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Alabama : Atlas of Historical County Boundaries
If you're interested in this sort of thing as I am this book could be of great value however the price is unreal. I have a CD that does much the same for the entire country at a third the price of one state however this book is MUCH more accurate and shows county boundaries that only occured for as little as three days. The CD is also easier to use. That said I'll likely ask for the book as one of those Christmas presents I wouldn't buy for myself. ... Read more

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On Monday night, August 28, 1826, an avalanche in isolated Crawford Notch, New Hampshire, in the heart of the White Mountains, killed innkeeper Samuel Willey, his wife and five young children, and two hired men. The landslide carved a channel fifty feet deep and buried the family in a stream of earth, stones, and uprooted trees after they had fled their house, which, incredibly, was spared.

In Out of Nowhere, Eric Purchase examines the surprising connection of this disaster to the rise of tourism in America, investigating developments that ranged from land speculation to new interpretations of the meaning of nature and landscape. The Willey tragedy, widely recorded in literature, art, travel writing, newspapers, and scientific journals, was the first natural disaster in the United States to capture national attention. Nineteenth-century Americans were intrigued with nature's sheer perversity in destroying an entire family while leaving its house untouched. They marveled at such dramatic evidence of the natural world's vastness and power.

Suddenly the White Mountains became, in the public's imagination, a mythical place where nature was preserved in its original, potent state. Hundreds and then thousands of tourists, including artists, scientists, and writers such as Thomas Cole, Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry James, and Charles Lyell, began traveling there every summer to take vacations amid the romantic landscape. The Willey's undamaged house became one of the area's most popular attractions -- fittingly, Purchase notes, since Samuel Willey was among the first entrepreneurs of White Mountain tourism. It was businessmen, after all, not artists or intellectuals, who were the first to exploit picturesque notions of untamed nature in remote landscapes to lure wealthy tourists to their inns. Ultimately, the fame of the Willeys' gruesome deaths only enhanced the tourist trade they had helped launch.

Customer Reviews (1)

interesting history of NH's White Mountain region
Author Eric Purchase makes the case that New Hampshire's tourism industry took off after an 1826 tragedy in which the entire Willey family, who ran an inn in the Crawford Notch area, was killed trying to outrun an avalanche that left their home untouched.Along the way, we also learn a lot about America of the early 19th century -- tourism, literature, commerce and science -- all are discussed in this interesting literary portrait of a time before nature became romantic.

Lots of b&w photographs and illustrations, notes, references and an index. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from Cities of the United States, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 104 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.Provides a wide range of hard-to-locate data to answer questions concerning American cities. Includes thorough coverage of the area's largest or fastest-growing cities, or those with a particular historical, political, industrial or commercial significance. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from Cities of the United States, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 138 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.Provides a wide range of hard-to-locate data to answer questions concerning American cities. Includes thorough coverage of the area's largest or fastest-growing cities, or those with a particular historical, political, industrial or commercial significance. ... Read more

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This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from Cities of the United States, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 160 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.Provides a wide range of hard-to-locate data to answer questions concerning American cities. Includes thorough coverage of the area's largest or fastest-growing cities, or those with a particular historical, political, industrial or commercial significance. ... Read more

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High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Strafford County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. As of 2000, the population was 112,233. Its county seat is Dover Strafford County was one of the five original counties identified for New Hampshire in 1769. It was named for William Wentworth, 2nd Earl of Strafford in the mistaken belief that he was the ancestor of governor John Wentworth. Although they were distantly related, William had no descendants. The county was organized at Dover in 1771. In 1840 the original size of the county was reduced with the creation of Belknap County. ... Read more

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High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Northeastern United States (sometimes called simply the Northeast) is a region of the United States. According to the definition used by the United States Census Bureau, the Northeast region consists of nine states: the New England states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut; and the Mid-Atlantic States of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Major cities in this area include New York City, Newark, Philadelphia, Boston, Pittsburgh, Jersey City and Buffalo. ... Read more

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High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Rockingham County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. As of 2000, the population was 277,359. The county seat is Brentwood. The area that today is Rockingham County was first settled by Europeans moving north from the Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts as early as 1623. The government was linked tightly with Massachusetts until New Hampshire became a separate colony in 1679, but counties weren't introduced until 1769. ... Read more

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High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Valley Cemetery (or the Valley Street Cemetery) is a public cemetery located in Manchester, New Hampshire, USA. It is bounded on the east by Pine Street, on the north by Auburn Street, on the west by Willow Street, and on the south by Valley Street, from which it derives its name.It came into existence in 1840, when the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company donated 20 acres (81,000 m2) of land in downtown Manchester to the city for the purpose of creating a public burial ground. ... Read more

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High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The White Mountain National Forest (WMNF) is a forest contained within the White Mountains in the northeastern United States. It was initially established in 1918. It has a total area of 784,505 acres (1,225 sq mi, or 3,175 km²). Most of the WMNF is in New Hampshire; a small part (about 5.65% of the forest) is in the neighboring state of Maine. While often casually referred to as a park, this is a National Forest, used not only for hiking, camping, and skiing, but for logging and other limited commercial purposes. The WMNF is the only National Forest located in either New Hampshire or Maine. ... Read more

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High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The White Mountains are a mountain range that covers about a quarter of the state of New Hampshire and a small portion of western Maine in the United States. Part of the Appalachian Mountains, they are considered the most rugged mountains in New England. The range is heavily visited due to its proximity to Boston and (to a lesser extent) New York City.Most of the area is public land, including the White Mountain National Forest as well as a number of state parks. Its most famous peak is Mount Washington, which at 6,288 feet (1,917 m) is the highest mountain in the Northeastern U.S. and home to the fastest winds (231 miles per hour (372 km/h), over 100 m/s, in 1934) measured on the surface of the earth. Mount Washington is one of a line of summits called the Presidential Range, many of which are named after U.S. presidents and other prominent Americans. ... Read more

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High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Story Land is a theme park located in Glen, one of three villages of Bartlett, New Hampshire. In the few years prior to opening, the founders, Bob and Ruth Morrell, had purchased a large number of dolls from Germany based on storybook characters. This was the basis for the park. When it opened, it had just one ride: a ride on an old fire truck. By the end of the 20th century, the park spanned some 35 acres (140,000 m2) and had over 20 rides. Story Land was operated by the family-owned Morrell Corporation from 1954 to 2007. After Stoney Morrell, son of the original owners, died, the park was sold to The Kennywood Entertainment Company. Kennywood was in turn bought by Parques Reunidos the following year. In 2009, it was placed under Parques Reunidos American division, Palace Entertainment. ... Read more