Vintage Postcards Illustrate Portsmouth’s History

Nov. 12, 2013 - PRLog -- The newest addition to Arcadia Publishing’s Postcard History Series is Portsmouth from local authors Jim Detty, David E. Huffman and Linda Arthur Jennings. The book boasts more than 200 vintage postcards depicting this Ohio city over time.

Portsmouth, Ohio, originated in the 1790s, when the town of Alexandria was founded at the junction of the Scioto and Ohio Rivers. A decade later, due to the frequent disastrous floods from both rivers, Alexandria was abandoned and the entire town moved eastward. In 1814, after being platted by Henry Massie, the city of Portsmouth was incorporated.

In the years that followed, Portsmouth became an industrial and transportation center, a regional leader in retail and wholesale businesses, and a recreational center that once featured, among many other things, an amusement park and a National Football League team franchise. The nickname “Peerless City” was a perfect fit.

Highlights of Portsmouth include:

•Vintage images from the collections of local residents that span from 1900 to the 1970s.
•Features a chapter on former entertainment venues in Portsmouth, including several theaters and Millbrook Park amusement park.
•Shares the histories of the multiple churches and schools within Portsmouth.
•Discusses two of Portsmouth’s worst natural disasters, the floods of 1913 and 1937.
•A portion of the authors’ proceeds will be donated to local organizations interested in preserving and teaching local history.

Available at area bookstores, independent retailers, and online retailers, or through Arcadia Publishing at (888)-313-2665 or online.

Arcadia Publishing is the leading publisher of local and regional history in the United States.  Our mission is to make history accessible and meaningful through the publication of books on the heritage of America’s people and places.  Have we done a book on your town?  Visit www.arcadiapublishing.com/.