From Muscle Shoals to Mobile, Alabamians enjoy fabulous barbecue at home, at club meetings and at countless eateries. In the 1820s, however, a group of reformers wanted to eliminate the southern stapl
The coffee industry was made for New York: complex, diverse, fascinating and with plenty of attitude. Since arriving in the 1600s, coffee held patriotic significance during wartime, fueled industrial
Established in 1822, Shockoe Hill Cemetery is the final resting place for many famous and infamous icons of Richmond. Most visited is the tomb of Chief Justice John Marshall, the longest-serving chief
Characters ranging from Mormon pioneers to Butch Cassidy all helped give the Beehive State color and tenacity. Uncover the state’s hidden gems with stories like the first group of Latter-day Saints wh
Victorian Boston was more than just stately brownstones and elite society that graced neighborhoods like Beacon Hill. As the population grew, the city developed a seedy underbelly just below its surfa
The story of the United States Transcontinental Air Mail Service, the first of its kind in the world, is one of romanticism and danger. Through calm or storm, in light or dark, a contingent of courage
When beat cop Don Herion and his partner responded to shots fired on December 16, 1959, they didn’t know that they had heard the final, fatal salvo in one of the most contorted conflicts in the histor
For two centuries, Mount Washington has been the object of countless writers’ wonder and fascination. In this volume, more than twenty previously written pieces inspired by New England’s highest peak
In the long and bitter prelude to war, southern transplants dominated California government, keeping the state aligned with Dixie. However, a murderous duel in 1859 killed “Free Soil” U.S. Senator Dav
The Prairie State became a crucial testing ground for the grand American thought experiment on how a society should be constructed. Between 1839 and 1901, six different utopian communities chose Illin
History books burst at the seams with stories about Houston, Travis, Crockett and other icons of Texas history. Yet many of the Lone Star State’s fascinating figures—well known in life but forgotten i
When the Revolutionary War broke out and New York City had fallen in 1776, the forces of the king of Great Britain developed a network of forts along the length of Long Island to defend the New York a
Steamboats transformed the Missouri Valley. Enterprising men like Joseph La Barge and Grant Marsh braved financial and mortal danger to reap fantastic profits from trade in furs and buffalo robes. But
Before North Dakota obtained statehood and entered the Union as a dry state, the region’s commercial beer industry thrived. A lengthy era of temperance forced locals to find clever ways to get a beer,
Sweets and the Sunshine State are a match made in heaven. Centuries ago, native Floridians used honey to sweeten dishes, as well as prickly pears and other wild fruits and berries. Spanish explorers i
In 1914, Charlotte Perry and Portia Mansfield envisioned a secluded institution nestled in the mountains, where art and nature could intersect. By the 1920s, their remote Perry-Mansfield Performing Ar
As South Dakotans endured the Great Depression and developing Dust Bowl in 1932, they elected a cowboy as their governor. Tom Berry rode in the great, iconic 1902 cattle roundup ordered by President T
Temperance workers had their work cut out for them in the Upper Peninsula. It was a wild and wooly place where moonshiners, bootleggers and rumrunners thrived. Al Capone and the Purple Gang came north
Although it’s the birthplace of American wine, Hudson Valley vintages have yet to meet with the renown of those produced by the neighboring Finger Lakes and Long Island. In the 1600s, French Huguenots
Located in the Finger Lakes region of New York, Seneca County has a fascinating history. Early settlers courageously fought off wild animals from wolves to panthers to tame the land and keep the new s
At the height of America’s Arts and Crafts movement, Detroit neighbors Horace J. Caulkins and Mary Chase Perry pooled their talents together to found Pewabic Pottery. With modest beginnings in 1903, P
The city of Syracuse and Onondaga County have a long and storied history of natural and man-made calamity. Although often considered a moderate weather region, Mother Nature has not spared it from des
Fifty years after Jefferson County found itself wedged between the Union and the Confederacy, President Woodrow Wilson declared war on Germany and the Central Powers. Suddenly towns like Shepherdstown
In 1900, Edith Wharton burst into the settled summer colony of Lenox. An aspiring novelist in her thirties, she was already a ferocious aesthete and intellect. She and her husband, Teddy, planned a de
Beneath Flint’s auto history lies a buried past. Local Civil War hero Franklin Thompson was actually Sarah Edmonds in disguise. Thread Lake’s Lakeside Amusement Park offered seaplane rides and a giant
Slavery is a tragic chapter in the history of Wilkes County with a lasting legacy. Prominent businessmen and celebrated civic leaders, like General William Lenoir and William Pitt Waugh, were among th
Beyond the beaten path of local landmarks, residents and tourists can find curious secrets, lost mysteries and fascinating legends. The famed Hope Diamond once found itself, and its mysterious curse,
The narrow streets and ancient pubs of historic Fells Point are filled with the spirits of the past. Pirates, privateers, sailors, smugglers and a host of others refused to let death change their addr
The Hudson Valley is drenched in history, culture and blood. In the fall of 1893, Lizzie Halliday left a trail of bodies in her wake, slaughtering two strangers and her husband before stabbing a nurse
On September 17, 1862, the forces of Major General George B. McClellan and his Union Army of the Potomac confronted Robert E. Lee’s entire Army of Northern Virginia at the Battle of Antietam in Sharps
Thousands of restaurants have come and gone on Cape Cod over the past century. Some, however, made an indelible mark. Bill and Thelma’s was hugely popular with students from the 1950s to the 1970s, of
World War II came to Arizona via two significant avenues: prisoner-of-war camps and military training bases. Notorious for its prisoners’ attempted escape through the Faustball Tunnel, Papago POW Camp
The first notes of jazz hit Cape Cod in the very early days of the genre. Bournehurst-on-the-Canal hosted top bands, and emerging swing era dancers packed the hall. Cape Cod’s “First Lady of Jazz,” Ma
Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood began on the frontier of western Pennsylvania 250 years ago and developed into a vibrant urban community. Early settler John Turner, half brother of renegade Si
Even in the midst of the Great Depression, gamblers flocked to Gardena. Colorful individuals like Ernie Primm fought for the legalization of commercial draw poker and established six iconic card clubs
Dubbed the “Athens of the Prairie” for its array of stunning modern architecture, Columbus still endured its share of unsavory citizens, crime-ridden neighborhoods and tales of woe. Many residents avo
Louis Blanchette came to Les Petites Côtes (the Little Hills) in 1769. The little village, later dubbed San Carlos del Misury by the Spanish and St. Charles by the Americans, played a major role in th
Once known as the “Great American Desert,” Nebraska’s plains and native grasslands today make it a domestic leader in producing food, feed and fuel. From Omaha to Ogallala, Nebraska’s founding farmers
Long ranked as one of the top zoos in America and even the world, Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium’s history has remained untold, until now. Beginning as little more than a menagerie, the zoo trans
In the early 1900s, Huntsville, Alabama, had more spindles than any other city in the South. Cotton fields and mills made the city a major competitor in the textile industry. Entire mill villages spra
