Carolina Beach, North Carolina, has been a destination for beachgoers, boaters, and fishermen since the 1880s. Visitors came first by the combination of river steamers and a train and later by automobiles to seek respite from the summer's heat and the daily grind. This book shares the history of this seaside community through the postcards its visitors sent home. From the early hand colored cards printed in Germany to the modern chrome cards of today,...

Founded in 1798, New Castle was a small borough located at the confluence of the Shenango River and Neshannock Creek. Mahoningtown, a small borough located just south of New Castle, was a thriving community founded in 1836. The two towns boasted flourishing industries, and in 1896, a trolley line was created to run between them. In 1898, Mahoningtown officially became the seventh ward of New Castle. By that time, New Castle was a third-class city,...

Gardiner's manufacturing and transportation advantages during the first half of the 20th century created one of the strongest local economies in the state. The city seal, adopted in 1849 when Gardiner became a city, flawlessly depicts the characteristics that shaped the community. Featured prominently on the seal is a river with falls to power manufacturing. A vessel represents transportation and trade, while an idealized city in the background reveals...

The golden age of postcards, which took place between 1900 and 1940, was also the golden age of Bridgeport. Local and national publishers printed scenes of the city's beautiful and renowned parks, magnificent mansions, palatial theaters, and sprawling factories, as well as its busy streets and unique architecture. These cards carried images of Bridgeport near and far. Recipients of these mementos could imagine building automobiles at the Locomobile...

In the years between 1890 and 1950, the city of Grand Rapids grew from a small Midwestern town of great potential into a large and important commercial and manufacturing center. With the growth of the city and its population came a large variety of activities, commercial and recreational, which were happily recorded in a huge array of postcards produced by both local and national printers. These cards and the moments they preserve provide a unique...

Sharing its name with a notorious ancient city, Babylon village has been the home harbor of Long Island baymen, a post–World War II suburban boomtown, and the birthplace of the nation's first professional black baseball team. The modern village is well known for its picturesque Argyle Park and flourishing downtown, but it was once revered as a vacation resort destination for those near and far. The community has evolved from decades of residents,...

In 1750, the deep-water port of Yorktown housed approximately 250–300 businesses, with as many as 2,000 people thriving in the small town. By 1781, the Revolutionary War's final siege had been staged, and the British were caught without resources to win the final battle against the American and Allied forces. Freedom was won for America, but Yorktown would continue to see war. In 1862, the Peninsula Campaign of the Civil War led to a month-long...

Situated in the East Texas Piney Woods, Longview was established in 1870 when O. H. Methvin deeded land to the Southern Pacific to build a railroad station. The village became the county seat of Gregg County in 1873 and quickly prospered as a rail, cotton, and manufacturing center. The discovery of the East Texas Oil Field in 1930-1931 revealed that Longview sat in the middle of the world's largest pool of petroleum. The boom had begun! Today Longview...

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...

Lakeland celebrates the history of one of central Florida's most scenic cities. The small town that encompasses dozens of lakes was perfectly named in 1883, and grew to include an eclectic mix of downtown buildings, elegant hotels, roadways, handsome parks, and picturesque neighborhoods. By mid-century, Lakeland had grown to support small industries, churches, several schools, an airport, and two small colleges, one of which features the largest single-site...