Curwensville, one of the oldest towns in Clearfield County, began as a lumber town. Some of the areas finest families made their fortunes by harvesting the tall pine trees that were used as ship masts. The Irvin and Patton families were instrumental in the development of the town, as they brought the railroad to the area and contributed to the schools, banks, and a water system. In the 20th century, industries such as brick making, stone quarries, and tanneries became vital to the community. Bringing to life an era when every settlement was a stop on the railroad route, Around Curwensville is an exciting collection of historic photographs from Curwensville and surrounding towns, including Clearfield, Grampian, and DuBois.

The saga of a fierce business rivalry: “Absorbing, well-written . . . will appeal to American history scholars and railroad enthusiasts.” —Choice The Pennsylvania and the New York Central railroads helped to develop central Pennsylvania as the largest source of bituminous coal for the nation. By the late nineteenth century, the two lines were among America’s largest businesses and would soon become legendary archrivals. The PRR first arrived in the 1860s. Within a few years, it was sourcing as much as four million tons of coal annually from Centre County and the Moshannon Valley and would continue do so for a quarter-century. The New York Central, through its Beech Creek Railroad affiliate, invaded the region in the 1880s, first seeking a dependable, long-term source of coal to fuel its locomotives but soon aggressively attempting to break its rival’s lock on transporting the area’s immense wealth of mineral and forest products. Beginning around 1900, the two companies transitioned from an era of growth and competition to a time when each tacitly recognized the other’s domain and sought to achieve maximum operating efficiencies by adopting new technology such as air brakes, automatic couplers, all-steel cars, and diesel locomotives. Over the next few decades, each line began to face common problems in the form of competition from other forms of transportation and government regulation—and in 1968, the two businesses merged. Branch Line Empires offers a thorough and captivating analysis of how a changing world turned competition into cooperation between two railroad industry titans. Includes photographs

"Discusses the attack at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games and an iconic photograph that captured the historic event"--