IMAGES of AMERICA &ndash ERIE COUTY PENNSYLVANIA (Catlett, VA)

IMAGES of AMERICA &ndash ERIE COUTY PENNSYLVANIA

Local pick-up preferred but will ship at the buyer s expense.Kingston Books 15 IMG_7126Author Erie YesterdayPublisher Arcadia PublishingIllustrated B& W PhotosErie County Pennsylvania is an interesting mixture of peaceful rural landscapes and vigorous industrial scenes. From Albion Girard and Fairview in the west through Waterford and Edinboro to Corry Wattsburg North East Harborcreek and Lawrence Park in the east this volume touches upon many of the small towns villages and rural areas that make up this diverse county. The book s images many never before published have been selected by local historians and taken from local historical societies archives to represent the social and cultural aspects of each community. From these pictures mainly taken in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century the distinct identity of each area comes alive with views of farmlands businesses schools and recreation yet despite this individuality these unique communities do share much in common in tradition and personalityCONTENTSAcknowledgments 6Introduction ..7West Erie County ..9 South Central Erie County ..37 East Erie County ..51 Themes in Erie County History ..87 The Lake Presque Isle and Waldameer Park ..121 IntroductionErie County lies on the foundation of nearly 7 000 feet of rock layers formed by sedimentation during the millions of years in which the county and the surrounding region were covered by broad inland seas. Beginning about one million years ago a series of glaciers moved across the area forever changing the landscape. By 12 000B.C. the last glacier had receded and left behind surface features still seen in Erie County including Lake Erie the Lake plain the escarpment or ridge above the plane mineral deposits that make up the fertile soils and the upland topography which compromises most of the county.Today the highest ridge is 8 to 10 miles south of Lake Erie. From this point streams flow in opposite directions. The streams along the edge of the lake such as Elk Creek Walnut Creek and Four Mile Creek cut through layers of glacial drift to form dramatic ravines and gullies. They flow northward into Lake Erie which eventually flows into the Saint Lawrence River. On the other side of the high ridge the south-flowing streams are collected primarily into French Creek which empties into the Allegheny River and on into the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. French Creek produces a series of valleys with rich alluvial soil suitable for grain and vegetable farming and the hill sides have a clay loam soil suitable for cattle grazing and dairy farming. Water power was vital for running mills and for running machinery for Erie s earliest shops and factories. Early settlement and development was concentrated near the streams.Paperback 128 pages ISBN 0-7524-0917-4