Despite humble beginnings on Corn Island in 1778, the city of Louisville has grown to legendary status. Courageous individuals have worked together overcoming hardships, defeating enemies, celebrating victories, and laying the foundation for our river city. Louisville is the home of many legends including boxing great Muhammad Ali, William Clark (of the famed Lewis and Clark Expedition), baseball star Pee Wee Reece, Academy Award'winner Jennifer Lawrence, Pulitzer Prize'winner Marsha Norma...

Lake Cumberland is a premier vacation destination for millions of people each year. Before Lake Cumberland became a recreational paradise, the wild and wondrous Cumberland River ruled the land. With its 1,255 miles of federally protected shoreline, an average depth of 90 feet, and a surface area of more than 60,000 acres, Lake Cumberland is one of the largest man-made lakes in the United States, yet visitors may not realize the storied history that lies beneath the deep water. Although pla...

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...

Rail transportation has been part of daily life in Reading since the 1830s. Reading Trains and Trolleys portrays the good old days of the Philadelphia & Reading Railway (reorganized as the Reading Company in 1923), the Schuykill Valley Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad, the Mount Penn Gravity Railroad, the Neversink Mountain Railroad, the Reading City Passenger Railway, and the Reading Traction Company. The Reading Railroad gained widespread recognition as a property for sale on the Mo...

The name "Luneburg" was coined for King George II of England, who was also the duke of Luneburg, Germany, in 1727. The final name, Lunenburg, was probably a result of misspelling in the early records of the town. On August 1, 1728, Lunenburg was officially granted township but, as early as 1726, a variety of industries had been started and twenty-six houses had been built. In the late nineteenth century, the town returned to predominately agriculture and, today, is a rural residential comm...

Shenandoah—most often translated as "Daughter of the Stars"—is one of the loveliest names in the language. Backroads travelers will find that it fits the Valley perfectly. Most people know the Shenandoah Valley for its Civil War–era history, from Robert E. Lee's capture of John Brown at Harpers Ferry in 1859 to Stonewall Jackson's Valley Campaign of 1862 to the Battle of New Market in 1864. Fewer know that the Winchester area was home to George Washington, explorer Richard Byrd, novelist W...

Building the St. Helena II tells the story of the 1970 reconstruction of an authentic, operational 1825 canal boat. The narrative unfolds in the small village of Canal Fulton, Ohio, along the surviving one- mile section of the 333-mile Ohio & Erie Canal, which in the 1820s connected the new nation’s western frontier to the thriving coastal states. Canal Fulton was at the leading edge of a national environmental movement to reclaim, restore, and reuse historic U.S. canals for educa...

For the past three decades, historian and archivist Forrest Lamar Cooper has written a regular column for Mississippi Magazine about unusual, fascinating aspects of the state's history, culture, products, and people. Whether describing the Jubilee Beverage Company of Jackson, the origins of the Mississippi State Fair, a Mississippi veteran who fought at Iwo Jima, or Biloxi's Riviera Hotel, Cooper's "Looking Back" columns are thoroughly researched and written with verve and clarity...

This lively collection of 34 of the best history walks in North Carolina highlights the richness and diversity of the state’s history, from the time of its first settlement to the present. Veteran guidebook author Lynn Setzer leads readers on short walks in state parks and natural areas, state historic sites, charming small towns from the mountains to the sea, and the state’s largest cities. Along the way, she brings to life some of our state’s most momentous events, most accomplished and ...

A thoughtful and illuminating bicycle journey along the Underground Railroad by a climate scientist seeking to engage with American history.The traces of the Underground Railroad hide in plain sight: a great church in Philadelphia; a humble old house backing up to the New Jersey Turnpike; an industrial outbuilding in Ohio. Over the course of four years, David Goodrich rode his bicycle 3,000 miles east of the Mississippi to travel the routes of the Underground Railr...

In 1768, Jacob Kimball moved to the shores of Long Lake in North Bridgton, building a store and providing boat service from Standish, at the southern end of Sebago Lake. Jacob Stevens soon followed, building a sawmill and gristmill on what became Stevens Brook in the center village. Ten power sites on this short brook ran lumber, textile, and other mills, as well as a tannery. Bridgton became the area�s commercial center as retail stores and businesses sprang up to support the many mill wo...

An indispensable guide to a regional treasure—now thoroughly updated and expanded.A comprehensive guide to one of America's unique national parks, The C&O Canal Companion takes readers on a mile-by-mile, lock-by-lock tour of the 184-mile Potomac River waterway and towpath that stretches from Washington, D.C., to Cumberland, Maryland, and the Allegheny Mountains. Making extensive use of records at the National Archives and the C&O Canal Park Headquarters, M...