Greenwich Village has always attracted the innovative and independent spirit. What began as the site of an important Lenape Indian settlement has since transformed into a tourist attraction and home to celebrities, fine universities, publishers, art schools, choice restaurants, and famed night spots. The seemingly wayward streets in the West Village follow original Native American footpaths and colonial roads. Historic residences lining the quirky and charming streets reflect the area’s strong ties to the past. Greenwich Village shows how the many layers of this community’s history have created the sense of place that present-day Greenwich Village is famous for.

Greenwich Village (Images of America)

Arts & Photography

Dickhuth, Anita

Photography & Video

Arcdia Publishing

It was only 30 years ago that the city now known as Aliso Viejo was a 6,600-acre working ranch, with cattle, goats, and sheep and a variety of crops. Located three miles from the Pacific Ocean on the east slope of the San Joaquin Hills, this land had changed little since it was granted to Don Juan Avila in 1821 after Mexico declared its independence from Spain. But in the 1970s, the burgeoning growth of Orange County spread south throughout Saddleback Valley and created Aliso Viejo, Orange County’s 34th city, incorporated on July 1, 2001. Near beaches, parks, and employment, Aliso Viejo is home to about 48,000 residents who like to say their hometown is close to it all.

Aliso Viejo (Images of America)

Bunyan, Bob

Railroads have played an important part in the history of Death Valley. The Pacific Coast Borax Company first used the Death Valley Railroad to transport its ore to market and then to transport Death Valley tourists to its Furnace Creek Resort. “Death Valley Scotty’s” leap to national fame came as a direct result of his chartering a private train to break the Los Angeles to Chicago speed record. The Carson &amp; Colorado Railroad on the west and the Tonopah &amp; Tidewater Railroad on the east provided support to Death Valley’s mining activity, its associated boomtowns, and early tourism.

Railroads of Death Valley (Images of Rail)

Palazzo, Robert P.

From fishermen to farmers to business leaders, the Japanese on the Monterey Peninsula have played a vitally important role in making Monterey what it is today. After the United States imposed the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, the number of Japanese immigrants to the West Coast increased in large numbers. In 1895, one of those immigrants, Otosaburo Noda, noticed the incredible variety of fish and red abalone in the bay. He developed the first Japanese colony on what is now Cannery Row. At the end of salmon season in August 1909, the Monterey Daily Cypress reported that there were 185 salmon boats fishing the bay, of which 145 were Japanese-owned. By 1920, there were nine Japanese abalone companies diving for this tasty mollusk, supplying restaurants and markets throughout California and across the country. Prior to World War II, 80 percent of the businesses on the Monterey Wharf were Japanese-owned.

The Japanese on the Monterey Peninsula (Images of America)

Thomas, Tim

Monterey Japanese American Citizens League

Surveyor Alexander Power chose the Conneaut Creek Valley as a place to build a home after discovering its beauty in 1795. Within the decade, westward travelers had turned this raw country landscape into a thriving village, and the settlement became Conneautville in 1814. Following the completion of the Erie Extension Canal in 1844, Conneautville enjoyed an economic boom. By the beginning of the 20th century, the Hotel Power brought travelers near and far to relax in a bath of mineral-rich springwater. By its centennial in 1914, Conneautville had become a landmark and included an opera block, bowling alleys, brick-lined streets, a luxurious hotel, and many beautiful churches. Through vintage photographs, Around Conneautville illustrates how a once isolated settlement grew into a picturesque rural community..

Around Conneautville (Images of America)

Mattera, Tyler

Since its official discovery in 1861 by Ed Berthoud and mountain man Jim Bridger, Berthoud Pass has been an important transportation route over the Continental Divide. At more than 11,000 feet in the Rocky Mountains, and coupled with its large number of switchbacks, it has become one of the most beautiful and widely used mountain passes in the West. Henry Ford’s inexpensive Model T opened up America to the masses and in the 1920s, following early struggles in road development, a successful construction project gave way to the Golden Age of Automobile Touring. A solid road, US Highway 40, was paved in 1938 that opened the West to a wave of tourists during the 1940s and 1950s. Berthoud Pass’s steep terrain and abundant snow provides access to some of Colorado’s best skiing and snowboarding activities.

Berthoud Pass (Images of America)

Dugan, Ben M.

Frisco and the Ten Mile Canyon tells the story of the once-thriving railroad town that served as the gateway to the towns and mines of the Ten Mile Canyon. Beginning in 1879, mines produced silver, gold, and other minerals while experiencing the usual boom and bust cycles. With the slow, painful death of mining and the curtailing of rail service, Frisco and nearby towns suffered. While the towns in the canyon became memories, Frisco experienced a rebirth and revitalization when the recreational landscape and economy replaced that of the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Frisco and the Ten Mile Canyon (Images of America)

Mather PhD, Sandra F.

the Frisco Historic Park & Museum

Resting in the community park in Ione, California, is old No. 7, affectionately known as “Iron Ivan,” the last steam engine that served on the Amador Central Railroad. At the southern edge of town, one can glimpse the rails it once rode. Built in 1904, the Amador Central Railroad―a 12-mile, standard-gauge short line that snakes its way through the Sierra Nevada foothills from Ione to Martell―served both passengers and freighters for a century until 2004. It was said to be the slowest line in California, with over 75 curves and a grade of four percent in some places. In 2010, Sierra Pacific Industries sold the railroad to a nonprofit consortium to preserve the historic line.

Amador Central Railroad (Images of Rail)

Cook, Deborah Coleen

Wappinger's name is derived from the Native American Wappani tribe that once lived along the eastern shore of the Hudson River. The era between 1870 and 1930 was the town's golden age, when Dutchess Bleach Works was at its height of operation and Sweet Orr and Factory sold denim overalls across the country. While the village of Wappingers Falls was the center of economic and community life, the rest of the town was rural by comparison. Farmland dominated the landscape to the east of the village, and small river hamlets dotted the Hudson to the west. Although the farmland and factories are gone and the river traffic has slowed, remnants of Wappinger's past are still visible.

Wappinger (Postcard History Series)

TURNER, David

McKeesport’s location at the junction of the Youghiogheny and Monongahela Rivers facilitated shipping and transportation for the early coal and steel industries. Multiple large manufacturers were located here, including the National Tube Works, the American Tin Plate Company, Firth Sterling, and the D.L. Clark Candy Company. McKeesport’s downtown supported numerous theaters, banks, stores, schools, churches, and civic organizations. In the first half of the 20th century, the population increased dramatically, and McKeesport was a growing, thriving city.

McKeesport (Postcard History Series)

Wardle-Eggers, Michelle Tryon

Barna, John W.

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