The Cambridge Valley has always been united and divided, each community holding tightly to its identity. In 1773, the Cambridge District was formed, comprised of the current towns of Cambridge, White Creek, and Jackson. In 1788, the area became the Town of Cambridge in Albany County and was annexed to Washington County in 1791. The area was divided into the present town boundaries in 1816. The three communities of Cambridge, North White Creek, and Dorr s Corners, though each only three-quarters of a mile from the next, did not unite into the Village of Cambridge until 1866. Today the village...

In 1849, German Freethinkers had been dreaming of a communal utopia, free from oppression by church and state. They settled in Texas on the Cibolo Creek, where Native Americans and Spanish explorers had gone before them. The experiment evolved into a frontier outpost, a stage stop, a health spa, a railhead, a small village, a brief chapter in the Civil War, and a farm and ranch community. Boerne is now a tourist destination and a lovely place to live. This collection of pictures and stories explores what has been amazing, unique, and a little odd about this bend in the Cibolo, as well as the...

Spanish for progress, Progreso is famous for the millions of tourists, known as Winter Texans, who drive through the town to visit Mexico. Rumor has it that Al Capone did the same thing during Prohibition. Perhaps the first visitor captivated by the Rio Grande was Juan Jose Hinojosa, as he asked the Spanish crown for rights to the land that is now Progreso on July 4, 1776. But it was Florencio Saenz, founder of the iconic Toluca Ranch, who requested a U.S. post office in 1896. Connecting to the Spiderweb Railroad in the 1920s gave the town a short-lived commercial farming boom that attracted...

During the 1870s, there was wondrous change in West Texas. The area was ripe for settlement, and as the Texas and Pacific Railroad pushed west from Fort Worth, towns began springing up along the tracks. Ranchers coming to the area took advantage of the vast grasslands, and the new arrival of settlers was the beginning of a town named Abilene. Deriving its namesake from the town of Abilene, Kansas, the locals hoped the city would become a shipping point for cattle on their way to eastern markets. The town has since grown to be one of West Texas s most thriving metropolitan areas. The city...

The notion of Los Angeles as a wonderful place of opportunity contributed to the western migration of thousands of Americans, including African Americans escaping racism and violence in the South. But Los Angeles blacks encountered a white backlash, and the doors of opportunity were closed in the form of housing covenants, job discrimination, and school segregation. African Americans fought for equality, building strength in community and collective identity that became their ongoing Los Angeles legacy. This story, encapsulated here in vintage photographs, encompasses the settlers of African...

Located at the confluence of three creeks, amid the rich agricultural soil of Eastern Washington s Palouse region, Pullman seemed destined to flourish. From its founding in the 1880s, growth was spurred by the discovery of artesian wells, its selection as the location of the State Agricultural College, and the building of rail lines through the town. Pullman, named for railroad car manufacturer George Pullman, became a thriving center of commerce, agriculture, and education. Today Pullman remains a vibrant commercial agricultural center, built upon wheat, peas, and lentils, with a downtown...

In 1884, a Japanese sailor named Hamanosuke Shigeta made his way to the eastern section of downtown Los Angeles and opened Little Tokyo s first business, an American-style cafe. By the early 20th century, this neighborhood on the banks of the Los Angeles River had developed into a vibrant community serving the burgeoning Japanese American population of Southern California. When Japanese Americans were forcibly removed to internment camps in 1942 following the attack on Pearl Harbor and the United States entrance into World War II, Little Tokyo was rechristened Bronzeville as a newly...

North Beach and Telegraph Hill are among San Francisco s most charming and historic districts. In the early years, Mexican and Spanish settlements dotted the beach and the hill, but the area was heavily developed during California s Gold Rush as gold seekers flooded the city. Later, European immigrants added many layers of unique character. North Beach was home to A. P. Giannini, founder of the Bank of Italy (later the Bank of America), and in the 1950s, the Beat Generation evolved from the creative character of this artistic neighborhood. Charming cottages and architectural gems, such as...

During the 1840s and 1850s, many of the pioneers and much of the supplies they needed for overland trips west from Independence on the Oregon, California, and Santa Fe Trails arrived at Wayne City Landing, the steamboat port on the Missouri River in what is now Sugar Creek. In 1892, Arthur Stillwell, a Kansas City railroad man, founded Fairmount Park, a first-class pleasure resort in the southern part of Sugar Creek that would be popular until the 1930s. Standard Oil of Indiana purchased land at the north end of Sugar Creek in 1903 and built a major refinery that would dominate the town until...

Muscatine, situated on one of the largest east west bends of the Mississippi River, grew from a small territorial trading post into an Iowa community rich in agricultural bounty and manufacturing ingenuity. Mussels harvested from the mighty Mississippi propelled the city to the status of the Pearl Button Capital of the World by the turn of the 20th century. Booming lumber yards, sash and door manufacturers, and the first H. J. Heinz canning facility built outside of Pittsburg added to the town s growth and prosperity. An aspiring writer named Samuel Clemens, civil rights pioneer Alexander...