Central Kansas Library System

Settled in 1630 by English Puritans seeking religious freedom, Boston has always been a city prone to significant and monumental change. Even before it was incorporated as Boston, named after the town of Boston in Lincolnshire, England, the town's name was changed from Shawmut. From that time, Boston has evolved from being the original center of town government at the Old State House to becoming the financial center of New England in the twentieth...

Salem, Massachusetts, is a little city steeped in history. Known as the Witch City for the Puritan witchcraft trials of 1692, Salem boasts a rich heritage as a major East India seaport. Trading with China made Salem the richest city in America, generating a living architectural history. As Salem developed, it preserved much of its history.

In Cooking Then and Now, leveled text and vibrant, full-color photographs take readers through the cultural and technological advances that affected food preparation through time. Readers will compare life in the past to life today. An infographic highlights a period in cooking and What Do You Think? sidebars and an activity encourage deeper inquiry. Children can learn more about cooking using our safe search engine that provides relevant, age-appropriate...

Having first been called Centreville in the early 1800s, when the new county of Carroll was formed in 1833, it was decided to change the name to Carrollton. Just as the name has changed, so have many of the sites.

Named Easton in 1788, the principal town on Maryland's Eastern Shore grew to be its center of government and commerce. These images chart Easton's transformation into Maryland's eastern hub for the arts, culture, and entertainment, revealing the town's treasure trove of Victorian and Colonial buildings, historic streetscapes, and the oldest Quaker meetinghouse in the United States.

Established in 1895 when other factory towns consisted of shabby mill-owned structures and dirt streets, Vandergrift, Pennsylvania, was uniquely designed by the firm of Olmsted, Olmsted and Eliot to be greener and more architecturally pleasing for residents. The town's early emphasis on green space and resident-owned homes was ahead of its time, and aspects of its history continue to surprise even residents.

The 1950s was a turning point for Libertyville; the town was growing up, transitioning from a quaint farming community into a vibrant upper-middle class suburban village. Carl Cizek documented this change in a series of photographs. Recaptured today, the images offer a visual journey of a maturing town. .

Saginaw is the hub of mid-Michigan and had its beginnings in the 1820s with the establishment of Fort Saginaw near present-day Court and Hamilton Streets. Owing to the lumber industry, two separate cities developed along the banks of the Saginaw River: the west side city of Saginaw and East Saginaw. Intense rivalry resulted in rapid population growth and many civic improvements for both. Consolidation of the Saginaws occurred in 1890, and continued...

In Toys Then and Now, leveled text and vibrant, full-color photographs take readers through the cultural and technological advances that affected toys through time. Readers will compare life in the past to life today. An infographic highlights popular toys of different eras and What Do You Think? sidebars and an activity encourage deeper inquiry. Children can learn more about toys using our safe search engine that provides relevant, age-appropriate...

Known as the "Heart of Georgia," Macon was an affluent city by the time of the Civil War and escaped the destruction that accompanied Sherman's march to the sea. During Macon's prosperous Victorian period, opulent residences and ornate public buildings were constructed; these, along with those of the antebellum period, have been preserved.