Historical Gazetteer of the United States

This superb new resource contains a wealth of local historic information, arranged in chronological order according to city or town. The material is divided by state, with cities and towns presented alphabetically. Each entry includes the town's county and geographical location within the state, followed by an annotated list of significant dates. Among the events noted are first settlers, founding date, origin of the town's name, establishment of various churches and libraries, building or arrival of the railroad, establishment of notable businesses and industry, political and military events, acts of nature, birth of notable figures (with death date and short description of their contribution), founding of universities and colleges, and establishment of notable parks. The focus of the entries is kept carefully local, so that not all of these elements are always included. The entries, though brief, are nonetheless fascinating, as each presents a story of the town and its (locally and sometimes nationally) famous people, sites, tragedies, and triumphs. Hellmann is a geographer and writer based in St. Louis, Missouri. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR