posts and crude lodges were built near the shore. Ferries were then constructed to transport travelers across streams, and inns and taverns were built to service the weary...