Mount Pleasant lies atop a tree-covered hill in the midst of East Texas timber country. The native Caddo Indians referred to the hill as �pleasant,� and so it was named. Though it hails from within the historic area known as �Devil�s Triangle,� the city has been dubbed �the sweetest town in Texas.� This area has been alternately ignored, fought over, and claimed, proving the people of Mount Pleasant are resilient, adaptable, and consistently hardworking. It is the kind of stable community ...

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...

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...

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 ...

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...

Route 66 goes through the heart of Illinois: between the great cities of Chicago and St. Louis, there are 300 miles of adventure, history, culinary delights, and quirky attractions. This is the "Land of Lincoln" and roadside giants. There are cozy motels, cozy diners, and Cozy Dogs. Interstate 55 will speed travelers to their destination, but Route 66 offers something more. It goes through the hearts of the towns, wandering onto old brick pavement far from the roar of the interstate. Histo...

Monticello was founded by the White County commissioners in 1834 on a bluff above the Tippecanoe River. They named it after the mansion ofThomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States. It was incorporated as a town in 1862. The county seat grew more rapidly when the railroads cameto town before the Civil War. Then the town grew large enough to become a city in 1909, and a mayor was elected. The area around the city became atourist destination in the 1920s after dams created th...

Ames began as two communities. At its founding in 1864, Ames Station, on the Chicago & North Western Railway�s main line, lay two miles east of Iowa Agricultural College, across the Squaw Creek. When the Ames & College Railway joined the college to the town in 1891, a cooperative spirit emerged that exists to this day. A rich history of achievements and colorful characters marks Ames�s 150 years. One founding father commanded the 20th US Colored Infantry in the Civil War, while a Confedera...

Though not incorporated as a city until 1857, Hamilton can trace its roots back to the founding of Fort Hamilton by Gen. Arthur St. Clair in 1791.Throughout its history, Hamilton has been "The Greatest Little City of its Kind in the World," "The Postmark of Distinctive Trademarks," and "Known in the World's Markets." In the time between the close of the Civil War and the beginning of World War II, the city thrived. Led by steadfast pioneers and industrious immigrants, Hamilton developed in...

One of the first towns settled in the lands once known as Connecticut's Western Reserve, Mentor continues to thrive more than two centuries later. After starting out in 1797 as a sparsely populated wilderness outpost with only a handful of permanent residents, Mentor has transformed into a vibrant 21st-century city. The earliest settlers began the great task of felling trees, clearing land, and establishing farms to provide themselves with food and shelter during the area's harsh winters. ...

Settlement in Butler County began when Fort Hamilton was built on the Great Miami River in 1791. For the next century, water shaped the county's fortunes. Settlers built towns, commerce moved on the river, and mills and factories grew up along the Miami and Erie Canal and its hydraulic canals in Hamilton and Middletown. The devastating 1913 flood tested residents' resolve and reshaped parts of the landscape. Despite losses caused by the flood, the county's important landmarks remained. The...

Esau Decker walked to southeastern Franklin County from the Shenandoah Valley in 1805. Marking his Ohio property with a walking stick, Decker returned with his Virginia family the following year to discover that the willow cane had taken root and was growing. It is from this same fertile soil that farms, businesses and social groups grew to create the village of Groveport and the thriving farming community with which it is forever intertwined, Madison Township.Groveport and Madison Townshi...