Take a Hike Through History With New Local Book

June 2, 2011 - PRLog -- The newest addition to Arcadia Publishing’s popular Images of America series is Along Maine’s Appalachian Trail from local author David B. Field. The book boasts more than 200 vintage images primarily from the MATC archives, Maine State Library, and the author's personal files.

Maine native Myron H. Avery recruited friends from Washington, D.C.; Maine forest and warden service personnel; guides and sporting camp operators; and the Civilian Conservation Corps to extend the Appalachian Trail through Maine, despite questions of whether it would be possible to carve a trail through the state's wildlands. Volunteers of Maine's Appalachian Trail Club, created by Avery in 1935, have since maintained the trail, built shelters, relocated more than half of the original hastily constructed route, and taken on the task of managing the trail's protection corridor.

Along Maine's Appalachian Trail illustrates the rich history of the trail's rugged mountains and vast forests, which have provided a livelihood for generations of workers and communities. David B. Field, retired University of Maine professor of Forest Resources, has maintained six miles of the Appalachian Trail for 54 years. He has served as an officer of the Maine Appalachian Trail Club and on the board of managers of the Appalachian Trail Conference.

Highlights of Along Maine’s Appalachian Trail:
•   This book tells how the Appalachian Trail in Maine was planned, scouted, blazed, and built from 1932-1937, including completion of the last two miles of the entire A.T. by young men of the Civilian Conservation Corps near Sugarloaf Mt. on 14 August, 1937.
•   Maine's Appalachian Trail passes through a rich historical landscape of aboriginal place names, logging, early settlements, traditional hunting/fishing "sporting" camps, pioneer railroads, forest fire watch towers, and even slate quarries.
•   This the story not only of the Appalachian Trail in Maine, but also the Maine Appalachian Trail Club, whose volunteers relocated 2/3 of the original trail from 1970-1990 and which is now entering its 76th year of caring for the A.T. and its protective corridor lands.

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

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.

# # #

With more than 6,000 local history titles published to date, Arcadia Publishing is the leading publisher of local and regional history in the United States. Widely recognized sepia books feature hundreds of vintage historical images.