In Susquehanna, River of Dreams award-winning journalist Susan Q. Stranahan tells the sweeping story of one of America's great rivers – ranging in time from the Susquehanna's geologic origins to the modern threats to its eco-system, describing human settlements, industry and pollution, and recent efforts to save the river and its "drowned estuary," the Chesapeake Bay. The result is a unique natural history of the vast Susquehanna watershed and a compelling look at environmental issues of national importance.
An exceptional resource for helping people enjoy the fishing, hiking, and boating available in the Susquehanna Valley. This expanded and revised edition covers 250 miles of river from the Chesapeake Bay to the West Branch at Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and the North Branch above Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Includes more than 50 detailed maps.
Barry Kent combines the historical and archaeological records to interpret the culture of the peoples who formerly occupied the Susquehanna Valley of central and eastern Pennsylvania until they vanished in the mid-eighteenth century. The book provides the reader with a timeline of the Susquehanna people and a discussion of archaeological findings.
Folklore, legends, and ghost stories are at the core of Pennsylvania's culture and history. Various legends abound from all parts of the state, though none are as rich or full of charismatic characters as those along the Susquehanna River. From the myths and legends of the indigenous tribes, to the heroes and villains of the frontier, to the ghostly tales of those who still walk the banks of the muddy river; this is a book of their stories.
The New York, Susquehanna & Western Railroad arose in 1881 through the merger of several smaller railway companies that linked the anthracite coal fields of Pennsylvania to the industrial centers of the New York–New Jersey metropolitan area. Immediately successful in the coal business, the NYS&W also attracted tourists by promoting the beauty and rural charm of the Delaware Water Gap and building picnic facilities for same-day excursions from both ends of the line. The company's fortunes rose through the 1920s, fell in the 1930s, surged in the 1940s as it became one of the region's busiest and most innovative passenger lines, and slowly declined from the 1950s until finally passing into bankruptcy in 1976 and reorganization into a regional freight hauler. As expertly and engagingly told in this heavily illustrated book—the first in-depth history of the line—the story of the NYS&W vividly illustrates the challenges faced by the many smaller railroad companies that contributed to America's industrial growth and the inventive solutions their directors devised to surmount these difficulties in the service of local and regional needs. Robert E. Mohowski traces the company's tangled history from the founding of its direct ancestor—the New Jersey, Hudson, and Delaware Railroad—in 1832 through its acquisition by the Erie Railroad in 1898, its reemergence as an independent entity in 1940, and its thirty-six-year-long struggle to keep the railroad in business. As Mohowski accounts, the NYS&W throughout its history aggressively sought out new sources of revenue, particularly as the traffic in coal dwindled. Commuter service became the most successful of these activities, and the line's management invested heavily in upgrading its locomotive and passenger car fleets. The company introduced streamlined, self-propelled cars that provided fast, comfortable travel in northeast New Jersey (a prototype for New Jersey Transit's present-day Midtown Direct service). These efforts, however, proved insufficient to prevent the company's demise. Beloved by railroad enthusiasts, the New York, Susquehanna & Western serves as a case study in technological innovation and creative management and stands as an important chapter in the history of American railroads.
Susquehanna University's history from 1858 to 2000 has occurred in three stages, each expressing a different mission. The school was founded in 1858 as the Missionary Institute of the Evangelical Lutheran Church to fulfill the vision of the Rev. Benjamin Kurtz, a Lutheran cleric and editor of the Lutheran Observer. He was a partisan of the American Lutheran viewpoint caught up in a fratricidal battle with Lutheran orthodoxy. The Missionary Institute sustained his viewpoint in the preparation, gratis, of men called to preach the gospel in foreign and home missions. A complementary purpose was to educate young people in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania at both the Institute and its sister school, the Susquehanna Female College. When the Female College folded in 1873, the Institute became coeducational.
