The Turnpikes of New England

by Frederic J. Wood

PRAISED by reviewers in 1920 as "exceptional...exhaustive and authoritative," this fascinating history of New England turnpikes is still the most comprehensive study ever undertaken of these historic roads. Abridged to appeal to the modern reader, this new edition of the 1919 classic retains Wood's well-researched, lively historical accounts of more than 250 roads in the six New England states built as toll roads in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Turnpikes of New England is a treasure for anyone interested in local history, transportation, civil engineering, or the economic development of New England. Over 200 of the original photographs that lavishly illustrated the original text are reprinted here, capturing the history and flavor of an era past.

From Bondcliff Books . . .

Log Drives on the Connecticut River

By Bill Gove

THE Connecticut River has long been an artery of commerce, but never more so than during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when the river hosted what some claim were the largest log drives in the nation. Here historian Bill Gove tells the story of these annual springtime drives, which began in the forested wilds of northern Vermont and New Hampshire and ended several hundred miles downriver at the mills near Holyoke, Massachusetts. Among the central characters in this story are hard-driving lumber baron George Van Dyke and the many rugged and fearless loggers and rivermen. Generously illustrated with vintage photographs and maps, this book brings to life this unique era of New England history.

From Marker Press . . .

Morris County Traction Company

by Larry Lowenthal & William T. Greenberg, Jr.

THRIVING prosperous communities in Morris and Union Counties, New Jersey, presented an attractive target during the trolley mania that swept America early in the 20th Century. Backed by prominent individuals in the area, the Morris County Traction Co. was formed to serve this population. Its first trolley car rumbled through Dover on a glorious day in 1904, but after that it took more than ten years to complete the system. Eventually, the company operated about 50 miles of lines, extending from Lake Hopatcong and Boonton through Dover, Morristown, Summit and other communities to Union and Maplewood, with connections to Elizabeth and Newark.

The mature MCT was typical of the entire electric railway industry: it strove to provide good, dependable service, but soon found itself engaged in an endless battle to survive against a multitude of threats. Although its cars transported over seven million passengers a year-workers, shoppers, school children and postmen-it was finally worn down by industry-wide problems and the proliferation of automobiles and gave up the struggle in 1928. The failure of the MCT provides a vivid example of how events of the 1920s wiped out an enormous investment in electric railways and shaped the transportation system and the human landscape we see today.