Mingo Junction, a working-class town in the upper Ohio River Valley, has a rich mix of ethnicities and races with a history going back to the Mingo Indians, including visits from George Washington in the 1770s. Early settlement came as the coal mining industry flourished, followed by iron and steel foundries and accompanying railroads and river barge traffic. Mingo�s chief industry is its steel mill, first Carnegie Steel Mill, then Wheeling-Pitt Steel Mill for over 100 years. The town�s de...

North Brunswick, a large town spread over 12 square miles, has a rich history extending back to the early 1600s, when its only occupants were members of the Lenni-Lenape tribe. Some of the earliest establishments included the Black Horse Tavern building, which in 1670 was a stagecoach stop, and the Lion Tavern. By 1750, a gristmill operated near where a dam is currently located on Farrington Lake and was later joined by a snuff mill and tannery. From 1775 through 1900, the area was almost ...

Incorporated on February 28, 1774, Ludlow, Massachusetts, was originally a part of Springfield. The origin of the name remains a mystery, though the most probable explanation is that it was named after Roger Ludlow, an early prominent New England citizen who played a great part in building up the town and taking care of its citizens. The Ludlow Manufacturing Company, formed around 1900 by Charles T. Hubbard, helped shape the town by providing housing, a library, schools, playgrounds, and e...

New Paltz was established in 1678 by a small group of Huguenot refugees and their families. These pioneers settled into the fertile Wallkill River Valley with the majestic Hudson River to the east and the Shawangunk Mountains defining the western border. These families endured what today would be insurmountable odds, yet for generations they survived and constantly improved their quality of life. The homesteads of these patentee families still stand along historic Huguenot Street and are t...

First settled in 1634, and incorporated in 1640, the Town of Braintree has a long and distinguished history. �Old Braintree,� which originally encompassed what is now Braintree, Quincy, Randolph, and Holbrook, was the birthplace of John Adams, John Hancock, John Quincy Adams, and Sylvanus Thayer. Primarily a farming community for almost three centuries, Braintree was also home to a number of water-powered mills and businesses, which prospered along the banks of the Monatiquot River. With t...

Mount Pleasant has deep American roots going back to the Revolutionary War, when local tenant farmers filled the ranks of General Washington�s Continental army. For years, travel to New York City was difficult, until the arrival of the railroad in 1846 allowed easy transportation to lower Manhattan. In 1893, John D. Rockefeller Sr. began buying land in Pocantico and built his classic Georgian mansion. The massive Kensico Dam in Valhalla was completed in 1917 to satisfy the growing thirst o...

Mansfield Township was established as a constabulary in 1688 and became incorporated in 1798. It is one of the oldest townships in Burlington County. Made up of one town, Columbus, and the four villages of Hedding, Kinkora, Georgetown, and Mansfield Square, the township continues to retain the rural, agricultural landscape that its first settlers witnessed. Mansfield Township has had a number of notable residents, from Prince Lucian Murat, nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, to Thomas Larzelere,...

Originally known as Farnsworth's Landing, Bordentown was settled in 1682 by Quaker Thomas Farnsworth. A natural hub of transportation for its key location on the Delaware River between Philadelphia and New York City, Bordentown flourished in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Internationally known artists, writers, and inventors called Bordentown home; industry thrived; and many private schools, including Bordentown Military Institute, were highly rated. As residents do today, the peo...

When state legislator Stephen Cabarrus sought a compromise between quarreling Scotch-Irish and German settlers over the location of Cabarrus County�s seat, his appeal led to a �concord� that gave birth to one of North Carolina�s most charming cities. Not long after its 1796 founding, Concord began a transformation from an agricultural community into a textile-manufacturing mecca as captains of industry built empires exploiting the cotton that so abundantly sprouted from the region�s fruitf...

In 1854, the agrarian area known as Pulaski was bisected by the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad, which brought with it access to new markets, reduced isolation created by the New River, and heavy industry. The 1870s saw the restoration of an economy decimated by war and the incorporation of Dublin and Newbern. The Pulaski Agricultural and Mechanical Association, incorporated in 1872 to promote �enterprise, industry, and thrift among the citizens,� was forced to raise funds from the very Ph...

Bordentown Revisited highlights the memorable growth of an area located at the kink of the Delaware River. The city of Bordentown and neighboring Fieldsboro share a stretch ofriverfront, and that waterfront location brought them great prosperity during the industrial years. The rural township traded its agricultural occupation for housing development. Then, as old paths and byways became streets and highways, businesses, motels, and restaurants emerged along the roadside.

Take a fascinating journey through the history of Ewing Township, New Jersey with more than 200 vintage photographs and anecdotes from the locals who experienced it. The origin of Ewing Township is directly attributed to Thomas Hutchinson, an English Quaker who purchased property c. 1676 to help colonize America. By 1687, Hutchinson owned almost thirty percent of today's Ewing Township. In the early days, many settlers were drawn to the area because of its proximity to the Delaware River a...