Catalog Search Results
Palatine was incorporated as a village at a meeting of voters held April 2, 1866. The town then experienced a slow, steady growth, and the first development on a large scale started around 1920. In 1925 farms were selling for $400 an acre, a sewer system had just been completed, the streets were paved with reinforced concrete, and elaborate street lighting had been installed. Through the years, the Palatine Historical Society has developed an extensive
...This new addition to the Images of America series
traces the history of Lockport, Illinois, from the
height of its canal activity in the late 1860s to its
decline as the lifeblood of the town in the early
20th century. Lockport's story is revealed here in
over 200 vintage photographs that trace the town's
progress from its early days through the 1970s, when
the canal reappeared as a recreational and tourist attraction. In Lockport,
...24) Aurora
Located in northeastern Ohio, Aurora began as part of the Connecticut Western Reserve and drew many of its first settlers from New England. The city was founded in 1799, with its residents making their living from hunting, farming, and milling. As settlers cleared the land, planted their crops, and raised their animals, they retained their New England heritage, reflected in the many "century homes" found in the town. The area remained largely rural
...25) Geneva Lake
Geneva Lake was formed by a glacier tens of thousands of years ago. The Oneota left historic footprints with a cultural gift in the form of the shore path, which is accessible for all to walk just as the natives did many centuries earlier. Images of America: Geneva Lake illustrates the early history of the communities surrounding the lake—Lake Geneva, Linn, Fontana, and Williams Bay—through scrapbooks, vintage photographs, and storytelling.
...26) Batavia
27) Daufuskie Island
A paradise for pirates? A strategic military outpost? A holding area for enslaved Africans? A tourist attraction? Daufuskie Island is all of that and more.
Daufuskie, a Muscogee word meaning "sharp feather" or "land with a point," is an island located between Hilton Head and Savannah, and with no bridge to the mainland, the island maintains a distinct allure. Once home to Native American tribes, then an island hideaway for pirates,
...The Lincoln Highway across Indiana explores Indiana's unique role in Lincoln Highway history and celebrates Indiana's place in early automotive and road-building history. Once known as the "Main Street of America," the Lincoln Highway route was established across northern Indiana in 1913, linking larger cities—Fort Wayne, Elkhart, Goshen, South Bend, LaPorte, and Valparaiso—to smaller communities. Most Lincoln Highway towns renamed
...When the Union Electric Company finished constructing Bagnell Dam in 1931, they had done more than build a source of electrical power-they had created a vacation paradise. Bordered by lush hills and ancient bedrock, the Lake of the Ozarks covers more than 50,000 acres. Since the opening of the lake's first boat docks, three generations of visitors have spent countless days relaxing by its waters. H. Dwight Weaver reconstructs these lazy days, offering
...Brooklyn Navy Yard details the beginnings and history of this significant military site.
Not much larger than a few city blocks (219 acres, plus 72 acres of water), the Brooklyn Navy Yard is one of the most historically significant sites in America. It was one of the U.S. Navy's major shipbuilding and repair yards from 1801 to 1966. It produced more than 80 warships and hundreds of smaller vessels. At its height during World War
...Waukegan, Illinois has a long history, with a rich and varied heritage. Countless individuals, businesses, and organizations have contributed to that heritage, and continue today to contribute to the legacy of this community. One of Waukegan's most notable citizens was Jack Benny. Throughout his long career he regularly cited his hometown and its influence on him, and he often contributed to the city with his many appearances. But he wasn't the
...32) Hawthorne Works
Discover the maufacturing plant that typifies the era when American industrial giants dominated the global economy and generations of blue-collar workers strived for a fair share of the "American Dream."
A burgeoning town on the fringes of Chicago rose and fell with the successes of the Western Electric Company. For almost 90 years, the Hawthorne Works plant employed, educated, entertained, and defined the township of Cicero. As
...Farmers from the East found the broad and fertile prairies of McHenry County offered the perfect soil and climate for growing corn, wheat, oats, barley, and rye. This led the way for a flourishing dairy industry that eventually supplied milk to the city of Chicago. The first settlements appeared in 1835 in towns such as Crystal Lake, Woodstock, Harvard, and Cary. Families such as the Walkups, the Crandalls, the Beardsleys, the Stickneys, and the
...37) Huntley
Huntley was founded in 1851. Its first boom years—the 1850s to 1920s—saw the town prosper thanks to the local dairy industry. Prolific dairy farmers provided milk for the many local condensing plants and cheese factories and sent huge surpluses into Chicago by train each day. It was said that the Huntley area produced more milk per square mile than anywhere else in the world. Businesses, homes, and churches all grew with the population.
...The Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906 was an unparalleled catastrophe in the history of San Francisco. More than 4.5 square miles of the city burned and crumbled into a windswept desert of desolation. This book is filled with remarkable images, from before the earthquake through the blaze and into the rebuilding.
With stories from...
Springfield: A Reflection in Photography is a photo album of Springfield scenes from the late 19th through the mid 20th centuries-a nostalgic look back at everyday life in the capital city. Local people are seen at work, at play and socializing. Iron workers, construction crews and munitions makers show us the gritty, tiring work of a community and emphasize the man and animal power once common in industry. There are social changes as well, like
...40) Macon County
Macon County occupies nearly 600 square miles of fertile farmland in the geographic center of Illinois. Abraham Lincoln made his first Illinois home here, on a pleasant bluff overlooking the Sangamon River, near presentday Harristown. On May 10, 1860, he was first nominated for the presidency in Decatur, the county seat. During the World War I era, Macon County boasted over a dozen hamlets and villages, including Warrensburg and Maroa, which both
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