Ithaca: A Brief History

Calmly nestled among the glacial streams and hills of central New York, residents of Ithaca may find it hard to believe that their city began with a rocky start. Transient teamsters and salt barge workers gave the town a rowdy reputation in its pioneer days, and the fledgling village seemed doomed as the most isolated place on the Eastern Seaboard. Over the course of the nineteenth century, Ithaca's character swung like a pendulum
from debauchery to temperance, from boisterous vagrancy to religious fervor and reform. Though the town was hit hard by the Depression of 1837 and periodically ravaged by fire and flood, Ithaca survived to become a lively and bustling community and an important center of education, technological
innovation and cultural vibrancy. In this comprehensive history, Carol Kammen shows exactly why Ithaca is known as the Crown of Cayuga.

Author: Carol Kammen
Publisher: History Press
Published: 10/01/2008
Pages: 128
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.60lbs
Size: 9.70h x 7.10w x 0.50d
ISBN: 9781596295155


Review Citation(s):
Reference and Research Bk News 02/01/2009 pg. 79

About the Author
Kammen, Carol: - Carol Kammen is a retired Senior Lecturer in History at Cornell University who works as an editorial writer for History News, the journal of the American Association for State and Local History. She is the historian for Tompkins County as well as the Ithaca Journal. She has previously published numerous books including: The African American Experience at Cornell (forthcoming in 2008); Cornell: Glorious to View (2003); On Doing Local History (1986; revised 2003); Plain as a Pipestem (1989); The Peopling of Tompkins County (1984); and Simeon DeWitt: Founder of Ithaca (1969). She has also been the editor for works such as Encyclopedia of Local History and Pursuit of Local History. She was awarded the New York State Historian of the Year award for 2005-2006, as well as the Award of Distinction by the American Association for State and Local History in 2007, an award which has only been given two times previously in 60 years.