Arcadia Publishing: 7502 books

Rantoul and the former Chanute Air Force Base are inseparably intertwined as primary players in a single historical narrative. Rantoul was first founded as an agriculturally based community in 1848 near an area known as Mink Grove. The settlement boomed with the coming of the Illinois Central Railroad...

Shortly after the Wright brothers took to the air, aviation fever gripped Massachusetts. The biggest names in the industry, including Wilbur Wright, Glenn Curtiss, and Claude Graham-White, among others, flew in for the first major air shows, further exciting the people of the Bay State about the potential...

An industrial miracle took place at the Fairfax Airport, on the shores of the Missouri River, between 1941 and 1945. A massive factory was quickly built and a large modification center was soon added. At its peak, over 24,000 greater Kansas City�area residents were employed by North American Aviation,...

Local businessman and inventor John Ellis Fowler introduced the concept of the flying machine to Mobile and South Alabama. Fowler�s innovative designs mark the beginning of the remarkable aviation heritage of Alabama�s port city, a legacy further enhanced by the evolution of military and civilian...

Since its establishment in 1941, Fort Campbell, Kentucky, has grown to approximately 30,000 soldiers on over 100,000 acres. With its Southern culture, the base has a rich and interesting history. German prisoners of war were held here during World War II, and Campbell Army Air Field has always been a...

The intriguing history of aviation in Charleston, West Virginia, deserves to fly out of anonymity. Wertz Field opened in Institute in 1930, allowing for the introduction of the first commercial passenger service in 1933. In 1942, the construction of a rubber plant next to the field blocked flight...

Paine Field was named in honor of hometown hero Topliff Olin Paine, an Army Air Corps pilot during World War I. Located 6 miles south of Everett and 20 miles north of Seattle, Paine Field� known as Snohomish County Airport�got its start as a WPA project in the 1930s. Situated on 1,000 acres, this...

The Delaware Air National Guard got its start when a group of World War II veterans formed a new National Guard unit composed of surplus airplanes, combat experience, a measure of hard work, camaraderie, and fun. Some called this assemblage a gentleman�s flying club, but in a few short years, it was...

A sign at the gate of Naval Air Station Pensacola (NASP) welcomes visitors to �The Cradle of Naval Aviation.� And, indeed it is. The world�s first naval aeronautical station, it came into being when the USS Mississippi (BB-23) arrived in Pensacola on January 20, 1914, with seven aircraft, nine...

In 1923�just 20 years after the Wright brothers� first flight at Kitty Hawk�a Naval Reserve aviation training program was established at Great Lakes Naval Training Center. Originally, sea planes and a few small land-based planes were used for primary flight instruction. With the development of...

Route 66 stretches across 178 miles and through seven counties in the Texas Panhandle. To a traveler on Interstate 40, the road may seem like an endless expanse, with the horizon interrupted only by the occasional grain elevator. But there is history, scenery, and adventure waiting on Route 66, which...

In February 1958, a tragic climbing accident occurred on Big Falls, in Forest Falls, California, resulting in the death of a 13-year-old boy. Rescue attempts were futile because there were no experienced personnel or climbing equipment available. As a result of this unfortunate tragedy, the San Bernardino...

First platted in the 1850s, and as legend tells it, named from an exclamation of settler William Clark waking to discover "what a Home, Sweet Home," this future lumber boom-town began as a stage stop on the road across the Cascade Mountains. With the arrival of the first freight train on April 1, 1932,...

Curwensville, one of the oldest towns in Clearfield County, began as a lumber town. Some of the area�s finest families made their fortunes by harvesting the tall pine trees that were used as ship masts. The Irvin and Patton families were instrumental in the development of the town, as they brought...