Charles Island has captured the imaginations of Milford residents and visitors for many years. The island's rich history gradually blurs as memories fade with time and eventually only the highlights are passed down from one generation to the next. An Historical Account of Charles Island seeks to accurately restore the island's history from its European discovery by Adriaen Block in 1614 to the 20th century. Included are the historical facts surrounding the mapping of Long Island Sound, legend of Captain Kidd's treasure, summer resorts in the mid-19th century, a prize fight gone out-of-control, the Aquinas Retreat, nearby shipwrecks, the island's place in naval and aviation history, a proposed nudist colony, and other forgotten stories. Seventy maps, woodcuts, old advertisements, manuscripts, portraits, and photographs provide a visual perspective of the island's history.

This fascinating selection of photographs traces some of the many ways in which Milford Haven has changed and developed over the last century.

As early as 1681, large numbers of German immigrants came to Pennsylvania. These deeply religious and thrifty Pennsylvania Dutch established Shimerville, Old Zionsville, Dillinger Station, Powder Valley, Vera Cruz, Sigmund, and Zionsville Station in the territory called Upper Milford, the first township organized in present-day Lehigh County. The villages flourished with the opening of the first public road in the county that passed through Upper Milford on the way to Philadelphia. Notable landmarks in the community serve as a reminder of the area's rich history. A statue of Lenape chief Lapowinsa watches over Jasper Park in Vera Cruz, the location of one of the most significant archeological sites in eastern Pennsylvania. The Zionsville area features several picturesque old churches. Powder Valley has the preserved site of the Stahl Brother's Pottery, and the countryside is still dotted with many bank barns and stately homes of early German farm families