Located in the Piedmont Region of North Carolina, Rutherford County is rich in history, resources, and people. Legendary Locals of Rutherford County attempts to capture this region's history and wealth through introducing some of its people and their lives. These locals begin with explorers like Hernando De Soto; early settlers unafraid of frontier living; early governors like Griffith Rutherford, who left his name in the region; and everyday people who made a difference. Textile magnate Raleigh Rutherford Haynes, South Mountain physician Benjamin Washburn, entertainer Dewitt "Snuffy" Jenkins, Sheriff Damon Huskey, radio announcers Jerrell Bedford and Jim Bishop, preacher Harold Brown, writer Tony Earley, Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton, funeral director T.R. Padgett, muralist Clive Haynes, novelist Kay Hooper, and museum founder-curator Mike Rhyne represent just a sampling of the more recent residents who have shaped the county, the state, and the nation.

Like all great cities, Ashevilles story is one of people, not institutions or industries. For more than two centuries, deep in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina, extraordinary women and men have created a truly unique American city. Legendary Locals of Asheville tells the stories of the people who founded, built, and rebuilt Asheville. From the first woman elected to state office in the South, who won her primary before women had the right to vote, to the grandson of a famed railroad magnate who built a 250-room chateau that became the largest home in America, to the entrepreneur who helped ignite the citys renaissance when he risked opening an art gallery downtown when most of it was still boarded up, Ashevillians are an amazing lot. Likewise, there are stories of extraordinary groups like the renowned faculty of an experimental college that redefined the American arts or the brave high school students who joined together to fight segregation. Their stories are as touching and fascinating as they are varied.

Before 1910 the American chestnut was one of the most common trees in the eastern United States. Although historical evidence suggests the natural distribution of the American chestnut extended across more than four hundred thousand square miles of territory—an area stretching from eastern Maine to southeast Louisiana—stands of the trees could also be found in parts of Wisconsin, Michigan, Washington State, and Oregon. An important natural resource, chestnut wood was preferred for woodworking, fencing, and building construction, as it was rot resistant and straight grained. The hearty and delicious nuts also fed wildlife, people, and livestock. Ironically, the tree that most piqued the emotions of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Americans has virtually disappeared from the eastern United States. After a blight fungus was introduced into the United States during the late nineteenth century, the American chestnut became functionally extinct. Although the virtual eradication of the species caused one of the greatest ecological catastrophes since the last ice age, considerable folklore about the American chestnut remains. Some of the tree’s history dates to the very founding of our country, making the story of the American chestnut an integral part of American cultural and environmental history. The American Chestnut tells the story of the American chestnut from Native American prehistory through the Civil War and the Great Depression. Davis documents the tree’s impact on nineteenth-and early twentieth-century American life, including the decorative and culinary arts. While he pays much attention to the importation of chestnut blight and the tree’s decline as a dominant species, the author also evaluates efforts to restore the American chestnut to its former place in the eastern deciduous forest, including modern attempts to genetically modify the species.

With images taken from the archives of the Dauphin County Historical Society, as well as family collections, Legendary Locals of Harrisburg encompasses biographical tributes that celebrate the deeds of actors, musicians, artists, teachers, athletes, humanitarians, politicians, veterans, firemen, and community leaders who have added a peculiar brand of Harrisburgs rich cultural tapestry. William Howard Day, an educator, and John Harris, who established Harrisburg, are two pioneers. Edward Stackpole, of Stackpole Books, and Theophilus Fenn, editor of the Telegraph, have forged the way for the citys writers. The first secretary of homeland security, Tom Ridge, and Simon Cameron, secretary of war under Lincoln, are among world-renowned politicians who have contributed to Harrisburgs valued reputation. From rival high school football coaches to dueling business owners, from civic leaders building an integrated city to aspiring young people embarking on independent journeys to the big screen, these profiles of real lives and real heroes show us that we all have contributed to the development of our own communities.

Peoria harkens back to the 1670s glory days of the French voyageurs and became the now-familiar face of Americana--its townsfolk have touched every aspect of national and international life, often significantly. In comedy, Fibber McGee and Molly, Charles Correll, Richard Pryor, Sam Kinison, and even Bishop Sheen with his witty homilies have made Peoria the "Habitat of Humor." Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique jump-started the 1960s feminist movement, while Philip José Farmer's The Lovers rocked the 1950s sci-fi universe. Dr. C.T. Vivian, Dr. Romeo Garrett, and John Gwynn Jr. held the frontline against racism. Representing the best of society's core values, Barb and Dick Hammond founded Friends of the Children of Haiti, a medical organization tending to the year-round needs of the earth's poorest. And unheralded Bill Noel has shouldered the sorrows and burdens of others who have leaned on him for decades. When it comes to all the legendary locals, they play in Peoria . . . and the world.

Since the 1920s, Daytona Beach has sold itself as "The World's Most Famous Beach," which, while not literally true, does suggest a city with a big personality and large plans. The people in these pages contributed to that personality and made those plans. These people include Matthias Day, the Ohio industrialist, educator, inventor, and newspaper editor who founded and gave his name to the new city in 1876; Mary McLeod Bethune, the daughter of former slaves, who founded the university that bears her name "with five little girls, a dollar and a half, and faith in God"; Bill France Sr., the race driver and promoter who took stock car racing from the beach sands to a state-of-the-art track and built a racing empire; and his son, Bill France Jr., who turned NASCAR into a national pastime. Other notable Daytonans include the builders, writers, artists, rockers, promoters, business founders, educators, journalists, politicians, pioneers, bootleggers, philanthropists, sports stars, and even a dog that made the city what it is today. They come to life in historical photographs from the Halifax Historical Museum, the Florida Archives, and files of the Daytona Beach News-Journal.

Since the 1850s, Lake Forest, located 30 miles north of Chicago on Lake Michigan, has been a distinctive suburb. It has been a retreat from the diseases, public accessibility, rougher elements, soot, stockyard smells, and general density of bustling city life. For at least five generations, it has been the retreat for Chicago's leading New England-descended families, such as the Farwells, Swifts, and Armours. And for over 150 years, Lake Forest has been the home for a community of educators, merchants, artisans, designers, and a wide variety of estate specialists, the latter from pre-Civil War escaped slaves and Scots and Irish immigrants to today's notable garden and interior artists. Legendary Locals of Lake Forest draws on rare archival images from local and Chicago public and private sources.