The Allegheny Mountains constantly challenged early settlers to use their creativity and skills to conquer what seemed an almost insurmountable barrier. The founding fathers recognized potential in the area both as a resort and as a thriving town that would attract industry. Through hard work and innovation, an all-rail route over the mountains was established, linking the area with important industrial and trade centers. Many people came to Cresson to enjoy the health and recreational benefits of its natural springs, and the area's "pike" afforded the first stage link between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. When the Pennsylvania Railroad established headquarters here, with a roundhouse, machine shops, and branch lines, the area entered an era of industrial prosperity. I n this remarkable volume, over 200 rare images are combines with informative and insightful text. Early views of the famous Horseshoe Curve, the Gallitzin Tunnels, and the Mountain House are delightfully intertwined with photographs of homes, workplaces, churches, and the people who made the area prosper and grow. Readers visit Loretto, a town founded by "A Prince-Priest, Demetrius A. Gallitzin, Apostle of the Alleghenies" and they are transported to Portage and Lilly, areas of woodlands that gave rise to numerous sawmills.

The Allegheny Mountains constantly challenged early settlers to use their creativity and skills to conquer what seemed an almost insurmountable barrier. The founding fathers recognized potential in the area both as a resort and as a thriving town that would attract industry. Through hard work and innovation, an all-rail route over the mountains was established, linking the area with important industrial and trade centers. Many people came to Cresson to enjoy the health and recreational benefits of its natural springs, and the area's "pike" afforded the first stage link between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. When the Pennsylvania Railroad established headquarters here, with a roundhouse, machine shops, and branch lines, the area entered an era of industrial prosperity. I n this remarkable volume, over 200 rare images are combines with informative and insightful text. Early views of the famous Horseshoe Curve, the Gallitzin Tunnels, and the Mountain House are delightfully intertwined with photographs of homes, workplaces, churches, and the people who made the area prosper and grow. Readers visit Loretto, a town founded by "A Prince-Priest, Demetrius A. Gallitzin, Apostle of the Alleghenies" and they are transported to Portage and Lilly, areas of woodlands that gave rise to numerous sawmills.

Blair County is a picturesque area of five hundred thirty square miles, carved from the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains in western Pennsylvania. Its lush forests, fertile valleys, and exquisite vistas attracted settlers as early as the mid-1700s. Its rich supply of minerals-iron, lead, and limestone-prompted the development of furnaces, forges, mills, and quarries; during the nineteenth century, the manufacture of iron was the principal business of the county.Illustrated with more than two hundred images, Around Blair County includes all the charm of the hamlets and towns it highlights: Hollidaysburg, Duncansville, Newry, Tyrone, Bellwood, Claysburg, Roaring Spring, Martinsburg, and Williamsburg. It explains how Duncansville emerged as an antiques mecca, and it celebrates the still preserved Mount Etna iron furnace. It features well-known and lesser-known people from the area, such as steel man Charles Schwab, musician and inventor Fred Waring, and lamplighter Homer Butler.

A compilation of captioned photos of the Punxsutawney area in Pennsylvania as well as a history of Groundhog day.

The Pennsylvania Railroad's Horseshoe Curve is known worldwide as an engineering wonder. This landmark, located just west of Altoona, opened to traffic on February 15, 1854, and it enabled the Pennsylvania railroad line to climb the Allegheny Mountains and the eastern continental divide. The Horseshoe Curve's construction impacted railroad design and development for mountainous terrain everywhere, enabling access to coal and other raw materials essential for the industrial age. J. Edgar Thomson, chief engineer of the Pennsylvania Railroad, is widely recognized for his engineering and design of the Horseshoe Curve, a concept never utilized previously. Today the curve is still in use and sees approximately 70 trains daily. Through vintage photographs, Horseshoe Curve chronicles how this marvel remains one of the vital transportation arteries linking the east and west coasts of the United States.

The Allegheny River of western Pennsylvania and New York rises in Potter County, Pennsylvania, and flows 320 miles to its confluence with the Monongahela River in Pittsburgh. The Alleghenys southern watershed district begins in East Brady, Pennsylvania, and ends in Pittsburgh, and it includes the historic Redbank Creek, Mahoning Creek, Crooked Creek, and Kiskiminetas River valleys. Along the Allegheny River: The Southern Watershed features over 200 vintage postcards of the landscapes, people, industries, and events that shaped the history of the southern Allegheny River Valley and of the nation. These absorbing images chronicle over 200 years of history from the frontier wars of the 18th century to the rise and growth of the Industrial Revolution in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.