Although geography plays a significant role in a place�s identity, it is the people and their stories that make an area special. Loudoun County is one such place, a county known for its charm and uniquepersonality. Over the past 250 years, the county has drawn a truly eclectic population from across the world, and these different immigrant groups have shaped the county�s history with their churches, schools, and businesses�all still clearly visible into the twenty-first century. Loudoun Co...

Loudoun County, one of Virginia�s most charming areas, is truly a picturesque region, balanced with sweeping pastoral landscapes along the Potomac and many lovely small towns and villages. Over the pastseveral hundred years, this county has enjoyed an ethnic-rich past, meaning that many diverse cultures�the American Indian, European, and African�have called this place home. These different civilizations have left an indelible mark on Loudoun County�s character and architectural appearance,...

For over 200 years, Northern Virginia has enjoyed a respected reputation for its equestrian heritage. The present-day home of horse museums and libraries, as well as breeding, sports, and shows of all sort, Northern Virginia truly is �hunt country.� Northern Virginia's Equestrian Heritage showcases the area's early hunting history and offers a singular glimpse into the past glory days of fox hunts, hound-breeding, horse races, and horse shows. Beautiful estates where men and women gathered...

Once serving as the capital of the United States for three days, the town of Leesburg, Virginia stands at the crossroads of American history. As a rural hinterland of the Washington, D.C. area and situated on the northern fringe of the old Confederacy, Leesburg has seen troops and generals, travelers and settlers, and politicians and presidents walk its streets, and opposing political views tear its population apart. Unity and patriotism returned and characterized the town during the world...

In the fast-paced world in which we live, the relationships among families and friends continue to be the bonds that hold our complex communities together. Located in the flourishing region of Northern Virginia, Loudoun County has experienced significant growth in recent years, but it is those essential ties, the determined character of the region�s first inhabitants, and the importance ofheritage to the generations that have followed that have truly shaped the area�s singular personality....

Edenton and Chowan County, North Carolina is a pictorial history that celebrates early 20th-century lifestyles enjoyed by citizensof the first unofficial colonial capital. Conveniently located between three important waterways in Eastern North Carolina, Chowan County, along with its county seat of Edenton, is a remarkable community whose roots dig deeply into the 1600s when settlers arrived from Jamestown. The steadfast Perquimans River to the east, the rapidly flowing Chowan River to the ...

Bounded on the north by the Little Satilla River from neighboring Glynn County and on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, Camden County's southern boundary at the St. Marys River separates Georgia from Florida. Dating from a 1766 land grant, port of St. Marys and Camden County have faced a challenging past, present, and future. Camden's growth and development have been driven by businessmen, adventurers and opportunists, determined "wild swamp Crackers," and hardy, self-reliant, God-fearing me...

The history of Wakefield developed from a rural mill town in the nineteenth century to South County's mercantile center in the twentieth. Using images from the Pettaquamscutt Historical Society, the Peace Dale Library, and a number of private sources, local author Betty J. Cotter chronicles Wakefield's growth from the days of the horse and buggy, dairy farms, and fields to those of shopping centers and fast-food restaurants. Readers will marvel at the trees lining Main Street before a deva...

As preservationist Mary Carol Miller talked with Mississippians about her books on lost mansions and landmarks, enthusiasts brought her more stories of great architecture ravaged by time. The twenty-seven houses included in her new book are among the most memorable of Mississippi's vanished antebellum and Victorian mansions. The list ranges from the oldest house in the Natchez region, lost in a 1966 fire, to a Reconstruction-era home that found new life as a school for freed slaves. From t...

Edison, named for its most famous resident, inventor Thomas Alva Edison, can be called the birthplace of modern life as we know it. It was here at his Menlo Park complex that Thomas Edison created the incandescent electric lightbulb and 300 other inventions, providing residents with not only a place of employment but also a source of national pride. Known as Raritan Township until 1954, Edison was a slow-paced agricultural community until the twentieth century, with farms remaining until t...

Located near the convergence of the Choccolocco Creek, the Blue Eye Creek, and the Coosa River, whose Native American names pay tribute to the Muskogee who once populated the town, Lincoln attracted early settlers after the Cusseta Treaty was signed with the Creek Indians on March 24, 1832. Andrew Jackson passed through Lincoln on his way to the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, when the town was still known as Kingsville and before it was renamed in 1856 for a famous soldier who fought in the War...

Located on the Southwest Trail that connected St. Louis to Texas, the town of Washington was established in 1824 in the southwest corner of Arkansas. Named after the first president of the United States, Washington is an example of a true American town with the city streets bearing the names of famous countrymen. American icons such as James Bowie, Sam Houston, and Davy Crockett all passed through this unique community. One of its citizens, a local blacksmith, made a knife for Bowie, which...