Bethel, Connecticut, was settled as early as 1700 in the rolling hills of northern Fairfield County. Rooted in hat manufacturing, the town offered many residents employment in the factories of the Hickocks, Judds and Benedicts. Bethel is also the birthplace of celebrated showman P.T. Barnum, who became an international celebrity yet never forgot his hometown. Now most noted for its picturesque downtown, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Bethel retains its small-t...

In 1882, Emily Dickinson's brother Austin began a passionate love affair with Mabel Todd, a young Amherst faculty wife, setting in motion a series of events that would forever change the lives of the Dickinson family. The feud that erupted as a result has continued for over a century. Lyndall Gordon, an award-winning biographer, tells the riveting story of the Dickinsons, and reveals Emily as a very different woman from the pale, lovelorn recluse that exists in the popular imagination. Tha...

Burlington Police Department detective Jeff Beerworth explores the nature of crime and justice in the Queen City.As Burlington grew into a city out of wilderness, more citizens meant more opportunities for crime. Horse thefts, murders and drunken brawls swamped the young and prosperous city. Those misdeeds inspired the first officers of what would become the Burlington Police Department to serve and protect. Step behind the scenes of the Griwold murder case, the Ma...

Boston's financial district is considered the heart of New England's banking and finance. It is a veritable overlay of sleek modern office buildings and elegant high-rise structures of the early twentieth century. In the center of this contemporary skyline is evidence of the financial district's long history. Boston's first skyscraper, the Boston Custom House tower, stands high from where it was built in 1915 on top of the original 1849 custom house building.Boston's Financial District chr...

On the Fourth of July in 1866, joy turned to tragedy in Portland, Maine. A boy threw a firecracker onto a pile of wood shavings and it erupted in a blaze as residents prepared to celebrate the 110th anniversary of American independence in the momentous time following the Civil War. The violent conflagration killed two people and destroyed all structures on nearly thirty streets. Authors Michael Daicy and Don Whitney, both firefighters, chronicle the day's catastrophic events, as well as th...

On April 30, 1911, a fire ignited in Frank Green�s hay shed that changed the city of Bangor forever. From the ashes of the Great Fire, the logging and mill town emerged as a modernized metropolis. In this collection of retrospective articles, Wayne E. Reilly takes a look at the town of Bangor in the years before the fire, when illegal barrooms and brothels were as rampant as the outbreaks of typhoid and smallpox. He explores Bangor in its boomtown days, when ice harvesting and logging were...

This book will chronicle the history of baseball at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown has earned the distinction of being the most influential institution regarding baseball in Rhode Island. Fields, players, coaches are also included. Perhaps the most interesting parts of the book are the stories revolving around students and baseball games. Racial Integration on the ball field at Brown University is also explored, as well as women who played baseball at Pembroke College ...

This book chronicles the history of the HMS Gaspee, a sloop in the British Royal Navy that was sent to patrol the waters of Narragansett Bay in 1772. The Gaspee cracked down on smugglers and enforced British customs regulation, particularly the Stamp Act. The ship and her captain, William Duddington, were quickly hated by colonists for their campaign of brutality, harassment, and arbitrary enforcement. When the Gaspee ran around in shallow waters, while in pursuit of a colonist merchant sh...

Since its opening in 1867, the Tunbridge World's Fair has drawn hundreds of thousands of people to its one-of-a-kind event, showcasing the best of regional agriculture and entertainment. The fair, originally intended to determine who owned the fastest horse or best-looking cow, began as an improvised event in farmer Elisha Lougee's North Tunbridge pasture and quickly grew into the complex it is today, with well-developed fairgrounds centered around a half-mile racetrack. During the 1929 fa...

For over two centuries, many a helmsman felt a surge of deliverance upon first spotting the Quoddy Lighthouse, guardian of the easternmost point of the United States. During the foggy summer months, residents of Lubec take comfort in the symphony of tolling bells and crashing surf along the rocky Maine coast, where Native Americans once hunted seals and generations of fishermen tugged their boats ashore. In this collection of articles, historian Ronald Pesha revives the events and people o...

The Hartford area has a rich history of firefighting, beginning with the bucket brigades of early colonial history. As devastating blazes razed many key buildings and entire neighborhoods, these small teams developed into large volunteer groups. The city finally realized that paid fire departments were needed, and the modern firefighting world bloomed with technological advances in equipment and procedures. The evolution of these brave firefighting groups is richly chronicled in Greater Ha...

Take a journey with us back to early America, where Rhode Island's founders laid the groundwork for America's policy of religious freedom. Dr. Patrick T. Conley, Rhode Island's preeminent historian, is our guide for this expedition, teaching us about the individuals and events that shaped Rhode Island's identity. Learn what led Roger Williams to write The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution and discover how James Franklin, older brother of Benjamin, left a lasting impact on the future of American...