Situated on American Revolutionary crossroads, the town of Bedford has always enjoyed a unique history. Blending serene beauty and rolling hills with a proximity to New York City, the town became home to men and women who treasured its distinctive qualities. The land was first shared by Americian Indians and settlers and then by patriots and loyalists. Pre- and post-Revolutionary days were dominated by agricultural pursuits, coupled with a role as the northern Westchester County seat. With the coming of the railroad in the late 1840s, new hamlets emerged, farmers moved farther north for cheaper land, and New York City families began purchasing large parcels for their summer residences. Environmentally sensitive zoning policies, guided by its people's love of country life, allowed the town to maintain a balance between home and business areas, keeping it a green oasis. The character of Bedford's town and its people was well described by founding father and prominent resident John Jay in 1812: "Perhaps no place can exhibit a larger proportion of orderly, industrious and well disposed citizens."

It's the 1920s-the First World War is over, and the people of New Bedford, Massachusetts, like the rest of the country, enjoy high spirits and great prosperity. Familiar faces, young and old, look to a promising future in this great industrial city with a glorified maritime past. But trouble looms, and the next decades will require strength and determination. A troubled textile industry, the Great Depression, a challenged school system, hurricanes, wartime and a post-war economic decline-how will the city survive the tides of change? Resilient residents will take strength and encouragement from friends and community, finding laughter and escape through music, theater, radio, sports and other forms of entertainment. Everyday heroes will emerge. The city will reinvent itself and forge on. Fast forward to the 1960s. Following another post-war boom, new industries come to town, the hurricane barrier goes up and the fishing fleet brings promise and growth. But urban renewal tears at the heart of downtown and wipes out many old neighborhoods. The Vietnam War and the city's race riots bring turmoil and upheaval. Still, a new generation again brings hope and change. In A Picture History of New Bedford, Volume Two: 1925-1980, the second installment of a three-volume set, hundreds of photographs and stories bring the city to life in an enthralling journey through the core of the 20th century. Ride the last trolley, sip an ice cream float at a bygone soda fountain, take a turn on the ballroom dance floor. Celebrate New Bedford's music-from the big band sounds to folk, fado, jazz and rock and roll. Explore the evolution of the city's diverse mix of cultures and see New Bedford's fishing industry grow from a small fledgling fleet of draggers to what today is the country's number one fishing port. Experience the people, places, and events that have shaped New Bedford, one of New England's most historically significant cities.

June 6, 1944: Nineteen boys from Bedford, Virginia -- population just 3,000 in 1944 -- died in the first bloody minutes of D-Day. They were part of Company A of the 116th Regiment of the 29th Division, and the first wave of American soldiers to hit the beaches in Normandy. Later in the campaign, three more boys from this small Virginia town died of gunshot wounds. Twenty-two sons of Bedford lost--it is a story one cannot easily forget and one that the families of Bedford will never forget. The Bedford Boys is the true and intimate story of these men and the friends and families they left behind. Based on extensive interviews with survivors and relatives, as well as diaries and letters, Kershaw's book focuses on several remarkable individuals and families to tell one of the most poignant stories of World War II--the story of one small American town that went to war and died on Omaha Beach.

Discover the true story behind America’s first chocolate company, formed in pre-Revolutionary New England. In 1765, the story goes, Dr. James Baker of Dorchester, Massachusetts, stumbled upon a penniless Irish immigrant named John Hannon, who was crying on the banks of the mighty Neponset River. Hannon possessed the rare skills required to create chocolate—a delicacy exclusive to Europe—but had no way of putting this knowledge to use. Baker, with pockets bursting, wished to make a name for himself—and the two men would become America’s first manufacturers of this rich treat, using a mill powered by the same river upon which they met. Local historian Anthony Sammarco details the delicious saga of Massachusetts’s Baker Chocolate Company, from Hannon’s mysterious disappearance and the famed La Belle Chocolatiere advertising campaign to cacao bean smuggling sparked by Revolutionary War blockades. Both bitter and sweet, this tale is sure to tickle your taste buds.

Examines the social, political, economic, and military history of New Bedford, Massachusetts, in the nineteenth century, with a focus on the Civil War homefront, 1861-1865, and on the city's black community, soldiers, and veterans.

An insightful exploration of the relentless myth of the famous Civil War general, this volume scrutinizes the collective public memory of Nathan Bedford Forrest as it has evolved through the press, memoirs, biographies, and popular culture.

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This book paints an intimate portrait of an overlooked kind of city that neither grows nor declines drastically. In fact, New Bedford, Massachusetts represents an entire category of cities that escape mainstream urban studies’ more customary attention to global cities (New York), booming cities (Atlanta), and shrinking cities (Flint). New Bedford-style ordinary cities are none of these, they neither grow nor decline drastically, but in their inconspicuousness, they account for a vast majority of all cities. Given the complexities of growth and decline, both temporarily and spatially, how does a city manage change and physically adapt to growth and decline? This book offers an answer through a detailed analysis of the politics, environment, planning strategies, and history of New Bedford.