When the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad laid narrow-gauge tracks into La Veta in southern Colorado in July 1876, it preceded Colorado statehood on August 1 by about one month. The southern Colorado frontier from Walsenburg west to Wolf Creek Pass had only a few scattered villages at this time, but silver mines in southwestern Colorado lured the railroad ever westward to haul out the riches. On the scene to photograph these developments was Iowan Ory...

Tuberculosis, also known as consumption, the White Plague, or simply TB, was the number-one killer in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Many physicians of the era advised their patients to chase the cure for tuberculosis in the Southwest, where the regions clean, dry, fresh air, high altitude, and sunshine offered relief for most and recovery for some. New Mexico, called the well country, was particularly eager to promote...

“[A] photo-packed look at Southern Nevada’s boom-and-bust civic casualties” (Las Vegas Review-Journal).
 
Ghost towns and mining camps are the last remaining vestiges of the Old West; there is a mystique surrounding these places that has made exploring them a pastime for many in the western United States. Nevada has more than a thousand of these boom-and-bust towns. Some are completely abandoned, while...

Bordentown, New Jersey, is located at the confluence of the Delaware River, Blacks Creek, and Crosswicks Creek. The town sits on a high bluff northeast of Philadelphia. Bordentown has always been an accessible crossroads, first by water and train and presently by car and light rail. The community was a railroading town and had a successful boating industry. It eventually transitioned into a factory town, supporting such businesses as Eagle Shirt Factory,...

Mansfield was established in 1808, when its public square was built in north-central Ohio, carved out of a wilderness inhabited only by tribes of Native Americans and an itinerant nurseryman called Johnny Appleseed. Throughout the 200 years since, Mansfield has always been characterized as a leader in innovation. When agriculture was the nation's mainstay, Mansfield manufactured farming machinery; when the country became industrial, Mansfield rose...

After enduring 10 harrowing years of the Great Depression, visitors to the 1939–1940 New York World's Fair found welcome relief in the fair's optimistic presentation of the "World of Tomorrow." Pavilions from America's largest corporations and dozens of countries were spread across a 1,216-acre site, showcasing the latest industrial marvels and predictions for the future intermingled with cultural displays from around the world. Well known for its...

Discover the darker side of New York City history with this collection of stories and photos.
 
Amid the bustle of the city’s ever-changing landscape, Manhattan’s past still whispers. At Fraunces Tavern, George Washington’s emotional farewell luncheon in 1783 echoes in the Long Room. Gertrude Tredwell’s ghost appears to visitors at the Merchant’s House Museum. Long since deceased, Olive Thomas...