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The Nebraska State Fair commenced in Nebraska City in 1859, long before Nebraska became a state. Agriculture was recognized as the prime industry in the region, and the promotion of land and products was a driving influence for developing an exposition to put Nebraska on display. In 1901, the state legislature passed a bill declaring Lincoln as the official permanent site for the annual event. In the fair's 140-year history, Lincoln held 108 Nebraska State Fairs. The event was cancelled twice--in deference to the Trans-Mississippi Exposition, a world's fair held in Omaha in 1898, and when the government suspended all fair events in 1945 due to World War II. The fair offers food, entertainment, exhibits, and competitions for visitors of all ages and interests. Each year, there are bigger and better shows, midways, and performers to entice new crowds and to draw those who attend year after year. The history is preserved in precious photographs and memorabilia. Though the fair bids a sad farewell to Lincoln, new memories await as it moves to the centrally located community of Grand Island for its grand opening in late August 2010.

Beer, biers, and more beer . . . the name Forest Park will usually evoke images of taverns or cemeteries. While both have played an important role in the prosperity and growth of the community, there is so much more to this community once known as Harlem. Originally the site of a Potawatomi Indian village and burial ground, the town has also been home to an amusement park, a torpedo factory, a golf course, a racetrack, and a baseball stadium. The blue-collar sibling to neighbors Oak Park and River Forest has weathered many changes. Prohibition during the 1920s saw the closure of 39 taverns. The building of the Congress Expressway in the 1950s forced the relocation of over 3,500 graves, dozens of homes and businesses, destroyed landmarks, and severed the town. Through it all, Forest Park has persevered, though much of its past has disappeared.

After the Grand Trunk car ferry SS Milwaukee was lost with a crew of 52 men in an October 1929 storm, it was replaced by the SS City of Milwaukee. Built in 1931, the ferry operated for half a century, hauling loaded railcars across Lake Michigan. Serving the majority of her career with the Grand Trunk Milwaukee Car Ferry Company, the ship spent her last few operational years sailing for the Ann Arbor Railroad. She survives today as the last unaltered example of a Great Lakes railroad car ferry designed with twin stacks, a classic profile, and triple-expansion engines. Now a museum ship and a National Historic Landmark, this remarkable vessel serves as a living memorial to the car ferries and the dedicated crews that sailed them.

LeSourdsville Lake, also known as Americana Amusement Park by a generation of visitors, was a popular recreational park for many decades despite being located within 15 miles of Kings Island, one of the premier theme parks in the country. Emphasis on providing quality food and personalized catering enabled the park to host hundreds of annual company picnics, high school proms, and family reunions. The park's success was maintained by featuring such classic rides as the Electric Rainbow and the Whip and the Screechin' Eagle and Serpent roller coasters, while the Stardust Gardens provided quality entertainment ranging from the best of the big bands to the greatest music and television stars of the 1960s. Families visited "the Lake" as religiously as they drove the same route to work every day.

The Kansas Flint Hills stretch across a dozen counties in the eastern half of the Sunflower State. The region boasts rolling hills covered in native grasses, including the tallgrass varieties unique to the area. Dubbed the "Great American Desert" by pioneers facing the prairie's vastness, the rich grassland became home to settlers pursuing ranching and farming enterprises. Images of America: Flint Hills presents over 200 historic images from a half-dozen counties in the region. Included are vintage photographs from the Native Stone Scenic Byway and the Flint Hills Scenic Byway that transverse the district. Also included are views of Council Grove, the last place that travelers could purchase supplies before leaving on the Santa Fe Trail. The Davis Ranch, which encompassed all of what is now the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, is seen in historic images never published before. The volume concludes with photographs of Flint Hills cowboys at work and at play.

Woods County, Oklahoma, is showcased in images dating from 1894 to statehood in 1907. This time span covers the period of early settlement and the hardships of pioneers in a new territory. It includes the growth from a wide-open prairie to the beginnings of small towns and school districts, from mostly one-room schoolhouses to the Normal School for higher education, known today as Northwestern Oklahoma State University. People from all walks of life came to the Cherokee Outlet before the land run of 1893 and after. Those frontier inhabitants suddenly found themselves nearly alone on the wide expanse of prairie unbroken by a single building and with almost no trees. Early settlers came from across the country and even from across the ocean, many with nothing but the clothes on their backs and hope. These new residents carved out a living and made Woods County what it is today.

A detailed history of Rantoul and the Chanute Air Force Base.

Lake Zurich, a northwest suburb of Chicago, includes a beloved body of water that shares its name and has served as its heart. But the lake did not always bear the same moniker. First known as Cedar Lake because of its many surrounding cedar trees, Lake Zurich was renamed by early settler Seth Paine, who thought its beauty resembled the well-known lake in Switzerland. Early on, visitors from Chicago and beyond journeyed by horse and buggy to relax by Lake Zurich's banks, fish and boat on its sparkling waters, and vacation in summer cottages that dotted its shores. But it has been the people of Lake Zurich who have kept its heart pumping. The celebration of their achievements is apparent throughout town. Parks are named after businessmen and local leaders like Fred Blau and Henry "Hank" Paulus. Schools' names highlight educators like May Whitney and Spencer Loomis. Lake Zurich's legacy will continue through its lake and the people who have loved it.

Rockville began in 1824 as the seat of justice for the newly established Parke County. A small brick courthouse was built, and a fledgling community soon sprang up around it. Within a short time, blacksmiths, furniture builders, harness makers, grocers, druggists, and dry goods salesmen were calling the new public square home. Then over a period of 13 years, beginning in 1870, the face of Rockville was drastically altered as fires destroyed the early buildings. The newly resurrected town would look quite different. As the rebuilding occurred, an exceptional example of small-town Italianate architecture emerged. This new Rockville looked much different than its haphazard Colonial-style predecessor. Three-story brick and stone buildings replaced haphazard one- and two-story wood frame structures; concrete sidewalks replaced wooden walkways; awnings, ornate cornices, and large architectural iron and glass storefronts became the standard. It was during these years that Rockville began to resemble the quintessential American small town it is today.

Montgomery was originally known as Graytown, named after founding father Daniel S. Gray. In the autumn of 1836, he moved his family from New York and built the first frame house in the village. His industrious nature produced in quick order a store, foundry, and reaper and header shop. Montgomery also had two stores and a stone depot for the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad. A large cheese factory was built in 1874. From the early settlers who came for the prized farmland and the Fox River amenities to the present-day residents, the village of Montgomery continues to thrive and prosper as it celebrates its 175th anniversary in 2010.

Cole Camp was named by Ezekiel Williams, who established a post office in 1830 on Williams Creek, south of the present town. Settlers from the south followed Williams, and in the 1840s an influx of German immigrants arrived to leave their mark on the area. Cole Camp maintains a cultural connection with the original settlers through year-round festivals and celebrations. In 1861, an early Civil War battle was fought nearby by the militia; the skirmish is reenacted every two years by descendants of those men. The area's rich history is evident in many 19th-century structures preserved in Cole Camp and neighboring communities. Tourists and day-trippers en route to the Lake of the Ozarks find a delightful mirror of an earlier era in Cole Camp, along with fine restaurants, art galleries, a winery, and antique shops.