Few American resort cities rival the romantic slpendor of Atlantic City, New Jersey. Since 1854, this island has evoked dreams and memories of days lived amid white sand beaches, a vibrant boardwalk, exciting amusement piers, and grand hotels. For decades it was a place where teenagers fell in love, returned for honeymoons, and later brought families. Atlantic Cities is a nostalgic return to the pre-casino days that now seem relatively innocent. The founders believed that the city would become a grand health resort, featuring healthful sea breezes and balmy days. Nearly deserted when the first train loaded with day-trippers arrived on July 1, 1854, Atlantic City, by 1900, was known throughout much of the world as "The Queen of American Resorts." With huge hotels lining the Boardwalk and unique amusement piers jutting into the ocean, the city thrived on what one promoter called "ocean, emotion, and constant promotion." Those were the days when bathers frolicked on the beach in drab clothing, when the Boardwalk was alive with throngs of happy visitors, and Miss America actually strolled the Boardwalk amid the crowds. Images like those, and of course of the annual Easter Parade, one of the East Coast's premier social events, are among the nearly two hundred photographs carefully selected for this long-awaited book.

Atlantic City (NJ) (Images of America)

Arts & Photography

John T. Cunningham

Kenneth D. Cole

Photography & Video

Arcadia Publishing

Set beneath a canopy of oaks in an area just west of Madison, New Jersey, Drew University proudly calls itself "the University in the Forest." Long before the university was founded in 1867, townspeople affectionately knew the grounds as "the Forest" and held awe and respect for the sprawling woodland. This affectionate look at the university, written by graduates John T. Cunningham and Regina Diverio, recounts the life and times of an institution that has had only ten presidents in its nearly 135-year-long history. It tells the story of the creation of a genuine university in 1928, when Leonard and Arthur Baldwin, East Orange brothers, provided $1.5 million to found, build, and endow the Brothers College of Liberal Arts.

Drew University (NJ) (College History Series)

Regina Diverio

The once-expansive Chatham Township was reduced to only a fraction of its size after Florham Park, Chatham Borough, and Madison Borough split from the township between 1889 and 1899. Its present, smaller size, however, does not reflect its vast history. Few municipalities possess such dramatic events, colorful figures, or community spirit. For instance, when the Newark Evening News reported that the powerful Port of New York Authority would take over 10,000 acres of the Great Swamp and spend $220 million to create an international jetport, people of the township and outraged citizens in a wide area surrounding the Great Swamp began to fight back. Although the Port Authority promised jobs, prosperity, and progress, their efforts were in vain. Instead of a jetport, the land now consists of 7,500 protected acres, one of the largest National Wildlife Refuges ever created so close to an urban center. Stories like this from the twentieth century are quite large in scope. Stories of prosperous farms, huge rose-growing greenhouses, and times enjoyed in simple, bucolic settings make up the township's history in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Chatham Township is an embodiment of these historical stories and images. There was a time when the marshes of the Great Swamp were hunting grounds for huckleberries, when a Noe family horse pulled milk carts through the streets, and even, it was whispered, when the massive, three-story, Greek Revival Boisaubin mansion was used as a stop along the Underground Railroad. One of the most notable stories is of a lady known as Madame Bey, who opened a camp for prizefighters, making Chatham Township a sports page dateline known throughout the country.

Chatham Township (NJ) (Images of America)

More than 17 million immigrants came here-to the front door of America-from 1890 to 1915 in what has been called the largest mass migration in human history. In the shadow of the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island is one of the nation's most important historical sites and is one of our most heavily visited national monuments. Its story is the story of our people and their struggles for freedom and dreams of a better life.

Ellis Island: Immigration's Shining Center (NJ) (Making of America)

History

Americas

Chatham and the Passaic River have been inextricably linked for nearly 275 years, since the town’s founding under the informal name of Day’s Bridge. That name honored John Day, builder of the first span across the river, which forms the eastern edge of the town. The nature of generations of the town’s residents is reflected in the area’s permanent name, selected by villagers in 1773. Chatham is named for Great Britain’s William Pitt, the Earl of Chatham, who was a champion of American liberties during that revolutionary era. The Passaic, fondly referred to by locals as “The Fishawack,” inspired the gradual flourishing of early mills and factories. Small shops, hotels, and a railroad have brought nineteenth-century prosperity to Main Street, the hub of Chatham, and extended the influence of residents who commute to Newark and New York City. John T. Cunningham, New Jersey’s preeminent historian, chronicles this growth and the relationship between populace and river through wonderful photographs and intriguing historic details.

Chatham (NJ) (Images of America)

Atlantic City, the resort city of romantic splendor, boasts a rich and fascinating history. Known for its white-sand beaches, vibrant boardwalk, exciting amusement piers, and grand hotels, the city has been the place where teenagers fall in love, return for honeymoons, and later bring their families.

Atlantic City (NJ) (Scenes of America)

New Jersey: A Mirror On America

New Jersey: A Mirror on America

Afton Publishing

Here are true tales of New Jersey men and women who once dominated their areas, then dropped into footnotes and finally, in most cases, faded into obscutity. These ars the tales of both great and small, the cautious and the foolish, the heroes and the baseball players.

The New Jersey Sampler: Historic Tales of Old New Jersey

Afton Publishing Co., Inc.

University in the Forest

Afton Publishing Company, Inc.

This one volume history explores New Jersey in depth from the Lenape through the 2005 Governer's Election. Hundreds of rare, vivid illistrations; parallel time lines compare NJ &amp; US history.

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Books by John T. Cunningham