Download or read book Hot Springs written by Robert K. Raines and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2013-11-18 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From a hot springs attraction to a central location for gangsters, gambling, moonshine and organized crime, trace the evolution of this "loose buckle in the Bible belt", now a resort and major tourist destination. In the late 1800s, Hot Springs, Arkansas, was a small town with a big attraction: hot thermal water. The federal government took possession of the downtown-area springs, and bathhouse row was born, along with the first property that would be considered a national park. Following not too far behind were great entrepreneurs who brought in gambling and prostitution to go with the area's leading industry: moonshining. By the time the 20th century rolled in, Hot Springs was booming with tourists and became America's first resort. In the early 1930s, former New York gangster Owen Madden took up residence in the spa city, and things became very organized. Gangland luminaries from Al Capone to Frank Costello made regular pilgrimages over the next few decades to what was referred to as "the loose buckle in the Bible Belt."

Download or read book Hot Springs From Capone to Costello written by Robert K. Raines and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2013 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From a hot springs attraction to a central location for gangsters, gambling, moonshine and organized crime, trace the evolution of this loose buckle in the Bible belt, now a resort and major tourist destination. In the late 1800s, Hot Springs, Arkansas, was a small town with a big attraction: hot thermal water. The federal government took possession of the downtown-area springs, and bathhouse row was born, along with the first property that would be considered a national park. Following not too far behind were great entrepreneurs who brought in gambling and prostitution to go with the area's leading industry: moonshining. By the time the 20th century rolled in, Hot Springs was booming with tourists and became America's first resort. In the early 1930s, former New York gangster Owen Madden took up residence in the spa city, and things became very organized. Gangland luminaries from Al Capone to Frank Costello made regular pilgrimages over the next few decades to what was referred to as the loose buckle in the Bible Belt.

Download or read book A Place Apart written by Ray Hanley and published by University of Arkansas Press. This book was released on 2011-04-01 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The reader of Ray Hanley's new book on Hot Springs will find it both entertaining and informative. Mr. Hanley is to be commended on the accuracy of his research and his writing."---Orval Allbritton, Garland County Historical Society A Place Apart tells the history of Hot Springs, Arkansas, through words and pictures. Throughout that history, the thermal waters bubbling from the Ouachita Mountains ringing the city are a backdrop to the stories of pioneers, wealthy barons, scoundrels, gamblers, colorful politicians, and, of course, the hundreds of thousands of people who come to the spa city for the pleasures and health benefits of the baths. For all those interested in the history of Hot Springs, A Place Apart is a delightful, and essential, resource.

Download or read book Arkansas Godfather written by Graham Nown and published by University of Arkansas Press. This book was released on 2013-04-01 with total page 382 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Owney Madden lived a seemingly quiet life for decades in the resort town of Hot Springs, Arkansas, while he was actually helping some of America's most notorious gangsters rule a vast criminal empire. In 1987, Graham Nown first told Madden's story in his book The English Godfather, in which he traced Madden's boyhood in England, his immigration to New York City, and his rise to mob boss. Nown also uncovered a love story involving Madden and the daughter of the Hot Springs postmaster. Before his arrival in Hot Springs, Madden was one of the most powerful gangsters in New York City and former owner of the famous Cotton Club in Harlem. The story of his life shows us a world where people can break the law without ever getting caught, and where criminality is so entwined in government and society that one might wonder what is legality and what isn't.

Download or read book Hot Springs National Park written by Mary Bell Hill and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2014 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of America's first national parks, Hot Springs has welcomed the famous and the infamous, all seeking the healing elements of her waters. Hot Springs was one of the first areas set aside as a federal land reservation in 1832--predating the first national park at Yellowstone by 40 years. In 1921, it was officially designated a national park. Physically the smallest of the 59 US national parks today, Hot Springs measures just larger than 5,500 acres. Its 47 on-site springs produce more than 700,000 gallons of thermal water per day. From early natives who quarried novaculite found in the surrounding hills to famous politicians, performers, and athletes, people have been coming to these springs for thousands of years to partake in the supposed healing powers of the water. President Franklin Roosevelt, boxer Jack Dempsey, and French opera diva Lily Pons are a few of the visitors who made the trek to the Valley of the Vapors. The history of Hot Springs National Park revolves around people's' interactions with its thermal water.

Download or read book Blowing Rock Revisited written by Trent Margrif and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2015-12-07 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Voted "the Prettiest Small Town in North Carolina" and often referred to as the Crown of the Blue Ridge, Blowing Rock is the highlight of the High Country. Named for a unique, natural feature itself, Blowing Rock has always represented a distinctive blend of natural and cultural heritage. The town was first developed as an early resort area, which grew quickly in the 1890s. Modern boardinghouses, hotels, and inns were the first significant businesses in Blowing Rock and helped the town survive--even flourish--during the Great Depression. Added attractions in the 1950s and 1960s made Blowing Rock a year-round vacation paradise for families, which it still is today. Yet the heart of Blowing Rock lies within its community and residents who make their small town a wonderful place to visit and an even better place to live.

Download or read book Mooresville written by Cindy Jacobs and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2007-04-09 with total page 136 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It was a hot afternoon in August 1856 when people in southern Iredell County, North Carolina, gathered for a special event. The train was on its way, bringing officials, a brass band, and the economic future. John Franklin Moore viewed the railroad tracks as an opportunity to fulfill his dream of starting a community and building a town. He knew that trains would bring customers and new citizens and carry freight to and from markets. Moore took a bold step by providing land for a depot and siding and offering land for homes and businesses. Moores Siding prospered and grew, and in 1873, the village was incorporated and named Mooresville to honor the founder. Generations of Mooresville citizens have taken daring steps into the future, building a community that is more than just a placeits a home. This is a story of Mooresville, the Queen of Iredell.

Download or read book Fulton written by Elizabeth R. Jones and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2005-01-19 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Located in the southwestern part of the state, Fulton, Kentucky was first known as Pontotoc by the native Chickasaw Indians. The town was founded in 1828, along with its sister city, South Fulton, Tennessee, when Benjamin Franklin Carr purchased 160 acres from the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The town was labeled the "end of the line" by the federal government due to its pivotal position at the termination point of the Paducah-Memphis rail-all mail sent to the region was addressed as such. Images of America: Fulton follows the agricultural and industrial development of the region, and provides local folklore as well.

Download or read book Historic Monte Ne written by Allyn Lord and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2006 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Situated in a lush, spring-fed valley, the town of Silver Springs in Northwest Arkansas was once home to a small community of people who farmed, enjoyed the riches of rural life, and gathered at the local auditorium, gristmill, or tavern. Their world was forever changed in 1900 with the arrival of William Hope "Coin" Harvey. A fervent supporter of the "free silver" movement in the 1890s, Harvey had become disgruntled with the American financial system. Retreating to the pastoral valley, Harvey purchased 320 acres, renamed the community Monte Ne, and began to build a grand resort. It attracted visitors from across the country with its fertile landscape, large hotels, and private rail line. By the 1920s, Harvey had turned his attention to building a large "time capsule" pyramid, of which only the foyer, or amphitheater, was completed.

Download or read book Lost Little Rock written by Ray Hanley and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2015 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rediscover the rich heritage of Little Rock through its lost architectural treasures as told by Ray Hanley, a lifelong Arkansan and resident of Little Rock. Little Rock is a sprawling city of about 200,000 at the center of a metropolitan area of more than 500,000 people, with many residing in bedroom communities in adjoining counties. Arkansas's capital city is much like the rest of Middle America with its outlying suburbs, gated communities, and shopping centers miles from the historic core. A century ago, however, Little Rock was markedly different and served a population of fewer than 50,000. The majority of citizens lived within blocks of the town center and did business downtown along rows of shops that, in many cases, dated to the late 1800s. Images of America: Lost Little Rock uses vintage photographs to reflect upon earlier times and the rich retail landscape that once filled the town. By exploring the legacies of buildings that have since been demolished, repurposed, or destroyed by fire, these images provide a sense of Little Rock's lesser-known heritage.

Download or read book The Devil s Town written by Philip Leigh and published by . This book was released on 2018-03-27 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In The Devil's Town, Philip Leigh, a rising star among American historians, tells the unique and colorful story of the small resort city of Hot Springs, Arkansas---how it became a theater for New York and Chicago mobs during the gangster era. This is a richly detailed tale of a significant part of Southern history--- exploitation of a people's poverty, crime, evasion of law, and local and state corruption. The author names names, some of them of national importance including, among others, Frank Costello, Al Capone, Myer Lansky, "Jelly" Nash, Nick the Greek, Thomas Dewey, J. Edgar Hoover, and presidents Roosevelt, Truman, Kennedy, and Clinton. *** Even as an author of four Hot Springs books, The Devil's Town entertainingly amplified insight into my hometown -Ray Hanley, author of A Place Apart: A Personal History of Hot Springs *** Comments on Southern Reconstruction "Leigh's Southern Reconstruction is a refreshing anecdote to politically acceptable versions of the story." * "Leigh's latest work Southern Reconstruction is an excellent study of a critical and too often misunderstood part of American history. It is a no nonsense tour de force...." * "I applaud Philip Leigh, and think his book will be historographically significant . . ."

Download or read book Staunton written by Sergei Troubetzkoy and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2004 with total page 136 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For over a century, Staunton has been known as the "Queen City of the Shenandoah Valley," not only because of its economic and geographic location in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley, but also because of the architectural beauty found in the city. Since the early 1800s, prominent architects and builders have left their mark on the hilly terrain of Staunton, resulting in a rich architectural fabric rarely found in small American towns. Once the largest community in the western part of Virginia, Staunton was located in the center of the state until the creation of West Virginia in 1862. The region was a major economic and transportation hub throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries and was home to an affluent mix of people and businesses with the resources available to build handsome buildings. Two of the earliest state facilities were built in Staunton--Western State Lunatic Asylum (later Western State Hospital) and the Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind (VSDB). These find structures established a precedence in the city that the rest of the state clamored to follow.

Download or read book Sapelo Island written by Buddy Sullivan and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2000 with total page 134 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The barrier islands of the south Atlantic coastline have for years held a deep attraction for all who have come into contact with them. Few, however, can compare with the mystique of Sapelo Island, Georgia. This unique semitropical paradise evokes a time long forgotten, when antebellum cotton plantations dominated her landscape, all worked by hundreds of black slaves, the descendants of whom have lived in quiet solitude on the island for generations. For more than 50 years of the twentieth century, two millionaires held sway on Sapelo, and it is their story, interwoven with that of the island's residents, that unfolds within the pages of this book. Almost 200 photographs provide testimony to the dynamic forces and energies implanted upon Sapelo by two men, Howard E. Coffin, a Detroit automotive pioneer, and Richard J. Reynolds Jr., heir to a huge North Carolina tobacco fortune. Beginning with a photographic essay about Sapelo's antebellum plantation owner, Thomas Spalding, Sapelo Island moves into the primary focus of the story, the years from 1912 to 1964, an era of grandeur that has left a rich photographic legacy.

Download or read book Rockville written by Alicia "Lish" Anderson Thompson and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2006 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1666, Robert Sandford laid claim to "Carolina," the land between Virginia and Florida, while standing on the banks of Bohicket Creek where the village of Rockville is today. Named for the iron ore deposits beneath Wadmalaw Island, Rockville became a village in 1835. Plantation owners from Wadmalaw and other sea islands in Charleston County gathered their families near the region's saltwater during the summer in hopes of surviving the dreaded "miasma," known today as malaria. They built houses, made friends, and intermarried until everyone was related. Images of America: Rockville shows the Bailey, Jenkins, LaRoche, Sams, Seabrook, Stevens, Townsend, Whaley, Wilkinson, and Wilson families; their summer homes; their chapels of ease; and their well-known annual sailing event, the Rockville Regatta.

Download or read book Miami Beach written by Seth Bramson and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2005 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Miami Beach began its rise to the top of the world's resort scene when Carl Fisher, builder of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, arrived prior to 1920. The lure of "The World's Playground" was impossible to ignore for many, as hotels and restaurants flourished, even through the Great Depression. The images in this volume evoke poignant memories of Miami Beach's great past, almost inevitable downturn, and return to life with the discovery of South Beach and a renewed interest in art deco. Among the vintage views, most of which have never before been published, are early Lincoln Road and Washington Avenue; Miami Beach High School; Parham's; Junior's; Wolfies; Pumperniks; the first hotel on Miami Beach, Brown's; the Roney Plaza; the Fontainebleau; and, of course, the people who helped create this modern paradise.

Download or read book Huntington written by Don Daniel McMillan and published by Arcadia Library Editions. This book was released on 2004-12-01 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Huntington, West Virginia, is a city rich in cultural history. Rising from the ashes of the Civil War, this jewel city of the upper South became an important focus of the nation's industrial elite. With the Industrial Revolution, Huntington evolved into a major shipping port for the boundless reserves of coal, virgin timber, and natural gas found in the local mountains. The great railroad scion Collis P. Huntington, who had just completed the Transcontinental Railroad, became obsessed with creating a new city-one that bears his name today. Images of America: Huntington conveys the opulence of the Gilded Age (1870-1915) in the stunning architecture and the graceful, elegant lifestyles of the time. Many of the wealthy families of Huntington contributed to the development of education and the community by building universities and public schools, as well as hospitals, libraries, churches, museums, and government buildings. This photographic journal offers an engaging history of the early families and that made Huntington one of the architectural gems of America.

Download or read book Top Hoodlum written by Anthony M. DeStefano and published by Citadel Press. This book was released on 2018-06-26 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The definitive book on the ultimate mob boss—featuring new FBI revelations, rare family photos, and never-before-published material. To authorities, Frank Costello was “The Prime Minister of the Underworld” and “one of the most powerful and influential Mafia leaders in the U.S.” To friends and associates, he was simply “Uncle Frank.” Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Anthony M. DeStefano sets out to answer who Frank Costello really was in this definitive portrait of one of the most fascinating figures in the annals of American crime . . . Using newly released FBI files, eyewitness accounts, and family mementos, Top Hoodlum takes you inside the Mafia that Frank Costello helped build from the ground up. These are the riveting stories and stunning revelations that have inspired American crime classics like The Godfather, Casino, Goodfellas, and The Sopranos. This is the man who made the Mafia such a powerful force in our nation’s history. The man who refused to admit his crimes long after he retired. This is Top Hoodlum. Praise for Anthony M. DeStefano and his books on the Mafia “Thrilling American crime writing.” —Jimmy Breslin on King of the Godfatherss “Terrific . . . A fitting end to the murderous story of the 1978 Lufthansa heist.” —Nicholas Pileggi, author of Wiseguy on The Big Heist “The best and last word on the subject . . . DeStefano brings the story to life.” —Jerry Capeci, creator of the website GangLandNews “DeStefano tells Costello’s story well.” —Kirkus Reviews “A master at cutting through the secrecy of the Mafia.” —Publishers Weekly