Arcadia Publishing: 7502 books

Today's Stockton is a modern California city, home to a quarter of a million people. But few remember the details of its illustrious past. Influenced by strategic waterways and rich soil, Stockton attracted a succession of miners, farmers,shipbuilders, and industrial entrepreneurs. Throughout the years...

Tucked in a valley on the banks of the Milk River, Havre's history is incredibly diverse. It was populated first by American Indian tribes, who lived here for centuries and successfully lived off what the land, waters, and skies could provide. White settlers and other ethnic groups came later, bringing...

Denver was barely 10 years old in 1868 when visionary pioneers such as Alfred B. Case and Jacob W. Downing began amassing real estate holdings far from downtown, speculation that paid off when the newly arrived railroad led to a population explosion. With the opening of the Whittier School in 1883�the...

Ernst Altgelt and people from what is now Germany founded Comfort in 1854 in the Guadalupe Valley of the Texas Hill Country. When the Civil War began, many of these freethinking people opposed secession. Some attempted to go to Mexico and were surprised by Confederates near the Nueces River. A few Unionists...

Upland�a more fitting name could not have been chosen. The city is nestled among the foothills at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains�better known to the old-timers as the Sierra Madres. Upland has a rich history, dating back to rancho days of the early 1800s, then through the land boom of the...

The history of the olive in the Gold Country of Northern California is a story of the Spanish in the New World, of the Gold Rush, of immigrants from Italy and other Mediterranean countries, of bold pioneers, enterprising farmers and scientists, and of businessmen and businesswomen. Focusing on Calaveras...

In his Spoon River Anthology, Edgar Lee Masters uses a series of poetic monologues to have his characters finally tell their true stories from their graves. The first section lets the reader know that �all, all, are sleeping on the hill.� San Antonio has its Powder House Hill about three miles from...

Orcas Island, the largest of the 172 islands in San Juan County, lies in the Salish Sea north of Puget Sound. Known as the �Gem of the San Juans� for her shimmering emerald hills bounded by 125 miles of rocky, tree-lined shore, Orcas was home to countless generations of Native Americans before the...

The low rumbles of the fog signal and flashing beam of light from the powerful lens have guided mariners away from the perilous waters surrounding Point Arena Lighthouse since 1870. After the great earthquake in 1906 and the rebuilding of the tower in 1908, Point Arena�s navigational aids continued...

Several lighthouses have called Racine home, but none is more synonymous with the nautical heritage of the �Belle City� than Wind Point. Always a beehive of activity, the Wind Point Lighthouse is one of the larger lighthouse complexes on the Great Lakes, and a hardworking keeper, two assistants,...

In 1722, Seven Mile Beach, covered in red cedar and holly, bayberry bushes and beach plums, was acquired by the Leaming family, who used it for grazing and whaling. Long undeveloped, the southern portion of the island was sold to the South Jersey Realty Company in 1907. The Risley brothers sold bonds...

The thriving barrier islands of Chincoteague and Assateague entice over a million tourists to their shores every year. Adjacent to one another, these parcels of land jutting into the Atlantic have a symbiotic relationship�Chincoteague, a modern, developed community that thrives on tourism, helps...

The Hiram M. Chittenden Locks, known locally as the Ballard Locks, are an integral part of Seattle's extensive waterways. The busiest facility of their kind in America, the Ballard Locks form the heart of the channel connecting Puget Sound's saltwater with Seattle's main freshwater lakes. When completed...

Located in Penobscot Bay, Vinalhaven Island is a land mass about 10 by 5 miles, with the town situated on Carvers� Harbor, 15 miles from the mainland. Always a working community, Vinalhaven presently serves as one of the largest lobstering centers in the world. Islanders, summer residents, visitors,...