Brookville photographer Frederick E. Knapp documented the events, people, and places of Brookville, the seat of Jefferson County, between 1898 and 1945. Teacher and amateur photographer Wrayanne L. Clapie revisited those sites in 2008. Now a federally registered historic district, Brookville's Main Street buildings, businesses and industries, schools, churches, and homes typify architecture during the last part of the 19th century and life during the first half of the 20th century, illustr...

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...

There is no better way to see America than on foot. And there is no better way to appreciate what you are looking at than with a walking tour. Whether you are preparing for a road trip or just out to look at your own town in a new way, a downloadable walking tour is ready to explore when you are.Each walking tour describes historical and architectural landmarks and provides pictures to help out when those pesky street addresses are missing. Every tour also includes a quick primer o...

The rich heritage of descendants of English, Dutch, and German settlers in the Hunterdon County population centers of Clinton, Flemington, and Lambertville is presented here. Life among the rolling hills of northwest New Jersey and in the three small towns that became centers of that area's population has been faithfully recorded by residents since the Civil War, capturing the rural character of their landscape.

The first settlers came to the Brockport area soon after 1800. Located some twenty miles west of Rochester, the towns of Sweden and Clarkson, the village of Brockport, and a college were organized between 1814 and 1835. The Erie Canal, farm implement manufacturing, and higher education fostered their growth and prosperity in the mid-1800s. At Brockport, the United States became a continental nation, the Industrial Revolution came to agriculture, and popular literature came to American wome...

In 1837, Henry Janes applied for a post office called Black Hawk for the southern Wisconsin settlement where he ran a ferry across the Rock River. The postmaster general, however, noticed a town already by that name in the Iowa part of Wisconsin Territory, and he assigned the name Janesville, with Janes as postmaster. Two years later, Janes moved his family west, but the community grew to become the Rock County seat, and by 1860 it was Wisconsin's second-largest city. Today more than 62,00...

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 ...

It winds from Chicago to L.A.��so says Nat �King� Cole�s classic hit �(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66.� Beginning in 1926, Route 66 was the only U.S. highwayproviding a direct connection between the Windy City and the City of Angels; thus, it is no wonder that Route 66 would become the metaphor of the Americanjourney. The crescent-shaped route from the shore of Lake Michigan to the southern Pacific Coast followed a corridor blazed by Native American footpaths,pioneer waterways, and transconti...

An extensive number of trolley car lines linked the city of Philadelphia to the rich farmland and picturesque towns of southeastern Pennsylvania. These trolley lines traversed miles of narrow streets lined with row houses whose residents were proud working-class Americans. These historic photographs trace the trolley cars� routes, including Route 23, the region�s longest urban trolley route, from the expanses of Northwest Philadelphia�s Chestnut Hill through the crowded commercial Center C...

The Pennsylvania Railroad's Horseshoe Curve is known worldwide as an engineering wonder. This landmark, located just west of Altoona, opened to traffic on February 15, 1854, and it enabled the Pennsylvania railroad line to climb the Allegheny Mountains and the eastern continental divide. The Horseshoe Curve's construction impacted railroad design and development for mountainous terrain everywhere, enabling access to coal and other raw materials essential for the industrial age. J. Edgar Th...

Sail into New Haven Harbor and trek toward the beautiful form of the Sleeping Giant to discover Hamden, a picturesque gem nestled in the rolling hills of Connecticut. Witness the birth of the ?Industrial Revolution with the building of Eli Whitney's famous factory, wander past the buried cars in the Ghost Lot of Hamden Plaza and hear the tale of the courageous Hamden soldiers who fought in the Civil War. Journey with Eric D. Lehman as he uncovers the hidden stories of this fascinating Conn...

From the late nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century, African Americans in the Washington, D.C. area sought leisure destinations where they could relax without the burden of racial oppression. Local picnic parks such as Eureka and Madre's were accessible by streetcars. Black-owned steamboats ferried passengers seeking sun and sand to places like Collingwood Beach, and African American families settled into quiet beach-side communities along the Western Shore of Maryland. Author and public...