From the 1890s through the 1920s, the postcard was an extraordinarily popular means of communication, and many of the postcards produced during this "golden age" can today be considered works of art. Postcard photographers traveled the length and breadth of the nation snapping photographs of busy street scenes, documenting local landmarks, and assembling crowds of local children only too happy to pose for a picture. These images, printed as postcards and sold in general stores across the country, survive as telling reminders of an important era in America's history. This fascinating new history of Wicomico County and Delmar showcases more than two hundred of the best vintage postcards available.

Wicomico County, MD

Arts & Photography

Jacob, John E.

Photography & Video

Arcadia Publishing

Barre, a town set among the hills and valleys of central Massachusetts, started out as a rural farming community that has since grown to almost 5,000 residents. Before Barre became a town in 1774, it was called the Northwest District of Rutland. As more settlers populated the area, the town became gradually autonomous, earning its own name―Rutland District. The name was changed to Barre in 1776 to honor Col. Isaac Barre, a member of the British Parliament who embraced the colonists’ cause of independence. As the Industrial Revolution reached Barre, many villages flourished. Textiles, gunpowder, and wood products were all lucrative industries for a time until the twentieth century, when the Charles G. Allen Company and the Barre Wool Company were the main industrial forces. Today, the area is a tourist mecca where visitors can appreciate the display of autumn foliage, the sports of fishing and hunting, and the Woods Memorial Library and its museum.

Barre, MA

The Barre Historical Society

Since its founding in 1683, Enfield has experienced a wealth of changes, including the inception of a Shaker community that made Enfield its home for more than a century, the emergence of an immigrant population, and the rise and fall of its two key industries of carpet and gunpowder. Thompsonville's carpet mill operation grew into a huge industrial complex and became the center of village life, while the gunpowder industry took hold in Hazardville, peaking in prosperity during the Civil War and subsequently declining as the need for wartime products waned. In Enfied, Connecticut, the rich history of this New England town is enlivened by over 200 photographs from the 1880s to the 1950s. Combined with extensively researched, informative captions, the snapshots and postcards in this collection enrich our understanding of the communities of Enfield. Preserved within these pages are a variety of images of the people who have contributed to the town's unique character. View rare shapshots of Enfield's founding families as well as its immigrant workers, and learn about the influence that the peaceful Shaker community had on the area, both in terms of fellowship and craftmanship.

Enfield, Connecticut (Images of America: Connecticut)

Miller, Michael K.

Florham Park, New Jersey, in place for nearly 300 years, is best known for its shining symbol of endurance, the Little Red Schoolhouse. Since 1866 it has stood in the center of town, resisting time, the elements, and the threat of demolition. Known first as Hoppingtown, the village became Afton (after the English river) in 1876. In 1899 millionaires Florence and Hamilton Twombly insisted that the village split from Chatham Township to become Florham Park, a name derived from the first syllables of the couple’s first names. The name of the village was not a matter of vanity; the Twomblys, in creating a separate borough, reduced their tax burden by only $200. After World War II, the estates of two other millionaires, Dr. Leslie Ward and Lloyd W. Smith, were used for much of the area’s real estate development. The town quickly became suburban, with industrial parks, commercial centers, and shopping malls. It is also the home of the College of St. Elizabeth and Fairleigh Dickinson University. This book provides rarely seen views of the borough’s distinctive, turn-of-the-century kerosene lanterns, the large ice-cutting industry, the first years of the fire department, and early farming families. A richly illustrated volume, Florham Park serves as an introduction to the community, its Twombly mansion (now the heart of Fairleigh Dickenson University), the notable Afton Restaurant, the widely known roller skating rink, and the borough’s citizens.

Florham Park, NJ

CUNNINGHAM, John

Nestled in the northeast corner of Somerset County lies the small, 2.9-square-mile borough of North Plainfield. It is bordered on the northwest by the first ridge of the Watchung Mountains and, to the south and east, the Green Brook provides a natural boundary between Union and Somerset Counties. Rock Avenue, on the west, divides North Plainfield and Green Brook. This borough, named for its proximity to the city of Plainfield, was primarily a farming community. Its growth was stimulated by the mills and quarries built along the streams that flowed through the area and by the construction of the Jersey Central Railroad in the 1850s. North Plainfield grew from 75 residents in 1832 to 4,000 by 1885. Today, approximately 19,000 people reside in this peaceful and picturesque community.

North Plainfield, NJ

Caruso, Mario

Kohler, Joann

In 1818, long before the state of Arkansas came into existence-when the land that would become Arkansas was still part of the Missouri Territory-Pulaski County was created by the Missouri legislature. It was named in honor of Polish nobleman Count Casimir Pulaski, who joined the American Revolution in 1777. Featuring over two hundred images from various sources, including the authors' personal collection, Historic Pulaski County covers the communities of Little Rock, North Little Rock, Levy, and Jacksonville. The authors provide a fascinating look at military life at Camp Pike and Camp Robinson. From the 1840s to the 1990s, the county's past is illustrated by scenes of local people, places, and events that helped shape the last two centuries.

Pulaski County (Images of America: Arkansas)

Paulson, Alan C.

Walter, Paulette H.

The Arkansas River, which runs along the western edge of Faulkner County, has remained a primary thoroughfare since before the time when settlers followed the first European explorers into the heart of Arkansas and points west. The county was located near the horseshoe-shaped bend in the Arkansas River, which provided an ideal location for these settlers’ cattle raising and crop production. The railroad’s Conway Station soon became the county seat of the newly established Faulkner County. From Faulkner County’s emergence as a farming and railroad community to the development of manufacturing and military training facilities, this engaging photographic history mingles fact with rich storytelling. Within these pages, discover rare photographs that illustrate a variety of the area’s historic claims to fame, including the establishment of the University of Central Arkansas, the Ward Bus Company, the WAAC training camp, and Faulkner County’s fiddle-playing namesake.

Faulkner County (Images of America: Arkansas)

In its early days, Washington County was a diverse area that attracted many settlers who were eager to set up homesteads and farm the land. When Arkansas became a state in 1836, the county led the way in education and was a prosperous place to live and work.This volume explores the lives of several generations of early residents and the ways in which they survived in some of the most rugged country west of the Mississippi. The photographs in this collection, many of which date back to the late 1880s, serve as priceless reminders of the real-life stories of early Ozark homesteaders. Enhanced by an informative and entertaining text, these vintage snapshots also provide the reader with views of early organizations such as the Young Americans and the Home Demonstration Clubs, and political groups such as the local “petticoat government,” which was touted as the first of its kind. In Washington County, Arkansas, you will discover the area’s plentiful apple orchards and strawberry fields, its sawmills and gristmills, and its canneries and prosperous businesses along the railroad line. Rare scenes of local reunions, river baptisms, singing schools, parties, and county fairs are also brought to life within these pages.

Washington County (Images of America, Arkansas)

Brotherton, Velda

Mansfield explores the history of this small Massachusetts town between Boston and Providence that has grown to 20,000 residents. With the earliest known images of the town and its peoplethrough the 1950s, this unprecedented collection reveals Mansfield as it once was. Included in Mansfield are early schools and churches, as well as many buildings that have burned or been demolished. Longtime residents of the community will remember the huge construction projects of the 1950s that created underpasses for the railroad to cross localstreets. The faces of Mansfield’s past are seen in these vintage images, highlighting the people who shaped the town’s future and tracing the area’s development as an impressive industrial base. All geographical areas are covered, including the South Common, the North End, Main Street, East and West Mansfield, and downtown. Discover the changes the town has endured over the years in this engaging collection of images complimented by an informative text.

Mansfield, MA

McNatt, Kevin B.

Todesco, Andrew J.

From a peaceful farming community to a thriving commercial suburb, Novi, Michigan, has undergone many periods of dramatic change, creating the rich history that is explored in this volume. This collection of over 200 photographs provides a fascinating record of the development of Novi through the 19th and 20th centuries. In the early days of westward exploration, the fertile land surrounding Detroit attracted the first settlers of Novi. The town grew quickly after the 1825 opening of the Erie Canal, and by 1830, a bustling business district had emerged. The major changes came in the 1950s, with the building of freeways that cut directly through the heart of Novi. The sudden easy access to Detroit and Lansing ensured the town’s future as a true American suburb. Shopping centers soon followed in the tire tracks of the freeway, and the area rapidly expanded.

Novi (Images of America: Michigan)

Barbara G. Louie

Samuel D. Popkin

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