Wayne County, West Virginia, was established on January 18, 1842, from part of Cabell County and named for Gen. Mad Anthony Wayne. The state's westernmost county, it lies at the juncture of two rivers: the Ohio and Big Sandy. The town of Wayne is the county seat. Although the southern half of the county was first to be settled, it was slow to develop. In contrast, the northern part bordering Cabell County grew rapidly. The city of Huntington ultimately expanded westward into Wayne County, ...

In 1837, the people of Guyandotte, then a village on the Virginia frontier, resolved to open a school for their sons and daughters. Tradition says local lawyer John Laidley convinced his neighbors to name the school for his friend, Chief Justice John Marshall. The one-room log cabin that housed those first students soon gave way to a two-story brick building that, with various additions over the years, became the school's Old Main. For decades, the cherished landmark has stood like a proud...

Established in 1809, Cabell County is located in West Virginia's Mid-Ohio Valley. When rail tycoon Collis P. Huntington pushed the tracks of his Chesapeake & Ohio Railway across the mountains from Virginia into Cabell County, he founded the town that would become the county's great metropolitan center. Business and industry soon began to rise, and Cabell grew into one of the Mountain State's busiest, most populous regions. This dramatic history of Cabell County begins with the arrival of t...

The history of West Virginia is the story of coal and the people whose lives are forever changed by it. Coal was mined in Southern West Virginia even before the state's birth in 1863 but was mostly consumed within a few miles of where it was dug. When the railroads arrived on the scene, they not only provided a means of getting that coal to market, they also brought in trainloads of workers to the sparsely populated region. With the mines generally located in remote, out-of-the-way spots, ...

From the time settlers first pushed into the Ohio Valley, floods were an accepted fact of life. After each flood, people shoveled the mud from their doors and set about rebuilding their towns. In 1884, the Ohio River washed away 2,000 homes. In 1913, an even worse flood swept down the river. People labeled it the "granddaddy" of all floods. Little did they know there was worse yet to come. In 1937, raging floodwaters inundated thousands of houses, businesses, factories, and farms in a half...

In the late 1860s, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) pushed its first tracks westward from Virginia's Tidewater region across the mountains into what was then the new state of West Virginia. Ultimately its tracks stretched across a half-dozen states and even into Canada. Appalachian coal was the C&O's primary cargo, but its fast freights carried shipments of all kinds, and its crack passenger trains were marvels of their day. In 1963, the C&O merged with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad...

To get a personal look at what it is like to work on the Ohio River, newspaperman James E. Casto spent eight days aboard the Blazer as it traveled the Ohio from Huntington, West Virginia, to Pittsburgh, up the Allegheny and the Mongahela, and then back to Huntington. The Paul G. Blazer, a gleaming white towboat owned and operated by Ashland Oil, pushes a group—or "tow," as the rivermen call it—of nine barges on this trip. Along the way, Casto introduces us to Captain Ronn...

A treasury of trivia from the New-York Historical Society: "An extraordinary tapestry depicting New York's story.... An almost addictive read."— Library JournalFor years, the librarians at the New-York Historical Society have kept a record of the questions posed to them by curious locals and visitors to the city. Who was the first woman to run for mayor of New York? Why are beavers featured on the city's official seal? Is it true that a nineteenth-century ...

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...

Discover one of America's most historic cities through 30 dramatic true stories spanning Boston's 400-year history, and then visit the places where history happened on walking tours of the city's historic neighborhoods. Boston expert Charles Bahne reveals some of the city's most shocking moments, from a murder mystery on the Harvard campus to the mistake that sent two million gallons of molasses pouring down Commerce Street. Other essays explore major historic events including the Boston T...

"[A] wealth of vignettes and more than 100 black-and-white illustrations . . . Does a fine job of humanizing the iron horse" ( The Wall Street Journal).In this social history of the impact of railroads on American life, H. Roger Grant concentrates on the railroad's "golden age," from 1830 to 1930. He explores four fundamental topics—trains and travel, train stations, railroads and community life, and the legacy of railroading in America—illustrating each w...

Thanks to Attorney and business owner Bill Patton, you won't miss a thing when you visit downtown Memphis, Tennessee with this guide. Need a practical, useful guide to downtown Memphis's historic streets, buildings and neighborhoods? Look no further than A Guide to Historic Downtown Memphis. From Beale Street to the Bluffs, this guidebook covers all the essentials that no explorer of the River City should be without. Each chapter provides a map for a different section of downtown Memphis, ...