Lokale Geschichte

In the late 19th century, St. Louis--America's fourth-largest city--was a hub of robust commerce and risque entertainment. It provided an oasis for those who lived "in the shadows." Since 1764, the Gateway to the West's LGBT community has experienced countless struggles and successes, including protests, arrests, murders, celebrations, and parades. St. Louis had its own version of Stonewall in October 1969 and is the hometown of icons such as Tennessee Williams and Josephine Baker. A colorful array of activists, drag queens, leather men, artists, academics, business leaders, and everyday folks have contributed to the rich fabric of the lesbian and gay community in St. Louis."

Downtown Minneapolis evolved from a collection of modest frame buildings on the banks of the Mississippi River to the high-rise center of a modern American metropolis. With a burgeoning milling industry powering the local economy, the early frame structures soon gave way to substantial brick and masonry buildings, lining the streets of a bustling 19th-century commercial district. Downtown continued to prosper during the early years of the 20th century, aided by advances in transportation and communications. The heart of the city held its own during the Great Depression and World War II, but the postwar era brought new challenges as a suburban boom threatened the city s economic foundation. Enterprising local leaders responded with innovative developments to meet these challenges, and a reinvigorated downtown took on a new role as the site of a dynamic new residential community, now home to nearly 40,000 city residents."

From the earliest days of settlement, South Temple was Salt Lake s most prestigious street. In 1857, William Staines built the Devereaux House, Salt Lake s first of many mansions. The once-bustling Union Pacific Depot eventually found itself increasingly isolated. Downtown s gleaming copper landmark overcame numerous hurdles before its construction was finally finished, and the Steiner American Building helped usher in acceptance of Modernist architecture. Evolving to reflect its continued prominence, in 1975, the thoroughfare s core became the city s first local historic district, and in 1982, it made the National Register of Historic Places. Author and historian Bim Oliver celebrates the changing landmarks along these famous eighteen blocks."

Founded in 1699, Baton Rouge was the site of countless historic events and the home to many people, including those of African ancestry. South Baton Rouge is an African American community located in Baton Rouge. It was one of the first places African Americans could receive a high school education in the state. The three-mile community around historic McKinley High School was the site of the nation s first successful bus boycott. When laws restricted where African Americans could live, work, learn, and play, South Baton Rouge was a refuge. African American restaurants, theaters, gas stations, and other businesses populated the community, and change-makers, including African American lawyers, judges, clergy, educators, and nurses, helped to sustain the community and other portions of the southern half of Louisiana s capital through the end of legal segregation and beyond."

After Monroe Edwards died in Sing Sing prison in 1847, penny dreadfuls memorialized him as the most celebrated American forger until the turn of the century. With a bizarre biography too complicated for easy history, his critical contributions to Texas settlement, revolution and annexation were inextricably mired in his activities as a slave smuggler and confidence man. Author Lora-Marie Bernard unravels the unbelievable story of one of the most notorious criminal adventurers ever to set foot on the soil of the Lone Star State.

The Mississippi River is said to run fast and deep. This book shares one characteristic, but not the other. It is not a study of steamboats in great depth, from the diameter of smokestacks on each vessel to the maximum pressure tolerated by various boilers. Rather, it is designed to provide an easily accessible overview of steamboats that in one way or another had ties to what is called the Arkansas Delta. Brief commentary about individual boats is included as well as historic context when a noteworthy one exists. Sections include river craft prior to the advent of steamboats, antebellum boats, Civil War vessels, and post-war steamers from 1870 to 1899. The story ends with the century, a somewhat arbitrary conclusion, but railroads and other means of transportation and shipping dominated by then. By 1900, riverboats usually picked up and delivered cargo at towns and commercial centers and not at plantation landings.Most information concerning the 1870s comes from typed pages in several binders compiled by William H. Tippitt and located at the Phillips County Library in Helena-West Helena, Arkansas. A former river pilot and newspaper columnist, Tippitt became an informal authority on river matters. He admits in introductory comments from April 1967 that his spelling is "atrocious," and he "abhors" proof reading. These are true. Additionally, attribution sometimes is as muddy as the big river or not included at all. Due to concerns about structure, coherence, and length, material in this book is sometimes edited, but with original intent maintained. Tippitt's compendium itemizes steamers built, destroyed, or noteworthy during the 1870s. Citations direct readers to his manuscript pages and to other sources as well. Frequently used resources for boat lists are identified by author and page number. Coverage of the 1870s is longer than other periods due to the volume of material.Other key resources include Way's Packet Directory, 1848-1994; Lloyd's Steamboat Directory and Disasters on the Western Waters; Fifty years on the Mississippi or Gould's History of River Navigation, and Steamboats and Ferries on the White River: A Heritage Revisited. In instances where sources provide different versions of events, each is included without an attempt to referee unless a clear winner is evident.Though the focus of this book is on the Arkansas Delta, hereafter called the Delta, some exceptions are made. Locations such as Little Rock, Arkansas are included when central to the story though technically beyond this book's geographic scope. Some ongoing peculiarities deserve mention. Tellers of riverboat tales tended to take liberties with spelling, such as the frequent merging of two words into one -- "wharfboat" for example. They are allowed this privilege in order to keep usages consistent throughout. When possible and appropriate, the year of a boat's construction, usually the year of first documentation, follows its name in parenthesis. Popular boat names might appear on several different vessels, but only those with Arkansas connections are included. Finally, readers should keep in mind that with respect to the rivers, particularly the Mississippi, what was true one day may not have been the next. "Old Man River" stayed hungry, constantly devouring chunks of land to whet his appetite.

The First World War was an unprecedented event, and some of its effects on the state of Maryland can be seen to this day. Maryland s civilian contributions included agricultural and industrial production, providing goods ranging from canned oysters to light artillery pieces. Wartime industrial requirements led to the creation of entire communities, including Dundalk. Maryland hosted a variety of military facilities, many of which are still active. The largest was Camp Meade, a virtual city, one of 16 new National Army training cantonments that sprang up in a matter of weeks in the summer of 1917. Other major facilities included the US Naval Academy, Fort McHenry, Naval Proving Ground Indian Head, and the new Aberdeen Proving Ground. The state s military contributions also included regional units of the National Guard and new National Army, which fought during the most deadly battle in American history, the Meuse-Argonne Offensive."

Steamships once plied the waters of Narragansett Bay, carrying thousands of guests to feasts of clams prepared in every way imaginable at scenic spots like Rocky Point and Crescent Park. After hurricanes and pollution destroyed Rhode Island s soft-shell clam and oyster beds, the quahog became the state s favorite bivalve, and Rhode Islanders took to their automobiles and drove to the beach for clam cakes and chowder at the shacks and chowder houses that carried on the old traditions. Quahogging remains a major business in Rhode Island, where men and women continue to make a living from the sea. The long lines at take-out windows attest that the future of Rhode Island s clam shacks is secure as they successfully balance changing tastes with time-honored recipes."

John Streckfus began his small Acme Company in 1889 with one wooden packet boat, the steamer Verne Swain, out of Rock Island, Illinois, carrying people and goods on the Mississippi River. His business grew, but each year brought competition from the growing railroads. He decided that excursion boats were the only way to compete. He built the steamer J.S. in 1901 and tramped her from town to town offering excursions and dance cruises. By 1910, the company comprised four boats and an office in St. Louis and offered excursion cruises on the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. The flagship, the steamer Admiral, was far above the others. She provided excursions, fun, and memories for almost 40 years."

East Village was not always the fashionable destination it is today. When the first settlers arrived in 1843 on the muddy banks of the Des Moines River, it was in direct violation of a treaty with the local natives. The settlement grew so quickly that by 1855, the fledgling city had been selected to be the state capital, and the building was constructed in East Village. The next century saw rivalries with the western half of the city, the birth and battle of one of the city s largest red-light districts and the construction of some of Des Moines most prized historic treasures. Historian Hope Mitchell investigates the people and events that shaped the culture and landscape of Des Moines most dynamic neighborhood."

Upon declaration of war on April 6, 1917, Redlands mobilized immediately. The local National Guard Company G departed on April 4 to Arcadia and quickly relocated to San Diego. Residents worked to establish a chapter of the American Red Cross and formed war committees through the YMCA, YWCA and Salvation Army. Thousands of residents pulled together to serve the war at home, donating their time and orchestrating bond drives. More than eight hundred locals served in the military, and Redlanders could be found fighting in every major battle involving American troops. Thirty-nine men and one woman made the ultimate sacrifice. This book commemorates the community s perseverance and sacrifices during the Great War."

The story of Tennessee s state parks began more than 80 years ago when New Deal agencies worked to rebuild portions of Tennessee s eroded landscape. Along with these conservation measures, the state s early parks were created through the development of recreational areas. The Tennessee Valley Authority built dams that contributed to recreational attractions, and the Division of State Parks was started in 1937. All of these efforts in addition to Tennessee s natural beauty have resulted in 56 state parks. Through their postcard collections, the authors invite readers to discover each park s special place in Tennessee s history and landscape."

By late June 1862, the Union army, under George B. McClellan, stood at the doorstep of Richmond. In a desperate hour for the Confederate capital, Robert E. Lee attacked McClellan and drove the Union army into a full retreat toward the safety of the James River. Lee recognized an opportunity to seal a decisive victory and commanded his Army of Northern Virginia to prevent the Union forces from retreating. A.P. Hill, James Longstreet and Stonewall Jackson were among those who engaged in the harrowing day of battle during the Seven Days Campaign. Author Douglas Crenshaw details the dramatic Battle of Glendale in the Civil War."

Florine Lawlor, author of the book, Out From Las Vegas, and columnist for the Las Vegas Sun for 40 years, introduces us to some of her favorite desert haunts and lesser-traveled jeep trails in her book, Mojave Desert Trails, a guide to some of the most interesting geologic and historic sites found in the Mojave's enchanting and remote landscape. Endless vistas, high-walled canyons carved by water and wind, Joshua tree forests, sand dunes, rugged mountains, abandoned settlements and a magnificent railroad depot await curious readers and weekend desert wanderers. Meander along the original trail west blazed by Father Francisco Garces, 1775-1776, the same road thousands of men and women followed almost one hundred years later, seeking their fortunes in California. Walk the along the Mojave River at the site of what once was Camp Cady, a fort settled to protect travelers along the Santa Fe and Mormon Trails en route to San Bernardino and Los Angeles. Camp amidst the eroded volcanic formations of Rainbow Basin Natural National Landmark then drive the long loop to the charcoal-colored mesas of the Black Mountains Wilderness Area. Afton Canyon's riparian habitat provides some of the finest bird watching opportunities in the state while also serving as a gateway to the old Mojave Road. Out in seemingly the middle of nowhere, in the heart of what is now Mojave National Preserve, is the spectacular Kelso Depot, it's great Spanish architecture, a ghostly monolith on the vast desert plain. Prospectors and miners left their marks on the land and mountains with mine shaft and yawning glory holes. Some left with pockets full of gold while others lost everything, even their lives. It's all here in Mojave Desert Trails.

A VIVID AND FASCINATING LOOK AT AMERICAN HISTORY THROUGH THE PRISM OF THE COUNTRY’S MOST STORIED HIGHWAY, THE BOSTON POST ROAD During its evolution from Indian trails to modern interstates, the Boston Post Road, a system of over-land routes between New York City and Boston, has carried not just travelers and mail but the march of American history itself. Eric Jaffe captures the progress of people and culture along the road through four centuries, from its earliest days as the king of England’s “best highway” to the current era.  Centuries before the telephone, radio, or Internet, the Boston Post Road was the primary conduit of America’s prosperity and growth. News, rumor, political intrigue, financial transactions, and personal missives traveled with increasing rapidity, as did people from every walk of life. From post riders bearing the alarms of revolution, to coaches carrying George Washington on his first presidential tour, to railroads transporting soldiers to the Civil War, the Boston Post Road has been essential to the political, economic, and social development of the United States.  Continuously raised, improved, rerouted, and widened for faster and heavier traffic, the road played a key role in the advent of newspapers, stagecoach travel, textiles, mass-produced bicycles and guns,  commuter railroads, automobiles—even Manhattan’s modern grid. Many famous Americans traveled the highway, and it drew the keen attention of such diverse personages as Benjamin Franklin, Franklin D. Roosevelt, P. T. Barnum, J. P. Morgan, and Robert Moses.  Eric Jaffe weaves this entertaining narrative with a historian’s eye for detail and a journalist’s flair for storytelling. A cast of historical figures, celebrated and unknown alike, tells the lost tale of this road. Revolutionary printer William Goddard created a postal network that united the colonies against the throne. General Washington struggled to hold the highway during the battle for Manhattan. Levi Pease convinced Americans to travel by stagecoach until, half a century later, Nathan Hale convinced them to go by train. Abe Lincoln, still a dark-horse candidate in early 1860, embarked on a railroad speaking tour along the route that clinched the presidency. Bomb builder Lester Barlow, inspired by the Post Road’s notorious traffic, nearly sold Congress on a national system of expressways twenty-five years before the Interstate Highway Act of 1956. Based on extensive travels of the highway, interviews with people living up and down the road, and primary sources unearthed from the great libraries between New York City and Boston—including letters, maps, contemporaneous newspapers, and long-forgotten government documents—The King’s Best Highway is a delightful read for American history buffs and lovers of narrative everywhere.